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Ricinocarpos bowmanii

By Words and photos Jeff Ellis

Sept 2023

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Just prior to COVIDI had the pleasure of a spring just west of the Yathong Nature Reserve in the Mt Hope /Cobar region of NSW. In a patch of mallee there I came across a spectacular plant about 50cm high covered with white flowers that I did not know. Further research identified it as Ricinocarpos bowmanii, aka western wedding bush. Photo taken from near Yathong NSW near Cobar I had already known of the coastal wedding bush species Ricinocarpos pinifolius but not R. bowmanii. Recently an afternoon in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) re-introduced me to R. bowmanii in the somewhat neglected mallee section and reminded me of its beauty. This led me to go on a couple of expeditions to see more of this species in the wild and I was fortunate to find it near Tumut and Adelong. Adelong has a rather high frequency of a pink flower form. On a more recent trip I found nice specimens of the white form of this species growing in the Pillaga Scrub. Also volunteers at the Weddin Community Native Nursery in Grenfell NSW informed me that this species grew in that area but is hard to find now due to the scourge of feral goats. Unlike R. pinifolius and a Western Australian species R. tuberculatus, which are available in a local Canberra nursery, I have not found a source of R. bowmanii nursery stock. Perhaps our readers have more information about growing this attractive species?

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