Wildflowers, Photos … and Eremophila or Emu Bush

Here’s one for the desert travellers among us. How many different types of Emu Bush or Eremophila will you come across on this year’s travels?

They are common throughout the arid areas, although most are found in WA.

There are over 200 different species of Eremophila, and many more still waiting to be named. Maybe there are even more not yet discovered. So chances of finding some are high. They are mostly shrubs and have colourful flowers, making them easy to spot.

One common name is Emu Bush, because it was thought that emus ate the fruit and helped the seeds to germinate. Although this is not really the case the name has stuck, although there are many other common names in use.

Here are a few photos of some from different areas. Image Could Not Be Found
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Do others have photos of these attractive plants?

More info and photos are in my Eremophila Blog here.

Cheers,

Val.
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Reply By: Notso - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 16:57

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 16:57
Ive got a few growing in the back yard. There is a good display of them at the Burrendong Dam Arboretum, for those who don't get across to WA and NT.

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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 18:01

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 18:01
Hi Notso,

Yes I have a few in the garden too, and even here in Canberra they do well.

I have been meaning to get to the Burrendong Arboretum for years - maybe it would be a good stop-over next trip. Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,

Val.

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Reply By: River Swaggie - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 17:43

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 17:43
Hiya

Sorry to hijack the thread but i thought a great time to ask....Anyone know what this is,was off a track (CMF i think) off Trigg Track Walhalla..Nothing like it about....Maybe the seed hitch hiked from town etc etc...



Thanks
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 16:59

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 16:59
Hi Swaggie,

I'm unable to "pop out" your photo to get a closer look, but I think it may be a ground orchid which are native orchids that grow in the ground rather than perched on trees or rocks. More specifically its possibly a sun orchid, meaning they only become fully open when the sun is bright. IF I am right (which is not always the case!) its a beautiful specimen.

Cheers,

Val
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony S (WA) - Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 00:07

Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 00:07
Hi Val and R.S. yes definitely looks like a Sun Orchid.
You didn't perchance have a smell of it did you R.S.?
If it had a fairly strong scent, it is the Scented Sun Orchid.
Tony
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Follow Up By: River Swaggie - Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 21:23

Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 21:23
Hiya Guys

I dont recall smelling anything while up close...If you want to give me your email addy i will send the whole pic so you can zoom in....

Out of all the driving ive done ive never come across something that nice as far as flowers go...


Thanks for you interest..
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony S (WA) - Friday, May 27, 2011 at 11:59

Friday, May 27, 2011 at 11:59
The Orchid in question.

Image Could Not Be Found
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Follow Up By: River Swaggie - Wednesday, Jun 01, 2011 at 18:57

Wednesday, Jun 01, 2011 at 18:57
Cheers Tony its pretty close.......
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Reply By: Member - John Baas (WA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 19:45

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 19:45
Hi Val, unfortunately the two desert trips we've done were in Autumn and winter with not a lot out in the eremophila dept.

But I do have one for you.

Image Could Not Be Found
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:06

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:06
Thanks for posting John.

Interesting that you haven't seen them in flower in the winter. Just about the only time that I have seen them in flower has been July-August, simply because that is when we are out in Eremophila country. I suspect that seasonal conditions might influence flowering times.

Cheers,

Val
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Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:25

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:25
Hi Val

Another great story and thanks for sharing the details of both here on the forum and your excellent Blog. I only have a few images to share and the first one will need no introduction...

Image Could Not Be Found

The next lot of images are all of Eremophila willsii - Sandhill native fuchsia that were taken in the Simpson Desert and along the Hay River...

Image Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be Found

Once again, thanks for keeping these great stories coming and I only wish we could get more involved.


Regards

Stephen
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Follow Up By: Member - John Baas (WA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:43

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:43
"I only wish we could get more involved".

Fair go Stephen. What else are you doing anyway?? :-)

Cheers.
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:58

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 20:58
Hi John

As for your quote:-


"Fair go Stephen. What else are you doing anyway?? :-)"

If you go back through the forum stories on Wildflowers, Photos......

you will see that I have contributed a good many times as a leading story, and how many have you done so??........

The aim of my dig was not to start a bitch fight, but to see if others could take the lead and do a forum post so others can add images to suit, just as Val has done. The more people that are prepared to do their share of creating new stories of our great flora that we have on offer here in our great nation, is less of a burden on those that take the time to research and write up the stories.


Cheers


Stephen
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Follow Up By: Member - John Baas (WA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 21:22

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 21:22
Hi Stephen; why so serious?

I did have a smiley face there. Lighten up. I know how much you contribute and I (as per many others) am very appreciative.

