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.

Many native plant enthusiasts will readily identify the tall trees in the above photo as Paperbarks, but can you say exactly which species? If you’re unsure, you are with the majority.

On a recent outing, we learned from expert botanist Russell Cumming that these trees are Melaleuca aff. viridiflora (Myrtaceae), actually a new species hiding in plain sight!

As indicated by “aff.” in the botanical name, these trees are similar to, but distinct from the well established species Melaleauca viridiflora. Russell pointed out, recognition as a separate species is justified by consistent points of difference including smaller, greener leaves and whiter flowers (photo above) and a different flowering time.

In comparison to M. viridiflora, Melaleuca aff. viridiflora grows into a larger tree and prefers swampier habitats (photo above). Surprisingly, it has not yet been formally described although it is widespread and abundant, occuring from central QLD to Kakadu.

To fully appreciate all the differences between the two species, you need to see live specimens. However, flower differences are apparent in the following photos. The whiter flowers of Melaleuca aff. viridiflora are shown above, and below are the creamy-green flowers of Melaleuca viridiflora

There is also a very attractive but less common form of Melaleuca viridiflora that bears reddish flowers, photo below.

In Australia, Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae) grows naturally as a large shrub or small tree near the coast from Central Queensland to the Top End and across to the northern Kimberley.

Morinda citrifolia usually occurs just behind the beach, sometimes fully exposed as we’ve seen at Magnetic Island (first photo above) and also in dense beach forest (directly above) as saw on our outing to Balgal last year.

In diverse growing conditions, Morinda citrifolia maintains its vibrant shiny foliage all year (photo above) and it can be an attractive addition to a spacious garden.

Morinda citrifolia flowers (photo above) are pleasantly perfumed and emerge from the surface of the developing fruit in a visually intriguing arrangement. They will be followed by a short period of potential inconvenience if planted without due consideration.

Ripening fruits of Morinda citrifolia (above) unfortunately have a strong aroma that many people dislike. If you plant this species in your garden, it’s best to place it away from bedroom windows and patios.

Alternatively, you can simply remove the Morinda citrifolia fruits while they are still green, and add them to your compost pile. This is also a good strategy to avoid messy ripe fruits dropping inconveniently onto pathways.

Morinda citrifolia fruits (above) were occasionally eaten during periods of food-shortage but their smell and assumed matching flavour is off-putting. Nevertheless the species has had many traditional therapeutic uses in some parts of Asia and the Pacific islands.

In current times, commercial producers of “noni juice” claim many health benefits from their product that is based on Morinda citrifolia extracts with the original flavour neutralised and other fruit flavours added.

This month we put the spotlight on two lovely little plants in the Violaceae botanical family. Pigea enneasperma (photo above) was spotted on our April outing to Bluewater Range, and we found Pigea stellaroides (photo below) a few days later on the rocky slopes near Cape Cleveland.

At a glance the flower shape provides a handy reminder of the common name, Spade Flower. But over recent years, these pretty plants have undergone a pretty confusing series of name changes. Lilac Spade Flower was formally known as Hybanthus enneaspermus and Orange Spade Flower was Hybanthus stellaroides. Then their genus was changed to Afrohybanthus. Now they are Pigea, reverting to the genus that was applied back the 1800s (Forster 2021).

Both of these Spade Flowers are small upright plants with narrow leaves (photo above). Growing as single plants, they are often widely scattered among long grass and other low-growing species so they can be difficult to spot in the wild.

In a garden setting, Spade Flowers provide an attractive display if you establish several plants in a dense cluster (photo above). Tubestock plants are only occasionally available from some native plant nurseries, and nursery-grown Pigea seem to suffer from the inevitable disturbance of being re-planted. Sowing Pigea seed directly in the garden might be the best strategy.

Pigea enneasperma has a wide distribution across eastern and northern Australia (map above left) and also occurs in parts of Asia and Africa. Pigea stellaroides (map above right) occurs in coastal Queensland, New South Wales and PNG.

Spadeflowers have long been used for traditional medical treatments and advanced modern research methods are now being used to study their rare chemical components – read more here.

Millettia pinnata also known as Pongamia pinnata (Fabaceae) is a dry rainforest tree widespread in Queensland and beyond. It has beautiful pea-like flowers (photo above) that appear towards the end of the Dry Season. However, at this time of year, during our Wet Season, it is the tree’s dense green foliage that draws attention (photo below), especially when the leaves are sparkling with raindrops.

The leaves often have numerous small brown patches (photo below) caused by an unnamed leaf miner that Millettia pinnata trees seem to tolerate well. In densely vegetated places, these brown patches can be a useful aid in spotting Millettia pinnata trees from a distance.

In lower rainfall areas like the Townsville region, Millettia pinnata typically grows in riparian forest (along creeks), and in higher rainfall areas it thrives in littoral forest (behind beaches).

Millettia pinnata grows relatively fast, tolerates heat, flooding and extended dry periods, and rarely suffers major insect attack. The species has attracted research attention to investigate its potential for commercial production of biofuel, and several trial plots of Millettia pinnata have been grown in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia over the past decade. We have not heard of any large-scale planting in Australia as yet.

Lophostemon grandiflorus (Myrtaceae) is endemic to Australia, an attractive but often overlooked tree (photo above) that occurs naturally right across the Top End, extending in the east to Central Queensland. It was originally named Tristania grandiflora, then transferred to the genus Lophostemon in the 1980s.

Lophostemon grandiflorus typically grows in well drained native woodland areas near gullies and seasonal creeks. The species evidently benefits from intermittent high soil moisture, and tolerates both temporary inundation and prolonged dry spells. Despite its common names, Northern Swamp Mahogany / Northern Swamp Box, Lophostemon grandiflorus does not normally grow in permanently saturated swamps.

Lophostemon grandiflorus bears clusters of creamy-white flowers edged with brown (photo above). The botanical name ‘Lophostemon’ refers to the tufted clusters of stamens that typify this genus and give the flowers a fluffy appearance when seen from a distance. Close-up, the stamen clusters are visible towards the top and left of the photo above.

Lophostemon grandiflorus trees quite often host epiphytes and mistletoes. In the photo above, there are orange mistletoe flowers partly visible through the Lophostemon grandiflorus foliage. The leaves provide food for native caterpillars including those of the Splendid Ghost Moth and the Rare Red-eye Butterfly.

Lophostemon grandiflorus leaves are mid- to dark-green on their upper surface and pale green on the underside (photo above). There are small oil dots in the leaves although you might need a hand lens to see them.

Saplings and young Lophostemon grandiflorus trees have smooth light brown bark that gradually becomes darker and rougher, almost fibrous, as the tree ages (photo above). The coarse surface and persistent nature of the bark (i.e. not shed seasonally) provides a favourable substrate for mistletoe, orchids and other epiphytes.

In favourable conditions Lophostemon grandiflorus grows readily from seed. One may need patience and good timing to collect seed and it’s worth checking several trees at different locations. They tend to have variable flowering periods and the window for seed collection is brief because the seed capsules quickly swell, open, and shed their contents (photo above).