Download Grevillea OCT

Kitchen garden plant of the month
GREVILLEA
October 2010
Botanical name:
Grevillea speciosa*
Plant Family:
Proteaceae
Family relatives:
Protea, Banksia, Hakea
Origin:
Australia, Papua New Guinea
*Note that speciosa refers to the entire species of Grevilleas rather than a specific type.
About the Grevillea
There are over 300 species (or different
types) of grevilleas. Grevilleas are
indigenous (native) to Australia. There are
also some grevilleas which are indigenous
to Papua New Guinea.
Grevilleas grow in many different
conditions and areas in Australia. Some
grevilleas grow in alpine (snowy) areas;
some grow in the rain forest; some grow in
dry, inland, desert conditions and some
grow in sandy soils near the sea.
The Grevillea is named after Charles
Francis Greville, a friend of Sir Joseph
Banks. Sir Joseph Banks, collected and
discovered many of Australia’s plants. (The
banksia, a relative of the grevillea, is
named after Sir Joseph Banks).
Grevilleas usually have small flowers. They
have many different flower colours. The
flowers are also different shapes. They can
be spider shaped, toothbrush shaped or
brush shaped. The leaves of grevilleas can
be many different shapes.
What is pollination?
Pollination is the movement of pollen from
the anther (male part of a flower) to the
pistil (female part of a flower). The male
and female parts of a flower can be on the
same flower, or sometimes they are on
different flowers. Pollination is needed for
the plants to produce seeds and create
more of themselves. Pollination is also
produces good fruit and vegetables.
Attracting pollinators
Some plants move pollen from one flower
to another using the wind. Some plants,
like grevilleas, rely on insects or birds.
Grevilleas attract pollinators by giving
them a sweet drink of nectar. The
Australian Native Plant Society says:
Figure 1: Insect pollination of flowers
One of the great features of grevilleas in
gardens (apart from the colourful flowers) is
that many attract honey-eating birds which
act as pollinators for the plants. A number
of species rely on other methods of
pollination, eg, beetles, moths, bees, ants,
and even small marsupials.
Figure 2: Female & male cucumber flowers
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ACTIVITIES
Learning new words
If you don’t the meaning of the words
that have been highlighted in the fact
sheet, use the Internet or a dictionary to
find their meanings.
Research
The Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, as well as other indigenous Australians
from different nations*, drank the nectar of the grevillea flowers. Do you know
how they took the nectar out of the flowers? Search the Internet to find out.
*The indigenous Australians (Aboriginals) come from many different areas of Australia. Each area is
called a ‘nation’ or a ‘country’. Kaurna people from Adelaide come from the Kaurna nation. View the
map of Australian nations on: http://www.reconciliationsa.org.au/learn map.html
Crossword
Use the clues below to fill in the crossword.
Across
4.
7.
9.
11.
12.
The man the grevillea is named after is Charles Francis who?
Grevilleas can be pollinated by beetles moths, bees, ants, and even small what?
The male part of a flower is called what?
What is the snowy region in which Grevilleas grow?
A relative of the grevillea is named after Sir Joseph Banks, what is the plant?
Down
1.
The female part of a flower is called what?
2.
Pollination is the movement of what?
3.
Grevillea flowers can have three different shapes: toothbrush, brush and what?
5.
Grevilleas are native to Papua New Guinea and which country?
6.
The man who collected and discovered many of Australia’s plants was Sir Joseph who?
8.
Grevilleas can grow near the coast in soils which are what?
10. What is the sweet drink which attracts pollinators to grevilleas ?