Spring A-C

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then use the side arrows to page through images of the flowers, buds, fruit, leaves, foliage and plant(s) in the wild etc.
Viewing the meaning of botanical words To view the meaning of botanical words, hold the cursor on the blue word and the meaning will appear in a text box. On phones, turn to landscape to view all.
Based on Debenham C’s, The Language of Botany, A Publication of The Society for Growing Australian Plants, Chipping Norton NSW, c.1962.

Acacia dealbata

Botanical Name: Acacia dealbata
Commonly Called: Silver wattle
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSIODEAE
Grows: This wide-spread tree grows typically 10 to 30m high by 5 to 10m wide. Low growing and even prostrate forms are found and cultivated. It can live for 30 to 40 years.
Foliage: The feathery, hairy leaves are silver-blue/grey and 1 to 12 and may be up to 17cm long. They are bipinnate with 6 to 30 pairs of pinnae. Each pinna has 10 to 68 pairs of leaflets. These leaflets are 0.7 to 6mm long by 0.4 to 1mm wide. A prominent gland occurs on the upper side of the rachis at the base of each pinnae pair.
Flowers: The inflorescences are large, fragrant, dense, terminal racemes of pale to bright yellow, globular, stalked flowerheads of 25 to 30 flowers.
Flowering Season: Flowers appear in late winter but mainly bloom in spring.
Fruit: The fruit are flattened pods, 2 to 11.5cm long by 6 to 14mm wide, blue/green when forming, then maturing to light brown. They contain several seeds and are often seen hanging on the trees in great profusion.
Habitat/distribution: This species tolerates a wide range of soil types but prefers moist soil in dappled shade, partial or full sun. It often grows in high rainfall areas where the trunks are sometimes densely covered with white lichen. It is common throughout Tasmania except for a wide band down the west coast. It also grows in many places in Vic. and NSW.
Where found: It is found in Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair, Freycinet, Hartz Mountains, Mount Field, Narawntapu, Rocky Cape and Tasman National Parks; Bluff River Gorge area and Tasmanian Bushland Gardens; Conningham, Diprose Lagoon, Geilston Bay and Government Hills, Meehan Range Conservation, Peter Murrell, Knocklofty, Ridgeway, Township Lagoon and Waterworks and Woodvine Reserves; the Tarkine; Old Convict Road, Luther Point to Stapleton Point and Thumbs and Flash Tiers in Orford area; and below 700m in kunanyi/Wellington Park; and many other bushland parks and gardens.
Other notes: This beautiful acacia, when mature, has close-grained timber and is used for furniture and other timber products. It is a good species for erosion control and shelter belts. It is easily propagated from hot water treated seed, but special forms, such as prostrate or low bushes must be propagated from cuttings. It is a post bush fire coloniser. When an area which has had this species growing is cleared and ploughed, it may be densely recolonised by seedlings if follow up clearing is not done. The prominent glands and the silver-blue/grey leaves distinguish this species from Acacia mearnsii and Acacia terminalis.

Acacia genistifolia

Botanical Name: Acacia genistifolia
Commonly Called: Spreading wattle
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSOIDEAE
Grows: This prickly shrub may be very prostrate to 0.1m or upright to 3m high. Some plants are straggly and sparse while others are very bushy. They spread from 1 to 3m wide.
Foliage: The spreading branches are rigid, angular and the smaller ones are coloured green. The phyllodes are scythe shaped or straight with a prominent central vein, 1 to 5cm long by 2 to 3mm wide. These linear phyllodes are angled off the stem, sharply pointed and narrow at the base.
Flowers: The axillary inflorescences are 1 to 3 yellow spherical ball flowerheads on slender stalks 0.5 to 2cm long with about 20 flowers.
Flowering Season: The flowers appear in spring.
Fruit: The fruit is a flat, linear, thickened pod which grows 4 to 9cm long by 4 to 5mm wide. It matures to dark-brown with pale edges.
Habitat/distribution: This species is widespread and abundant in dry places, dry sclerophyll areas, and along roadsides as a prostrate or upright straggly, prickly shrub. It is also found in Vic and NSW.
Where found: Narawntapu National Park (NP) and around the Tamar Valley; a few places across the NE; many places down the east coast; and especially the SE area including Freycinet and Tasman NPs; Bluff River Gorge; Old Convict Road, Luther Point to Stapleton Point, Thumbs and Flash Tiers around Orford; lower areas in Wellington Park and many bushland parks and gardens. The prostrate form is widespread on North Bruny Island and occassionally in Knocklofty Reserve, West Hobart.
Other notes: Prostrate form comes true both from cuttings and seed; leaves have sharp points, so beware when weeding or pruning. Pruning after flowers usually encourages bushier growth, however hard pruning may result in dead stems.

