Silk or Silky Oak

Description:

Silky oak is a tall, upright tree measuring up to 30 m tall (although most commonly reaching around 10 m). Its bark is greyish and deeply grooved. Its leaves are much divided, and are dark green above, silky and silvery beneath, measuring 15-30 cm long. The leaves are rather leathery in texture. The flowers are bright orange-yellow, and are held horizontally in crowded racemes 10-15 cm long, each with a conspicuous, upright, cone-shaped pollen-presenter. The fruits are flattened, 15-20 mm long, with a persistent style and one or two brown seeds, each with a narrow wing surrounding it.

Habitat:

Hillside yard in San Clemente, Ca.

Notes:

Grevillea robusta is commonly planted as a shade tree or street tree in tropical and subtropical areas. Its timber is used for making furniture, and in Sri Lanka and East Africa the tree is planted as a fuelwood species. It is fast-growing, drought-resistant and tolerant of poor soil, so has been used for reclamation of deforested land in Africa and America. However, its leaves produce allelopathic compounds which inhibit the establishment of other plants (including native species), and in some places, such as Hawaii, silky oak is invasive and considered a serious weed. In China, South India and Sri Lanka it has often been planted to provide shade in tea plantations, and in Brazil, India and Hawaii for shade in coffee plantations. Young plants are grown for their foliage, and make attractive indoor plants, or greenhouse plants in temperate climates. In warmer climates the resulting trees are too large for most urban gardens. The flowers, which are produced in large quantities following a dry winter and spring, are rich in nectar and attract birds and insects, as well as fruit bats. The cut leaves are used in floristry.