#australianwildflower

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Australian wax flower #waxflower #australianwaxflower #wildflower #australianwildflower

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Wildflower Matrix 3.0 #australianwildflower #digitalart #mirrored #trippy #psyart #photography #filters #mirrored #art #photographicart #digitallyenhanced #texture #patternsinnature #australiannative #flower #bush #cooroong #psychedelicartwork #psychedelicart #art_of_instagram #art_of_nature (at Adelaide, South Australia)

[tanjalc]

Wildflower Matrix 1.0 #australianwildflower #digitalart #mirrored #trippy #psyart #photography #filters #mirrored #art #photographicart #digitallyenhanced #texture #patternsinnature #australiannative #flower #bush #cooroong #psychedelicartwork #psychedelicart #art_of_instagram #art_of_nature (at Adelaide, South Australia)

[lilysflorist]

The Wildflowers of Australia

Did you know that on Western Australia alone, over 12,000 wildflower species bloom during the months of June to September? Australia is home to over 24,000 species of wildflowers and more than half of which can only be found here and nowhere else. There’s absolutely no reason for you to doubt that Australia is the best place to find beautiful and extraordinary flowers that will blow you away, regardless if you’re a visitor of the country or a true blue native.

Allow us to introduce to you some of the most beautiful and interesting wildflowers of Australia.

Wreath Lechenaultia

Nope! What you see on the photo isn’t pre-arranged.  The floral wreath on the ground is a unique Australian native plant that grows exactly how you see it – with greens at the center and flowers around it. The wreath-like formation happens during August to November which Lechenaultia macranth’s flowering period.

Pin Cushion Hakea

A well-admired native plant of southwestern Australia, the Pin-Cushion Hakea or Hakea laurina is a shrub or small tree with rounded head of thick and veined leaves. Its flowers has a globular rose pink to red pin-cushion head with projecting  long white to cream styles. New flower buds start to develop by December and flowers come out in May.   

Bottlebrush

Members of the Callistemon genus under the Myrtaceae family, bottlebrushes occur mostly in the east southeast of Australia. They usually grow in damp to wet conditions and make good garden plants.

Bottlebrushes, as their name suggests, are bottle-brush shaped flowers that form during spring and summer.  The original bottlebrushes come in bold red but you can now find mauve, pinkish red and cream bottlebrushes.

They grow best in moist conditions so if you’ll plant them in your garden, regular watering will be necessary. Two bottlebrush species, however, were found in Tasmania and there are a few drought-resistant species grown around the world.

Pigface or Karkalla

Scientifically known as Carpobrotus rossii, pigface is a succulent plant native to southern Australia. The daisy-like flowers are mauve-puple in colour with white centre. You can easily find karkallas in coastal areas, particularly in large patches on sand dunes near the ocean.  

Showy Foxtail 

Also known as Pink Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus exaltatus), this short-lived perennial is widespread in Australia. It grows up to 18 inches tall with grey-silver leaves and a 4-inch tall conical flower with feathery spikes. The flower colour starts out as silver but ages to a neon pink-purple colour from early spring to late fall.

Spider Orchids

Southwest Australia is home to a variety of Spider Orchids species. Last August 2015, new species of spider orchids were discovered by the WA Herbarium. Seventeen new spider orchids were named and the rarest were discovered near Busselton. At present, there are now 158 species of spider orchids identified in WA alone.

A classic spider orchid has long filamentous petals and is usually white or pink in colour. Out of its five spreading petals, there’s one that curls over the top.

Australian buttercup

Yarrakalgamba or Australian buttercup (Ranunculus lappaceus) is commonly found across eastern Australian. The five-petaled yellow flowers bloom in spring and summer. Out of the 500+ species of Ranunculus, 40 are native to Australia.

This particular buttercup can cause blindness to horses but they’d most likely avoid this species because of its unpleasant taste.

Grevilleas

There are over 340 species of Grevillea but some of the most beautiful are natives of Australia. Cold tolerant grevilleas like the Grevillea lanigera and Grevillea victoriae can be found on the mountainous regions of south eastern Australia. Grevillea flowers may be yellow, orange, or red in colour.

The largest species under the Grevillea genus is the Grevillea robusta or the Australian silver oak. A native of eastern coastal Australia, its flowers are golden-orange in colour, bottlebrush-like in form, grows about 3-6 inches long.   Misty Pink Grevillea is native to Queensland. Its flowers are pink with cream styles.

Want to know where exactly you can see these wildflowers plus a few more? Keep an eye out next week for the second part of our 101 on Australian wildflowers.