Unusual flowers - Gymea Lily by Frances

Image copyright 2013 Frances Brown

Gymea Lily (Doryanthes excelsa) is a special Australian wildflower that only occurs naturally in the coastal region near Sydney. 

It has huge flower clusters.  This cluster was over half a metre in length.  Usually the clusters are on stems 3 - 5 metres high (and difficult to photograph) however, this one was leaning over due to the weight of the flowers, so I could get up close.  Each individual flower is about 10cm across when it opens. The excellent flowering is probably due to all the rain we had in Sydney a month or two ago.

Gymea Lily by Michelle

Image Copyright 2103 Michelle Mabbott

Photo taken in North western Sydney

Gymea Lily (Doryanthes excelsa) is an Australian native shrub found in the Sydney region and further north. The ruby red flowers (each about 10 cm across) grow in clusters, on tall spikes high above the foliage. They are hard to photograph because the spikes may be up to 4 metres (about 12 feet) in height.