Acacia gunnii

Botanical Name: Acacia gunnii
Commonly Called: Ploughshare wattle
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSOIDEAE
Grows: 20-90cm H x 100-200cm W
Foliage: Leathery phyllodes with sharp points, shape like a ploughshare.
Flowers: Small axillary yellow balls on a fine stalk.
Flowering Season: Late winter/spring
Fruit: narrow leathery pod with thickened margins, constricted between the seeds.
Habitat/distribution: Small localised populations in dry heathland in the eastern half of Tasmania. Also SA, Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Knocklofty and Peter Murrell Reserves, Cascade Walking Track.
Other notes: Useful small plants for well drained light to heavy soils in part shade.

Acacia leprosa

Botanical Name: Acacia leprosa var. graveolens syn. A. verniciflua
Commonly Called: , Varnish wattle
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSOIDEAE genus ACACIA
Grows: This open small tree grows 2 to 5 (8) m high by 3 to 5m wide.
Foliage: The smooth grey bark is often mottled with white lichens. The angular branchlets have yellowish, resinous ribs which are hirsute or glabrous. The bright, shiny green, narrow elliptical to lanceolate phyllodes are (30) 50 to 110mm long by (3) 7 to 20 (30) mm. They have two prominent longitudinal veins and faint netlike laterals occur between tapering to the small, blunt, straight or curved point and, at the base into the small stalk. The phyllodes have a gland at or near the base.
Flowers: The large, dense flower clusters of pale bright yellow ovals or balls, 30 to 60 per head, grow on occasionally lanuginous pedicels, 3 to 10mm long, mostly as opposite pairs or 3 together in the leaf axils.
Flowering Season: Flowers appear in late winter and continue through spring.
Fruit: The fruit are leathery, mid brown pods, sticky when young, linear to narrow-oblong, 5 to 9cm long. They are rounded over and slightly constricted between the longitudinal seeds.
Habitat/distribution: Common and wide spread on damp, shady hillsides in wet sclerophyll forests from 500 to 600m and near sea level in some coastal areas. Also Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Throughout north and south east Tasmania especially in moister areas; Alum Cliffs Track, Bonnet Hill; Gravelly Ridge, Colebrook; upper Derwent Valley; lower slopes of kunanyi/Mt Wellington; Snug Tiers; and many other places.
Other notes: This hardy and adaptable small tree grows well in part shade and tolerates wet and dry periods. It may be pruned for shape. Propagation is best by hot water treated seed. The distinct veins along the phyllode are distinctive features.

