As a fan of Xanthostemon Chysanthus and its Giant Penda relatives in the Daintree, I was elated to find Xanthostemon verticillatus, or 'Little Penda', for sale at a local nursery recently. Only a six-inch pot, but the little fellow appears very happy next to my Grevillea bed in the front garden.

If you check the photo in the middle of the article below, its obvious that this particular Penda differs from X. Chrysanthus in its habit - more reminiscent of a young Callistemon, for mine. I have planted it alongside Grevillea 'Orange Marmalade' and Grevillea Venusta - similar leaf patterns and colour reinforcing the rainforest theme.

Will let you know how it fares.

Cheers,

Artie

Roy

Like most of the best 'discoveries', I literally stumbled on it at Fisher's Nursery. Neil is a bit of a bower bird, and he tends to be a good source for anything a little out of the ordinary - I havent seen the plant in any of the other local nurseries. I'm sure there are individuals in Rocky who collect natives from far and wide, but the majority of the nurseries stick with the usual suspects. Fortunately, rainforest plants have been popular for a sufficiently long time to make them part of that list :)

Cheers,

Artie