As Australians criss-cross the county to see family and friends, and fan out along beaches and camping grounds to enjoy the Christmas holidays, they’re being implored to keep an eye out for some festive markers in the natural world.
Whether it’s the West Australian ‘Christmas Tree’ (which gets its moniker due to its bright yellow or orange flowers that bloom every December) or the secret life of Australia’s many native mistletoes, there is plenty to see this time of year.
In particular, a natural wreath which appears in Western Australia has been getting some attention ahead of the holidays. Sharing photos of the unique plant, Aussie fertiliser company Neutrog, hailed the “amazing” wreath flowers Lechenaultia macrantha as “icons of Australia’s natural heritage”.
“As we deck the halls this festive season, let’s celebrate one of Australia’s own natural ‘wreaths’,” it wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “With its pink and red blooms forming a perfect circle, this unique wildflower brings a touch of Christmas magic to the Australian outback.”
While some Aussies said they had never heard of them, everyone appeared unanimous in being awestruck by the mysterious flowers.
“These are truly God’s creation,” one commented.
Unable to propagate them, they’re only spotted in the wild. Source: Facebook/Neutrog
“When we were privileged to see these beautiful gifts of nature, we were amazed that they grew just on the side of gravelly sandy tracks,” another person said.
“I recommend to anyone travelling down the West Coast in spring to find the wreath flowers. Truly spectacular,” a third agreed.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, local WA woman Helen Ansell who regularly paints the flowers, said it’s incredible how they stand out in their environment.
“They like growing in the real gravel, sparse bit so to see these really pink, white fluffy flowers on this red flat dirt is really quite amazing,” she said in September.
While not a lot is known about the ‘amazing’ wreath flowers, locals say they love to grow in ‘disturbed soil’. Source: Helen Ansell/Supplied
Mysterious wreath flowers only found in a ‘few spots around the world’
Helen explained wreath flowers, which are “only found growing in a few spots in the whole world”, are perennials so they lay dormant underground — with their blooms heavily dependent on the amount of summer rain received.
The wildflowers, whose colours can vary annually from pure white to pink, and orange and red, are thought to have tap roots that reach deep underground.
According to the Mullewa Visitors Centre in WA, “nobody really understands why wreath flowers grow where they grow”. Interestingly, botanists also have yet to discover how to propagate them, Helen told Yahoo.
“We haven’t figured out how to grow them so we don’t have them in King’s Park. We don’t have them in nurseries. You have to travel here to be able to see them.”
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