WEDGE-LEAVED POMADERRIS

(Pomaderris obcordata)

(Photos : E. Cousins, foliage, C. Schultz, flower head; at Cape Jervis)

This bushy shrub lives up to its name…or its name lives up to it! The leaves have a definite indentation at their tips, giving them a heart or wedge shape. The leaves are smooth, as you can see in the photo. What you can’t see is that they are hairy underneath. The star shaped flowers occur in dense little clusters, and are obviously very attractive to ants (see second photo above)!!! While the flower heads are whitish, the seed heads are blackish. These shrubs like the sand and limestone of the coast, but are still rare around the Fleurieu.  In fact, this is the only plant we know of and unfortunately no seed formed this year.