Grevillea montana explained

Grevillea montana is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted to a small area of eastern New South Wales. It is a dense shrub with narrowly elliptic to lance-shaped leaves and bright green and pinkish-red flowers.

Description

Grevillea montana is a dense shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are narrowly elliptic to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, or more or less linear, mostly long and wide with the edges turned down or rolled under, often covering the silky-hairy lower surface. The flowers are arranged singly or in clusters of up to four on the ends of branches and are bright green at the base and pinkish-red near the ends with a green style, the pistil long. Flowering mainly occurs in September and October, and the fruit is an oval to elliptic follicle about long.[1] [2]

Similar species

Grevillea montana is closely related to G. arenaria and was once classified as a subspecies of the genus. G. montana can be distinguished from G. arenaria in that it has 1-4 flowers on 3-4mm long pedicels and 1-3cm long leaves with a close cover of silky, appressed hairs on the underside. G. arenaria has 2-10 flowers on pedicels 9-10mm long and leaves 1.5-7.5mm long with curled, wooly hairs on the underside.[3]

Taxonomy

Grevillea montana was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.[4] [5] The specific epithet (montana) means "pertaining to mountains".[6]

Distribution and habitat

The species is known from the southern Hunter Region of New South Wales, from Denman to Kurri Kurri, where it occurs in open forests in sandy soils.[1]

Conservation status

G. montana is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Although it has a limited distribution, it is moderately abundant within its range. Though there is likely a small population decline, current threats have not been observed to impact the general population in a way that warrants a threatened category. The main threat to this species is current and historical habitat destruction for coal mining and urban development.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Makinson . Robert O. . Grevillea montana . Royal Botanic Garden Sydney . 13 July 2022.
  2. Web site: Grevillea montana . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 13 July 2022.
  3. Book: M. Blombery, Alec . The Proteaceae of the Sydney Region . Maloney . Betty . Kangaroo Press . 1992 . 0864174330 . 78-80 . en.
  4. Web site: Grevillea montana. APNI. 13 July 2022.
  5. Brown . Robert . On the Proteaceae of Jussieu . Transactions of the Linnean Society of London . 1810 . 10 . 1 . 172 . 13 July 2022.
  6. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 255 . 3rd.
  7. Makinson, R. . Olde, P. . 2020 . Grevillea montana . 2020 . e.T113032796A113309545 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T113032796A113309545.en . 29 September 2024.