Australian Native Plants at the ANBG Canberra

[Paul T]

And now some close relatives of theirs, the Melaleucas...


Melaleuca fulgens looks just like a small Callistemon.  This is the normal species colour I think, but there is a cultivar 'Hot Pink which I will show at some point.


Melalecua incana has small, fluffy flowers in heads about an 2.5cm long.  These plants were only small, so there was no point showing a photo of the plant as I don't know how large it will get.  I must look around and find some mature ones to find out how large they get.




Melaleuca squarrosa seems to be another smaller type.  The largest plant I have come across in the ANBG at this stage is about 5 feet tall, but that doesn't mean that they were mature.    Flowerheads were about an 4cm long.

And on to some other unusual bits and pieces....




Lambertia formosa, also known as the "Mountain Devil" is a shrub to about 1.8m, tending to be a bit straggly in our climate at least.  The flowers are just beautiful though.




And this I just love for both the colour and the name  .... Gompholobium confertum is a small plant, this one was planted 5 years ago and has only about a 45cm spread.  Each flower is approximately 1cm wide.

Still to come tonight.... some assorted Grevillea varieties.

Edit by Maggi: Please remember, dear Readers, click the pix to see the full image

[Armin]

Paul.
thank you for introducing those unfamiliar, beautiful plants to us. There is an amazing high number of plant variations in the Australian biota.
And there is so much I don't know yet and have never seen before
Please continue...

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful series once again Paul - numerous plants I've never seen or heard off..  I love that small gompholobium i  Very cute ! 

[Paul T]

Here's Doryanthes excelsa (the Gymea Lily), still in flower.... about 6 metres tall I think, but too tall to measure easily.    One of the plants across the path for some reason has much shorter flowering stems, making it possible to climb up on a rock and just reach up to the flowers to get a closeup for your enjoyment.  I've taken a pic of the whole plant, a distance shot of a fully open flowerhead, and a closeup of one of the flowers on the shorter stem. 

Enjoy.

[Paul T]

Thanks Armin and Luc.  Glad you're enjoying them.  Luc, that Gompholobium is a favourite of mine as well, but not something I am expecting to ever be able to source for my own garden unfortunately.    Cute and purple, what more could you ask for. 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

"Cute" is not the word I'd use for the Doryanthes excelsa Paul...  Impressive seems more appropriate 

[Armin]

Doryanthes excelsa ... just amazing!

[Paul T]

And the Grevilleas as promised....




Grevillea johnsonii x wilsonii is located near the cascade at the main entrance to the ANBG.  It's about 3 metres tall I guess, although it leans out from under some nearby trees.  Very, very noticeable at the moment while in flower.


This is a parent of the previous one, Grevillea johnsonii.  This plant is about 4 metres tall, but didn't come up particularly well in the photo so I'm not posting it.




Grevillea 'Mason's Hybrid' is a larger flowered variety with the flowerhead probably being about 7cm wide with 12cm long.  The whole plant is about 1.5m high and 3 or more metres wide.  Beautiful!! 




Grevilela rigida ssp rigida, about 75cm tall and 2m wide.  Flowerheads are about 3cm wide by 10cm long.






And this last one is Grevillea floribunda sssp floribunda.  The plant itself isn't much to write home about, but once you look closely at the flowers they're amazing.  I've posted pics of the buds to show the fuzzy brown, a flowerhead to show the leaves and how the buds are terminal on the branch, and a closeup of the flowers to show how intricate they are.  I just love this one for it's difference to so many of them.

That's it for pics for tonight, but there are a heap more I still have to process from the last few days.   

[Paul T]

The Pictures of the Doryanthes don't really do it justice as they really don't show the scale.  The leaves are taller than I am, and I'm just under 6 foot.  The ball of flowers on the top would be about 45cm wide I would think, but again I haven't been able to get up there and measure them to find out.  I am intending to keep an eye on the shorter one as it comes into full flower and see how big the head gets on it, just to give me some idea.  It is really handy to have the shorter one to help out with measurements. 

[ranunculus]

Super images yet again Paul!

[Paddy Tobin]

Paul,

A great display of plants, all very interesting and impressive. You really do grow an extraordinary range of plants which are so foreign to us, completely unusual for us to see them and so a delight to see the photographs here.

The purple/lilac callistemons are a revelation to me. I grow the red and yellow flowered ones and they thrive here but I have never seen such colours as you have shown here. Wonderful!

Many thanks, Paddy

[Paul T]

Paddy,

Glad you're enjoying them.  There are more Callistemon that are more purple than that, in fact I do actually grow one of them ('Burgundy Jack) in my own garden at home.  I'll photograph when it flowers this year.  Haven't looked at it recently, so I am not even sure whether it has buds or not.  It should do, but it is only a couple of years in the ground as yet.

[Paul T]

Paddy,

I found today that the purple Callistemon is actually already in flower in my garden.  Shows how much I am getting time to see at the moment.    Have photographed, but haven't looked at the pics yet to work out how well they represent it.

Here are a few more pics taken earlier this week..... for starters I'll post some more of the Olearia, as I have posted a couple of species earlier on in this topic.




Olearia lirata, about 2.5m tall.




Olearia megalophylla was a bit of an eye-opener for me.... the flowerheads are around 20cm wide.  The balls of flowers make a great display.  I don't think the plant is full height as yet, given the area it is planted.  Reminiscent at first glance of one of the "snowball trees".






This half circle is of Olearia quercifolia.  Striking bright white flowers, and quite interesting leaves.  These plants were about 90cm tall or so.

[Paul T]

And here are a selection of Leptospermum, otherwise known as Ti-trees (they are used commercially for ti-tree oil, plus of course for their wonderful flowers).




Leptospermum 'Daydream' appears to be a smaller grower than many of the named varieties, although it could just be age of the plant.  Seems quite compact, but still with good sized flowers.




Leptospermum 'Mesmer Eyes' has very large flowers (probably about 3cm wide) with dark eyes and aging to pink.  This plant is about 1.6m tall and 2.5m wide.  Spectacular!!


Leptospermum 'Outrageous' (I have this variety in my home garden as well)


Leptospermum 'Pageant'


Leptospermum 'Tickled Pink'




Leptospermum scoparium 'Horizon' looks like another good compact form, giving a nice mounding effect.  Good crisp white too.

[Paul T]

And a final one....






Leptospermum polygalifolium ssp tropicum which is a good sized shrub, this plant was a bit under 3m tall, and well over 4m wide.  Lovely drooping branches, dripping with flowers.  I've included a closeup of the flowers, as well as a closer shot of the way the branches and flowers are held.  Really lovely plant, although way bigger than my little garden could support.