Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants Ref No. ISSN 0725-8755 Newsletter No. 81 – October 2008 GSG NSW Programme 2008 GSG VIC Programme 2008 For more details contact Peter Olde 02 4659 6598. For more details contact Neil Marriott (Vic Leader), Meet at 9.30am to commence at 10.00am for all on (03) 5577 2592 (Mon–Fri), (03) 5356 2404 (Fri meetings unless stated otherwise. night–Sun 5pm), or email at [email protected] (Dunkeld), [email protected] (Stawell). Friday, 10 October – Monday, 13 October Despite extensive effort on behalf of Max McDowall to VENUE: Annual Field Trip & Grevillea Crawl get members along to Vic Chapter excursions, there has TIME: Meet 10am at Information centre on been a very disappointing response. As a result Max has Newell Highway, south-east of Gilgandra decided to resign from this role and we have decided to (c. 800m before bridge over Castlereagh put the Vic chapter into recess until further notice. River). First stop Gilgandra Flora Reserve. Caravan park east side of river for those arriving Thursday night. Newsletter No. 81 Newsletter No. PHONE: Leader Anthony O’Halloran: 02 4447 8210 GSG S.E. QLD Programme 2008 SUBJECT: Field trip through the Goonoo Goonoo Morning tea at 9.30am, meetings commence at Forest and Pilliga Scrub. 10.00am. For more information contact Noreen DETAILS: Accommodation (Friday night) in restored Baxter on (07) 3202 5008 or Beverley Leggett railway carriages at Binnaway 6844 1044. on (07) 3870 8517. Cost $25 each twin share includes breaky. Sunday, 26 October Species we hope to see include Grevillea arenaria ssp. canescens (several forms), G. floribunda ssp. floribunda VENUE: Fran & Jim Standing, (several forms and flower colours), G. triternata, G. Mt. Clunie Cabins, Mt. Clunie Road, ramosissima ssp. ramosissima; Banksia marginata; Woodenbong, NSW 2476 Persoonia cuspidifera, curviloba, sericea, rigida (plus hybrids PHONE: (07) 4666 5118 between all of them); Isopogon petiolaris; Zieria ingramii (rare, 7 plants); Boronia glabra, pinnata, rosmarinifolia, SUBJECT: Grevilleas within 200km of Brisbane. warrumbunglensis, ?anethifolia; Coopernookia barbata; Sunday, 30 November Prostanthera howellii; Goodenia fascicularis, macbarronii, hederacea, glabra, cycloptera, pusillifera, heterophylla; VENUE: Merv. & Olwyn Hodge, Kennedya procurrens (fantastic); Ricinocarpus bowmanii; 81-81 Loganview Rd, Logan Reserve, 4133 Phebalium nottii; orchids aplenty etc etc. PHONE: (07) 5546 3322 Bush camping, 4WD vehicles recommended due to recent SUBJECT: Review of survival of grevilleas following road wash-outs. wet summer. Sunday, 30 November GSG S.E. QLD Programme 2009 VENUE: Suellen & Brian Harris, 14 McArthur Drive, Falls Creek via Nowra Sunday, 22 February TIME: 11am VENUE: Bernard & Rona Wilson, 120 Avalon Rd, Sheldon, 4157 PHONE: 02 4447 8210 or [email protected] PHONE: (07) 3206 3399 DETAILS: End of year christmas function. SUBJECT: To be decided. Sunday, 26 April Inside this issue: VENUE: Laylee Purchase, 41 Rocklyn Street, Toowoomba, 4350 New Species in Flora of Australia Vol 17a PHONE: (07) 4630 2211 In Pursuit of the Historical Grevillea sericea SUBJECT: Grevilleas of the Canning Stock Route. (Sm.) R. Br. Information on Rat Poison ... and more.... Peter Olde Autumn Plant Sale ends I would like to thank all the members of the group, the media personalities Don Burke and Angus I have taken the decision to end the Autumn Plant Stewart who so generously donate their time and Sales run by the Grevillea Study Group after 11 services, the group members and friends who so years. The reality is that the group is such a generously weigh in with their help. I will certainly small group that even with the generous outside miss the camaraderie that the weekend engenders Editorial assistance of volunteers from the Australian between my friends in the Australian plant Plant Society, it has become increasingly environment, both inside and outside the Australian difficult to obtain volunteers willing to assist with Plant Society, and especially the nurserymen who the numerous jobs on the days we are open. have so generously supported the event. Planning for the event usually takes me a full I am hoping that within a few years we can month when I must personally devote all my re-birth the event in some way different to the time to planning and organising plus additional previous one but at this stage it remains unclear. ongoing time throughout the year. Unfortunately In the meantime, I must apply myself to clearing this has been at the expense of my research and the unsold plants and to applying the funds other acitivities and I have determined to prevent raised to appropriate causes. this from happening again until my self-imposed work-load has been reduced. Thank you to all once again. Peter Olde New Species in Flora of Australia Vol 17a by Meisner cannot be ruled out at this stage in any future revision. However, in all likelihood, the This article will summarise the remaining new species name of subsp. glabella will stand the test of time from New South Wales in the Flora of Australia, and is accepted provisionally by me, pending a published in 2000. The first is the reinstated recognition full revision of the complex. It can be applied to of Grevillea glabella R. Br. as a subspecies. ‘those populations with a dense foliage of very fine leaves, occurring in sandy soils in mallee or Grevillea rosmarinifolia A. Cunningham subsp. mallee-shrub communities.’ Populations that fit this Taxonomy glabella (R. Br.) Makinson. There is little doubt criterion occur in western New South Wales in the that the plant collected by Allan Cunningham Griffith area. Plants from the Tumbarumba area on Oxley’s first expedition in 1817 was a new would also be included. Similar taxa in the Little taxon. Its name and description were not formally Desert area of western Victoria are also cited as is published until 1830 by Robert Brown, well after a population from Serviceton near the S.A. border. Cunningham had discovered and named Grevillea Plants from the Bendigo area are not included. rosmarinifolia, collected by himself on the Cox’s River in 1822 and named in 1825. The plant in Grevillea juniperina R. Br. The revision of G. question was first named Grevillea glabella by juniperina has been thorough, and is perhaps what Brown. There have been many names given should have happened with Grevillea rosmarinifolia to other populations of Grevillea rosmarinifolia, before subsp. glabella was recognised. With the mainly by Meisner. Among them are the names exception of subsp. sulphurea, all taxa appear of Grevillea latrobei, Grevillea nutans. Grevillea prima facie to be acceptable although proper divaricata R. Br. was also among them but has testing must be concluded before they can be been recognised as a distinct species in the Flora. accepted. The species is divided principally on the They all have very similar flowers. Recognition of indumentum of the outer perianth surface and the Grevillea glabella as a subspecies in the Flora is perianth limb. You will definitely need a hand lens perhaps a little premature, given that the species or microscope to work it out but it is fairly simple. as a whole (Grevillea rosmarinifolia) remains a The first to be eliminated is subsp. villosa being the conglomerate of numerous variable populations only one to have long, shaggy hairs on the limb. that have not been resolved taxonomically. In You next need to look at the outer surface of the fact, Grevillea glabella seems morphologically flowers and search for a two-state indumentum of closer to Grevillea divaricata than the typical short erect hairs intermixed with long. form of Grevillea rosmarinifolia as we know it continued > from the type specimen. Indeed, names applied October 2008 Grevillea Study Group No. 81 If there are short hairs in the indumentum two more (adaxially convex) in crosssection or sometimes subspecies are met with. Both subsp. amphitricha angularly deltoid; leaf margins smoothly to and subsp. sulphurea have minute, erect, simple angularly revolute; ascending to erect shrub hairs interspersed in the indumentum. They can be with columnar branches to 2m tall, or rarely further separated from each other on the following prostrate characters: subsp. sulphurea Prostrate to spreading habit; leaves with a dense If the leaves are >1mm wide, there are two appressed indumentum over the whole lower subspecies to separate using the following key:- Taxonomy surface; juvenile leaves < half the length of the 1. Robust shrub 1–3m tall, with strong erect central adult leaf stem at base and many spreading to ascending subsp. amphitricha lateral branches; leaves angularly deltoid Ascending to erect habit with erect columnar to trigonous in cross-section (not smoothly branches to 2m tall, rarely prostrate; adult leaves convex); upper leaf surface with 1–3 prominent with a sparse to dense indumentum on the lower longitudinal veins; lower surface with a dense surface; juvenile leaves as long as the adult appressed indumentum; flowers red or rarely pink subsp. sulphurea subsp. fortis The absence of short hairs on the outer surface of 2. Sprawling or weakly erect shrub with main the perianth leads you to three potential subspecies branches spreading at ground level and then separated on the basis of their leaves. You must ascending or erect-columnar, to 2m tall; leaves next examine the shape of the leaf. usually markedly rounded-convex in cross- section; upper leaf surface with 1–3 veins visible There are two subspecies with elliptic, narrow- but usually scarcely prominent; lower surface elliptic or ovate leaves with a dense to sparse appressed indumentum; If the leaves are mostly 10–20mm long, 1.5–2.5mm flowers dull yellow or orange wide; spreading shrub to 2m.; flowers usually subsp. sulphurea yellow or orange; innermost pair of lateral veins on The separation of subsp.