Spring A-C

Looking at the photographs To view the photographs, click on the species image to enlarge it, 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.
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 Mimosoideae
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: Mimosaceae
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
Commonly Called: Varnish wattle
Botanical Family: Mimosaceae
Grows: 3-5m H x 3-5m W
Foliage: Bright, shiny green lanceolate phyllodes, 4-10cm long with 2 prominent veins.
Flowers: Pale bright yellow ball, 2-3 in the leaf axils.
Flowering Season: Late winter/spring/summer
Fruit: A straight leathery pod, 6-10cm long, with constriction between the seeds.
Habitat/distribution: Locally common in damp, shady areas. Also Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania, especially moister areas, lower slopes of Mt Wellington.
Other notes: Hardy and adaptable in part shade, tolerates wet and dry periods. Prune for shape.

Acacia melanoxylon

Botanical Name: Acacia melanoxylon
Commonly Called: Blackwood
Botanical Family: Mimosaceae
Grows: 15-30m H x 10-15m W
Foliage: Grey/green phyllodes 4-10cm long, narrow at both ends, with 3-5 prominent veins
Flowers: Pale yellow balls, solitary or in racemes.
Flowering Season: Spring
Fruit: Curved pods containing shiny black seeds surrounded by reddish aril (seed stalk).
Habitat/distribution: 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. Also SA, Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Throughout Tasmania, especially wetter areas, all National Parks and many city parks and gardens.
Other notes: Excellent for erosion control and shelter belts; sheep and goats will eat off the lower braches as high as they can reach. Suckers from damaged roots; beautiful furniture, panelling and craftwork timber especially when sourced from wet sclerophyll areas; prune for shape and size in home gardens.

Acacia verticillata

Botanical Name: Acacia verticillata
Commonly Called: Prickly moses
Botanical Family: Mimosaceae
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
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.

Brachyscome spathulata

Botanical Name: Brachyscome spathulata
Commonly Called: Spoonleaf daisy
Botanical Family: Asteraceae
Grows: 15-30m H x 10-20cm W
Foliage: Spathulate, lobed, 4-6cm long, decreasing in size up the stem.
Flowers: Blue, mauve or white multipetalled, 3-4cm daisy.
Flowering Season: Spring/autumn
Habitat/distribution: Dry sandstone soils near the coast and alpine areas. Also Vic, NSW, Q.
Where found: Peter Murrell Reserve, Maria Island, and Cheltenham Reserve.
Other notes: 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: 15-60cm H x 10-30cm W
Foliage: Tufted, succulent, linear tapering to a pointed tip, bluish green, furrowed to 30cm long.
Flowers: 6 yellow petals on a spike to 50cm tall, multiple flowers opening one at a time for a day or two each.
Flowering Season: Spring/summer
Fruit: A globular capsule containing many seeds.
Habitat/distribution: Tolerates wide range of conditions from coastal to alpine and rocky outcrops in wet sclerophyll forest. Also SA, Vic, NSW.
Where found: Coastal track around Rosny Hill, Maria Island, Coningham Reserve, St Marys, Scamander, along NE coast, Launceston and many 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.

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.