Bushland shows national colours

Hibbertias are starting to bloom now and are turning the bushland into a sea of green and gold. One of the more visible of the understorey plants, Hibbertias will become more apparent as the weeks go by.

Forming a bush a little bigger than a basketball, our most common Hibbertia, Hibbertia hypericoides, has bright yellow flowers displayed against dark green leaves. The flowers provide food for invertebrates and the dense bush provide shelter for larger animals. Pacific black ducks have been found nesting under this bush on more than one occasion.

Hibbertia was given the common name of buttercups by the early European settlers as the yellow flowers reminded them of the yellow buttercup flowers back home. However, they are not related to buttercups at all.

Look for Hibbertias starting to flower now and watch over the next few weeks as the bushland starts to light up with beacons of yellow.