Acacia melanoxylon

Botanical Name: Acacia melanoxylon
Commonly Called: Blackwood
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSOIDEAE genus ACACIA
Grows: This magnificent, usually densely foliaged, tree can grow 1.5 to 5m high by 5 wide in dry location and 10 to 30 (up to 50)m high with a 10 to 15m wide spreading crown in wet sclerophyll and rain forest locations.
Foliage: The juvenile bipinnate leaves sometime persist until the plant is about 1m tall and sometimes recur if the plant is damaged. The adult foliage of grey/green phyllodes are 40 to 100m long by 7 to 20 (up to 25)mm wide are narrow elliptical to lanceolate, with 3 to 5 prominent veins and a network of minor nerves between them. The tips are blunt or pointed and the bases taper to 3 to 5mm stalks. A gland is present on each phyllode 0 to 10mm from the base.
Flowers: The aromatic flower clusters are pale yellow balls of 30 to 50 florets on thick 5 to 13mm long stalks, solitary or in short racemes.
Flowering Season: The flowers appear in late winter and can continue through to late spring.
Fruit: The pale to reddish brown, curved and twisted pods 50 to 100mm long by 3.5 to 8 (up to 10)mm wide have thickened edges and slight constrictions between the longitudinal shiny black seeds which are encircled almost or twice by a distinctive pink to bright red aril (seed-stalk).
Habitat/distribution: This species is widespread in wet sclerophyll forests, on rich loamy soils in wet gullies and forests as a tall tree with dense foliage. Sparse in dry sclerophyll as an open, tall shrub or small tree. It is also found in SA, Vic, NSW and Q.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania, especially wetter areas, all National Parks and many city parks and gardens. Places where it may easily be seen are Big Punch Bowl and Long Point TLC Reserve; Bluff River Gorge, Bridport Wildflower, Knocklofty – West Hobart, Old Convict Road to Probation Station and Thumbs – Orford and Peter Murrell Reserves; up to 1000m in kunanyi/Mount Wellington and Wellington Park; the Tarkine; Freycinet, Hartz Mountain, Mount Field, Narawntapu, Rocky Cape and Tasman National Parks.
Other notes: It is an excellent long-lived tree for parks and street trees, and on farms etc. for erosion control and shelter belts due to low growing branches. However, sheep and goats will eat off the lower branches as high as they can reach. Plants may sucker from damaged roots. The timber makes beautiful furniture, panelling and craftwork especially when sourced from wet sclerophyll areas when dark colouring can appear in the heart wood. Trees may be pruned for shape and size in home gardens. propagation is easy from hot water soaked seed which is viable for many, many years if kept in a dry cool place.

Acacia verticillata

Botanical Name: Acacia verticillata
Commonly Called: Prickly moses
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily MIMOSOIDEAE
Grows: 1-6m H x 3-5m W
Foliage: Pointed, elliptical, narrow phyllodes 1-2cm long, 1-7mm wide usually in whorls.
Flowers: Dense cylindrical or ovoid yellow spikes, in the leaf axils.
Flowering Season: Spring
Fruit: A narrow, twisted pod maturing to brown.
Habitat/distribution: Widespread especially in damp places. Also SA, Vic, NSW.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania, especially damp areas, all National Parks and many city bushland parks and gardens; Wellington Park lower areas, Knocklofty and Peter Murrell Reserves. Common along roadsides.
Other notes: Useful as a coloniser of disturbed ground. Provides good habitat for small birds.

Aotus ericoides

Botanical Name: Aotus ericoides
Commonly Called: Golden pea
Botanical Family: FABACEAE subfamily FABOIDEAE genus AOTUS
Grows: This floriferous small shrub grows 50 to 150cm high by 60 to 100mm wide. Some plants are open and have sparse foliage, others are compact with dense foliage.
Foliage: The many hairy branches have irregular whorls of three or more narrow leaves. These grow 5 to 12mm long and have edges rolled under almost to the centre. The upper surface of the leaves is usually glabrous and shiny but sometimes pubescent or scabrous. The underside is pubescent.
Flowers: The flowers are solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3 in the leaf axils, often forming dense leafy cylindrical or ovoid yellow spikes. They have 5 pubescent, joined sepals about 4mm long. The sepals’ lobes are as long as the slightly 2-lipped tube and the two upper lobes are broader. The yellow standard is crimson at its base, emarginate and twice as long as the sepals. The incurved keel is yellow or crimson.
Flowering Season: The flowers are best in mid spring.
Fruit: The fruit is a small, somewhat swollen, pilose, ovate pod.
Habitat/distribution: Widespread in the south east, up the east coast, along the northern coast, down the north west coast and coastal around the Macquarie Harbour. Also SA, Vic, NSW and Qld.
Where found: It has been seen and/or recorded in Bluff River Gorge; Bridport Wildflower, Diprose Lagoon Nature, Hawthorn (Maranoa Heights), Knocklofty and Peter Murrell Reserves; Freycinet including Schouten Island, Narawantapu, Rocky Cape and Tasman National Parks; Orford Luther Point to Stapleton Point Coastal Track; The Tarkine.
Other notes: This beautiful small bush requires part shade and well-drained soil. It may be propagated by cuttings or from seed. The distinguishing features are the pea flowers with erica-like leaves and the very hairy seed pods.

