Grevillea alpina

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Overview:

The Australian flowering shrub Grevillea alpina has several common names, including mountain grevillea, alpine grevillea, and cat's claw
It is not limited to alpine environments, and in fact is less common at high elevation than low
The species is variable in appearance, with five general forms described: small-flowered, Grampians, Northern Victorian, Goldfields, and Southern Hills forms
It is found in dry forests and woodlands across Victoria and into southern NSW
Some forms of the plant are low to the ground, and some become a spreading shrub
The flowers come in many colours, from white to green to shades of red and pink, or a pattern of several colours
The curled flowers are 1 to 3 centimetres in length
It is attractive to nectar-feeding insects and birds

Common name: . . .

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:

The genus was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville, an 18th-century patron of botany and co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society

Flowers:

Flower colour is one of the most variable characteristics
The main colour of the perianth may be red, orange or pink or more rarely yellow or cream
There is often a transition of colour along the length of the perianth leading to commonly seen red-yellow or red-cream combinations
The main months of flowering are from August to December in the species' native range.
The flowers are followed by hairy, leathery, ovoid fruits (follicles) that are between 8.5 and 12 mm long
These split open, releasing winged seeds

Fruit:

Leaves:

The leaves may be linear, oblong or elliptic and are generally between 0.5 and 2 cm long and 1.5 to 4 mm wide
Both surfaces of leaves may or may not have hairs
The leaf edges may be curved backwards or revolute

Stem & branches:

Roots:

Habit:

Habitat:

Distribution:

Distribution
Grevillea alpina is widespread in Victoria extending from Melbourne northwards into New South Wales through Albury and as far north as Canberra where it is found on Black Mountain
Its westernmost extent is found in the Grampians in Victoria
It occurs in woodland, heathland and mallee
In The Grevillea Book published in 1995, the authors Peter Olde and Neil Marriott identified five informal forms:
- The Grampians form, the type form with bright orange and yellow flowers
- The Southern Hills form, found in locations surrounding Melbourne including Lerderderg Gorge, Kinglake, Mount Slide, Mount Evelyn the Dandenong Ranges and Cardinia
- The Goldfields form, occurring in Castlemaine, Bendigo and Whroo Forest.
- The Northern Victorian form, seen in places including the Strathbogie Ranges and the Warby Ranges.
- The small-flowered form found in Beechworth, Chiltern, Albury and Canberra; plants from Tooborac were also classified as this form, but the authors currently believe they may constitute a separate form
- Naturally occurring hybrids have been recorded with G. lavandulacea.G. dryophylla and G. obtecta; n New Zealand, hybrids with Grevillea rosmarinifolia have become naturalised

Additional notes:

Sources of information:

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