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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Proteaceae
Grevillea pterosperma

Citation: F. Muell., Trans. Phil. Soc. Vic. 1:22 (1854).

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Desert grevillea, desert spider-flower.

Description:
Rounded shrub to 4 m diam.; branchlets persistently appressed-pubescent; leaves erect, narrow-linear, 6-21 cm X c. 1-1.5 mm, ?very rarely pinnatipartite, appressed-tomentose, glabrescent, dark- to grey-green, smooth or longitudinally ribbed above, with 2 grooves between the recurved margins and midrib below, mucro slender, straight.

Racemes axillary or terminal, simple, enclosed when young in caducous membranous bracts, with c. 60-100 white flowers; rhachis, pedicel and perianth externally appressed-tomentose, the perianth sparsely so, rhachis 7.5-12 cm long including the long peduncle; pedicel 1.5-3.5 mm long; torus slightly oblique; perianth 2.5-3.5 mm long, greatly reflexed below the globular limb, splitting into 4 free segments; gland semi-annular; gynophore appressed-tomentose, as long as the hirsute ovary; style curved, 9-13 mm long (straightened), glabrous; pollen-presenter an oblique broad convex disc narrowing into a short cone.

Fruit somewhat compressed, broad-ellipsoid, 15-22 mm long, laterally and obliquely inserted on a short stout stipe, woody, tomentose, glabrescent, with style base persistent, short, lateral, oblique.

image of FSA1_Grevillea_pte.jpg Grevillea pterosperma, twig, upper and lower surface of leaves and section, flower, pistil and fruit.
Image source: fig 70d in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 212.

Distribution:  In deep sands, often of dunes and on kopi mounds (sand overlying gypsum), in sclerophyllous shrublands and woodlands.

S.Aust.: NW, LE, NU, GT, FR, EP, MU, SE.   W.Aust.; N.S.W.; Vic.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: Sept. — Feb.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available


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