Fruits/Seeds
Smooth and hairless follicles, they are oval in shape and 12 – 20 mm long.
Field Guide
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Red Spider Flower
Its genus name Grevillea is named after Charles Francis Greville, co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, and its species name speciosa means showy, referring to its foliage.
Evergreen shrub, grows up to 3 m tall.
Leaves
Oval shaped with silvery hairs on underside. They are 1 – 5 cm long and 4 – 12 mm wide.
Flowers
Bright red, or occasionally pink, and spider-like in appearance. Each “spider leg” is 2 – 4 cm long and forms in a loose circle on a stalk. The flower heads are approximately 7 cm in diameter and grow at the end of branches or amongst leaves.
What to Observe
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First fully open single flower
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Full flowering (record all days)
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End of flowering (when 95% of the flowers have faded)
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Open seed pods/follicles (record all days)
When and Where
When To Look
- From late winter through spring
- Flowers mainly appear from July to October but can sporadically appear throughout the year
- Follicles appear after flowers
Where To Look
- Endemic to the Sydney region, from Gosford, Kulnura and Bucketty on the NSW Central Coast south to Port Jackson
- Look in heathlands around Sydney, particularly on the sandstone plateaus north of the harbour
- In heath or woodland, usually in sandy soils on sandstone
What Else?
Similar Species
Grevillea oleoides has longer leaves (5 – 14 cm long).
