Tag: Plants

Small Mosquito Orchid Part 2

Here is a photo gallery to more clearly show the Small Mosquito Orchid (Acianthus pusillus).  This follows an earlier post  “Small Mosquito-orchid or Tiny Gnat Orchid (Acianthus pusillus)”  and several useful photography tips from Mary McAvoy.  Thank you Mary! The plants in the photos below range from about 2 cm high (the leaf) to 5 or … Continue reading Small Mosquito Orchid Part 2

Is this a Helmet Orchid Bud?

I’m calling on my knowledgeable friends here.  Thanks to some extremely helpful advice from Mary McAvoy (see her blog here)  I was able to photograph this tiny orchid reasonably clearly.  I’m not sure, but I think it may be a Helmet Orchid.  Can anyone verify this? The leaves are the same size as the Small … Continue reading Is this a Helmet Orchid Bud?

Scented Sundew Leaves

Scented Sundew flowers began to appear in August, last year.  As is my habit, I photographed them, identified them, and posted the photos on my blog. Prior to that, I must have walked past hundreds of Scented Sundew plants without even knowing they were there.  Once identified,  never forgotten – well, not easily forgotten anyway.  I … Continue reading Scented Sundew Leaves

Blue Stars (Chamaescilla corymbosa var. corymbosa)

  I photographed Blue Stars in September 2013, but when I look back at  2012 photographs,  I have included it in the October Wildflowers series.  In any case, we seemed to plenty of them in Spring, and they did flower across both months. Initially I thought this might be a member of the Lily family,  but the … Continue reading Blue Stars (Chamaescilla corymbosa var. corymbosa)

Button Everlasting (Helichrysum scorpioides)

I found these Button Everlasting flowers in October and November.  The plants were growing in transition zones between the grassed areas around the house  and the bush.  One plant was growing IN the lawn.  This makes me wonder if they are naturally occurring or if they have been planted.  The previous owners did plant some native species … Continue reading Button Everlasting (Helichrysum scorpioides)

Tiny Greenhood (Pterostylis parviflora)

Yesterday during a visit, a very sharp-eyed friend pointed to something that looked to me like a small blade of grass and said “Oh look!  A little Greenhood.”   The other Greenhoods we have had growing here seem to appear in late Winter, or early Spring, so I was a little doubtful, but took a … Continue reading Tiny Greenhood (Pterostylis parviflora)

Fruit of the Black Anthered Flax Lily

In October of last year, I posted photographs of a Dianella (the  Black Anthered Flax-lily).  After the flowers finish,  berries form on the plant.  These are strikingly beautiful and much more noticeable than the flowers.  

Swamp Isotome (Isotoma fluviatilis subsp. australis)

    According to the field guides I consulted, the Swamp Isotome grows seasonally in moist depressions.  I didn’t really think we had any moist depressions as the soil is very sandy and doesn’t hold water for long.  When I think about it, the seepage from the dam probably flows beneath the spot they were … Continue reading Swamp Isotome (Isotoma fluviatilis subsp. australis)

Bird Attracting Tree

Near the house, a previous owner has planted a row of native trees that are not necessarily native to our area, but which are both beautiful and bird attracting.  Today I am going to write about the second smallest of these trees, which I am pretty sure is a Paperbark, but I can’t identify exactly which … Continue reading Bird Attracting Tree

Slender Mint (Mentha diemenica)

In December when most plants had finished flowering, I noticed some pale purple flowers huddled in among long grass.  Initially, identification eluded me, so I picked a leaf off one of the plants and crushed it in my fingers.  It had a faint, but very distinct, mint scent.  Still it eluded me as the flower … Continue reading Slender Mint (Mentha diemenica)

Trailing Goodenia (Goodenia lanata)

I can’t help wondering why it has taken me so long to post the Trailing Goodenia which is one of the most prolific flowering plants we have here in Spring.  It is one of the first Spring flowers to appear and continues flowering right into early Summer. We also find them in most parts of … Continue reading Trailing Goodenia (Goodenia lanata)

Salmon Sun-orchid (Thelymitra rubra)

