Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Grevillea juniperina
Common name
Prickly spider-flower
Juniper-leaved grevillea (subsp. juniperina)
Family
Proteaceae
Where found
Coast, ranges, tablelands ACT, and Western Slopes.
subsp. amphitricha: Woodland and grassland on slopes and ridges, rarely along streams. Tablelands and the western edge of the ranges between east of Braidwood and Bungonia State Conservation Area east of Goulburn.
subsp. fortis: Open forest, woodland, and shrubland, often in rocky situations, along banks or slopes above permanent watercourses. ACT and north towards Murrumbateman. Between Cooma and Bredbo.
subsp. juniperina: Open forest, woodland, and cleared areas. Sydney area.
subsp. sulphurea: In the wild: Shrubby forest and woodland near streams, and swampy areas. Mainly between Goulburn and Bowral. Doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.
subsp. trinervis: Higher altitudes in the Blue Mountains.
subsp. villosa: Shrubby areas in remnant eucalypt forest beside permanent watercourses. Tablelands and western edge of the ranges NE and E of Braidwood, between Oallen and Monga National Park.
Notes
Shrub to 3 m high or sprawling to prostrate. Leaf tips sharp. Leaves alternating up the stems, often crowded on short side branches or in pseudo-whorls, 0.8–2.5 cm long, 0.6–4 mm wide, margins entire and strongly and angularly rolled down, upper surface hairy with appressed hairs, lower surface appressed hairy, or almost hairless, often obscured by the margins. Flowers with 4 'petals' joined together in pairs, 'petals' red to pink, orange, yellow, cream, or greenish, hairy outside with short to long hairs, bearded inside. Gynoecium 13–27 mm long, style red to pink, yellow, cream, or white, mostly hairless. Flower clusters 2.5–3.5 cm long. Flowers most months, mainly July–December.
In the absence of specific information, seeds of all species of Grevillea have been keyed as having one wing.
subsp. amphitricha: Prostrate to sprawling shrub to 1.2 m high. Leaves occasionally in short clusters, 0.8–1.8 cm long, 1–3.5 mm wide. Juvenile leaves mostly less than half as long as, and markedly broader and flatter than, adult leaves. lower surface with a dense covering of appressed hairs. Flowers dull yellow to apricot-orange, or rarely red. Knob at the top of the flower bud hairy with appressed hairs.
Intergrades with subsp. sulphurea and perhaps subsp. villosa.
subsp. fortis: Robust shrub to 3 m high, with a strong erect central stem at the base and many spreading to ascending side branches. Branches at first hoary tomentose. Leaves often in pseudo-whorls on short side branches, 1–2.5 cm long, 0.7–2 mm wide, triangular in cross section, upper surface with 1–3 prominent longitudinal veins; lower surface with a dense covering of appressed hairs. Margins strongly rolled down, concealing much or all of the lower surface of the leaves. Flowers red to pink, rarely cream. Knob at the top of the flower bud hairy with appressed hairs.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
subsp. juniperina: A broadly spreading to erect shrub to 2.5 m high. Leaves clustered along short side branches, narrow, needle-like, 1–2.2 cm long, 0.6–0.8 mm wide, margins strongly curved down, usually completely concealing the lower surface of most leaves. Upper leaf surface with 3 prominent longitudinal veins. Adult leaves triangular in cross section. Juvenile leaves scarcely broader than adult leaves. Flowers red to pinkish, yellow, pale orange, or greenish. Knob at the top of the flower bud hairy with appressed hairs.
Vulnerable NSW. Provisions of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63 relating to the protection of protected plants generally also apply to plants that are a threatened species.
NSW Threatened Species profile: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=10367 (accessed 15 January, 2021)
subsp. sulphurea: Weakly erect shrub with the main branches spreading at ground level and then ascending, to 2 m high; rarely prostrate. Leaves often in pseudo-whorls, 1.1–2 cm long, 0.6–1.8 mm wide, juvenile leaves as long as the adult leaves and to 4 mm wide. Upper leaf surface with a prominent mid-vein, and 2 longitudinal lateral veins, usually scarcely prominent. Leaf margins smoothly or angularly rolled down, lower surface sparsely to densely hairy, and often concealed. Adult leaves usually rounded (upper surface convex) in cross section or sometimes triangular. Juvenile leaves flatter. Flowers dull yellow to apricot-orange, or rarely red. Knob at the top of the flower bud hairy with appressed hairs.
Intergrades with subsp. amphitricha.
subsp. trinervis: Spreading shrub to 2 m high, or rarely prostrate. Leaves usually clustered on short side branchlets. Adult leaves 1–2 cm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, upper surface almost flat except for 3-5 more or less prominent pale veins, the innermost pair of lateral veins on the upper surface joining the midvein abruptly at about 90° at the extreme base of leaf, margins angularly and very shortly curved down, most of the lower surface exposed, hairy with dense someshat silky hairs. Juvenile leaves to 4 mm wide, flatter than adult leaves, with scattered hairs on the lower surface. Flowers usually yellow or orange, rarely red. Knob at the top of the flower bud hairy with appressed hairs.
subsp. villosa: Robust erect dense shrub to 2.5 m high. Leaves 1.1–2.1 cm long, 0.9–2.6 mm wide. Lower surface of the leaves sparsely hairy with erect hairs concentrated along the mid-line. Flowers red or yellow. Knob at the top of the flower bud shaggy, with more or less spreading hairs; outer surface of the flower hairy with erect hairs.
Possibly intergrades with subsp. amphitricha.
PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Grevillea~juniperina (accessed 19 January, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
