General Description:

Grevillea is a genus of around 380 species, most of which are endemic to Australia but a few species occur in Papua New Guinea and islands to Australia’s north. Further information on the botany, propagation and cultivation of grevilleas can be found in our dedicated Grevillea page.

Most grevilleas are small to medium shrubs but some are prostrate and a few can become large trees. Various species hybridise readily and numerous named cultivars are available resulting from either deliberate breeding or chance hybridization.

Grevillea acanthifolia is typical of the “toothbrush-flowered” grevilleas where the individual flowers are arranged in a terminal one-sided raceme. There are three recognised subspecies; subsp.acanthifolia occurs in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney, subsp.stenomera is found in the northern tablelands of New South Wales while subsp.paludosa is a relatively recent discovery from the Nalbough Plateau in south-eastern New South Wales.

The species is a small shrub, usually less than half a metre tall. Flowers are pink to purple in colour and the bright green leaves are lobed with sharp pointed tips. Natural hybrids with G.laurifolia are common where both species occur together in the Blue Mountains. The hybrid is known as G.x gaudichaudii. – it usually has foliage which is intermediate in shape between the two parents.

G.acanthifolia ssp acanthifolia is reasonably widely cultivated but can be unreliable at low elevations. It prefers a sunny position and is tolerant of heavy frosts. The other subspecies do not appear to be in wide cultivation.

Propagation is best from cuttings which strike readily.

* EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
For further information refer the Australian Plants at Risk page