Artwork 20 Waratah Rising
Section 22
The Fire-Embracing Proteas of Oz—Waratahs, Grevilleas, Hakeas, Banksias, and Isopogons
- 1. Telopea speciosissima (waratah)
from the artist
Waratah Rising celebrates the fascination I developed as a nine-year-old when my parents took my older sister and I to the Parry Nursery on the Central Coast of New South Wales. We took our Brownie box cameras along and photographed a spectacular waratah growing there—with 63 flower heads emerging on short stalks along one very long stem. Some were quite tiny, but beautifully formed, others larger to mature size. Each had the characteristic dusky red colouring and elegantly folded flowers and bracts comprising each globular head. Many years later, as an artist, I was delighted to acquire one lovely flower head from an Adelaide grower—hoping to recapture in a painting some of that childhood awe at the exquisite and unique waratah. Telopea speciosissima was the first botanical name I learnt when my parents soon afterwards bought me a treasured copy of Wild flowers of Australia by Thistle Y. Harris.
Tasmania has its own endemic species of Waratah, Telopea truncata, which grows in many habitats, including some alpine areas. It also has lovely crimson flower heads.
