Well! Yesterday’s rant put me in a bit of a foul mood, so what better to clear the air than perusing through another botanical treasure! This week I thought I would include something non-native (despite my assurances I would mostly stick to natives! Ha!), but an absolute delight nonetheless:Leopardwood – Flindersia maculosa

In August and September of last year I made my first field trip to Australia for my Masters. My project involves comparisons between arid and wet-coastal plants, so my first trip was to the arid regions of New South Wales, in the area in and around Broken Hill. I’ll probably post some photos later, but it was such an experience! For those of us from New Zealand, it’s simply an alien landscape: so dry, so dusty and so so red. More on that later…

Anyway, my absolute favourite plant from that area is Leopardwood, a member of the Rutaceae family – the family most well known for the Citrus genus. The joy of Leopardwood is revealed when you get up close -it has this fantastic spotty bark that gives the tree it’s common name. After seeing boring Casuarina and Acacia for hundreds of kilometres, its a treat to see something a little different!