Today’s photo was taken on Thursday when we were out with our friends John and Elizabeth. I took this photo of the Gymea lilies from the top of the Gan Gan Lookout in Nelson Bay.
I decided to put this together as a diptych to try and show the height of the plant and also the individual flower heads too.
Gymea lilies are spectacular Australian native plants with large, compact heads of nectar filled red flowers atop tall, thick stems.
They are supposed to flower in spring and summer, but it is the middle of winter here and they are flowering now. They send up a flower spike up to 6 metres high, which at its apex bears a large cluster of bright red flowers, approximately 30-40 cm across.
We were told when we moved here from Melbourne that the Gymea lilies flower when the whales are travelling to and from the Antarctic and that seems to be the case. The whales are travelling north at the moment and will journey back to the Antarctic in Spring (September and October). The Gymea’s flower again at that time too.
When you get a group of them together like this, they look like beacons.
Wonderful collage Babs, I don't recall ever seeing these, you have given them a sense of height, love the detailed head shot, thanks tor the explanation;)
@quietpurplehaze Thanks Hazel, they have long spikey leaves and then at certain times of the year a huge spike grows out of the centre to about 6 metres and then the clump of flowers burst open. Each of the flowers on the head on the picture on the right is about 8 cm wide and the clump of flowers together can grow to about 30 cm wide.
@pcoulson They flower mainly in winter and spring and into early summer so you may have just seen the leaves without the flowers. They grow mainly in bushland.
@onewing No Babs we don't. I've never really paid much attention but the first place I can recall seeing them as you go south is about your way. I'll watch out for them next time
@kathiecb@888rachel@macromover@darthkitty Thanks everyone, they are really beautiful and I have never seen anything like them either.
Good to know they are as far north as Brisbane Rachel. I know they are coastal and have only ever seen them within about 200 km of Sydney so far.
@pcoulson They flower mainly in winter and spring and into early summer so you may have just seen the leaves without the flowers. They grow mainly in bushland.
@gosia Thanks.
@gigiflower ha ha no I didn't have a ladder. We were up the top of the Gan Gan lookout in Nelson Bay and they are all around the bushland up there.
@hermann Thanks for the fav Sally. I agree they do look spectacular. Almost like beacons.
@terryliv Thanks Terry. do you get them in Brisbane?
@flyrobin Thanks Robyn, yes they are very weird.
Thank you for your interest in my gymea lily photo. I think Gymea lilies are indigenous to the coastal area of New South Wales in what they call the Sydney Basin. We are about 200 km north of Sydney and how much further north than here they appear I am not sure.
Good to know they are as far north as Brisbane Rachel. I know they are coastal and have only ever seen them within about 200 km of Sydney so far.