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Grevillea nudiflora 'Medusa' (Bare Flowering Grevillea) - A low growing vigorous plant that forms a wide dense mat to less than 1 foot tall by 10 feet wide of very narrow dark-green leaves that curve gently back towards the ground and are well spaced on overlapping red stems. In mid-winter to late spring, and sporadically throughout the year, appear small clusters of red flowers which have a distinct yellow blotch near the tips. The flowers, though not large and showy, are visible on the upper leafless stems as well as within, due to the open structure of this plant.
Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil. Tolerates sea spray and strong winds and is cold hardy to short duration temperatures down to 20-25° F. With its attractive foliage and long bare flower baring stems, this plant is both interesting and attractive and can be used in a large pot or planted as a groundcover.
Grevillea nudiflora is endemic to an area on the south coast of Western Australia but is variable in habit with several forms recognized. This form selected and released in 2009 by the University of California Santa Cruz Koala Blooms Australian Native Plant Program under the name Grevillea nudiflora 'Medusa' seems to be a "curled-leaf" form of Grevillea nudiflora mentioned by Neil Marriot and Peter Olde in their The Grevillea Book, where they note this form is from mica schist soils found at Point Ann (sometimes written as Point Anne) along the coast in the Fitzgerald River National Park. They further note that this form can be sometimes found in Australian nurseries as Grevillea nudiflora 'Pt. Ann'.
The genus name Grevillea honors Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), a patron of botany, a very close friend of Sir Joseph Banks, and president of the Royal Society of London. The specific epithet is from Latin meaning "bare flowers".
This information about Grevillea nudiflora 'Medusa' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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