Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Plant with spent flowers. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flower head. Photo: Michelle Brown, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering plant. Photo: Michelle Brown, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, SW of hillston, NSW

Common Name

Regal Foxtail, Yellowtails; Tall Mulla Mulla, Showy Foxtail

Family

Amaranthaceae

Notes

Annual or perennial forb to 1.5m tall. Leaves fleshy, 2-20cm long, 5-75mm wide, flat, hairless except for young shoots, edges often wavy, with straight points. Flowers pink to purple or yellow-green, hairy on the outside, with 5 'petals', the yellow-green form fragrant. Flower heads conical, lengthening to oval to cylindrical, solitary at the tops of the stems.  Ptilotus exaltatus has been subsumed into Ptilotus nobilis federally, and in SA, but not in NSW. Protected NSW as (Ptilotus exaltatus var. exaltatus). Endangered Vic.

Description and photo (as Ptilotus exaltatus var. exaltatus) pages 285-286 and as Ptilotus nobilis page 288, in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales

PlantNET description (Ptilotus exaltatus var. exaltatus):  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=in&name=Ptilotus~exaltatus+var.~exaltatus

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