Christmas Bush

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30051, 8 February 1963, Page 7

Christmas Bush

Among the wide and varied flora unique to Western Australia is Nulysiafloribunda. Lt is called Christmas tree or bush because it is just about Christmas every year that this ungainly semiparasitic plant bursts into a glory or orange blossom, which changes its form completely. Even a colour photograph fails to convey its true magnificence. Lt is a member of the family Loramthaceae and it is a close relative of our New Zealand mistletoe. The accompanying photograph was taken in Perth.

Nutysia is named after the Dutch explorer, Nutys, who played a leading part in Western Australian coastal discovery. It grows into a tree 20-30 feet high and roots have been recorded up to 300 feet in length. These roots will parasitise many kinds of plants and have been known to attach themselves to vegetables but are, however, most commonly found on species of Banksia. It has even been found in areas devoid of all plants except grass.

It will withstand extreme weather, and differing ’ soil types, having been found to

grow in peaty acid swamps to yellow and reddish sands in limestone country. Living as it does in low rainfall areas, the Christmas bush is very hardy and cannot be killed even by fire. In faet, fire only causes it to produce more vigorous suckers and induces more profuse flowering in the following year. It is by suckering that the bush saves itself* from extinction for it is seldom that the seedling stage is ever observed. Suckers arise intermittently from the long roots and these, if allowed to grow unchecked, will eventually become trees. A mature specimen may have a girth of 4-5 feet. Nutysia has been found difficult to raise from seed in cultivation, even in Western Australia. Some success has been obtained by sowing with carrot seed close to a group of Banksias. It seems that at first the roots of the seedling Nutysia attaches itself to the carrots and then at a later stage to the Banksia. This may offer a challenge to those gardeners who like to attempt to grow plants that are difficult to cultivate.