Genus Grevillea Rank Species | ||
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Similar Acacia cambagei, Stenocarpus salignus, Grevillea pteridifolia, Ventilago viminalis, Eucalyptus populnea | ||
Grevillea striata, also known as Beefwood, is a tree or shrub native to all Australian states, with the exception of Victoria and Tasmania. Alternative common names for this species include Western Beefwood, Beef Oak, Beef Silky Oak and Silvery Honeysuckle.
Contents
Description
The plant exhibits a range of growth forms, from a spindly shrub ~3m metres in height to a robust tree up to 15 metres. The trunk is covered in rough, brown, furrowed bark. The leaves are long, narrow and straplike, 10 to 45 cm long and up to 1 cm wide.
Creamy-yellow flowers are produced in cylindrical spikes predominantly from August to December in Australia (late winter to early summer) although they may appear at other times of the year. These are followed by woody, beaked seed capsules which are about 1.5 cm long.
It is a long-lived tree. In New South Wales, a tree still stands which bears an inscription in memory of a member of Charles Sturt's expedition in 1845. James Poole, having died of scurvy, was buried near the Beefwood tree at Preservation Creek near Milparinka, and an inscription "JP 1845" was carved into the tree.
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown in 1810.
Distribution
It occurs as scattered trees in open Eucalyptus or Acacia woodland and also in Triodia - shrubland communities.
Uses
Sap from the tree was used by aborigines as a cement and for medicinal purposes. Due to its durability and the fact that it splits readily, the timber was used in the past for fence posts and shingles. It is known as Beefwood due to the intense red colour of its heartwood.
