Rice Flower

I bought a new plant over the holidays (surprise, surprise, I actually bought several but let’s focus on one). Rice flower, or Ozothamnus diosmifolius - that’s a mouthful of a scientific name! Ozothamnus kind of just looks like someone grabbed a handful of letters from the middle of the alphabet and threw them down. I must admit I’m prone to re-ordering them when I try to remember it’s name!

Ozothamnus diosmifolius ‘red gingham’

If we break it down, ‘ozo’ comes from the Greek work for stink and ‘thamnus’ means shrub. It is a shrub, I’ll give them that, but ‘stink’ is a bit strong! I actually think the foliage has quite a lovely smell. The species (second) name, diosmifolius, is Latin for having leaves like diosma - I guess they’re the same kind of needle like. (Though if you want a stinky shrub, grow diosma!). The flowers are clusters (corymbs) of tiny buds that open into small flowers and as a member of the Asteraceae (daisy) family, each small flower is actually made up of multiple tiny florets! They are commonly found in white, but can show tinges of pink and cultivars have been bred to take advantage of this with shades of pinks and corals available.

Rice flower is endemic to eastern Australia, where it’s quite widespread, growing from Bundaberg to southern New South Wales, across coastal regions, on the edge of forests, through the tablelands and to the edge of the far western plains. It’s found in a variety of soil types and makes a great garden specimen.

The flowers have historically been cultivated for the cut flower trade, and are still in high demand. In addition to fresh flower arrangements, the stems dry gracefully and are great in dried arrangements.

Plants can grow to 2m but are best cut after flowering to keep them compact and prevent them growing straggly. A perfect reason to keep a vase full on the kitchen counter!