It annoys me is when I am told that a particular species *is* a native, and it patently isnt the case. As I dont carry a copy of the 'Flora' tomes put out by Gardening Australia with me, it usually comes down to a polite disagreement between myself and the other party. A great deal of the misinformation seems to come from places like Bunnings, where staff are eager to tell customers that plant X is, indeed, a waterwise native ... I was recently told, quite earnestly, that 'All Syzygiums are Australian natives' : this news must comes as a profound shock to people in Asia.

Here are some of the other clangers I've heard of late:

* Murrayas - OK, I believe that there *is* a native Murraya somewhere in North Queensland, but the plant that most gardeners will encounter is Murraya Paniculata (Orange Jessamine/Mock Orange), and it comes from Central and Southeast Asia.

* Hibiscus - again, there is a native Hibiscus, but its not the same plant sold in most nurseries (Hibiscus Rosa-Sinesis). For reasons best known to themselves, the nursery that I bought mine from tagged the latter as 'Hibiscus Splendens', one of the native varieties, despite that fact that it's clearly Rosa-Sinesis. Again, Central and Southeast Asia, and widely naturalised in Hawaii. I'll be sure to wear brightly coloured shirts whilst pruning mine.

* Various tropicals : yes, we do have wet tropics in Oz, but very few of our tropical species look like they were left over after the set from Gilligan's Island was dismantled. If I see a palm that I havent encountered before, chances are that it came from South America, not Northern Australia. I have to control myself when I hear someone say 'I *think* it's a native ...', esp when there is a sale imminent. Caveat Emptor.

* Bougainvillea - okay .... I'll sign off before this gets any sillier. Suffice it to say that there are people in this town who fervently believe these thorny terrors originated in Oz. Folks are dumb where I come from :)

I'm sure you've all heard furphys of a similar nature, but it annoys me when it comes from someone who has the ear of newcomers to gardening. Particularly when they think they are buying a native Hibiscus ........

I agree with you, there is a lot of misinformation about plants. I enjoyed reading your email.

Maybe we should all do research into the plants we buy.

P

And another thing.
I was startled to see a cultivar of an Australian vine described as exotic. I think they were describing the flower as opulent. Been meaning to email the company about using the word in that sense.
Rose

Perhaps we could all contribute by bringing such mistakes to the attention of nurseries.

regards

Dennis Mc

Found this page on Google, and it also lists the native Murraya which I had tried to track down previously:

Native Alternatives

I think I had a pseudo-native attack on the weekend. We bought some pig face (and I know there is a native variety, but alas, having bought it and now done a google, I have discovered I bought the south american type...). I also bought phyla nudiflora. I was told by the garden assistant that phyla was definately a native of WA.

Having done a google (I don't always trust the garden assistants from the hardware shop) - I discovered that (a) origins of phyla are in doubt and it could be introduced and (b) more importantly, phyla (diff varieties, but p. nudiflora was also listed) is considered to be an awful weed in most parts of Aus.

What to do? Should I rip the blasted thing out? I planted 12 plants .... Hubby is inclined to leave it and see if it lives up to its weed potential.

Aggie

I guess it's at least a start that people are starting to look for natives, rather than exotics-that-do-well-in-Australia's-unique-climate. It does give one some hope that we're finally learning ... even if some of the finer details are getting lost in the translation :)

The last time (before my visit today) I was at Bunnings I saw a gorgeous plant in the native section, pulled it out and read the label. Which said "native of South Africa". I always read the labels and wish it was a labelling condition of all plants to state where they are native to. They also have the Proteas in the native section.

it was bad enough when old US movies used to portray Australian characters with very close to a South African accent. At least now with so many Aussies in Hollywood, the accents sound right - most of the time.

There are actually two native species of Myrraya. Murraya ovatifoliolata occurs in dry or coastal rainforest from south Queensland to Cape York and to the Kimberley in WA. There is another one, a large and showy plant, that occurs on Cape York Peninsula and botanists insist on calling it Murraya paniculata though it does not look much like the exotic version. This is where mistakes come about. Someone will look up a herbarium list and it says Murraya paniculata occurs in Australia therefore the ones we are selling must be a native.

Another one is Syzygium malaccense. The Australian one looks very little like the Asian one and the fruit are completely different.

Even the common Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) occurs in Australia, but all the ones sold in nurseries are from Asia.

When I posted this, it was with all the indignation of one who had 'discovered' native plants, and decided that others weren't being true to the 'creed', particularly those with a vested interest in selling plants. After my 'Fanaticism and Native Plants' thread, however, I have realised that perhaps I'm not so pure-of-heart myself : there are natives in my garden which simply shouldnt be there. The native Lasiandra I spoke of in my 'Melastoma Affine' thread is one, and my Alpinia another. If I were a stronger person, I'd take it all out and start again using local natives, but I suspect thats not going to happen. When push comes to shove, for better or worse, anything that thrives on my (previously bare)patch of ground has earnt itself a place in the sun.

Cheers,

Artie