Small Shrubs
Acaena ovina - Sheeps Burr
25-50 cm x 30 cm
Rosette ore erect tufted perennial herb. White flowers with dark purple stamens form in a spike and has green spiny burrs.
Brunonia australis - Blue Pincushions
10-35 cm x 10-15 cm
Rosette of spoon-shaped leaves and dense blue flowerheads.
Often short-lived in cultivation. Makes an excellent container plant.
Calocephalus lacteus - Milky Beauty Heads
15-50 cm x 10-30 cm
Sprawling shrub, soft grey leaves, white button flowers.
Moist soils tolerating inundation and some salinity. Full sun, semi-shade.
Calotis scabiosifolia var integrifolia - Rough Burr Daisy
Hairy perennial herb with mauve flowerheads on long stalks.
Semi-shade.
Chrysocephalum apiculatum - Common Everlasting
Prostrate - 30 cm x 1-2 m
Spreading dense shrub, terminal clusters of yellow flowers.
Well drained soils. Full sun.
An excellent rockery plant. Prune regularly.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum - Clustered Everlasting
0.3-1 m x 1-3 m
Wooly aromatic herb, golden flowers.
Variable, from moist to dry soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Requires hard pruning of old growth.
Coronidium scorpioides - Button Everlasting
Synonyms: Helichrysum scorpioides, Helichrysum rutidolepis
20-30 cm x 20-30 cm
Spreading herb, yellow flowers. The foothills form has paler flowers and less leaves on stalk.
Moist well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
An attractive rockery plant.
Craspedia variabilis - Billy Buttons
15-60 cm x 0.5-1 m
Variable tufted perennial herb, yellow flowers on long stalks.
Shallow, well drained to moist sandy to clay soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Spectacular in flower. May be grown in containers or rockeries or used in massed plantings.
Cymbonotus preissianus - Bear's Ears
Prostrate x 10-30 cm
Hairy annual or perennial herb forming a flat rosette. Single yellow daisy flowerheads.
Dry to moist clay soils. Semi-shade to full shade.
Cynoglossum suaveolens - Sweet Hound's-tongue
10-50 cm x 0.5-1.5 m
Basal rosette of wavy spoon-shaped leaves. Small, highly fragrant white flowers.
Moist, well drained soil. Full sun, semi-shade.
Useful for containers or on embankments. Responds well to light pruning.
Derwentia derwentiana - Derwent Speedwell
0.6-1.4 m x 0.5-1 m
Upright to straggly open perennial shrub. Terminal sprays of white or pale-blue flowers.
Moist well drained soil.
Hard pruning encourages more vigorous growth.
Epacris impressa - Common Heath
0.5-1.5 m x 20-60 cm
Open, wiry shrub with masses of white or pink flowers. Victoria's floral emblem.
Moist, well drained soil, tolerating limited dry or wet periods once established. Semi-shade.
An attractive rockery plant.
Gonocarpus tetragynus - Common Raspwort
10-30 cm x 20-40 cm
Erect bushy herb with loose spikes of tiny pinkish-red flowers.
Moist to dry, well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Hibbertia riparia - Erect Guinea-flower
Synonym: Hibbertia stricta
30-100 cm x 60 cm
Showy plant with pale yellow flowers and dull green leaves.
Moist well drained soil, responding to summer watering. Full sun, semi-shade.
Hovea heterophylla - Common Hovea
Synonym: Hovea linearis
30-60 cm x 30 cm
Open trailing or erect plant with mauve pea flowers along the stems.
Dry well drained soil. Semi-shade to full shade.
A dainty little plant to grow amongst other plants and under eucalypts.
Lagenophora gracilis - Slender Bottle Daisy
Synonyms: Lagenifera gracilis
To 25 cm x 8 cm
Basal rosette of dark green leaves with small mauve or white flowers on stalks.
Well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Suitable for containers.
Lagenophora stipitata - Blue Bottle Daisy
Synonym: Lagenifera stipitata
5-25 cm high
Hairy dark green leaves with mauve flowers on stalks.
Adaptable to moist well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Leptorhynchos squamatus - Scaly Buttons
15-40 cm x 40 cm
Yellow flowers held above foliage on long scaly stalks.
Well drained moist to seasonally inundated soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Summer watering is beneficial.
Leptorhynchos tenuifolius - Wiry Buttons
10-30 cm x 30 cm
Wiry, branched perennial with single yellow flowers held erect.
Prefers well drained situations but tolerates some moisture. Full sun, semi-shade.
Leptospermum continentale - Prickly Tea-tree, dwarf form
Dense bush with masses of white flowers.
Adaptable, tolerating both well drained and moist to wet soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Linum marginale - Native Flax
30-80 cm x 30 cm
Slender erect bluish perennial herb.
Moist well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Cut back hard each year in late autumn to encourage vigorous new growth.
Olearia erubescens - Moth Daisy Bush
1-1.5 m x 1-1.5 m
Small loose panicles of white to pink flowerheads with yellow centres.
Well drained soils tolerating dryness once established. Full sun, semi-shade.
