Emily & Jessie Gaps Nature Park
Yeperenye / Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature ParkApple Bush (Emily & Jessie Gaps) Sacred Kingfisher (Emily & Jessie Gaps)
Known as Apple Bush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) is this short-lived flowering perennial plant species found only in Australia.
An erect or straggling herb, iIt has sticky stems, with leaves that are 1-5 cm long, 3-15 mm wide, alternating up the stems, with the bases extending down the stems as a narrow wing. The leaves are flat and hairy below, sometimes almost hairless above, the edges entire or toothed to lobed.
The flower heads are spherical to oval, and can vary in colour from green, white, pink, purple or blue. There are no petals, and the flower head are borne singly at the end of the stems.
It is found growing in natural habitats, from sub-tropical dry to continental grasslands. Found across mainland Australia and often seen growing in the Alice Springs region.
Common name
Known as “Apple Bush” (also spelt “applebush”) and “Fruit-salad Plant”. There are also a number of Aboriginal names such as Intiyanu (Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara name). An aromatic plant that is used in Australian Aboriginal medicine.
Checkout our other Flora in Alice Springs, Olive Pink Botanic Garden Flora and Wildflowers of Central Australia.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Charophyta
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Subclass: Magnoliidae
- Superorder: Asteranae
- Order: Asterales
- Family: Asteraceae
- Genus: Pterocaulon
- Species: Pterocaulon sphacelatum
Footnote & References
- Applebush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum), iNatuarlist, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/370042-Pterocaulon-sphacelatum
Yeperenye / Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature ParkApple Bush (Emily & Jessie Gaps) Sacred Kingfisher (Emily & Jessie Gaps)
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