Plant Finder

Southern Australian palm for the palm collection

Macrozamia communis is a palm-like shrub with long, gracefully arching, glossy green fronds (up to 50cm or more in a full grown specimen) with sharp, pointed leaflets in two regular rows, the lower few progressively reduced and rather spine-like. The mature female plant develops a number of large, football like cones about 25cm long. The male cones can measure up to 45cm with up to ten being borne per mature plant.

This is a tough and durable species, widely used in urban landscape plantings as a strappy bed filler. It produces a soft rhizome at its base and an upright clump of green foliage. Once established it will tolerate a wide range of conditions, including dry shade and waterlogged soils. This plant is an egg laying site for butterflies and a habitat plant for frogs.

Vigorous plant. Leaves are broad, dark green in colour and about 8cm long. Flowers are white (often purple-flushed), tubular, fragranced and about 4cm long. These flowers change to a yellow colour with age. They are borne in pairs from spring to late summer. Following the flowering; blue-black berries are produced. Lonicera japonica grows to about 10m tall.

Upright shrub which later spreads. Leaves are narrowly pointed, dark green, about 10cm long and have wavy margins. Flowers are large, lilac/white in colour with very fine purple veins. These are produced from spring to autumn but it's not unusual to see flowers at other times during the year. Mackaya bella grows to about 2m tall and 1.5m wide. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Spreading deciduous tree from southern USA. Bark is dark orange. Leaves are oval-shaped, dark green in colour turning yellow before they fall. Flowers are tiny, yellow in colour and are borne in summer. Following the flowering is the production of large, wrinkled fruits. NB: leaves and fruits let out a sticky milky substance which can mildly irritate the skin. Maclura pomifera grows to about 15m high and 13m wide. This tree is drought tolerant.

This is an attractive landscape shrub for southern regions with green pendulous branchlets and graceful form up to 4m high and 2m wide. It produces flowers in summer on its creamy long spikes. Tolerant of both drought and waterlogging it is also salt tolerant. Melaluecas are generally known as paperbarks for their flaking papery bark.

This shrub from New South Wales grows to 4m and produces red bottlebrush flowers from late spring to summer. Best used for lower shrub screening, it is also highly attractive to native birds when in flower and for nesting.

This shrub is initially erect but eventually spreads. Stems are branching and bark is peeling. The leaves are green in colour, narrow and quite small (3cm long). Flowers are lavender-pink to rose-pink, and are borne from spring to summer. Melaleuca nesophila can grow to about 7m tall and about 4m wide. This plant is drought tolerant.

This tree is found in regions that are prone to fire, it is quite drought tolerant. The bark is peeling, light tan in colour and forms as very thin sheets. Leaves are green in colour and average sized. Creamy white flowers are borne from summer to autumn. Melaleuca styphelioides grows to about 12m tall. This tree is drought tolerant.

Both attractive and tough, this small tree is often used as as street tree and will grow well in arid areas. This tree is fast growing, spreading, has many branches and is deciduous. It grows up to 10m in height and 5m wide with handsome fine and lush green foliage. Its flowers are lilac, star-shaped, fragranced and about 2cm across. They are borne from spring to early summer. Following the flowering, small, poisonous spherical yellow fruit is formed.

This 3X3 m tall shrub from South Africa is erect at first, but eventually spreads. The leaves are long and bold and smell unpleasant if crushed. Striking flower rods are brown to deep red in colour and are borne from late spring to midsummer. This a tough plant with considerable weed potential. It is drought tolerant.

Small plant with numerous 36-45cm long stems. Leaves are green in colour and widen towards the outer ends becoming narrow near the stalk. Ice plant is named after the shimmering silvery dots that cover the leaves. Flowers are tiny, white in colour and are borne throughout the year.

This is a feature tree up to 12m that is in best form for the Christmas Holidays. The flowers are red in colour and are borne from November to January. This tree begins as a shrub with lots of low-growing branches which make it dense. When mature, a stem forms as well as a canopy. The leaves are oblong, dull dark green above and grey underneath. Other Metrosideros species come from Polynesia and tolerate humidity, but not frost, for northern areas.

Large fruit tree. Leaves are broad and heart-shaped green. Flowers are also green in colour. The female flowers bear tiny, edible fruits (mulberry) which can be red, white or black in colour. Morus sp can grow to a height of 20m.

This is a dense and vigorous New Zealand climber. The tiny leaves are broad, heart-shaped and green in colour and the flowers are insignificantly small. This plant is great for binding soil or for screening.

This is a spreading medium sized shrub. The foliage hangs from thin branches. Leaves are long, narrow and green in colour. Flowers are white or sometimes pink in colour and are produced on the stems in spring and early summer. (Note: The flowers have a heavy scent). Myoporum florabundum grows to about 3m high and 3m wide.

This is a ground-cover plant with fleshy green leaves and white flowers in summer, both frost and drought tolerant. This plant has trailing stems to about 1m or more and the leaves are green or grey in colour. Its flowers are white and are borne in summer. Myoporum parvifolium grows to about 1m in height and the width is unlimited. The plant can be effectively hedged and formally shaped.

Catmints have soft grey-green foliage and wiry stems. Flowers are tubular-shaped, borne in clusters and are violet to lavender-blue in colour. Flowering occurs in summer. Nepeta 'Walker's Low' grows to about 5.4m high and 5m wide.

This is a fast tough, growing plant from the Mediterranean that grows up to 4m high. The leaves are long and deep green in colour. Flowers are fragranced and range from white to pink to deep pink and are borne from late summer onwards. These flowers are produced in clusters and vary in colour, some have pink petals and a darker centre, others have white petals with a cream centre etc. Every part of this plant is poisonous.