The emergence of the Salmon Sun-Orchids occurred in mid-October.  It  coincided with an illness, an awkward photographic position and low light, so I resolved to come back the next day and photograph them properly.  Unfortunately I didn’t make it back for two or three days. By the time I got back to look for them, … Continue reading Salmon Sun-orchid (Thelymitra rubra)

Pink Eye (Tetratheca Ciliata)

The last two weeks have flown by in a whirl, and I realise I have missed last week’s plant species, so this week I will post a couple. The first is Pink Eye, a relative of the Black-Eyed Susan flower.  While the flowers of the two plant species may look similar, the leaves are different. … Continue reading Pink Eye (Tetratheca Ciliata)

Calling all Australian Native Pea Experts…. Help!

I took this photograph in October, and ever since then I have been trying to identify the species.  I can’t see a flower that looks exactly like this one, with the long elegant lower lobes and the clear red which shows between them.   My best guess, due to the cluster shape and the leaves, … Continue reading Calling all Australian Native Pea Experts…. Help!

Bushy Parrot-Pea (Dillwynia ramosissima)

Identifying Australian Native pea flowers is very difficult. I have many photographs of flowers that look slightly different, and I have spent days trying to work out whether they are the same species or different species.  In my search I have discovered that there are many different species of Bush-pea, Bitter-pea, Parrot-pea, Wedge-pea, Flat-pea and … Continue reading Bushy Parrot-Pea (Dillwynia ramosissima)

Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior)

I photographed these Yellow Rush-Lily flowers at the very end of December, and they were still flowering into January.   In these hot Summer months, few flowers are in bloom, so I was ecstatic that they were so plentiful, and also that they took on a different form from many of the wild lily flowers, … Continue reading Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior)

Exotic: Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)

This pretty flower has had my attention for a month or two now. There is a very small patch of them growing along the front fence. In Summer, when hardly any flowers are in bloom, it was a lovely show  for a while.  However, I’ve just identified the plant as an Exotic species, or weed, … Continue reading Exotic: Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)

Digging up Spuds!

Months and months ago, I found an old bag of seed potatoes that looked past their best. They were all withered and sending out shoots into the air.   Although I didn’t hope for much, I decided to put them in the ground to see what happened.  Miracle of miracles, they grew! Yesterday, Richard dug … Continue reading Digging up Spuds!

Pale Grass-lily (Caesia parviflora)

Although the field guides I consulted describe this flower as ‘blue to lilac – rarely greenish-white” I do believe we have the greenish-white Pale Grass-Lily growing here.  Searching for white lilies that grow in the Corangamite region on the VicVeg website, I found images of the Pale Grass-Lily that were white-flowered, like ours.  Perhaps the … Continue reading Pale Grass-lily (Caesia parviflora)

Slender Onion-orchid (Microtis parviflora)

In mid-December, when I bent down to look at a Pale Vanilla-Lily flower, I noticed these Slender Onion Orchid spikes nearby.  Thankfully my friend had alerted me to look for them, or I may have just passed them over. The flowers are so tiny that they don’t immediately catch the eye. Among the information I have … Continue reading Slender Onion-orchid (Microtis parviflora)

Milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata)

Also called the Star-of-Bethlehem and known to the Indigenous Koorie population as Popoto, the cheerful Milkmaid blooms were present for most of Spring and into early Summer.  We found them mostly in the bushland at the back of our property, but occasionally one or two would pop-up in other areas. A member of the Liliacea … Continue reading Milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata)

Twining Glycine (Glycine clandestina)

This week’s addition to the A – Z Plant Species list is a purple pea-like flower.  The pea family of plants native to Australia is very large, and many species look pretty much the same.  Based on our location, the fact that the flower has white patches (not yellow) the longer hairy stem, and the … Continue reading Twining Glycine (Glycine clandestina)

Western Bronzehood Orchid (Caladenia iridescens)

Commonly referred to as a Bronze Caladenia, this tiny orchid is difficult to spot.  It really blends into the background!   However, we were lucky enough to find a couple that were  flowering toward the end of October.  According to David L Jones “Native Orchids of Australia” the blooms only last  from  two to five … Continue reading Western Bronzehood Orchid (Caladenia iridescens)