Greg Keighery on the Carrots of Western Australia

In summer south of Mandurah where the wildfires had raged the hills were covered in blue flowers. The plants responsible for this were not everlastings but the stunning blue flowers of the Rottnest Island Lace Flower. The Lace Flower is one of the most widely grown Western Australian natives in the world and is a relative of the Carrots. This and other of our native carrot-like plants is the subject of the Wildflower Society’s 11th April 2017 talk by botanist Greg Keighery from the Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Greg will give an overview of the Carrots of Western Australia. With over 100 native species this group contributes to our fields of wildflowers in the Wheatbelt and forests in late spring and early summer. Interestingly the spectacle made by these plants can be from the flowers in some species and the seeds in others. Some members from the genus Platysace are an important bush food. While they, look more like potatoes than carrots, a number of Platysace species produce highly nutritious tubers. These tubers were a major food source for Noongars. Work has been done over the last two decades to develop these as a dryland crop in our Southwest.

Greg has studied the group over the last 40 years and has observed and collected them in the field from the Kimberley to the Southwest. In this work he has discovered and described a number of new species and documented the tuber producing species of Platysace.

Meetings of the Perth Branch of the Society are held on the second Tuesday of each month in the Subiaco Community Centre across the road from Crossways Shopping centre in Bagot Road. Doors open at 7.45pm and the meeting begins at 8pm. Supper is served after the talk and everyone is eligible for the night’s door prize. You do not need to be a member of the Society to attend, entry requiring a $2 door donation.