Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Telopea speciosissima
Common name
Waratah
Family
Proteaceae
Where found
Dry forest and heath. Coast and ranges, north from Batemans Bay.
Notes
Shrub to 4 m high. Leaves alternating up the stems. Adult leaves 8–28 cm long, 20–65 mm wide, leathery but usually not harsh to the touch, both surfaces with prominently raised veins, margins toothed, rarely entire, tips usually pointed to squared off. Leaves sometimes divided. Flowers red, occasionally white, with a curved tube, the tube split on one side by the style after the flowers open, with 4 'petals', each 10-34 mm long, joined to each other in a slit tube. Flowers in heads of 90–250 flowers, 40-110 mm in diameter (excluding the bracts); basal flowers opening first. Bracts subtending the flower heads mostly 50–90 mm long, red, occasionally white, conspicuous. Flowers Aug.-Nov. Seeds with one wing.
Protected NSW.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Telopea~speciosissima (accessed 11 April 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
