Green is not usually a colour that we associate with flowers but there are a number of native plants with green flowers.
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Green flowers are usually rich in nectar and are attractive to honeyeaters. Some species have blooms that hide in the foliage. Even these hidden flowers are found by native birds.
The plants described are all surviving and thriving in local gardens.
Callistemon pinifolius is known as the pine-leaved bottlebrush and, as the name implies, the leaves are dark green, long and narrow with a sharp point.
The pine-leaved bottlebrush will reach a height of 2m with a similar spread. Flower spikes are a bright lime-green and about 8cm long. Blooms appear in late spring.
This is one native that does not hide its flowers. The spikes are both conspicious, profuse and bird-attracting. Remove the brushes as they fade. This will keep the plants dense and blooming bounteously. Callistemon pinifolius is a native of the Sydney region.
The hidden blooms are rich in nectar so even if we find them hard to see honeyeaters have no problem in tracking them down.
There is also a form of this bottlebrush, with red flowers. An attractive hedge could be created by using alternate green and red-flowered forms.
Correa baeuerlenii, the chefs cap correa, is a dense rounded, small shrub. Leaves are curved, covered in prominent glands, have a slightly sweet perfume when crushed and glossy dark green on top and lighter underneath.
Plants carry flowers from March to August. Blooms are pendulous, greenish yellow, about 3cm long with an expanded base. This gives the flowers the appearance of a chef's cap, hence the common name. Blooms are prominent and abundant.
The chefs cap correa is a rare plant that is found on the south coast and ranges of NSW.
This species has adapted to life in local gardens and has proved to be hardy and free flowering.
Grevillea arenaria is a medium to tall shrub that reaches a height between 3 to 4m. The leaves are light green, soft and have a velvety feel. The foliage could be used as filler in cut flower arrangements.
The flowers green with yellow and pink tinges. Some blooms are present throughout the year. This is a species that hides the flowers in the foliage. The hidden blooms are rich in nectar so even if we find them hard to see honeyeaters have no problem in tracking them down.
Grevillea arenaria is found in the Southern Highlands and would be a useful addition to bird-friendly gardens.
Grevillea jephcottii, the Pine Mountain grevillea, is rare species from northern Victoria. This is a handsome shrub that will reach a height of 3m.
The leaves are light green, hairy with a slight twist. The flowers are the crowning feature of this species. They are pale green are carried in dense clusters which circle the ends of the branches. They appear in mid-spring.
Light pruning, after flowering, is appreciated.
These are a few green-flowering natives that could be incorporated in your domestic and rural landscapes.
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