Australian Plants

Backhousia citriodora

Lemon Myrtle Go to my Bush Tucker pages

Backhousia myrtifolia

Carrol. A bushy rainforest tree producing cream flowers with pesistent calyx in spring to summer.

Banksia aemula

Old Man Banksia. This tree has a heavy appearance. Thick creamy-grey flower spikes to 150 mm long are produced from summer to autumn. Very difficult to grow unless in sandy areas. It naturally occurs in wallum areas of Southern Queensland.

Banksia conferta ssp. conferta

An erect shrub to 4m. The flower spikes to 30 cm long in autumn appear conical as the buds open from the bottom up before forming cylindrical spikes. The flower colour also changes from pink to golden brown. The leaves have silvery undersides.

Banksia ericifolia

Heath Banksia. This Australian shrub produces large red-orange candle flower spikes sometimes over 300 mm long in autumn.

Banksia integrifolia

Coast Banksia. Often seen as a small tree in gardens, this plant can grow to over 15m. Flowers in autumn with lemon flower spikes. Juvenile leaves are serated. Leaf undersides are silvery. This local form has longer leaves than the one usually obtained from nurseries.

Banksia oblongifolia

Rusty Banksia. Shrub to 3m, but more commonly 1m. Yellow flower spikes to 20 cm in autumn. The dark green leaves are serrated; new growth is rust coloured.

Banksia robur

Swamp Banksia. Shrub to 2m with large broad leaves in a whorl. The thick flower spikes to 20 cm long may go through a range of colours including an electric green or blue-green before eventually turning yellow. It grows naturally in damp sandy soil.

Banksia spinulosa

Golden Candlesticks. Shrub to 3m with the yellow to golden flower spikes sometimes longer than 30cm, mainly in autumn. Leaves are narrow and toothed. The fruiting cone retains the seeds, usually releasing them after a fire.

Barklya syringifolia

Crown of Gold. Rainforest tree to about 8m, with roundish to heart shaped leaves. Bright yellow flowers occur in racemes to 20cm long in late spring to summer.

Blechnum indicum

Bungwall Fern Go to my Bush Tucker pages

Boronia ledifolia

syn. Boronia rosmarinifolia. Forest boronia. Small understorey shrub with fine leaves with prominent midveins and blunt tips. 4-petalled pink flowers in winter and early spring.

Brachychiton acerifolium

Flame Tree. Rainforest tree to 10m in gardens. This spectacular Australian tree is often conical in shape with dark green glossy leaves, deeply lobed when young. The upper trunk is green. Bright red bell flowers occur when the tree is wholly or partly deciduous, and are followed by thick black pods. Very conspicuous in flower in gardens and in the rainforest.

Brachychiton bidwillii

Little Kurrajong. Shrub to 4m. The pink to deep red bell flowers in clusters usually occur when plant is deciduous in spring, although some plants seem to have flowers throughout the year.

Brachyscome multifida

Hawkesbury River Daisy. Small mauve flowers. A small, round, spreading rockery plant.

Bracteantha bracteata

(formerly Helichrysum bracteatum) Golden Everlasting Daisy. Variable in size and flower colour. Usually an annual or perennial. Usually less than 60cm high with yellow daisy flowers 3 - 5 cm across.

Breynia sp. "Iron Range"

Large upright shrub with dark red elliptical leaves to about 5cm long.

Buckinghamia celsissima

Ivory Curl. A dense rainforest tree to about 10m used extensively as a street tree in Brisbane. In summer the tree may be covered by the long creamy flower spikes (20cm) similar to grevilleas, as are the fruits.