Looks good planted amongst other shrubs.
Olearia myrsinoides - Silky Daisy Bush
0.3-1 m x 1-1.5 m
Open, spreading shrub, white flowers.
Well drained and rocky soils tolerating extended dry periods once established. Semi-shade.
Pimelea curviflora - Curved Rice-flower
15-50 cm x 10-50 cm
Dull green, curved leaves with yellow-green flowers.
A variable species. Possibly toxic to stock.
Pimelea humilis - Common Rice-flower
10-30 cm x 0.3-1 m
Erect or straggling small shrub with dense creamy-white flowerheads.
Moist to dryish well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Can be planted under established trees.
Plantago debilis - Slender or Shade Plantain
Tuft 3-25 cm high.
Rosetted perennial herb with slender spikes of pale green flowers.
Moist to well drained loamy soil. Semi-shade.
Plantago varia - Variable Plantain
10-20 cm x 15-30 cm
Rosetted perennial herb with dense spikes of brown flowers on stalks.
Well drained dryish soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Plantylobium obtusangulum - Common Flat-pea
0.6-1 m x 0.6-1.8 m
Spreading, clumping or arching shrub. Yellow flowers with red centres.
Prefers drier well drained soils. Semi-shade.
Leaf shape is variable.
Pteris tremula - Tender Brake
0.6-1.5 m high
A very attractive fern. Fronds to 1.5 m long.
Moist well drained to poorly drained soils. Semi-shade to full shade.
Pterostylis curta - Blunt Greenhood
10-30 cm high
Rosette of ovate or oblong leaves. Single erect green and white striped flower.
Moist to well drained soils. Semi-shade to full shade.
An easily grown free flowering plant that forms vast flowering colonies.
Pterostylis pendunculata - Maroon Hood
To 25 cm high
Rosette of long-stalked, prominently veined ovate to oblong green leaves. Single erect green and white flower. Tip of maroon.
Moist soil from sand to clay. Semi-shade to full sun.
Forms small dense colonies beneath low shrubs and grasses or protected by tree trunks.
Pultenaea gunnii - Golden Bush Pea
0.5-1.5 m x 0.5-1 m
Wiry erect or straggling shrub with golden flowers.
Well drained soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Spectacular in flower. Grows well under established trees.
Pultenaea pedunculata - Matted Bush-Pea
Prostrate x 1-3 m
Densely matted plant with yellow & red flowers.
Well drained soils, tolerating dry periods once established. Full sun, semi-shade.
An excellent groundcover. Useful for soil-binding and cascading over rockeries and retaining walls.
Senecio campylocarpus - Fireweed
To 1.5 m x 1-1.5 m
Erect perennial herb. Loose clusters of brown bottle-shaped flowers.
Moist clay and loams, winter-wet soils. Full sun, semi-shade.
Senecio hispidulus - Rough Fireweed
Synonyms: Senecio hispidulus var hispidulus, Senecio hispidulus var dissectus
0.2-1.3 m high
Erect perennial herb with branched clusters of inconspicuous flowerheads. Leave margins variably toothed and dissected.
Senecio linearifolius - Fireweed Groundsel
1-1.7 m x 1-2 m
Erect perennial herb with large flat-topped clusters of numerous small flowerheads.
Moist soils. Semi-shade to full shade.
A brilliant display in flower.
Senecio quadridentatus - Cotton Fireweed
0.4-1 m x 0.5-1 m
Erect perennial herb with stems and leaves covered with cottony hairs.
Very adaptable to most soils except waterlogged conditions. Full sun, semi-shade.
Sphaerolobium minus - Eastern Globe-pea
20-60 cm x 20-50 cm
Leafless plant with spikes of yellow pea flowers.
An attractive rockery plant. Rarely seen around Melbourne.
Sphaerolobium vimineum - Leafless Globe-pea
0.3-1 m x 0.3-1 m
The wings of the pea flower are longer than the keel, and the bracteoles are green.
Full sun, semi-shade.
Tetratheca ciliata - Pink Bells
20-3- cm x 20-40 cm
An erect clumping shrub with fragrant mauve to white flowers.
Prefers morning sun. Attractive in flower, it can be grown in containers or rockeries.
Veronica gracilis - Slender Speedwell
15-30 cm x 1 m
Slender, erect herb with pale mauve cup flowers.
Moist, well drained and seasonally wet soils. Full sun to full shade.
Xanthosia dissecta var. dissecta - Cut-leaf Xanthosia
5-10 cm x 20-30 cm
Spreading perennial herb. Tiny green or reddish flowers.
Semi-shade.
Xerochrysum palustre - Swamp everlasting
0.3-1 m x 0.2-1 m
Erect perennial herb, rarely branched. Single shiny golden-yellow flowerheads.
Moist to wet heavy clay soils. Full sun.
A threatened species.
Xerochrysum viscosum - Sticky everlasting
Synonym: Bracteantha viscosa
20-90 cm x 0.3-1 m
Much branched sticky herb with showy bright yellow flowers.
Well drained soils. Full sun.
Prune to encourage bushiness.