{"slug":"grevillea-robusta","scientific_name":"Grevillea robusta","common_names":["Silky oak","Southern silky oak","Australian silver oak","Grevillea"],"family":"Proteaceae","type":"broadleaf_evergreen","mature_height_m":25,"mature_spread_m":12,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":100,"hardiness_zones":null,"sun":"full","water":"low","soil":"Loam preferred; also clay loam and sand, mildly acid to neutral, free of waterlogging","native_range":"Native to riverine and vine forest of subtropical eastern Australia in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales; planted throughout the tropics and subtropics.","description":"A fast, upright semi-evergreen tree of 18 to 30 m (to 40 m at home) with fern-like silvery-backed leaves and golden toothbrush flowers full of nectar. In the East African highlands it is the smallholder's tree: lines of grevillea on field boundaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia give poles, firewood and timber without shading crops much. It is also invasive in places: South Africa lists it under NEMBA (Category 3 in the 2020 gazette; some sources cite 1b), Hawaii rates it High Risk, and it naturalises in Florida and elsewhere.","care":"Plant at the start of the rains on drained soil; grows 2 to 3 m a year when young. Pollard or lop repeatedly for poles and to reduce shading of adjacent crops; it resprouts well and suckers from roots. Termites attack trees on dry sites; fungal leaf diseases hit over-watered nursery stock. Sap and sawdust cause dermatitis in some people; branches are brittle in wind.","benefits":["fast_canopy","pollinators","birds","windbreak","drought_tolerant","flowers"],"uses":["agroforestry","timber","windbreak","street_tree","parks"],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","weak_wood","allergenic_pollen","heavy_litter"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Grevillea_robusta_Australia.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Grevillea_robusta_Australia.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=921","https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Grevillea_robusta.PDF","https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/saf220858.pdf","https://www.africanlegacy.org.za/alien-plant/grevillea-robusta-australian-silky-oak","https://plantpono.org/hpwra/grevillea-robusta/","https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/grevillea-robusta","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/grevillea-robusta.md","regions":[{"country":"AU","region":"NSW","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"},{"country":"AU","region":"QLD","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"},{"country":"ET","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Exotic; widely planted","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"},{"country":"IN","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Exotic; shade tree in tea and coffee","source_url":"https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=921"},{"country":"KE","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"The most widely planted farm boundary tree in the highlands; exotic per ICRAF","source_url":"https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=921"},{"country":"RW","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Exotic; widely planted","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"},{"country":"UG","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Exotic; widely planted","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/2891791"},{"country":"US","region":"FL","locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP; not on FISC list","source_url":"https://www.floridainvasives.org/plant-list/2025-invasive-plant-species/"},{"country":"US","region":"HI","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"HPWRA score 8, High Risk; naturalised","source_url":"https://plantpono.org/hpwra/grevillea-robusta/"},{"country":"ZA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"NEMBA 2020 national list: Australian silky oak, Category 3 (may not be propagated, sold or planted; existing trees may remain); African Legacy cites Category 1b, so check the current gazette","source_url":"https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/saf220858.pdf"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}