SMALL YELLOW RUSH-LILY

(Tricoryne tenella)

   (Photos: E. Cousins; habit, seed capsules, flowers; Cape Jervis)

A little tufted plant, this beauty deserves its name: tenella is from the Latin for ‘dainty’. The actual plant pictured was about 40cm high, with the stems standing almost erect. Mostly they grow to about 45cm. There are almost no leaves, and the ones there are, are just little scales. However, the stems branch into slender clusters, making for a dense little plant. The flowers appear in spring to midsummer. These are yellow and 6-petalled, with a cute little group of very upright stamens. The flowers roll into a tight twist when finished (you can see one twist clearly in the centre photo). These are followed by the seed capsules, with a conical tip and three small ribs, hence the ‘tri’ in ‘tricoryne’. The plants will grow on sand along the coast, or in the heath and mallee…quite good for us in S.A. then!

STRIPED HAKEA

(Hakea vittata)

(Photos: E. Cousins; habit; close-up of flowering stem; Cape Jervis)

Another spring flowering shrub, good for sandy or limestone soils. It can look a bit sprawly, but can also grow up to head high. From August to November, spider-like white flowers occur in clusters along the stems, at the base of the leaves. Hakeas can be distinguished from grevilleas, which they are very much like, by their woody seed pods. The seed pods of the striped hakea have two little horns, and lengthwise markings (vittatus means ‘longitudinally striped’ in Latin). Leaves are thin cylinders, no more than 1.5mm wide, and appear alternately on the stems. What look like clusters of tiny leaves on those stems might be ‘witches broom’ galls instead…these are caused when branches are infected by a rust fungus.

KNOBBY CLUB RUSH

(Ficinia nodosa, originally Isolepsis nodosa)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit; knobbly foliage, knobby seed head on leaf)

This is a common sedge around the coastline near Cape Jervis. Look for the gentle weeping habit and the deep green cylindrical foliage. It grows in tufts, or clumps, from stout rhizomes. The clumps can grow to about 1 metre tall, and spread up to about 1 metre at the base. The plant gets its common name from the dense brownish growths on the foliage. These are the plant’s flower- and seed-heads. This plant would look good as a contrast to soft foliage or lighter coloured plants in your garden too. And it is a toughie: it likes sandy soil, and will tolerate full coastal exposure, drought and frost. It might go a little bit yellow in really cold weather… never mind, though, it’ll green up again in spring!

SCALY BUTTONS

(Leptorhynchos squamatus)

(Photos: E. Cousins)

It’s the stalk of this plant that is scaly, not the leaf or flower! The flowers are like little yellow buttons, and are produced on long, thin, brown stalks which have scaly leaflets on them. (‘Squamatus’ means ‘scales’.) Note also the cup-shaped base underneath the flower, and the scales on this as well … a distinguishing feature. The plant is really only shin high, with the flowers sitting above the foliage. Its very green leaves are lance-shaped, and have white hairs on the underside. Clumps of this perennial herb grow to about 40cm across. This is an adaptable and hardy plant, tolerant of frost and drought, useful characteristics for Cape Jervis gardens!