''Grevillea linearifolia'', commonly known as linear-leaf grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to New South Wales. It is an open, erect shrub with linear to narrowly elliptic leaves, and clusters of white flowers.

Description

''Grevillea linearifolia'' is an erect, open shrub that typically grows to a height of and has ridged, silky-hairy branchlets. Its leaves are linear to narrowly elliptic, mostly long and wide, sometimes arranged singly, or in clusters of three. The flowers are arranged, usually in large groups held above the leaves, on the ends of branches on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long. The flowers are white, silky-hairy on the outside, sometimes with a faint pink tinge, and the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pis ...

is long with a hooked

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

. Flowering mainly occurs from August to December, but also sporadically in other months and the fruit is a narrowly oval follicle long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1798 by Cavanilles, who gave it the name ''Embothrium linearifolium'' in his ''Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum'' from specimens collected near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman ...

. In George Druce changed the name to ''Grevillea linearifolia'' in the supplement to ''The Botanical Exchange Club and Society of the British Isles Report for 1916''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''linearifolia'') means "linear-leaved". The taxonomic limits of ''G. linearifolia'' are difficult to establish. In addition to variations between populations, the species is said to form "an intergrading complex" with '' G. parviflora'', and may intergrade with '' G. patulifolia'' and/or ''G. humilis'' subsp. ''humilis''. It is also known to hybridise often with '' G. sericea'', and occasional hybrids with ''G. diffusa'' subsp. ''filipendula'' have also been reported.

Distribution and habitat

Linear-leaved grevillea grows in moist but well-drained soils, mostly sandy soils over sandstone amongst shrubby eucalypt woodland. It occurs mainly from

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern ext ...

and

Putty Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and be ...

, south to the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...

and

. There are also some disjunct populations that differ slightly from the Gosford form, but have been placed provisionally in this species. These occur near

Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas ...

in the lower Blue Mountains, just inland from

Ulladulla Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has c ...

, and near

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

. Records of the species from Victoria are considered to be to a range of other species, specifically '' G. alpivaga'', '' G. neurophylla'', '' G. patulifolia'', '' G. gariwerdensis and '' G. micrantha''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5233041 linearifolia Flora of New South Wales Proteales of Australia Plants described in 1798 Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles