Who doesn't love a blue flower? Or purple-blue, even better. If you take a walk in the coastal dunes around Illawarra, you might be lucky enough to see the beautiful pale purple-blue flowers on Dune Fan Flower (Scaevola calendulacea).
Dune Fan Flower is a sprawling, semi-succulent groundcover that can spread over several square metres, with tough, shiny salt-laden leaves and those pretty purple-blue flowers.
Its flowering is absolutely prolific in the right situation, such as on coastal headlands, sea cliffs, and other incredibly exposed coastal environments. Unfortunately, many of these areas have been profoundly modified in the last few hundred years, and it can be hard to find.
That said, Dune Fan Flower is flowering right now in the dunes at Puckey's Estate in Fairy Meadow and at Windang Island, and some plants are already producing the fleshy purple and white fruit that are so attractive to native birds. So this is an ideal time to take a coastal wander and check out this beautiful local plant.
Despite its preference for coastal conditions, Dune Fan Flower is surprisingly adaptable in cultivation. I have seen it used in gardens and landscaping everywhere from Bulli to Windang. Its sun-tolerance and ability to cope with dry periods are features that could come in very useful for anyone looking to develop a climate-ready garden, as well as (naturally) those looking to grow plants in or for Illawarra's natural areas.
If you haven't seen this pretty plant in flower before, now is the time to get down to your nearest coastal reserve and see if you can spot it while it's in flower. It's very rewarding to see it in among other coastal vegetation, holding its own but rarely dominating.
And its colours mingle well with those of other common coastal species, including the blue flowers and fruit of the Flax Lilies (Dianella caerulea and D. congesta), or the shiny purple fruit of Common (or Coastal) Boobialla (Myoporum boninense). (Hint: if you come across Dune Fan Flower, it may be all tangled up with these other coastal species, cooperating/competing with other groundcovers, shrubs and vines, the above-mentioned Flax Lilies, and a range of introduced species that now call this place home. Watch for the flowers and from there check out the rest of the plant.)
