Among the Angiosperms, the Grevillea genus counts no fewer than 360 species, in the family of Proteaceae. They range in height from small shrubs, 50 cm (20 in) in height to trees, up to 35 m (100 ft) tall. They are found in Australia, New Zealand, Sulawesi, New Guinea and, in this particular case, New Caledonia.
The name of the genus honors Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), a British aristocrat of many interests, including collecting minerals and plants. He was a very close friend of Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), with whom he attended the organizing meeting in March 1804 of the Society for the Improvement of Horticulture. Greville was a friend also of James Smithson (1765-1829), whose bequeath to the young United States founded the Smithsonian Institution.
Grevillea Gillivrayi is endemic to New Caledonia, it grows up to 10 m (35 ft) in height. It is found in the maquis of that archipelago. Its wood can be used in carpentry and cabinet-making.
It is most remarkable for its long-lasting — more than three months — and massive array of colorful cherry-red or crimson flowers. They are borne on long, vertically-oriented stems. They extend typically several meters above the bulk of the foliage. They consist of terminal inflorescences, in spike-like clusters. Each inflorescence is bottle-brush-shaped. To use another comparison, seen from close each inflorescence is cylindrical, resembling a very ornate caterpillar.
The leaves carry high concentrations of calcium and manganese, but not of nickel, the metallic element ubiquitous in the country, that constitutes its major export. A characteristic feature of this plant is that juvenile leaves, similar in shape, are nevertheless an order-of-magnitude larger than the adult leaves. Adult leaves grow only on flower-bearing branches.
The name of this species honors Donald John McGillivray ( 1935-2012), an Australian botanical taxinomist, who became the world expert on Grevillea and published in 1993 an exhaustive repertory of the genus.
Grevillea gillivrayi is undemanding, found as it is on soils poor in water and minerals. Fast-growing, it thrives even on ultramafic soils, i.e., those resulting from the weathering of igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO , low potassium. The parent ultramafic rocks are composed of usually greater than 90% mafic minerals (dark colored, high iron and magnesium).
The maquis in New Caledonia is periodically subject to fires, which burn away shrubs and trees. Grevillea gillivrayi is among the sturdy species that grow back to repopulate a burned area.