Grevillea decurrens

Grevillea decurrens
Near Edith Falls
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Grevillea
Species:
G. decurrens
Binomial name
Grevillea decurrens

Grevillea decurrens, also known as the clothes-peg tree,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is a shrub or tree with divided leaves, the lobes elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and conical groups of pink or cream-coloured flowers.

Description

Grevillea decurrens is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 2–4 m (6 ft 7 in – 13 ft 1 in). Its leaves are pinnatipartite with seven to thirteen elliptic to egg-shaped pliable lobes with the narrower end towards the base, 30–180 mm (1.2–7.1 in) long and 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in groups with up to six conical to cylindrical branches, the flowers arranged on one side of a rachis 50–150 mm (2.0–5.9 in) long and opening from the base, each flower on a pedicel 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long. The flowers are pink or cream-coloured, sometimes with a pink tinge, the pistil 32–35 mm (1.3–1.4 in) long and glabrous. Flowering occurs from November to March and the fruit is a more or less spherical follicle 24–33 mm (0.94–1.30 in) in diameter.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy

Grevillea decurrens was first formally described in 1917 by Alfred James Ewart in The Flora of the Northern Territory from specimens collected by Walter Scott Campbell in 1911.[7][8] The specific epithet (decurrens) means "decurrent".[4][9]

Distribution and habitat

This grevillea grows in open, tropical woodland in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and as far south as Derby, and from TimberCreek to Darwin including Melville Island and east to Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.[4][5][6]

Conservation status

Grevillea decurrens is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as it is widely distributed and does not face any major threats, either currently or in the near future.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Keighery, G.; Olde, P. (2020). "Grevillea decurrens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T112651258A113307861. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T112651258A113307861.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Grevillea decurrens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. ^ Philip A. Clarke (2012). Australian plants as Aboriginal Tools. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781922013576.
  4. ^ a b c "Grevillea decurrens". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Grevillea decurrens". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
  6. ^ a b "Grevillea decurrens". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Grevillea decurrens". APNI. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  8. ^ Ewart, Alfred J.; Davies, Olive Blanch (1917). The Flora of the Northern Territory. Melbourne: McCarron, Bird & Co. p. 83. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  9. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780958034180.