Arthropodium strictum

Botanical Name: Arthropodium strictum
Commonly Called: Chocolate lily
Botanical Family: Liliaceae
Grows: This pretty lily grows 50 to 90cm high from tuberous root stock which grows from a single tuber to a clump of many tubers. Each tuber produces one flower stem.
Foliage: The base of the plant is sheathed by persistent leaf fibres. The linear leaves are flat or slightly concave and grow 10 to 60cm long by 1 to 10mm wide.
Flowers: The flower stems are erect and usually branched. The deep pink, mauve or rarely blue flowers are solitary in the leaf axils and chocolate scented. The perianth segments are 6–14 mm long, spreading or slightly recurved and the petals are broader than the sepals with narrow, undulating margins. The stamens are shorter than the perianth segments and the anthers are purple, mostly with bright yellow appendages. Flowering Season: The flowers are open from mid spring to early summer.
Fruit: The fruit is an ovoid capsule about 4 to 7mm long with seeds about 2 to 3mm long.
Habitat/distribution: This species is uncommon but widespread in the grasslands and dry forests of south east, east, north east and Midlands up to 300m. It is also indigenous to SA, Vic and NSW.
Where found: Bellerive; Breadalbane, Perth; Bridgenorth; Buckland area and Tasmanian Bushland Gardens, Buckland; Bonneys Plains and Boomers Bottom, Campbell Town; Conara; Distillery Creek Waverley, Launceston; Glebe Hill and Waverley Flora Park, Howrah; Knopwood Hill, Mornington; Pateena Rd – Mt Arnon; Powranna Road, Cressy; Sth Esk River, Perth; Brinktop Bushland Reserve, Richmond; Rokeby Hills and Oak Downs, Rokeby; Bridgenorth Road, Rosevale; Williamwood, Ross; Hillwood on Tamar River.
Other notes: This small lily requires sun and well-drained soil. It is an ideal container or rockery plant and may self seed once established. It may be propagated from seed or division. The distinguishing feature is the chocolate to vanilla aroma.

Brachyscome spathulata

Botanical Name: Brachyscome spathulata
Commonly Called: Spoonleaf daisy
Botanical Family: Asteraceae
Grows: This typically mauve flowering herb grows 15 to 30cm high by 10 to 20cm wide
Foliage: The sessile rosette leaves from 30 to 60mm long by 8 to 34mm wide are spathulate and lobed. The oblong, upper leaves, also sessile, decrease in size up the hairy stem from 40 down to 5mm long by 11 down to 1mm wide.
Flora: The 30 to 40mm diameter daisy flowers have outer rings of about 22 to 52 or more, usually mauve to pale blue, and more rarely white, ray florets. These petal-like flower parts are 7 to 15mm long and enclose the upright yellow pollen bearing stamens. They surround many yellow tubular disc florets in the centre of the flower.
Flowering Season: The flowers appear in late spring and continue through to early autumn.
Fruit: The fruit are somewhat flattened, obovate achenes.
Habitat/distribution: Very widespread throughout Tasmania from sea level up to 1300m in sub-alpine woodlands, heathlands, grasslands and dry forests. It is also found in the ACT, NSW and Vic.
Where found: Bruny, Flinders, King and Maria Islands; Ben Lomond – sub alpine, Mount Barrow, Cradle Mountain /Lake St. Clair, Mount Field and Tasman National Parks ; Cheltenham, Knocklofty, Flash Tiers – Orford Thumbs, Orford Convict Road and Probation Station, and Peter Murrell Reserves; kunanyi/Wellington Park; many other parks, reserves and gardens.
Other notes: Best grown in a cluster as understory plants in semi-shaded moist soil with gastropod protection. May be propagated by cuttings, division and fresh seed. The mauve colour of the ray florets and the thick leaves are distinguishing features.
Brachyscome spathulata subsp. glauca, Blue daisy, was reclassified back into the main species in 2014.

