Melhania oblongifolia (Malvaceae) got the Editor’s vote as the prettiest small flowering plant spotted on our recent outing to the Mingela Range. From late morning onward its brilliant flowers were displayed to full advantage (photo above) after unfurling very slowly earlier in the day.
Melhania oblongifolia is a small understorey plant adapted to open woodland, monsoon forest and vine thickets. Its natural range extends from east to west across most of northern Australia. In our region it can be seen near the coast (photo above Cape Pallarenda) and in dryer inland areas (photo below Mingela Range).
Melhania oblongifolia is not well known in cultivation but some of our members have grown it and found it a very attractive and hardy addition to their gardens (photo below) provided it has good drainage.
In the wild, we usually see Melhania oblongifolia growing fully exposed to the sun. Nevertheless, in gardens of our members, it has grown well and flowered well in light shade as well as in full sun. Occasional light pruning has been helpful to encourage bushier growth and more flowers (photo above).
Individual flowers are short-lived but each stem produces multiple buds (photo above) and conveniently, Melhania oblongifolia tends to flower intermittently almost all year round in favourable growing conditions. When the seed cases split open (photo below), it is easy to collect seed and propagate new plants.
