Summer flowers

You may think that the bush is dry and lifeless this month, but you’d be mistaken. There are several plants that flower in February and they help support the birds and insects that abound at this time of year.

The Pink Summer Star Flower, Calytrix fraserii, can be seen all summer. Its bright pink flowers are displayed proudly even on the hottest of days.

Marri, Corymbia calophylla, will also be flowering. This tree provides nectar for the honeyeaters when most of the nectar rich flowers have finished. Last year’s seed, in the honkey-nuts, will be ripe now, so the parrots and cockatoos will be feeding from these.

The fruit on the Zamia, Macrozamia fraseri, also ripen this month and can be seen falling away from the parent plant. Zamias are either male or female plants and it is only the females that will produce the bright red fleshy fruit. These fruits are poisonous to humans but are safely eaten by Emus. After the fruit passes through the Emu, the seed is deposited away from the mother plant.

There are many other plants in flower this month. You just need to look in the right places to see them.