General Description:

Astus is a small genus of four species, all found in the south west of Western Australia. Three of the four were newly described in 2005 while the fourth was previously known as Baeckea tetragona.

Astus tetragonus is a small to medium shrunb from 0.5 to 2 metres high.The leaves are oval to elliptical in shape, up to about 3 mm long and 1mm wide. Like other related species, they contain oil glands and are aromatic when crushed. The five-petalled flowers occur in small clusters towards the end of short branchlets and are white to pale pink. They are seen mainly during late winter and spring.

A.tetragonus is not commonly cultivated but could be expected to grow in similar conditions to related plants such as Astartea. It is an attractive plant with masses of well displayed flowers.  It is best suited to well drained soils and can be grown in sunny or partially shaded locations.

Seed germinates well without pretreatment. Cuttings of firm, current season’s growth should strike readily.