Everything about Telopea Speciosissima totally explained
Telopea speciosissima, commonly known as the
New South Wales Waratah or simply
Waratah, is a large shrub in the
Proteaceae family. It is endemic to
New South Wales in
Australia and is the
floral emblem of that state. It is renowned for its striking large crimson
inflorescences (flowerheads) in spring, each made up of hundreds of individual flowers.
Taxonomy
The New South Wales Waratah was first described by botanist
James Edward Smith in his 1793
A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, from "very fine dried specimens sent by
Mr. White". He gave the species its original binomial name of
Embothrium speciosissimum. It was given its current name of
Telopea speciossima by botanist
Robert Brown in 1810. The specific epithet is derived from the
Latin word
speciosus meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'.
The common name of
waratah was first applied to this species before being generalised to other members of the genus
Telopea and, to a lesser extent,
Alloxylon. It is derived from the
Eora Aboriginal people, the original inhabitants of the
Sydney area.
Description
The New South Wales Waratah is a large erect shrub up to 3 or 4 metres (10-13 ft) in height with one or more stems. It has dark-green leaves which are alternate, usually coarsely-toothed and range from 13 to 25 cm (5-10 in) in length. The
inflorescences, which appear in spring, are large and crimson coloured. They consist of a 7-10 cm (3-4 in) diameter domed flowerhead ringed by bracts which are 5 to 7 cm (2-3 in) long. These are followed by large seed pods which eventually turn brown and split open revealing winged seeds inside.
Distribution and habitat
The species is found on the
Central Coast,
South Coast and nearby ranges in New South Wales. It usually occurs as an understorey shrub in open forest on sandy soils in areas with moderately high rainfall.
Cultivation
Although they grow naturally on deep sandy soils, the species has proved adaptable to other deep, well-drained soils, especially where natural slopes assist drainage.
Despite their natural occurrence in woodland, waratahs flower best in full sun.
They are a popular cut flower and are grown commercially in Australia north of Sydney and in the
Dandenong Ranges near
Melbourne. They are also grown commercially in
New Zealand,
Hawaii and
Israel.
The striking form of the New South Wales Waratah became a popular motif in Australian Art in the early part of the
twentieth century and was incorporated in
art nouveau designs of the time. Matchboxes, paperweights and especially tins have been decorated with the flower.
Arnott's often used the waratah as an alternative to their parrot logo on biscuit and cake tins from the early 1900s. Shelleys soft drinks, established in 1884 in
Broken Hill, also displayed it on their label.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Telopea Speciosissima'.
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