Myoporum montanum

Myoporum montanum - Western Boobialla

Family - Myoporaceae

Common name - Western Boobialla

Flowers and fruit - Single or several white tubular flowers to 8mm diameter on short stalks in leaf axils. Fruit is ovoid, but sometimes irregularly indented, smooth and light purple to reddish purple. Flowering period is winter to summer. I have seen Myoporum montanum flowering over several months, with plants in one area of The Pilliga flowering at different times to those of other areas of The Pilliga.

Leaves and stems - Leaves can be up to 14cm long, have entire margins, and are hairless. Limbs branch from a single stem. Stems and leaves are often purplish.

Habit and habitat - Myoporum montanum is a shrub or small tree to 8m but generally smaller, from 2 to 4m, growing in a variety of habitats from mallee to cypress and box communities, and is widespread.

Several flowers in leaf axils on short stalks - note the purplish stem and leaves

Leaves of Myoporum montanum

Fruit of Myoporum montanum

Irregular shape of some fruit of Myoporum montanum

Myoporum montanum in The Pilliga

Eremophila debilis

Eremophila debilis

Family - Myoporaceae

Common name - Winter Apple

Flowers and fruit - I have only seen this plant with white flowers, but PlantNet records them also as mauve. 1 or 2 flowers are borne in leaf axils on short stalks. Calyx has long lobes. Fruit is ovoid and ripening to pink or purplish. Flowering period is spring and summer.

Leaves and stems - Eremophila debilis has prostrate stems up to 1m long spreading from a thick rootstock. Leaves are alternate, 3 to 6cm long, and margins often have scattered 'teeth'.

Habit and habitat - Eremophila debilis is a hairless, prostrate plant often forming large, dense mats. It grows in box and White Cypress (Callitris glaucophylla) communities on a variety of soils. I have noticed that if there is one Eremophila debilis plant, there are generally several scattered over a small area.

Notice the long lobes of the calyx of Eremophila debilis

Fruit of the Winter Apple. Notice leaves have a few marginal 'teeth'

And notice that the leaves on this plant have entire margins without teeth

Prostrate, spreading habit of Eremophila debilis

Leucopogon biflorus

Leucopogon biflorus

Family - Ericaceae

Common name - There does not appear to be a common name for this species of Leucopogon, but Leucopogons are collectively often known as Beard-heath or White-beard.

Flowers - Tubular flowers are solitary or two together, often bunched at ends of branches, white, and the 5 points of the tube are rolled back and fluffy. Sepals white. This is a very showy shrub in it's natural habitat. Flowers July to October.

Leaves and stems - Alternate green leaves are stiff with a spike at the tip, and striate/veined underneath. Stems are reddish-brown with very fine hairs.

Habit and habitat - Erect to spreading shrub to 2m high. Grows in sclerophyll woodland, skeletal sandy soils and rocky outcrops.

Plentiful flowers of Leucopogon biflorus - note the white sepals

Notice the pointed leaves

Spreading twigs of Leucopogon biflorus

Leucopogon biflorus is a showy shrub

Prostanthera nivea var. induta

Prostanthera nivea var. induta in the central Pilliga

Family - Lamiaceae

Common name - Snowy Mint Bush

Flowers - White to very pale mauve flowers are 14 to 18mm long with yellow/brown spots in throat.

Leaves and stems - Leaves are linear 10 to 50mm long and to 2mm wide with margins rolled upwards. Branches are 4-ribbed (I will endeavour to get photos illustrating the stems).

Habit and habitat - A non-aromatic, erect shrub, often dense, 1 to 2mt high in heath and shallow rocky soils. 

Calyx of Prostanthera nivea var. induta

Leaf margins turn up

Habit of stems and leaves of P. nivea var. induta

Solanum ferocissimum

Flowers and spines of Solanum ferocissimum

Family - Solanaceae

Common name - Spiny Potato Bush

Flowers and fruit - Flower of Solanum ferocissimum is 15 to 20mm diameter, and has 5 white to pale blue triangular petals and prominent yellow stamens. Globular fruit is 5 to 8mm diameter, shiny red to almost black. Flowers throughout the year.

Leaves and stems - Shiny green leaves are narrow, 3 to 6cm long, with upper surface sparsely hairy and lower surface densely hairy. There are spines along the central upper vein of leaves. Prickles are abundant on the stems, but absent from inflorescences.

