Stiff Western Rosemary
Whole
Ellura
Stiff Western Rosemary
Sparse Variety
 
                      
Stiff Western Rosemary (Westringia rigida)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Mints (Lamiales)
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Stiff Western Rosemary (Westringia rigida)
This Photo:     Summer Red Colour
Other name: Stiff Westringia

Thank you Dr Kym Nicolson, Tony and Jenny Dominelli & Guy Taseski for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Riverland and elsewhere
A very stiff plant. The plants overall bell shape makes it look as though there's big pot in the middle with a creeper that's overflowed.
Flowers are small and delicate with 5 hairy petals arranged in an orchid shape. The flower's "tongue" is speckled with tiny red blotches.
We have another variety which has a different habit. It's sparse and generally looks greener. Flowers are the same, as are the individual stems. We thought they were seedlings at first, but there are other young plants that look like bonsai versions of the large ones. So we are not sure why some are different. The sparse ones are generally smaller.

Copyright © 2013-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 27-Jan-2013
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)