''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order ...

. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the branches, the flowers

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

, arranged in

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s at the ends of branchlets, and the fruit a follicle that splits down one side only, releasing one or two seeds.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely small trees with

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnn ...

or compound leaves arranged alternately along the branchlets. The flowers are zygomorphic and typically arranged in pairs along a sometimes branched

at the ends of branchlets. The flowers are

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

, usually with four

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s in a single

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

. There are four

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...

s and the

gynoecium Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pist ...

has a single

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

. The fruit is a thin-walled follicle that splits down only one side, releasing one or two seeds before the next growing season.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Grevillea'' was first formally described in 1809 by Joseph Knight from an unpublished manuscript by Robert Brown. Knight gave the spelling ''Grevillia'', corrected by Brown in 1810 to ''Grevillea'' in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. The genus was named in honour of

Charles Francis Greville Charles Francis Greville PC FRS FRSE FLS FSA (12 May 1749 – 23 April 1809) was a British antiquarian, collector and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1790. Early life Greville was the second son of Francis Greville ...

, an 18th-century patron of botany and co-founder of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Species

There are over 350 species which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Australia. Five other species are endemic to areas outside Australia. Three of these ('' G. exul'', '' G. gillivrayi'', and '' G. meisneri'') are endemic to New Caledonia, while '' G. elbertii'' and '' G. papuana'' are endemic to Sulawesi and New Guinea respectively. Two other species, '' G. baileyana'' and '' G. glauca'', occur in both New Guinea and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Distribution and habitat

Grevilleas grow in most habitats, although few grow in alpine areas, in swamps or saline soils. Most species are

to Australia but three species grow in New Guinea, ('' G. papuana'' is endemic), three are endemic to New Caledonia and one species ('' G. elbertii'') is endemic to

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu ...

in Indonesia.

Ecology

Grevilleas are good bird-attracting plants. Honeyeaters in particular are common visitors. They are also used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

species, including the

dryandra moth The dryandra moth (''Carthaea saturnioides'') is a species of moth that is considered to be the sole member of the family Carthaeidae. Its closest relatives are the Saturniidae and it bears a resemblance to many species of that family, bearing pr ...

and ''

Pieris rapae ''Pieris rapae'' is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small c ...

'' (small butterfly or cabbage white butterfly).

Uses

Use in horticulture

Many species of grevilleas are popular garden plants, especially in Australia but also in other temperate and subtropical climates. Many grevilleas have a propensity to interbreed freely, and extensive hybridisation and selection of horticulturally desirable attributes has led to the commercial release of many named

cultivars A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

. Among the best known is 'Robyn Gordon', a small shrub up to high and wide which can flower 12 months of the year in subtropical climates. The cultivar 'Canberra Gem' has gained the

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. They can be grown from soft tip cuttings from December–March (in the Southern Hemisphere) or fresh

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

. Many harder-to-grow species can be grafted onto hardy rootstock such as '' Grevillea robusta''. There is an active Grevillea Study Group in the

Australian Native Plants Society The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation. A national conference is h ...

for people interested in grevilleas, both for uses in horticulture and for conservation in the wild.

Traditional Aboriginal use

Grevillea flowers were a traditional favourite among the Aboriginal Peoples for their sweet

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualist ...

. This could be shaken onto the hand to enjoy, or into a coolamon with a little water to make a sweet drink. They might be referred to as the original "bush lollies". Drinking nectar direct from the flower is best avoided as some commonly cultivated grevillea species produce flowers containing toxic

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

.Everist, S.L., ''Poisonous Plants of Australia'', Angus & Robertson, 1974.

Colonial furniture

A grevillea

wood veneer In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood and sometimes bark, usually thinner than 3 mm (1/8 inch), that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat pane ...

was used on a Pembroke table, a small table with two drawers and folding sides, made in the 1790s for Commissioner of the Royal Navy, Sir

Andrew Snape Hamond Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, 1st Baronet (17 December 1738 – 12 September 1828) was a British naval officer and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1781 to 1782 and Comptroller of the Navy from 1794 to 1828. Career Born in Blackhea ...

. The timber from which the veneer was made, referred to as 'beef wood', was sent from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...

by Surgeon-General John White, who arrived in the new penal colony of Australia with the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

. This table is in the collection of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Gallery

Image:Grevillea candelabroides mingenew email.jpg, '' G. candelabroides'' Image:Grevillea dielsiana.jpg, '' G. dielsiana'' Image:Grevillea wickhamii aprica grafted email.jpg, ''G. wickhamii'' subsp. ''aprica'' Image:Grevillea rivularis.jpg, '' G. rivularis''

References

External links

ANPSA.org: Grevillea website
— ''by ASGAP−Australian Native Plants Society''.
Grevilleapark.org: Illawarra Grevillea Park website
*

PlantList The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

br>search for Grevillea
Retrieved 20190318. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1545761 Proteaceae genera Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Proteales of Australia Australasian realm flora