Flowers. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Peter Ollerenshaw, Wertaloona Homestead, SA

Plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Peter Ollerenshaw, Wertaloona Homestead, SA

Common Name

Clustered Sea-heath

Family

Frankeniaceae

Notes

Shrub to 30cm tall.  Leaves opposite each other or in clusters, with membranous stipules at the base of each pair of leaves, which encircle the stem.  Leaves 0.2-0.9cm long, 1-3mm wide, linear, hairy, exuding salt, edges rolled downwards so only the midrib is exposed on the lower surface.  Flowers pink with 5 petals, in loose groups at the ends of short side branches, each flower subtended by leaf-like bracts.  Frankenia serpyllifolia in SA.

Differentiation between the species of Frankenia is based on details of the ovaries, beyond the scope of this key.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 500

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