We all know and love our local red Correa which is flowering now with its long red tubular flowers with curly greenish tips. But do we really know the correct name of the plant we are seeing?
We have always called it Common Correa, C. reflexa var. reflexa, but it may actually be Eastern Correa, C.reflexa var. speciosa. The leaves clasping the flowers is the most obvious difference.
Common Correa flower is clasped by two leaves
Eastern Correa flower, which can be red or green, is not clasped by two leaves
And there is more! There are several known varieties just within var. reflexa which are yet to be formally identified e.g. forms from Bells Beach, Anglesea, and Moggs Creek. You will also being seeing Green Correa, which currently is classified as just a different coloured version of Correa reflexa var. reflexa. Along the coast we have big bushes of White Correa. But again a choice, is it it Correa alba var. alba or var. pannosa?
Lots of fun here for our botanists!
Ellinor Cambell