Grevillea celata

Summary

Grevillea celata, commonly known as Nowa Nowa grevillea[2] or Colquhoun grevillea,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted part of Victoria in Australia. It is an erect and open to low, dense shrub with oblong, broadly elliptic or linear leaves, and red and yellow, or red, white and apricot-coloured, sometimes all yellow flowers.

Nowa Nowa grevillea
Grevillea celata in Maranoa Gardens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Grevillea
Species:
G. celata
Binomial name
Grevillea celata
Synonyms[1]

Grevillea aff. chrysophaea (Nowa Nowa)

Description edit

Grevillea celata is an erect, open or low, dense shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.4–1.8 m (1 ft 4 in – 5 ft 11 in) and forms suckers. Its leaves are oblong, broadly elliptic or linear, mostly 20–44 mm (0.79–1.73 in) long and 4–18 mm (0.16–0.71 in) wide with the edges turned down or rolled under. The lower surface of the leaves is woolly-hairy. The flowers are usually arranged in groups of two to eight on the ends of branchlets or short side shoots on a rachis 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long, and are red and yellow, or red, white and apricot-coloured, sometimes all yellow, the pistil 18–25 mm (0.71–0.98 in) long, the style red with a green base and tip. Flowering occurs from July to February, and the fruit is a woolly-hairy follicle 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long.[2][3][4][5]

Grevillea alpina and G. chrysophaea are similar species, but neither forms suckers.[2]

Taxonomy edit

Grevillea celata was first formally described in 1995 by Bill Molyneux in the journal Muelleria from specimens he collected from Colquhoun State Forest in south-eastern Victoria in 1993.[4][6] The specific epithet (celata) means "hidden" or "concealed within", referring to the earlier confusion with G. alpina and G. chrysophaea.[4]

Distribution and habitat edit

Nowa Nowa grevillea grows in dry sclerophyll woodland in Colquhoun State Forest near Bruthen in south-eastern Victoria.[2]

Conservation status edit

The species is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, as "critically endangered" in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988[7] and as "vulnerable in Victoria" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria, and a National Recovery Plan has been prepared. The main threats to the species include inapprpriate fire regimes, road works, and browsing by kangaroos.[2][3][8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Grevillea celata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Makinson, Robert O. "Grevillea celata". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Conservation Advice - Grevillea celata (Colquhoun grevillea)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Primary Industries, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Molyneux, William M. (1995). "Grevillea celata (Proteaceae), a new species from central eastern Gippsland, Victoria". Muelleria. 8 (3): 311–316. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  5. ^ Makinson, Robert O. "Grevillea celata". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Grevillea celata". APNI. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Grevillea celata ". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ Carter, Oberon; Walsh, Neville. "National Recovery Plan for the Colquhoun Grevillea Grevillea celata" (PDF). Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Advisory list of rare or threatened plants in Victoria - 2014" (PDF). Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary Industries. Retrieved 21 February 2022.