Lambertia formosa
English: Mountain devil; Honey flower.
Name: formosa is Latin for handsome
Genus: 10 species.
Region: eastern Australia, New South Wales.
Habitat: heathland; mallee shrubland and dry sclerophyll, open forest; in sandstone-based soils, with good drainage; partly shaded to sunny.
Ecology: greatly resistant to the soil pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi; caterpillars of Xylorycta strigata eat the leaves and make burrows in the wood; hosts the cup moth Mecytha fasciata.
Use: fruit for hand-crafted figures; pipe cleaners, wool and fabric scraps; honey.
Botany
Shrub; multistemmed; ± 2 m.
Stem: woody base known as a lignotuber, from which it regrows after bushfire.
Leaves: stiff narrow; in whorls of 3, sometimes 4 to 6; linear to narrow-oblanceolate; 1 to 8 cm long and ± 5 mm wide; pointed tip or apex.
Inflorescences: pink to red flowerheads, with 7 individual tubular flowers; blooming in spring and summer.
Flowers: covered by greenish and reddish bracts; tubular perianths are 4.5 cm long; styles protruding another 1–1.5 cm beyond.
Fruit: woody; 2–3 by 1–2 cm; with 2, sharp, horny protuberances, ± 2 cm long, with a 0.5 cm 'beak', initially pale green, later grey-brown; with 2, flat, winged seeds, retained until burnt by fire.
Pollination: by honeyeaters.