| New South Wales Waratah | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Species: | T. speciosissima
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| Binomial name | |
| Telopea speciosissima | |
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.[1] The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word speciosus meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'.[2]
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.[3]
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.[2]
Cultivars
A number of natural forms have been selected for cultivation as follows:
- 'Corroboree' - form with extended styles
- 'Wirrimbirra White' - white colour form from Kangaloon near Robertson.
- 'Shady Lady White' - white colour form
In addition, a number of interspecific hybrids have also been produced, including the following:
- 'Braidwood Brilliant' - a frost-tolerant hybrid between T. speciosissima and T. mongaensis
- 'Shade of Pale' - a hybrid between T. speciosissima and T. oreades
- 'Shady Lady Crimson', 'Shady Lady Red' and 'Shady Lady Pink' – crimson, red and pink flowering hybrids between T. speciosissima and T. oreades.
Symbolic and artistic references
The New South Wales Waratah featured prominently in the folklore of the Darug and Tharawal people in the Sydney basin and Gandangara people to the southwest.[4]
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.[5] Shelleys soft drinks, established in 1884 in Broken Hill, also displayed it on their label.[5]
In 1925, artist Margaret Preston produced a hand-coloured woodcut depicting waratahs. The species also appeared on an Australian 3 shilling stamp in 1959 designed by botanical illustrator Margaret Jones and a 30c stamp in 1968.[2]
It was proclaimed as the official floral emblem of New South Wales in 1962.[2] Since that time, the species has also been adopted by others, including the New South Wales Waratahs rugby union team since the 1880s,[5] and the former department store Grace Bros in the 1980s.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Telopea speciosissima". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ a b c d Bowden Anne. "Floral Emblem of New South Wales". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Growing Waratahs commercially". Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ Nice, Rosie (ed.) (2000). State of the Waratah: The Floral Emblem of New South Wales in Legend, Art & Industry. Sydney: Royal Botanic Gardens. pp. p. 6. ISBN 0-7347-2024-6.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b c d Nice, p. 54