Grevillea capitellata

Grevillea capitellata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the Illawarra region of New South Wales. It is a low, dense mounded or prostrate shrub with narrowly elliptic to oblong leaves, and dull, deep crimson to dark maroon flowers.

Description

Grevillea capitellata is dense, mounded or prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and often has arching branches. It has narrowly elliptic to oblong leaves long and wide, the lower surface hairy. The flowers are arranged in more or less spherical groups often near ground level. The flowers are dull, deep crimson to dark maroon with a maroon style, the pistil long and the style strongly curved near its end. Flowering mostly occurs from July to December and the fruit is a glabrous follicle about long.

Taxonomy

Grevillea capitellata was first formally described in 1856 by Carl Meissner in de Candolle's Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis from specimens collected by Allan Cunningham near Port Jackson. The specific epithet means "forming a small head".

Distribution and habitat

This grevillea grows in poorly drained places including in swamp margins and occurs in the far south of the Sydney Basin and the northern Illawarra region.

Conservation status

Despite its restricted distribution, Grevillea capitellata has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are no known major threats to this species and its population is presumed to be stable.