Plant Palette

By Daniel Fuller

If what some people say about eucalypts were true, they’d be sentient monsters intent on destroying human civilisation itself. Apparently, they are widow makers, their roots damage property, they poison the soil, they cause fires, and the list of offences goes on.… Continue reading

Label Name: Grevillea ‘Wendy Sunshine’ 

ACRA 1265 (registered Nov 2010)

Family: Proteaceae

Origin: An open-pollinated hybrid between Grevillea bipinnatifida (Chittering Valley) x Grevillea thyrsoides ssp. pustulata. Applicant Name: Neil R Marriott

Characteristics: A grey/green, low-growing, dense shrub 0.3-0.5m (h) x 1-1.5m (w).… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

The word guava elicits thoughts of the tropics but as a common name it covers a wide range of fruiting trees. One of these is Pineapple Guava which is also known as Brazilian Guava and Guavasteen although it is not a true guava.… Continue reading

By Daniel Fuller

As part of my podcast series celebrating National Eucalypt Day, I had the good fortune to interview Professor Ros Gleadow who is a professor at Monash University, President for the Global Plant Society, and a board member of Eucalypt Australia, about the chemistry of eucalypts and it was an enlightening experience.… Continue reading

By Daniel Fuller

Eucalypts have dominated the Australian landscape for millions of years, and so it is with good reason that on the 23^rd of March we celebrated National Eucalypt Day in Australia. To further celebrate this iconic tree, I interviewed four guests representing Eucalypt Australia on my podcast, with a separate episode covering a different topic each week throughout March.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

Most of my articles have focused on different varieties of edible and household herbs, and occasionally on industry events or happenings. However, I haven’t touched on the actual botany of the plants I’ve written about, when in fact this is an area of great interest to me, particularly how plants evolved and why they grow where they do.… Continue reading

By Patrick Regnault

Buxus evokes images of clipped Renaissance garden hedges, the formality of inner-city courtyards, or perhaps even topiary. This humble plant has a long and distinguished history, as an ornamental plant and its utilisation in wood turning and carving, and traditionally, as a medicinal plant.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

Last month we looked at the foundations of the native food industry. The potential is huge but the reality has seen decades of stops and starts. There is a groundswell of desire for us to have an Australian native food sector.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

Bush Tucker, Aussie Edibles, Native Food, are just some of the group names given to Australian native food plants over the past few decades. Like other major climatic regions, we have a mass of edible plant genera, some as leafy greens, some as fresh fruit, some as tubers and rhizomes, and some as herbs and spices.… Continue reading

By Bruce Thompson

With common names such as Hard Aspen and Northern White Lilly Pilly, Acronychia laevis is a well disguised member of the RUTACEAE family. And yet the fruit of this citrus family species has one of the most unique tastes, described as a combination of aniseed and lime.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

The word guava tends to lean toward tropical fruits along with pineapples, mangos and paw-paws but are they really tropical? They are usually grown in the tropics and when we visit a resort or restaurant in those regions, we can be sure to find them on the menu.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

As a botanist with a passion for correct plant nomenclature and growing the right plant, the difference between regular garden plants and the edible/medicinal sectors is huge. Although the nursery industry isn’t known for accuracy in naming and growing correctly identified plants, it does try to get it right.… Continue reading

Label: Correa ‘Federation Belle ‘

ACRA Registration 815 (May 2000)

Family: Rutaceae

Origin: A chance seedling in the garden of Sarah Caldwell, Mole River Station which is in the Torrington area in northern NSW. It is thought to be a hybrid between Correa ‘Marion’s Marvel’ and perhaps a form of Correa reflexa var.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

Edible and ornamental plants are usually divided into different categories, however this has not always been the case. We use the term ‘Cottage Garden’ to refer to an ornamental flowering garden of herbaceous and shrubby perennials. In reality, it comes from the small gardens created in the front, behind and along the side of small inner-city cottages that were mostly lived in by working families. … Continue reading

By Clive Larkman

The essential oil market is huge and growing rapidly, with an expected value of $US10 billion by 2025.  Some reports are even predicting that it could be in excess of $US20 billion by 2027. This increase has its roots in a range of reasons, one of which is COVID-19, but overall, the whole sector is expanding.… Continue reading

Label: Brachychiton ‘Griffith Pink’

ACRA Registration 268 (October 1986)

Family: Malvaceae

Origin: Brachychiton ‘Griffith Pink’ is a hybrid between B. discolor and B. populneus. It is thought that this cultivar originated in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The actual place of origin of this cultivar is obscure, as checking with herbaria in Queensland and NSW revealed a collection at Condong, NSW (near Tweed River) on alluvial flats.… Continue reading

Label: Chamelaucium uncinatum ‘University’

ACRA Registration 143 (November 1982)

Family: Myrtaceae

Origin: Chamelaucium uncinatum ‘University’ is a form of Chamelaucium uncinatum originally selected from plants growing at the University of Western Australia by the late Oliver J Dowell. It has been grown commonly in cultivation since the early 1960’s.… Continue reading

By Bruce Thompson

Common Name: Native Mulberry, White Nettle, False Stinger, Queensland Grass-Cloth Plant, Koomeroo-Koomeroo, Kongangn, Thil-la-wo

Genus: Pipturus

Species: argenteus

Family: Urticaceae

Origin: Occurs in coastal range lowland rainforests, on the edges of riverine communities and regrowth with occasional inundation, damp gullies and coral cays from Lismore to Papua New Guinea.… Continue reading