Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kangaroo Paw

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) is native to southwest of Western Australia. I noted this plant in California and surprisingly found this in Grand Saline (TX) when a wholesale nursery opened for public during 3-days Highway 80 sale. I believe this is the dwarfed cultivar. We got the tall one, too, Anigozanthus flavidus "Tequila Sunrise", which should grow about 2m (7 feet) tall, but it's not flowering at the moment.

How it got its name
(from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_Paw) :
Kangaroo paw is a common name for a number of species in the family Haemodoraceae that are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. These perennial plants are noted for their unique bird attracting flowers. The tubular flowers are coated with dense hairs and open at the apex with six claw-like structures: from this paw formation the common name "Kangaroo Paw" is derived.

More information from Australian government website:

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