Bursaria spinosa (Christmas Bush)

This is one of several ‘Christmas Bushes’ in Australia. This is the one that grows in South Australia and is a sparse shrub to about 3 metres tall around this area of the Mallee. In the South Eastern part of the state they are quite substantial trees with bushy crowns and the with the appearance of snow all over them when in flower. The flowering period is from early November through to February.

I remember as a child picking armfuls of the branches to take home and arrange in a big vase to place in the open fire place which of course was not in use during the summer. The trouble was that ants love the plants which drip with nectar when in full bloom.