Native plant of the month – Abrophyllum ornans

 

 Abrophyllum ornans/Native Hydrangea 

(Ab-row-fill-um) from the greek word ‘habros’ gay, phyllon meaning leaf- refers to the large attractive leaves (Or-nans) latin for beautiful- also referring to the leaves.

Native Hydrangea is a fast growing rainforest shrub to small tree of 3-5m. Abrophyllum ornans is usually found in moist, shady gullies making it an attractive indoor plant or ideal for heavily shaded areas in the garden.

It has large striking leaves with small teeth, often on the upper half of leaves.  Native Hydrangea has small fragrant flowers from November to December followed by purple to black berries approx. 5mm in diameter ripening between March and October.

If you live close to the coast on sandy soils, you will need to keep the water up to this plant and ensure that you have a good canopy coverage from trees and larger plants to provide growing conditions similar to a rainforest.

 

 

Information and photo provided by Coolum Community Native Nursery

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