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 scapigera is one of Australia’s most “at risk” species. It is known only from a few small populations, mainly road verges.

Grevillea scapigera has a prostrate habit of growth and may spread to about 2 metres in diameter. Despite its rarity, there are distinct differences between the various populations, mainly in features associated with the foliage. Generally the leaves are pinnately lobed into 5 or more segments and are up to 75 mm long. In some populations the leaves are greyish (glaucous). The white or cream flowers appear in globular clusters about 40mm in diameter on very long stalks held above the foliage. Flowers occur in spring to summer and develop into unusual boat-shaped seed capsules covered with “warty” protuberances.

Because of its rarity, G.scapigera has received only limited cultivation. In common with many species from south Western Australia, it is difficult to maintain in areas with humid summers. Some success has been achieved in grafting this species onto a variety of Grevillea rootstocks but there is some evidence of incompatibility after 4-5 years.

G.scapigera strikes readily from cuttings and has been propagated by tissue culture at Mt Annan Botanic Garden in south-west Sydney.

* EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
ROTAP = Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (Briggs and Leigh, 1988)
For further information refer the Australian Plants at Risk page