Sunday, October 13, 2024

Hibbertia scandens / An Acceptable Weed

The native snake vine (Hibbertia scandens) grows all over our property.
It is a vigorous climber with stems reaching up to five metres in length as well as a ground cover.
It is found mainly in coastal areas in NSW, extending into the northern tablelands and a little into the central tablelands. It grows along the entire NSW Coast and most of the Queensland coast as far north as Cape York.
It also grows in the far north-east of Victoria.
Its habitats are coastal dune forest, wet sclerophyll woodlands and forests and well as coastal scrub and heathlands growing on sandy soils.
The plant produce fruit as follicles. In this species, they are about 2 cm long, ripening to red-brown.
Hibbertia is named after George Hibbert (1757-1837), an English merchant, politician, slave-owner and amateur botanist who took a keen interest in botanical discoveries and gardening, while scandens is Latin for  “climbing”.
In our local plant nursery it’s commonly known as the Guinea Flower.
This name refers to the resemblance of the flower shape and colour to the ancient Golden Guinea coin. 
It can cost up to $13/pot for the home gardener.
We have a few thousand dollars growing around here in that case.
It does take over some pasture so might meet the definition of a weed ie. any plant growing where it is not wanted, but the pretty foliage and flowers in season make it an acceptable addition to our resident native plants.

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