The beautiful and incredibly diverse plants of the Australian Kwongan and other heathlands...
In a different family from the true dodders, but look almost exactly the same if no flowers or fruits to be seen. Most species are found in Australia, but a few species have been widespread across tropics of the world.
Cassytha sp. 'Dodder Laurel' have leafless twining stems that...
...cover over plants like a blanket. Some species do very well in exposed coastal situations.
Anigozanthos humilis, 'Common Catspaw'. Flowers are yellow turning red. Found in open woodland and heaths, across but only in south-west Australia.
Like other Proteaceae, the structure and colours of a Grevillea flowers are dominated by the female parts.
Banksia ericifolia (Kings Park, Australia). Found in cliff and/or coastal heathlands in eastern NSW.
Banksia coccinea, 'Scarlet Banksia' (Cheynes Beach). Bright red flowers. Reported to flower in spring, although this one was in winter. Attracts honeyeaters for pollination. Found along southern coast of south-west Australia, inland to Stirling Range. One of the more popular Banksias in the cut flower industry.
Not quite the biggest genus of plants in Australia (that record belongs to Acacia), but arguably the most important. There are some beautiful Eucalypts in the south-west region of Australia, and they are of course the dominant tree that makes up the ecosystem and name of 'Mallee'.
Eucalyptus macrocarpa, 'Mottlecah', (Kings Park, Australia). Mallee form. Silver leaves, round, arranged tightly opposite along branches. The largest flower of any Eucalyptus, bright red in colour. Large following 'gumnut'. Endemic to the northern heathlands of south-western Australia.
Some species are called 'Bottlebrush' and they are related and look similar to the genus Callistemon. There are some 22 species in this genus. They are all endemic to the south west of Australia.
Beaufortia (Kings Park, Australia).
Most of the 100 species are found in the sandy soils of the heathlands of south-west Australia.
Verticordia ethteliana, (Kings Park, Australia).