Botanical Name. — Telopea, from the Greek telopos, “ perceived from afar,” 
in allusion to the conspicuous crimson flowers of the species first described 
( T. speciosissima, the Sydney Waratah) ; oreades, the mythological name of 
mountain nymphs (Greek), from oreas, belonging to the mountains. As regards 
the present plant, it is always found in mountainous districts. 
Vernacular Name. — “ Gippsland Waratah” is a name which was given to 
this plant a long time ago, and I do not feel inclined to disturb it. At the same 
time it may be misleading, as the species occurs at least as far north as the Fitzroy 
Falls, near Moss Vale, N.S.W. 
Leaves. —The drawing was made from New South Wales specimens, which 
are much narrower in leaf than those from Gippsland, Victoria. 
Bentham’s description is evidently based on specimens from Gippsland, in 
which the leaves are often 4-8 inches long. 
There is a figure of the species at Fig. 72, Key to Syst. Viet. Plants (Mueller), 
but I have never seen the leaves as short as depicted. 
Fruits. —The seeds of this species are rich in Aleurone grains, according to 
Tassi in Bull. Lab. Orto Botanico (Univ. Siena), Ann. i. Fasc. 2-3 (1898). p. 118 
and t. xii. 
Bentham describes the fruits as 3 inches long including the stipes and 
persistent style. The fruits of the New South Wales specimens barely exceed 
2 inches in length, so far as seen by me. 
Timber. —It is one of the handsomest of the Proteaceous timbers, and would 
prove valuable for cabinet work. It is not used, except for tool-handles. It is a 
very good working timber, of medium depth of colour. 
Mr. W. Baeuerlen informed me that the miners in the Delegate district 
preferred this wood to any other for their pick handles, on account of its elasticity. 
It requires most careful seasoning. The young shoots or suckers are sometimes 
used for basket making. 
Size. —It has a diameter of 1^ up to 2 feet, and a height of 30 to 40 feet 
(Baeuerlen). 
Attempts to cultivate it in the Sydney district have been a failure so far. 
The flower is not so conspicuous as that of T. speciosissima, partly because it is 
smaller and partly because the flower is crimson and not scarlet; but it is a desirable 
shrub or small tree nevertheless. 
Habitat. —The type locality ( Fragm .) is Nungatta Creek (now spelt 
Nangutta) and Weatherhead. The Nangutta flows into the Genoa River, and is 
entirely on the New South Wales side of the border, and not in Victoria as Mueller 
believed at the time ( 6th Index of Plants of Victoria ), and as it is recorded by 
