Grevilleoideae

The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genera and about 950 species. Genera include Banksia, Grevillea, and Macadamia.

Grevilleoideae
Inflorescence and leaves of the pin-cushion hakea (Hakea laurina)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Grevilleoideae
Engl.
Genera

See text

Description

The Grevilleoideae grow as trees, shrubs, or subshrubs. They are highly variable, making a simple, diagnostic identification key for the subfamily essentially impossible to provide. One common and fairly diagnostic characteristic is the occurrence of flowers in pairs that share a common bract. However, a few Grevilleoideae taxa do not have this property, having solitary flowers or inflorescences of unpaired flowers. In most taxa, the flowers occur in densely packed heads or spikes, and the fruit is a follicle.

Distribution and habitat

Grevilleoideae are mainly a Southern Hemisphere family. The main centre of diversity is Australia, with around 700 of 950 species occurring there, and South America also contains taxa. However, the Grevilleoideae are barely present in Africa, where almost all of Proteaceae taxa belong to the subfamily Proteoideae.[1] The lone exception and only grevilleoid in Africa is the Brabejum tree of Cape Town.

Taxonomy

Stenocarpus sinuatus (firewheel tree)
Telopea oreades, the Gippsland waratah
Banksia sessilis (parrotbush)

The framework for classification of the Proteaceae was laid by L.A.S. Johnson and Barbara Briggs in their 1975 monograph "On the Proteaceae: the evolution and classification of a southern family".[2] Their classification has been refined somewhat over the ensuing three decades, most notably by Peter H. Weston and Nigel Barker in 2006. The Grevilleoideae are now considered one of five subfamilies of the Proteaceae. The placement and circumscription of the Grevilleoideae in four tribes, according to Weston and Barker can be summarised as:[3]

Sphalmium Carnarvonia

Roupaleae

Authority: Meisn.

incertae sedis
Megahertzia Knightia Eucarpha Triunia
Subtribe Roupalinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Roupala Neorites Orites
Subtribe Lambertiinae (Venk.Rao) L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Lambertia Xylomelum
Subtribe Heliciinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Helicia Hollandaea
Subtribe Floydiinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Darlingia Floydia

Banksieae

Authority: Rchb.

fossil form genera
Banksieaeidites  Banksieaeformis  Banksieaephyllum
Subtribe Musgraveinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Musgravea Austromuellera
Subtribe Banksiinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Banksia

Embothrieae

Authority: Rchb.

Subtribe Lomatiinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Lomatia
Subtribe Embothriinae Endl.
Embothrium Oreocallis Alloxylon Telopea
Subtribe Stenocarpinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Stenocarpus Strangea
Subtribe Hakeinae Endl.
Opisthiolepis Buckinghamia Hakea Grevillea Finschia

Macadamieae

Authority: Venk.Rao

Subtribe Macadamiinae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Macadamia Panopsis Brabejum
Subtribe Malagasiinae P.H.Weston & N.P.Barker
Malagasia Catalepidia
Subtribe Virotiinae P.H.Weston & N.P.Barker
Virotia Athertonia Heliciopsis
Subtribe Gevuininae L.A.S.Johnson & B.G.Briggs
Cardwellia Euplassa Gevuina Bleasdalea Hicksbeachia Kermadecia 

Uses

Edible nuts of Macadamia

The nursery industry cultivates many Grevilleoideae species as barrier plants and for their prominent and distinctive flowers and foliage. Some species are of importance to the cut-flower industry, especially some Banksia and Dryandra species. Two species of the genus Macadamia and the Chilean species Gevuina avellana (Chilean hazel) are grown commercially for edible nuts. Chilean hazel has an acceptable frost tolerance.

References

  1. Orchard, Anthony E. (ed.). "Proteaceae". Flora of Australia, Volume 16: Elaeagnaceae, Proteaceae 1. Melbourne: Australian Biological Resources Study / CSIRO Publishing. Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2006-06-28. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. L. A. S. Johnson and Briggs, B. G. (1975). "On the Proteaceae: the evolution and classification of a southern family". Journal of the Linnean Society of London. Botany. 70 (2): 83–182. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1975.tb01644.x.
  3. Weston, Peter H.; Barker, Nigel P. (2006). "A new suprageneric classification of the Proteaceae, with an annotated checklist of genera" (PDF). Telopea. 11 (3): 314–344. doi:10.7751/telopea20065733. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-02.
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