While I’ve been away I have again seen a shrub in flower in the western area that is a protected plant.
I have been told it is a “native fuchsia” but when I google that it certainly is not what comes up.
It grows prolifically on the red country out on the Darling River and being protected is in danger of taking over grazing areas.
At the moment it is in full flower and looks great. Sheep and feral goats have it trimmed up as high as they can reach and I am told that it is great feed for them.
They do particularly well on it when it is in flower and after the seeds form and fall, so my guess is that the seed is very high protein.
Plant identifying apps tell me it is Australian Fuchsia, a Correa, but the flower and leaves in the pictures don’t look quite as I saw them growing.
The flower I saw looks more like a cross between the app photo and an emu bush flower… maybe the photo on the internet is of a coastal variety not from the far west.
The western one is a large shrub or small tree to about 12 or 15 feet in height, where most of the coastal variety I’ve seen are much smaller growing shrubs.
I would like to be able to grow one in my garden as a bird attractant.
There is another shrub growing out there that also has beautiful flowers and comes in a wide range of colours from white through pinks and mauves.
It is a type of turpentine that I have also been unable to identify properly but out there is locally known as “mongrel bush”!!
It is something I would grow in my garden also as they are both very hardy and drought tolerant.
They could be kept smaller with trimming and I think then would flower more prolifically.
So if anyone knows of these and has names for them please let me know. I would be very interested in hearing from you.
I think maybe it is time for some fun facts about gardening.
1. Pineapples are a bromeliad and the only one that is an edible fruit.
2.Avocados, cucumbers and pumpkins are botanically considered fruits but rhubarb is a vegetable!
3.Small pockets of air inside cranberries cause them to bounce and float in water. This is how they are harvested. The area is flooded and the fruit is scooped out of the water.
3. In France there is a festival for the Lily of the Valley flower.
4. Every part of the lily of the valley is highly toxic to humans and can cause death.
5. The first potatoes were cultivated in Peru about 7000 years ago.
6. Tomatoes were considered poisonous for many years.
7. Cranberries and blue berries are two popular fruits that are native to North America.
8. Strawberries are the only fruit that has its seeds on the outside. The average strawberry has approximately 200 seeds on it.
9. Ginko trees and the dawn redwood are very ancient trees. Fossils of both were found before the actual tree was identified.
10. Trees are the longest living organisms on earth.
11. Peanuts are legumes, not nuts.
12. Peanuts have the most protein, niacin, folate and phytosterols of any nut.
13. It is the sulphuric compounds in onions that bring tears to your eyes when cutting them. I can vouch for the fact that keeping them in the fridge helps stop this.
14. Peaches, apricots, pears, apples, strawberries and quinces are all members of the rose family.
15.Vanilla flavouring comes from the pod of an orchid and although they are called “vanilla beans” they are actually more closely related to corn than beans.
16. Saffron threads are the collected stigmas of the autumn crocus, crocus sativus.
17. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world. Some varieties can grow as much as almost a metre in a single day!
18. The Bristlecone pine tree is the oldest known living and still growing tree in the world.
19. The nerium oleander is the most poisonous plant in the world. Every part of the plant is toxic if ingested and even inhaling the smoke from the burning wood is a threat to health.
20. The Manchineel tree found in central and south America is often called the death tree. The apple like fruit is deadly and even breathing the air surrounding the tree is unsafe and will cause pain in your lungs.
*this is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
