Grevillea aquifolium is a shrubby or scrambling plant endemic to South Australia and Victoria. Common names include holly grevillea, prickly grevillea or variable prickly grevillea.[3][4] It occurs naturally in woodland, open forest and heathland.[3]
| Holly grevillea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Grevillea aquifolium in the Grampians | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Grevillea |
| Species: | G. aquifolium
|
| Binomial name | |
| Grevillea aquifolium | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Description
editThe species displays a high level of plasticity in its leaves, habit, and habitat preferences across its natural range. The height of the shrubby forms usually ranges between 1 and 2 metres but can reach 4 metres in some populations, while prostrate forms are also observed in their natural distribution, sometimes growing among shrubby forms. The flowers occur in terminal one-sided racemes, typical of what are commonly referred to as "toothbrush" grevilleas. They are red or occasionally yellowish-green. Flowering in South Australia is recorded as being between November and March, while in the Grampians in Victoria it extends from September to April.[4] The foliage is usually lobed with sharp points on the lobes [3] but some populations have leaves with nearly entire leaf margins.[5][6]
Taxonomy
editThe species was formally described in 1838 by English botanist John Lindley in Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia based on plant material collected from Mount William in the Grampians by Thomas Mitchell.[7] Mitchell commented that the species was "a remarkable kind with leaves like those of a European holly, but downy".[8] The specific epithet (aquifolium) is a reference to the common European holly, Ilex aquifolium.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editGrevillea aquifolium occurs in the south-east of South Australia and western Victoria.[9] In South Australia, small populations are found at locations such as Carpenter Rocks, Bucks Lake Game Reserve and West Dairy Range. In Victoria the species is found in the Grampians region and northwards to the Little Desert as well as near the south coast at Kentbruck Heath near Portland.[9] Associated tree species in Victoria include Eucalyptus baxteri, Eucalyptus obliqua, Eucalyptus willisii subsp. falciformis and Callitris rhomboidea.[10]
Possible hybrids between this species and Grevillea microstegia and Grevillea montis-cole occur near Mount Cassel and Mount William respectively.[9]
Ecology
editBirds are thought to be the primary pollinators of the species, though bees and ants may also have a role.[9]
Conservation status
editGrevillea aquifolium is listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This species has a wide distribution where it is locally common, and its population is presumed to be large and stable. Overall, there are no known major threats to this species, however, it is considered to be moderately susceptible to infection by the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi.[1]
Use in horticulture
editA number of naturally occurring forms have been brought into cultivation from locations including Carpenter Rocks, Cooack, Halls Gap, Kenbruck Heath, Lake Wartook, Little Desert, Mount William and Serra Road.[3]
'Copper Crest', a hybrid cross of G. aquifolium and G.acanthifolia, is a commercially released cultivar that was selected in Montrose in Victoria in 1975.[11]
Grevillea aquifolium prefers a well-drained position with full exposure to the sun or in partial shade. Mature plants are drought tolerant and have some frost tolerance, but dislike humidity.[3] Plants may be propagated from cuttings taken from semi-mature growth.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Cameron, D.; Makinson, R.; Olde, P. (2020). "Grevillea aquifolium". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T112646048A113309185. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T112646048A113309185.en. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Grevillea aquifolium". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Grevillea aquifolium". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Grevillea aquifolium". Electronic Flora of South Australia Fact Sheet. State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ Makinson, Robert O. "Grevillea aquifolium". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ "Grevillea aquifolium". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ "Grevillea aquifolium". APNI. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ Mitchell, Thomas (1838). "Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia". London: T&W Boone.
- ^ a b c d Downing, Trisha L. (December 2008). "Morphological and genetic variation in the holly grevillea, Grevillea aquifolium Lindl. (Grevilleoideae: Proteaceae)" (PDF). Australian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter (137): 6–9. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ Wild Plants of Victoria (database). Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment. 2009.
- ^ "Grevillea 'Copper Crest'". List of Registered Cultivars derived from Australian native flora. Australian Cultivar Registration Authority. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
External links
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