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.
Bitter Pea – Daviesia corymbosa Shrub to 2m tall, with narrow lance-shaped leaves, clearly veined. Yellow pea flowers with a red centre are borne in clusters from leaf axils. Scattered on plateau and slopes.
Waxlip Orchid – Glossodia major A mauve-blue ground orchid with a solitary hairy leaf. In open woodland down from the oval.
Dumplings – Billardiera scandens Low twining plant with greenish-yellow bell flowers. The cylindrical fruit is edible. Scattered through the park, especially on sheltered slopes.
Small Plank Plant– Bossiaea ensata Straggling low shrub, apparently leafless, with flattened stems and yellow pea flowers. Scattered on plateau.
Rusty Petals – Lasiopetalum ferrugineum Small shrub with narrow leaves, to 9cm x 8mm, white to rusty below. Flowers cream in small downwards-pointing clusters shorter than leaves. Widespread, especially on upper slopes.
White Beard – Leucopogon amplexicaulis Small under shrub with distinctive stem-clasping leaves. White flowers, bearded inside, in spikes exceeding the leaves. Shaded positions on Headland Track.
Pale Matt-Rush – Lomandra glauca Spreading plant, often forming mats. Leaves flat to 20cm long, with pale brown shreds at base. Flowers yellow on spikes shorter than leaves. Dry plateau areas.
Many-flowered Mat-rush – Lomandra multiflora Perennial with clumps of firm strap-like leaves and yellow flowers borne in distinctive clusters along an upright stem. Common on dry plateau.
Mock Orange – Pittosporum undulatum Small tree with broad glossy leaves and terminal clusters of white perfumed flowers. Very common in sheltered spots.
Rusty Pomaderris – Pomaderris ferruginea Shrub to 4 m tall. Leaves elliptic, 10cm x 3 cm, hairless above, a mix of white and rusty hairs below. Flowers yellow in loose terminal heads. Scattered on woodland slopes.
Large-leaf Bush-pea – Pultenaea daphnoides Shrub to 2 m tall with wedge-shaped leaves to 25mm long. Yellow flowers borne in terminal heads. Common in sheltered sites.
Wedding Bush – Ricinocarpos pinifolius Shrub to 1.5 m tall with narrow leaves and conspicuous white flowers (mostly 5-petalled) with yellow stamens. Widespread.
Grass-leaf Trigger Plant – Stylidium graminifolium Basal clumps of grass-like leaves and an erect stem to 40cm tall bearing small pink flowers. Each flower with a sensitive trigger which is set off by visiting insects. Drier areas on plateauSand
Sandfly Zieria – Zieria smithii Shrub up to 1m tall. Leaves with strong odour, divided into 3 leaflets, each to 50mm long. Flowers white with 4 petals, in loose clusters. Along blocked road to Lime Kiln footbridge.
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