Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, ACT

Flowers and leaves. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Mt Hope, NSW

Plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Mt Hope, NSW

Common Name

Crimson Foxtail; Silver-tails; Crimson Tails

Family

Amaranthaceae

Notes

Shrub or perennial forb to 1m tall.  Leaves clustered at the base of the plant and alternating along the stems, 1-16cm long, to 40mm wide, flat, hairy, the edges more or less wavy.  Flowers purple to mauve fading to pink, covered with white to pale grey hairs, tubular, with 5 'petals'.  Flower heads cylindrical, oval, hemispherical, or spherical, in branched groups at the ends of the stems.  Poorly known Vic.

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

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