The Beefwood (Grevillea striata) is an Australian native shrub / tree, that occurs as scattered trees in open Acacia and Eucalyptus woodland, as well as in Triodias spinifex and grassland and shrubland communities. Growing mainly in sandy and gravelley soils on plains and near watercourses, the Beefwood is found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.
The Beefwood is known to exhibit a range of growth forms, from a shrub to a tree (up to 15 metres in height). They have striking cream colour flowers in cylindrical spikes (late spring to summer), contrasting against the dark brown branches and furrowed trunk. The leaves are long and straplike, measuring 10 to 45 cm long and 1 cm wide, have ridges and grooves along the underside. The woody seed capsules are beaked, about 1.5 cm long.
Being a durable wood and the fact that it readily splits, the timber has been used in the past for fence posts and shingles. The Beefwood has an intense red colour heartwood.
Aboriginal Culture
The sap from the tree was used by Aboriginal people for medicinal purposes. The sap was also mixed with spinifex to create a cement glue for joining together parts of weapons and tools.
Common names
Beefwood, Western Beefwood, Beef silky oak, Beef Oak and Silvery Honeysuckle. The Arrernte name is Ityentye (pronouced I-JIN-ja).
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Clade: Tracheophytes
- Clade: Angiosperms
- Clade: Eudicots
- Order: Proteales
- Family: Proteaceae
- Genus: Grevillea
- Species: G. striata
- Binomial name: Grevillea striata
GrevilleaGrevillea Index Grevillea cagiana Grevillea eriostachya (Honey Grevillea) Grevillea fasciculata Grevillea juncifolia (Desert Grevillea) Grevillea stenobotrya (Rattlepod Grevillea) Grevillea striata (Beefwood) Grevillea wickhamii (Holly Grevillea)
FloraFlora in Australia Flora Index Acacia Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paws) Annual Yellowtop Apium prostratum subsp. prostratum var filiforme Apple Bush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) Australian Bluebell Australian Gossypium Banksia Batswing Coral Tree Billy Buttons Birdsville Indigo Blue Pincushion Bush Banana Callistemon Callitris drummondii (Drummond’s Cypress Pine) Calothamnus quadrifidus Cape Honeysuckle Cassia fistula (Golden Shower) Cattle Bush Common Heath Crotalaria Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwer’s Mountain Bell) Daviesia oppositifolia (Rattle-pea) Desert Oaks Drumsticks Eremophila Eucalyptus Ficus Flannel Cudweed (Actinobole uliginosum) Georges Indigo Goatshead Burr (Sclerolaena bicornis) Golden Everlasting Goodenia Gossypium Grass and Grasses Grass Trees Grevillea Grey Germander Hakea Kapok Bush (Aerva javanica) Lambertia sp Leptospermum MacDonnell Ranges Cycad Maireana scleroptera Mexican Poppy Minnie Daisy Mistletoe Family Nardoo Native Apricot Nicotiana megalosiphon subspecies sessilifolia Nuytsia floribunda Orange Spade Flower Orchidaceae Parakeelyas (Calandrinia) Pebble Bush (Stylobasium spathulatum) Perennial Yellow Top Pink Everlasting Pink Rock Wort Poached Egg Daisy Portulaca Proteaceae Ptilotus Quandong Resurrection Fern Rosy Dock Ruby Saltbush Santalum Solanum Spike Centaury Spinifex Storkbill (Erodium cygnorum) Striped Mint Bush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tall Saltbush Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Tribulus eichlerianus Upside-down Plant Urodon dasyphylla Variable Daisy Waratah (Telopea) Wertabona Daisy White Cedar (Melia azedarach) White Indigo White Paper Daisy Wild Passionfruit Wild Stock Woolly-Headed Burr Daisy Woolly Bush Yellow-keeled Swainsona