Here's 3 smileys: :-) :-) :-)

Cheers.
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony S (WA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 22:43

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 22:43
It is time there was a entirely separate Photography section.
It is a real pain in the butt searching through blogs to find photo's.
You have one section for trips and another for photography. Not all bundled together.
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Follow Up By: Member - John Baas (WA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 23:04

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 23:04
You're absolutely right Tony.

That is exactly the (main) reason I stopped working on my wildflower blog. I take this opportunity, not for anything like the first time, to request D&M to lift this field into greater prominence.

Many people go to some, even great, trouble (witness Val's efforts) to contribute significantly to this site, and...they are all but ignored by the system operators.

Sort of cheers.

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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 23:26

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 23:26
Hi John

Sorry for being so snappy. Your blog is great and I like many others appreciate what you did. Do not let the powers to be get the better of you, keep contributing, and as they say.....


"From little things, big things grow"

Regards

Stephen
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Follow Up By: Member - John Baas (WA) - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 00:15

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 00:15
Cheers Stephen.

Looking fwd to seeing you out on the tracks one day....
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:35

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:35
Thanks for your generous support as ever Stephen. I have been twice to Batten Hill and dont recall ever seeing an Eremophila there, so maybe they are a bit more elusive than I thought. Nor have I seen the Simpson Desert one that you posted.

As for getting more involved, you have been a strong contributor so you shouldn't be concerned - plus you and others have jobs to keep you out of mischief while I have the luxury of staying at home and thinking about places to go on the next trip!!

I have been monitoring the response to these wildflower posts over the last few topics and I think interest is waning somewhat. Not surprising really as the forum has had some fairly quiet times, and the Photo Comp seems to have died or perhaps never really got off the ground. Given that its easier to put multiple photos up in a blog, I might just do occasional blogs and see how that goes. Would appreciate thoughts on that.

I'm inclined to agree with Tony that photography needs to be given greater prominence on the site. Knowlege of places to go (already covered in the Places section) and things to see (like flowers/plants) is most easily conveyed via images. However I'm not sure how it might be done and real enthusiasts will go to photography sites anyway. I guess a plants and animals box in the Blog Categories would be a start.

I also appreciate that David has a lot of work to do on the site and that photos require a lot of storage capacity, so I guess we will just have to be patient.

Cheers,

Val.
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony S (WA) - Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 00:18

Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 00:18
If you have a look at the AULRO site - www.aulro.com/ -they have a site called " Camera Corner " worth having a look at. You can look with out being a member. (or used to be able to.)
Tony
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Friday, May 27, 2011 at 16:10

Friday, May 27, 2011 at 16:10
Hi Stephen,

I think I should get my eyes checked! Having said that I had not seen your Simpson Desert Eremophilas, I have now had a closer look and realise that my Hay River one is the same. Somehow the colours looked different, Oh well.

Have a good weekend,

Cheers,

Val
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Reply By: zenonie - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 08:10

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 08:10
Hi, here at Kilcowera Station, on the Dowling Track, in SW Qld we have about 15 different sorts of Eremophilas. They usually flower in winter and spring, Some of them are a really pretty bush even when they are not flowering. My favourites are maculata, alternifolia and latrobei. It's certainly a very hardy species and the birds love them too. cheers zenonie
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:48

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 17:48
Hi Zenonie,

Well you got me googling - I now know where Kilcowera Station is, and had never heard of the Dowling Track. You might just see us out that way sometime - a Ramsar wetland and Eremophilas sounds very attractive!
Thanks for your post.

Cheers,

Val.
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Follow Up By: zenonie - Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 05:56

Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 05:56
Hi Val, now that the rotten horrible stinking drought is over the countryside looks fantastic, If we get some winter rain we'll have a good wildflower season too. Cheers Zenonie
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Reply By: Member - Min (NSW) - Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:48

Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:48
Hi Val,

Thank you once again for your thread and blog. I went looking for Eremophila photos to post but was amazed that I could only find a couple then realised that others predated our move digital cameras, so here is the best one which was taken at Kalbarri.

Image Could Not Be Found

I should not have used caps for murchison river because that is the variation of E. glabra.

There were other plants that I thought at first were Eremophilas - identification can be tricky.

Eremophilas are amongst my favourite plants and for anyone travelling near Port Augusta a visit to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens will be rewarded with a fabulous selection of these beautiful plants, amongst many other rare and interesting surprises.

Min
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Monday, May 23, 2011 at 15:03

Monday, May 23, 2011 at 15:03
Hi Min,

Thanks for the post and great photo. Maybe we both photographed the same plant in Kalbarri - the one we saw was certainly a stunner.

I have been amazed at the variation in the species and the difference between insect and bird pollinated. Hopefully we will find more when next we get on the road. Glad we are not traveling today, but the rain has been very welcome.

Cheers,

Val
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