Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Grevillea victoriae

Flowering branches (subsp. nivalis). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Colin Totterdell, Kosciuszko National Park

Flowering branches (subsp. nivalis). Photographer Russell Best, Kosciuszko National Park

Common name

Brindabella Mountan Grevillea (subsp. brindabella). Kosciuszko Grevillea (subsp. nivalis)

Family

Proteaceae

Where found

subsp. brindabella:  Dry open forest, Eucalyptus pauciflora woodland, and rocky sites. Brindabella National Park north of the ACT border, and adjacent areas of the ACT, at 1,000-1,250 m altitude.

subsp. nivalis:  Forest, woodland, heath, rocky areas, and along streams. Kosciuszko National Park and the mountains to the north, tablelands, and ranges.

Notes

Shrub to 4 m high. Branches hairy with grey or silvery hairs. Branchlets and the underside of the leaves pale rusty hairy. Leaves alternating up the stems, 1.5–14 cm long, 5–45 mm wide, margins entire, usually flat, rarely rolled down, lower surface exposed, hairy, or with scattered appressed hairs. Flowers with 4 'petals' joined together in pairs, 'petals' red or pinkish red to orange to rusty brown, with conspicuous or inconpicuous red to rusty or purplish hairs; bearded with white hairs inside below the middle. Gynoecium 12–26 mm long; style red or pinkish-red, mostly hairless. Flower clusters 1–8.5 cm long, cylindrical to almost globular.

In the absence of specific information, seeds of all species of Grevillea have been keyed as having one wing.

subsp. brindabella:  Leaf upper surface semi-glossy to distinctly glossy. Network between the veins on the upper leaf surface always absent; network between the veins on the lower leaf surface absent. Smaller flowers, the upper joined 'petals' 16–19 mm long, and the free part of the 'petals' 2.2–3 mm in diameter in side-view.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

subsp. nivalis:  Leaf upper surface dull. Network between the veins on the upper leaf surface obscure to conspicuous, network between the veins on the lower leaf surface present, and conspicuous or prominent. Larger flowers, the upper joined 'petals' 18.2–23.5 mm long, and the free part of the 'petals' 3–4  mm in diameter in side-view.

Rare Vic. (subsp. nivalis)

In the absence of specific information, seeds of all species of Grevillea have been keyed as having one wing.

PlantNET description (subsp. nivalis):  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=in&name=Grevillea~victoriae+subsp.~nivalis  (accessed 19 April 2021)

Description of subsp. brindabella in: V. Stajsic Grevillea victoriae subsp. brindabella (Proteaceae), a new subspecies from the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. In Muelleria 28(1): 18-28 (2010)