This was a new plant to me as we travelled north from Geraldton towards Shark Bay and the roadside verges were covered in it. From the car it looked like a Conospermum (Smoke Bush) but closer to it seemed perhaps that it was a kind of Lachnostachys (Lamb's Tail). After a long and frustrating time I accidentally discovered that I'd been looking in the wrong taxonomic place because this was a Ptilotus, a plant I'd only seen as a herb in the far south west.

Ptilotus obovatus is actually very common but it is a shrub which prefers drier climates than are afforded by the south west. It can be found as far south as inland Esperance but in the drier regions, in the desert and all over the Pilbara but only very occasionally is it dry enough around Perth, south of Perth or the wheat belt.

Ptilotus obovatus Cotton Bush Verge of North West Highway north of Geraldton, Western Australia 3rd September 2012 Previous   Next	Ptilotus obovatus Cotton Bush Verge of North West Highway north of Geraldton, Western Australia 3rd September 2012 Previous   Next
Ptilotus obovatus Cotton Bush single flower	Ptilotus obovatus Cotton Bush

Verge of North West Highway north of Geraldton, Western Australia 3rd September 2012

Added on 20th January 2013