Flowers and stem. Photo: Kevin Thiele, WA

Fruit. Photo: William Archer, Esperance, WA

Fruiting branches. Photo: William Archer, Esperance, WA

Trunk & branches. Photo: William Archer, Esperance, WA

Shrub. Photo: William Archer, Esperance, WA

Common Name

Slender Cherry, Broom Ballart, Cherry Bush

Family

Santalaceae

Notes

Shrub or tree to 6m tall.  Leaves alternating up the stems, 0.2-1cm long, triangular in cross-section, hairless, tips with straight or curved points, shed early.  Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), with 4-6 yellow or golden brown 'petals', in spikes 4-18mm long along the stems, sometimes 2 or 3 spikes together.  Succulent stalk of the nut green becoming whitish, yellow, red, or purple.

Description and photos in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 226

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Exocarpos~sparteus