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Brunonia australis
Also called Native Cornflower
Brunonia australis, commonly known as the blue pincushion or native cornflower, is a perennial or annual herb that grows widely across Australia. It is found in woodlands, open forest and sand plains. In Cronquist's classification scheme it was the sole member of the monogeneric plant family Brunoniaceae. The APG II system moved it into Goodeniaceae, with which it shares the stylar pollen-cup, or indusium, a character confined to these taxa. Brunonia is unique among Goodeniaceae in its radially symmetric flowers, the superior ovary and the absence of endosperm in the seeds.
The leaves are about 10 cm long and form a basal rosette. Flowering is usually in spring, with dense hemispherical clusters of numerous, small, bright blue flowers developing on several stems (scapes) up to 50 cm in height.
This plant is easy to propagate from seed or by dividing existing plants. However, they can be difficult to establish and may die after a few years. They should be grown in well-drained soils either in full sun or partial shade.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brunonia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
