Grevillea diffusa Sieber ex Spreng. APNI* Description: Low compact shrub to 0.5 m high, occasionally erect and to 2 m high.
Leaves ellitpic to narrow-elliptic to oblanceolate or linear, 2–13 cm long, 1–10 mm wide, margins entire and recurved to revolute, lower surface exposed, silky.
Conflorescences erect to decurved or pendent, dome-shaped to ± globose. Perianth dark red or rarely green and brown, silky to loosely villous outside, bearded inside. Gynoecium mostly 6–11 mm long; ovary stipitate, glabrous; style red, sharply curved at c. 1–1.5 mm from the apex, glabrous except for erect hairs or papillae near apex; pollen presenter oblique.
Follicle glabrous.
Flowering: Flowers winter and spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in dry sclerophyll forest or woodland, occasionally in swampy heath, in sandy soils, usually on Hawkesbury sandstone.
NSW subdivisions: CC
Text by R. O. Makinson
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the subspecies | |
| 1 | Branchlets ± terete or weakly angular in cross section, shortly tomentose (irregularly ascending hairs); leaves elliptic, 1.5–5.5 cm long, 2–4 mm wide; conflorescences dense, ± sessile to shortly pedunculate (peduncles ± terete, to 1 cm long, pubescent, flexuous or not); style with papillose hairs confined to apical 1 mm | subsp. diffusa |
| Branchlets strongly angular in cross section, sericeous (rarely pubescent) to glabrous; leaves narrow-elliptic to ± linear, mostly 6–15 cm long and 2–4 mm wide; conflorescences dense to loose, pedunculate (peduncles angular, usually 1–4 cm long, sericeous to glabrous, usually flexuous); style with papillose hairs extending over apical half. | 2 |
| 2 | Branchlets rarely secund; peduncles usually <1.5 cm long; leaves usually <7 cm long, with ± smoothly recurved margins; perianth and style dark crimson to dark burgundy; open shrub 1–2 m high. | subsp. constablei |
| Branchlets usually strongly secund; peduncles usually 1.5–4 cm long; leaves 6–15 cm long, with angularly refracted margins; perianth and style scarlet to light burgundy; low spreading shrub <1 m high.
Back to 1 | subsp. filipendula |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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