Our guide has been prepared with seasonal blooms in Oatley Park. The park protects important examples of the natural environment which occurred throughout the area before the spread of suburbs. Within its boundaries are numerous micro-habitats giving protection to a variety of native plants and to animals which rely on those plants for food, shelter and nesting.
Flannel Flower – Actinotus helianthi Perennial, germinating best after fire but with some flowers all year round, peaking October. Large white flower heads, soft to touch. Greyish foliage. Widespread on drier plateau.
Red Beard – Calochilus paludosus Ground orchid to 30cm tall. Flowers with distinctive red hairs like a beard. Scattered on slopes and plateau.
Match Heads – Comesperma ericinum Slender shrub about 1m tall, with terminal clusters of pink flowers. On sheltered slopes and Headland Track.
Tongue Orchid – Dockrillia linguiformis Orchid found clinging to vertical sheltered rocks. Leaves 3-4cm long, tongue-shaped and strongly lined, growing hard against the rock. Numerous small but attractive white flowers.
Native Cherry – Exocarpos cupressiformis (fruit) Small tree, a root parasite, bearing tiny flowers on leafless branches. Fruit (seen here) is red, swollen and fleshy. Flowers and fruit at any time of year. Widespread in Park.
Common Raspwort – Gonocarpus teucrioides An inconspicuous plant with sandpapery stems and leaves. Leaves opposite, ovate, toothed. Flowers axillary, petals 3mm long, green to red. Common on sandy soils.
Ivy Goodenia –Goodenia hederaceae Prostrate plant with trailing stems to 50cm long. Leaves ovate, obscurely toothed and tapering to a stalk. Flowers yellow on slender stalks along the stems. On slopes, such as along Lime Kiln Bay
Broad-leaf Hakea – Hakea dactyloides Large shrub to 3m. Leaves flat with prominent veins. Numerous small white to pink flowers along stems. Widespread and common.
Flaky-barked Tea-tree – Leptospermum trinervium Medium to spreading shrub with flaky bark. Leaves narrow elliptic and pointed, but 3 veins not always prominent. Flowers white, 5-petalled, often with a red ring. Widespread
Spine-headed Mat-rush –Lomandra longifolia Tufted plant with strap-like leaves to 80cm long. Creamy flowers are borne in large clusters on the ends of flattened stems. Widespread and common.
Twisted Mat-rush – Lomandra obliqua Small plant usually growing in clumps. Leaves short and twisted, growing along stems. Flowers yellow, stalkless and in clusters. Widespread and common in woodland.
Sticky daisy Bush – Olearia viscidula Shrub to 1.3 m tall with leaves to 8cm long, sometimes sticky. Numerous white daisy flowers towards the ends of the branches. Scattered on slopes.
Thyme Spurge – Phyllanthus hirtellus Small and insignificant plant to 40cm tall. Leaves to 2mm long. Male flowers cream, in clusters of 2-3, smaller than the leaves. Common on drier plateau.
Dwarf Pine – Podocarpus spinulosus Spreading shrub with straggling branches to 1m tall. Leaves pungent-pointed to 6cm long. Male cones (seen here) cylindrical and in clusters from the leaf axils. Female cones single. Fruit blue-black, fleshy, edible. Common in sheltered areas along Headland Track.
For More information on the Flora of Oatley Park and Sydney Region check out the publications below:
- Native Plants of Oatley Park, A Photographic Guide Published by Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society
- Native Plants of Oatley Park Compiled by Alan Fairley, copies available at Oatley Flora and Fauna monthly meetings.
- Native Plants of the Sydney District an identification guide, by Alan Fairley & Philip Moore, available in book shops.
- D’harawal Seasons and Climatic Cycles, Compiled by Frances Bodkin & Illustrated by Lorraine Robertson 2008