Bulbine glauca

Botanical Name: Bulbine glauca
Commonly Called: Bluish bulbine-lily
Botanical Family: Liliaceae
Grows: A beautiful clumping plant growing 15 to 60cm high by 10 to 30cm wide.
Foliage: The tufted, bluish green, up to 30cm long leaves are succulent, linear, furrowed and taper to a pointed tip.
Flowers: The flowers grow on a spike up to 50cm tall with the multiple flowers opening one at a time for a day or two each. The flowers have six yellow broadly lanceolate petals and the stamens have a cluster of bearded filaments inserted 1 to 2mm below the anther. The anther turns sideways after pollen dispersal and arches over. The sigmoid style is 3 to 7mm long with a minute entire stigma.
Flowering Season: Spring/summer
Fruit: A globular capsule containing many seeds, 4 to 5mm diameter, on an erect pedicel elongating after flowering and up to 22mm long.
Habitat/distribution: Tolerates a wide range of conditions from coastal dunes and heaths to 250m altitude and rocky outcrops or damp sandy soils under light forest cover. Also Vic, NSW and possibly Qld.
Where found: Waverley Flora Park and Coastal track around Rosny Hill, Bellerive; Big Punch Bowl and Long Point TLC Reserve; Bluff River, Bridport Wildflower, Coningham, Diprose Lagoon Nature and Knocklofty Reserves; Maria Island National Park; St Marys, Scamander, along NE coast; Northern Flinders Island; Launceston and other places.
Other notes: The Golden bulbine-lily, Bulbine bulbosa, has a bulb like tuber, greener leaves and is rarer than the Bluish bulbine-lily. Its staminal filaments are directly under the anther. Mass planted Bulbine glauca provides an outstanding display when in full flower. Propagation by fresh seed is easy and reliable.

Chamaescilla corymbosa

Botanical Name: Chamaescilla corymbosa var corymbosa
Commonly Called: Blue stars
Botanical Family: Liliaceae
Grows: 10-15cm H x 10-20cm W
Foliage: Linear to 15cm long x 1.5-5cm w with hairy margins, tapering to a point, in a basal tuft that dies off in summer.
Flowers: 1 to 6, blue, with 6 rounded petals on a stalk up to 25cm h, twisting as the flower dies.
Flowering Season: Spring
Fruit: a 3 lobed capsule
Habitat/distribution: Moist sand or peaty heaths or light forest from sea level to 200m in the NW, NE, Midlands and SE. Also WA, SA, Vic, Qld.
Where found: Cheltenham Reserve, Adventure Bay, Port Arthur, Northern Midlands, Rosny Hill, Howrah, George Town.
Other notes: Apparently short lived in cultivation in well drained, part sun areas. The only Chamaescilla species in Tasmania.

Chrysocephalum apiculatum

Botanical Name: Chrysocephalum apiculatum
Commonly Called: Common everlasting
Botanical Family: Asteraceae
Grows: Several forms are in propagation, densely prostrate with upright flower stems, rampant spreading with long upright stems and the indigenous form which grows 10 to 50cm high by 20 to 30cm wide, usually as an open small shrub.
Foliage: The leaves are variable, 1 to 7cm long, ending in short fine point. They are grey-green and densely hairy on the upper surface They may have an even denser undersurface. The white stems are woolly hairy.
Flowers: Small, terminal, globular clusters of golden flowerheads on slender stalks to 30cm long.
Flowering Season: Flowers appear in early spring through summer and sporadic in other months.
Habitat/distribution: Widespread in grasslands and along roadsides. It also grows in WA, SA, Vic, NSW and Q.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania, especially dry sclerophyll areas in many National Parks and city bushland parks and gardens.
Other notes: This is a hardy, long flowering, spreading and colourful plant for any garden. It may self seeds or layers in mulch. Prune after flowering for shape and size and to promote more flowers.

Comesperma volubile

Botanical Name: Comesperma volubile
Commonly Called: Blue lovecreeper
Botanical Family: Polygalaceae
Grows: 1-3m high
Foliage: Tiny, lanceolata, sparsely placed along the twining stem.
Flowers: Blue, occasionally white, small on short stalks in compact racemes.
Flowering Season: Spring
Fruit: A wedge shaped capsule.
Habitat/distribution: Widespread in heaths and dry sclerophyll forest. Also WA, SA, Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania especially dry sclerophyll areas, most lower National Parks and many city bushland parks and gardens; Knocklofty, Peter Murrell, Cheltenham, Tom Gibson and many other Reserves; Meehan Ranges.
Other notes: Difficult to propagate and maintain, possibly due to a symbiotic relationship with another species.

Botanical index - Spring

E indicates an endemic species and links to the relevant endemic page

Common index - Spring

E indicates an endemic species and links to the relevant endemic page