Habit and habitat - Solanum ferocissimum is an erect, spiny plant to 1mt high growing in colonies. Colonies of Solanum ferocissimum grow in sclerophyll forests in a variety of situations. It is a common plant.

My thumbnail gives a size comparison to the orange-red globular berry

Leaves, spines and fruit of Solanum ferocissimum

Geijera parviflora

Bushy habit of Geijera parviflora (Wilga) in The Pilliga

Family - Rutaceae

Common name - Wilga

Flowers and fruit - Flowers are about 5mm diameter, have 5 tiny white/cream triangular petals 1.5 to 2mm long, on racemes 4 to 7cm long. Fruit is spherical, 4 to 5mm diameter, with a single black seed protruding when the capsule splits in half. Flowers from Jun to Nov, and at other times.

Leaves and stems - Leaves are linear, up to about 18cm long, less than 1cm wide, with midrib raised on lower surface. Shrub or tree to 10mt high, pale and dark grey blotched stems.

Habit and habitat - Leaves and branches of Geijera parviflora are pendant, usually reaching the ground, but frequently trimmed by sheep. Wilga grows in mixed woodland communities and is very common in The Pilliga, widespread and easily recognised by it's bushy, weeping habit.

Long, narrow leaves of the Wilga

Tiny flowers of the Wilga are prolific but not easily noticed

Globose fruit splits in two revealing one black, shiny, crinkled seed

2-tone grey stems are usually hidden by weeping foliage

Leucopogon muticus

My finger gives a size comparison to the flowers of Leucopogon muticus

Family: Epacridaceae/Ericaceae

Common name: Blunt Beard Heath

Flowers: Small clusters of tiny white tubular flowers are borne in leaf axils. The 5 star-like lobes are densely covered on the inside with white hairs. Fruit is ellipsoid (oval), green turning dark. Flowering Sep/Oct.

Leaves and stems: Dull green leaves up to 15mm long and 3mm wide, slightly down-curved margins, broad rounded apex with a blunt tip. Young stems are reddish.

Habit and habitat: An erect shrub 1 to 2m tall in dry sclerophyll forest or exposed situations on sandy soil.

Note the slightly pubescent (hairy) fruit, and reddish young stem

Pilliga habitat - edges of eucalypt woodland

Westringia cheelii

Family: Lamiaceae

Common name: Mallee Rosemary

Flowers: Upper lip erect 2-lobed, lower lip spreading 3-lobed, white with purplish to brownish dots. Calyx green, outer surface glabrose (without hairs) - hairless calyx is the easiest feature to distinguish Westringia cheelii from Westringi rigida. Flowering period Aug to Nov.

Leaves and stems: Leaves are arranged in whorls of 3, 2mm wide and up to 7mm long, recurved (margins rolled under) slightly, with both surfaces sparsely hairy. Branchlets can have lateral shallow grooves.

Habit and Habitat: Westringia cheelii is a spreading shrub to 1.5mt high growing in mallee, woodland, and dry schlerophyll forest in sandy soil. It is recorded as common in the Pilliga Scrub, and I have seen it growing in heaths in the central Pilliga. It also occurs in Qld.

Note the hairless calyx, a distinguishing feature

Leaf margins slightly recurved, underside of leaf and stem has white hairs

Upper surface also has short white hairs

Westringia Cheelii habit and habitat in The Pilliga

Lomandra leucocephala subsp. leucocephala

Male flowers

Family:  Lomandraceae

Common name: Woolly Mat Rush, Irongrass.

Flowers: Inflorescences are shorter than the leaves. Male inflorescences are arranged in 2 or 3 globose segments to one stem. There is generally only one female inflorescence per stem. Flowers mainly from July to September. [Note: at this point I believe there are separate male and female plants, but I will do some more observation, and record findings here.]

Leaves: Leaves are up to about 50cm high (but often much shorter) and 2 to 3mm wide with white leaf margins readily separating into loose silky or wooly 'strings'.

Habit: Upright or spreading tussock, single or scattered plants.

Habitat: Lomandra leucocephala subsp. leucocephala grows in dry schlerophyll forests on sandy soils or rocky slopes in the Pilliga and throughout northwest and central western NSW, extending into similar habitat in southwestern Qld.

Female flowers

Close-up of female flowers

Silky strings on leaves

Lomandra leucocephala ssp leucocephala on sandy soil in the Pilliga