Blue Mountains National Park wildflowers

Smaller Floral Families of the
Blue Mountains National Park

home - contact us - about this

To return to
Blue Mountains National Park Wildflowers
index

Smaller Families - but certainly not lesser.

This set of wildflowers are "simply" those that belong to smaller floral families.

An index to the images included below.

Angel Sword
Bitter Cryptandra
Black-eyed Susan
Blue Dampiera
Carrot Tops
Daisy-leaved Goodenia
Fairies' Aprons

Fish Bones
Forked Comb Fern
Forked Sundew
Heath-leaved Poranthera
Lesser Flannel Flower
Matchheads
Mistletoe
Native Parsnip

Old Man’s Beard
Pink Flannel Flower
Rice-flower Pseudanthus
Purple Dampiera
Purple Eyebright
Slender Rice Flower
Small St. John’s Wort

Snake Flower
Spade Flower
Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Sydney Flannel Flower
Thyme Spurge
Trigger Plant
White Marianth
White Root

Other attractions of the Blue Mountains National Park

Female Gang Gang Cockatoo p3120525 image 182KB

Male Gang Gang Cockatoo p3120522 image 91KB

The Gang Gang Cockatoo is one of 265 native bird species that live in the Park - refer United Nations Environment Programme.

This is almost a third of Australia's native birds.

The following birds have their own web-page -

◊ Australian King-Parrot
◊ Crimson Rosella
◊ Kookaburra ◊ Rainbow Lorikeet
◊ Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
◊ Tawny Frogmouth

Images of many of the other birds found in the Park are on our Birds web page. These include -

Australian Magpie
Australian Raven
Australian Wood Duck
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Common Bronzewing
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Spinebill
Eurasian Coot

Galah
Grey Currawong
Grey Shrike-thrush
Magpie-lark
New Holland Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove

Pied Butcherbird
Pied Currawong
Red Wattlebird
Red-browed Finch
Satin Bowerbird
Spotted Pardalote
White-faced Heron
White-throated Treecreeper

Smaller Families

Select the thumbnail image to see the full image.

Family Goodeniaceae

Snake Flower Scaevola ramosissima Small summer flowering climber with distinctive flowers and leaves.	Blue Dampiera Dampiera stricta Distinctive, mainly due to its colour. Also identified by its diamond shaped leaves. Flowering most of the year, but best in spring. Also see our Blue Dampiera web page.	Purple Dampiera Dampiera purpurea Although its flowers are very similar to the Blue Dampiera in shape, their purple colour is a give away. Its oval leaves are also very different.
Daisy-leaved Goodenia Goodenia bellidifolia Summer flowering, usually with single flowers along the stem with several at the "crown". Flowers are 10mm across.

Family Apiaceae
Besides Flannel Flowers and Pennyworts, this family includes carrots and celery
and a host of herbs such as parsley, coriander and fennel.
Also see our Flannel Flowers web page.

Pink Flannel Flower Actinotus forsythii Also known as the Ridge Flannel Flower, this endangered flower only appears in the season following bush fires. The flowers are 20mm in diameter.	Sydney Flannel Flower Actinotus helianthi Its felt like petals tipped in the softest pale green make this a favourite of many. The leaves are also a feature of this plant. The flowers are 50mm in diameter.	Lesser Flannel Flower Actinotus minor A small plant with flowers up to 12mm across. Like its siblings, it doesn't have petals, the petal-like part are bracts. It seems to always be in flower.
Carrot Tops Platysace linearifolia Flowering in Autumn, Carrot Tops is best identified by the bouquet of tiny (3mm across) flowers at the end of a long and oblique stalk.	Native Parsnip Platysace lanceolata This is the mountain heath form whose leaves are broad. A variety found in the Lane Cove National Park has lance like leaves.

Family Tremandraceae - Genera Tetratheca - Black-eyed Susans
The NSW Flora Online describes some 14 species that occur in New South Wales. The species are collectively
called Black-eyed Susans, and their similarity to each other provides a real challenge in trying to identify them.

Black-eyed Susan Tetratheca ericifolia
Identified by its recurved, slightly hairy leaves with tubercles (bumps) on the edges and tapered at the end. The leaf is not that dissimilar to that of Banksia ericifolia (except for the tapering at the end).

