Westringia fruticosa (Coastal Rosemary)

Westringia fruticosa, growing right on the coast in Coogee, Sydney.

Photograph by Eug. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.

COASTAL ROSEMARY FACTS

distribution map showing range of Westringia fruticosa in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Coastal Rosemary

Other Names
Coastal Westringia

Description
The Coastal Rosemary is a bushy coastal shrub growing to 2 m tall. The leaves are narrow, in whorls of 4 around the stem and grow to 2 cm long and 3 mm to 5 mm wide. New growth has fine hairs giving the shrub a slivery grey appearance. The plant flowers throughout the year, peaking in spring. The flowers grow to about 2 cm in diameter, and are white or pale mauve with orange to purplish spots on the lower petals. The upper petal is divided into two lobes.

Habitat
coastal areas

Distribution
Coastal Rosemary is found in eastern New South Wales.

Growth Characteristics
Height (m): 2 - 3
Spread (m): 2 - 3
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay, limestone
Soil pH: acid soils, neutral soils, alkaliine soils
Frost Sensitivity: moderately sensitive
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 450
Flower Colour: white / purple
Flower Season: winter, spring

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)

Classification

Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Westringia
Species:	fruticosa
Common Name:	Coastal Rosemary

Relatives in same Genus
  Westringia brevifolia
  Westringia dampieri
  Westringia eremicola
  Westringia glabra
  Westringia rigida