Australian Plants

Randia fitzalanii

Yellow Mangosteen/ Native Gardenia. Small Australian rainforest tree with large, glossy green leaves. The white flowers have a gardenia-like perfume.

Rhodamnia rubescens

Brown Malletwood, Brush Turpentine. A bushy rainforest tree. The green leaves have 3 prominent veins and are hairy on the underside. New growth is soft and hairy. 10 mm flowers in spring are followed by 6 mm round fruits which turn red and later black.

Rhodamnia spongiosa

Northern Malletwood. Rainforest shrub to 4m. Red or black fruit in clusters along branches in summer. White flowers

Rhodomyrtus psidioides

Native guava. A small rainforest tree with glossy green leaves to 15 cm long, and producing white flowers in spring which are followed by yellow, edible fruit to about 3 cm in length.

Rubus hillii

A native raspberry. A vine with thorns and arching canes. The leaf undersides are a bronze colour. The white flowers are followed by small edible raspberry fruits.

Scaevola aemula "Purple Fanfare"

Fanflower. A dense groundcover with purple fan-shaped flowers most of the year. This plant tends to be short lived in humid S.E. Queensland. It seems to be susceptible to either too much or too little moisture.

Smilax australis

Barbwire Vine, Native Sarsparilla. This climber has prickly stems, ovate green leaves to 100 mm long with 3 prominent veins, and white or pink scented flowers. New growth is pinkish. Red or black fruit is only borne on female plants.

Sowerbaea juncifolia

Vanilla Lilly. Small tufty plant with heads of lilac flowers with a vanilla perfume on stems above the foliage of cylindrical stems, in late winter to spring.

Stenocarpus sinuatus

Wheel of Fire. Bushy, narrow, rainforest tree with long, shiny, dark green leaves which are deeply lobed when tree is young. Red flowers in a wheel-like arrangement in summer. It make take up to 15 years to flower from seed.

Stylidium graminifolium

Grassy Trigger Plant. Small tufty plant with grass-like leaves. Flowers mostly pink on a single stem up to 60 cm high.

Syzygium angophoroides

Rainforest tree with papery brown bark, dark green leaves with flushes of purple/ red/ brown new growth. The fruit is small, blue to purplish and turning black.

Syzygium luehmannii

Small-leaved Lillypilly, Cherry Satinash, Riberry. A beautiful and commonly grown rainforest tree with new growth changing through several colours. A very dense tree, usually narrow in habit, but can be pruned easily to shape. White terminal flowers in late spring or early summer are followed by masses of bright red pear-shaped fruit to about 1cm long. An appealing plant for many reasons. The fruits are being used in the bushfoods industry. See Bush Tucker site.

Syzygium macilwraithianum

Large, bushy, rainforest tree with typical lillypilly leaves. White fruit about 25 mm in diameter in summer.

Syzygium moorei

Durobby, Watermelon tree, Coolamon. A rainforest tree from S.E. Queensland and N.E. NSW. The tree has large, thick, dark green leaves and masses of watermelon pink flowers are produced along the larger branches, hence one of the common names. White roundish fruit follow. Trees are slow growing and may take more than 10 years to flower.

Syzygium paniculatum

Magenta Cherry. Dense bushy rainforest tree with typical lillypilly leaves, glossy, to 8cm long. Masses of white terminal flowers in October - November, pink - magenta, edible fruit.

Syzygium cryptophlebium (formerly - Syzygium wilsonii ssp cryptophlebium)

Large shrub with spectacular limp new growth changing through cream, pink and red. Cream flowers and purple fruit.

Syzygium wilsonii ssp wilsonii

A Queensland rainforest shrub which may grow to about 2m. New growth is reddish. Large 100 mm wine coloured pom pom flowers are followed by 15 mm white edible fruits. It requires some shade and moisture. Photograph showing flowers is courtesy Dot Crane.