Black-eyed Susan Tetratheca rupicola
Similar to Tetratheca ericifolia but without the hairs and tubercles. Interestingly, its red branchlets are not mentioned in references.

Other families

White Root Pratia purpurascens A delightful little plant with a self explanatory name. The undersides of its leaves are purplish. Its 10mm flowers appear in the warmer months.	Spade Flower Hybanthus Vernonii Flowering from spring into summer, it is readily identified by its mauve spade shaped (oval) 10mm flower.	Trigger Plant Stylidium graminifolium The hammer-like trigger is used to pollinate any insect that lands on the flower.
Angel Sword Lobelia dentata This delicate little flower appears in spring and summer. It can have a vibrant electric blue colour, that I have (as yet) been unable to capture.	Mistletoe Amyema pendulum Clinging to its Eucalyptus host, with its pendulous Eucalyptus like leaves.	Forked Comb Fern Schizaea bifida The fronds of this unusual fern appear in winter and are 15mm wide.
Purple Eyebright Euphrasia collina ssp. paludosa The NSW NPWS says in its brochure on the Euphrasia bowdeniae, that "Plants of the genus Euphrasia are rare, probably due to their parasitic nature". The species shown here is identified by its 3 pairs of "teeth" on its decussate^* leaves. ^* pairs of opposite leaves that are 90^o from the next pair.	Slender Rice Flower Pimelea linifolia ssp. linoides Its 3cm wide flowers are glorious in close up. The linoides subspecies is a leggy plant and can be well over two 2 metres in height - and this can help identify it. The plant shown here was found on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk near Gordon Falls, Leura. It is also known as Granny's Bonnet.	Fairies' Aprons Utricularia dichotoma This is a carnivorous plant that "captures" water organisms through tiny bladder-like leaves at the foot of the plant. Thus the common name of Bladderwort.
Forked Sundew Drosera binata A member of the Droseraceae family that includes the Venus Fly Trap, the Forked Sundew has 2, 4 or 8 "branches" and bears white flowers (not shown) in summer.	Fish Bones Lomandra obliqua The easiest member of the Lomandra genus to identify due to its 'fish bone" like leaves. It flowers in spring	Spiny-headed Mat-rush Lomandra longifolia Also known as Honey Reed, both its thorns and leaves can inflict pain. Very hardy and flowers in spring.
Bitter Cryptandra Cryptandra amara var. amara A tiny plant - its aged-looking branches making it look like a bonsai. Its spine-like branches help identify it. Its 3mm long flowers start out white, and then become pink, and eventually are a dusky pink with a "red centre".	Bitter Cryptandra Cryptandra amara var. amara Its leaves are 3mm long and 1 mm wide. There are three varieties - ◊ amara - shown here ◊ floribunda - doesn't have spiny branches ◊ longiflora - has flowers up to 6mm.	Thyme Spurge Phyllanthus hirtellus A small shrub whose shiny and hairy leaves are about 6mm long, and are often bent at the tip. The variety that has red male flowers (shown here) only occurs in the Sydney region.
Matchheads Comesperma ericinum A tall leggy shrub over a metre high. Its mauve flowers appear in spring. Also known as Pyramid Flower and Pink Matchheads.	Small St. John's Wort Hypericum Gramineum A sibling of the herb St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum). The flowers are about 1cm across and the leaves near the flowers are appressed.	Old Man’s Beard Caustis flexuosa Easily recognised, Old Man's Beard is also known as Curly Wig.
Rice-flower Pseudanthus Pseudanthus pimeleoides At first glance it looks like a white Dahlia. (The Dahlia is Mexico's national flower.) Flowering in Spring, the flower head contains multiple flowers. The name Rice-flower Pseudanthus is not in wide use.	Heath-leaved Poranthera Poranthera ericifolia A small plant to about 30cm high. Its recurved shiny leaves are about 12-15mm in length. The flower-heads are held at the end of long branching stems and contain both male and female flowers. The female flowers have red styles - only 3 styles, but they are bifid (divided in two). The male flowers are shown more clearly on the Lane Cove National Park specimen.	White Marianth Rhytidosporum procumbens Also known as Mary's Flower, it is a small plant whose flowers are only 8mm wide. It is a member of the Pittosporaceae Family which includes the Sweet Pittosporum.