General Description:

Eremophila is a large genus of 214 species, all endemic to Australia. They are generally plants of inland and arid areas and are popular with Australian plant enthusiasts.

Eremophila alternifolia is a small to medium shrub which may reach 3 metres in height. The leaves are 10-50 mm long, usually linear and often sticky to the touch. The flowers are usually pink/red in colour but white and yellow forms are known. They are up to 25 mm long and tubular in shape. They mainly occur in spring but sporadic flowing may occur at other times. The rounded fruits are about 6 mm in diameter.

E.alternifolia is well known in cultivation and grows well in dry climates on a variety of soils which must have good drainage. It has also been successfully cultivated in humid, temperate areas. The species will tolerate at least moderate frosts and prefers full sun.

Propagation from seed of Eremophila species is unreliable. A number of treatment methods have been tried including sowing the ripe fruits, sowing of aged and washed fruits and splitting the fruits to extract the seeds prior to sowing. The latter involves splitting the fruits in halves and quarters but some seeds are inevitably damaged during the process.

E.alternifolia strikes readily from cuttings of hardened, current season’s growth.

 

Plant profile image

Eremophila alternifolia
Photo: Colin Jennings

Images of all Eremophila species, hybrids and cultivars can be seen in the Eremophila Study Group’s Eremophila Image Database

Other Native Plant Profiles