374 



Silk Oak 



so; ovary stalked; the style is elongated and persistent; ovules 2, collateral. The 

 fruit is a compressed, oblique, elliptic follicle, about 2 cm. long, recurved on its 

 long slender stalk and tipped with the long slender style, dark brown and 

 sphtting open on one edge exposing the flat- winged yellowish seed. 

 The elastic wood of the Silk oak is valued in AustraUa for casks. 



Fig. 330. Silk Oak. 



Seedling plants from i to 5 dm. high are much admired and are grown in great 

 numbers by florists on account of their fern-like foHage and used as centerpieces 

 for small fern dishes. In Florida and CaHfomia the tree is grown for its general 

 beauty and briUiant flowers, which are valued as a source of honey for bees. It 

 grows rapidly in dry sandy soils. 



The genus is a large one, comprising probably 200 species of shrubs or trees, 

 mostly Austrahan. The name is in honor of Charles Francis Greville, an English- 

 man, prominent as a member of the Royal Society and a liberal patron of botany. 

 The type species is Grevillea punicea R. Brown. 



