Plant Palette

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

By Clive Larkman –

I have written about a number of herbs over the years, some of which have a narrow range and only a few species. These include lavender and rosemary (now salvia) which come from the countries on the northern side of the Mediterranean.… Continue reading

By Bruce Thompson –

Common Name: Blue Tongue, Native Lasiandra, Indian Rhododendron, Malabar Rhododendron, Singapore Rhododendron

Genus: Melastoma

Species: malabrathicum subsp. malabrathicum

Family: Melostomaceae

Origin: A pan-tropical species occurring in open forest and disturbed rainforest in north Queensland, down to Kempsey in New South Wales, the Kimberley region in Western Australia, the Northern Territory as well as Indomalaya and Japan.… Continue reading

By Bruce Thompson –

Common Name:  Beach Almond, Sea Almond, Malabar Almond

Genus: Terminalia

Species: catappa

Family: Combretaceae

Origin: Occurs in north Queensland and the Northern Territory, as well as Malesia to Polynesia and South-East Asia as a mid-canopy tree, just inland from beaches as well as river mouths and coastal plains.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman –

It seems the world is always in a state of flux and our industry is no different. Some of the changes are obvious and don’t really bother anyone whilst others are a major problem. Some are a pain for the growers and some for the retail sector.… Continue reading

By Bruce Thompson –

Common Name:  Millaa Millaa, Millaa Millaa Vine

Genus: Elaeagnus

Species: triflora

Family: Elaeagnaceae

Origin: Occurs in tropical rainforests and swamp forests in Queensland from Cape York south to Rockhampton. It also occurs as secondary scrub with Gleichenia species as well as thickets and scrubs from the lowland up to 1800m.… Continue reading

By Clive Larkman –

It has been over twelve years since I first started writing for Hort Journal and most of the articles have been about herbs and other edibles. Early on, I wrote a series on the genus Salvia which basically focused on the ornamental forms, although most of us know of “Sage” as the edible herb, Salvia officinalis and its narrow range of cultivars.… Continue reading