''Grevillea'' 'Robyn Gordon' is a
grevillea
''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...
cultivar which has been planted widely in Australia and other countries.
Description
It is a shrub that grows to two metres high and three metres wide, with divided leaves. The deep red
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
s are about 15 cm long by 9 cm wide
and attract
honeyeaters, especially the
Noisy miner which is responsible for aggressively excluding smaller bird species from urban environments.
Origins
The
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
was a chance cross between a red-flowered form of ''
Grevillea banksii'' and ''
G. bipinnatifida'', selected by the late plant collector David Gordon, late of
Myall Park Botanic Garden,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, for its prolific and sustained flowering.
Trials, which began in 1963, demonstrated stability in its characteristics and it was released to the nursery trade in 1968. It was registered in 1973 under the name 'Robyn Gordon' in memory of his daughter who died in 1969, aged 16.
[Grevillea "Robyn Gordon" and Similar Cultivars article, Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) http://anpsa.org.au/g-super1.html ]
There are separate hybrids of ''Grevillea'' 'Sandra Gordon', ''G.'' 'Merinda Gordon', and ''G.'' 'Dorothy Gordon'.
Allergies
Along with a number of other grevilleas in the Robyn Gordon group of cultivars,
[ it may cause allergic ]contact dermatitis
Contact dermatitis is a type of acute or chronic inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to chemical or physical agents. Symptoms of contact dermatitis can include itchy or dry skin, a red rash, bumps, blisters, or swelling. These rashes ...
for certain sensitive individuals who come into contact with it.[*]
See also
* List of Grevillea cultivars
References
Robyn Gordon
Cultivars of Australian plants
Garden plants of Australia
Proteales of Australia
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