ODIXIA ACHLAENA                        Asteraceae Golden Everlastingbush. Rare, fast growing daisy bush to 1.2 m. Creamy flowers in Spring. Well drained soil

Yellow flowers on a plant with narrow linear leaves which are usually shiny. The reverse of the leaf is marked with two narrow indentations from the base to the apex. One of a large number of heathland shrubs which have narrow linear leaves about 1 cm long. In some dry areas the leaves have a grey appearance caused by dense minute hairs. The yellow flowers have a group of up to 10 stamens clustered at the centre. Flowering period - mostly late spring and early summer but also at other times. May be propagated from cuttings, but may form an untidy shrub if not pruned carefully. Abundant in the eastern part of Tasmania.  Also in WA, SA, Vic, NSW, Qld.

HIBBERTIA RIPARIA                    Dilleniaceae        Guinea Flower

Note: The showy yellow flowers of the genus Hibbertia are prominent in woodlands and heathlands.  Many have linear leaves, including H. sericea which is common around the coasts. In this species the leaves are silky-hairy and usually wider than those of H. riparia. H. prostrata has fine clustered leaves and as the name suggests is usally prostrate. Several other species will be seen frequently. A detailed study of the arrangement of the stamens in the centre of a flower is required for accurate identification.

KUNZEA AMBIGUA                    Myrtaceae Information courtesy Launceston field Naturalists Club There are several species of Kunzea in southern Australia; many of those from the mainland have attractive yellow or pink-purple flowers. At Kosciusko (NSW) the yellow K. muelleri puts on a magnificent display in mid-summer.  Kunzea ericoides is an attractive fast-growing shrub, but sadly is becoming a serious weed.

A white-flowered shrub with long arching branches bearing many sprays of flowers. The leaves are narrow-linear, dull green, often on short lateral shoots. Flowers solitary in many axils on the main stem or terminal on the short lateral branches crowded into bottle-brush-like heads, honey scented. Each flower white, with 5 small sepals and petals and many long white stamens.  Fruit: small leathery capsules, shed before the next flowering season. Flowering October-December. Coastal heaths and wet scrub, in the granite country of the east and north-east Tasmania and on Bass Strait Islands.   These shrubs are very easy to propagate from cuttings and prefer open sandy heathland conditions.    Tas. Vic. NSW.

Shrub or small tree often flowering when very small.  Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, leathery, 1-4 cm long, veins impressed on upper surface, dark green, fawn underneath with stellate hairs. Flowers small varying from lemon to golden yellow in large heads at the ends of the branches. Individual flowers have 5 hairy sepals, 5 thin yellow upstanding petals, 5 stamens longer than petals, style 3 -lobed protruding from domed nectar disc. Habitat: widespread on rocky hillsides from the coast to 500m elevation. Flowering: September- -November. Cultivation: May be propagated by cuttings. Fruit: 3 celled capsule containing several brown seeds.

POMADERRIS ELLIPTICA    Rhamnaceae              Yellow Dogwood Makes an attractive garden shrub preferring well drained moist soil but   can withstand part shade and periods of dryness once established.     Subject to attack by borers. Tas Endemic

Upper: Pomaderris elliptica    Lower:  Pomaderris apetala      (leaf underside)

CYPHANTHERA TASMANICA                    Solanaceae       Tasmanian Ray Flower A grey-green shrub which is more or less densely covered with tiny hairs. The showy flowers are creamy white with purple stripes in the centre. This is an unusual member of the potato family, and varies from a lush fleshy shrub in protected areas to a harsh scruffy shrub in exposed coastal sites. The leaves have a rough sandpaper-like feel because of microscopic hairs. Flowering in spring. Rare but occasionally abundant, usually on rocky sites. Cultivation: easy to grow from cuttings but forms into a straggly shrub unless carefully pruned. Note: This species is restricted to Tasmania. Until recently it was known as Anthocercis tasmanica.  All nine species of Cyphanthera are found in southern Australia but no others extend to Tasmania.  Several species appear to be much more common after fires, sometimes growing into dense thickets. Very few members of the potato family are native to Tasmania.  Probably the most common is the kangaroo apple, Solanium laciniatum.

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