Grevillea pteridifolia
Knight
Golden Grevillea, Green-leaved Grevillea
(c) awkastrait, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Hannah Brown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Hannah Brown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Flower nectar, Leaves - flavouring, Seeds
The nectar is sucked from the flowers or shaken into water and drunk. The leaves are used as flavouring when cooking emus.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. Plants can grow on a wide range of soils. It can stand occasionally water-logging. It grows naturally in open forests often on sandy soils. It is damaged by frost. It cannot stand wet winters. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.
Australia, East Africa, Indochina, Kenya, SE Asia, Southern Africa, Thailand, USA, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A slender tree. It grows 5-8 m high. It spreads 3-7 m wide. The leaves are silvery. The whole leaf is 15-43 cm long and it is divided into narrow lobes. These can be 7-30 cm long by 0.5 cm wide. They are fine. The flowers are bright orange or red. The style sticks out. They are 1.5-3 cm long and are arranged along a long stalk 10-20 cm long. These are produced near the ends of branches. The fruit is a somewhat woody follicle. It is 1.5-2 cm long and 1 cm wide. They occur in dense clusters and contain 2 brown seeds.
Nutrition Score: 77/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed wings | 6.2 | 1728 | 413 | 23.5 | — | — | 67.8 | 30 |
| Seed | 7.5 | 1246 | 298 | 21.7 | — | — | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Flower | 70.5 | 602 | 144 | 1.9 | — | 30 | 67.8 | 30 |
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from seed or from tip cuttings. The seed coat needs to be peeled off.
Propagation: Seed - pre-soak in water for 24 hours prior to sowing. Germination usually takes 25 - 30 days. Seedlings are ready for planting when they are 10 - 15 cm tall and bearing 7 - 8 leaves. Suckers, planted out at any time that the soil is moist enough.
Other Uses
The dried foliage has been used as an elastic stuffing for mattresses. The wood is a source of fuel wood and poles. The plant is an effective wind-break. Plants are suitable for planting on wasteland soils with a texture varying from pulverized lateritic soil to sandy loam, including loose soils on dumps of coal and bauxite mines, where it regenerates spontaneously.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Grevillea pteridifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is also known by many common names, including golden grevillea, silky grevillea, fern-leaved grevillea, golden parrot tree, golden tree, manbulu, yawuny and tjummula. It is a shrub or tree usually with pinnatisect leaves, and bright orange-yellow or reddish flowers.
Production
Plants are fast growing. They are short lived. They may only live 6-8 years.
Other Information
The nectar is sucked especially by children.
Notes
There are 250 Grevillea species. It is a declared noxious weed in the USA.
Names & Synonyms
Abergubber, Andadjek, Fern-leaved Grevillea, Golden Parrot Tree, Golden Toothbrush Grevillea, Kimberley Christmas Tree, Manbarnku, Manbulu, Silky Grevillea, Tjummula, Watbarr, Wigun, Yawuny, Yinungkwurra
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