The beautiful tough lilly pilly is an important botanical element in the Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden.
There are roughly fifty different varieties of lilly pilly grown in Australia. They all belong to the genus Syzygium in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae.
Lilly pillies are drought tolerant evergreen rainforest trees and are cousins to the historically and economically important Syzygium aromaticum from which the spice, cloves are harvested.
They may be grown in full sun or partial shade and have attractive glossy green foliage.
There are two species of lilly pilly in the Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden, Syzygium australe and Syzygium paniculatum and both are native to Australia.
Syzygium australe, which incidentally is the floral emblem of Coffs Harbour, is grown in Shoyoen and a dwarf cultivar of the species is grown in the Sensory Gardens. It can grow to 35m tall but responds well to pruning to produce an attractive dense compact shape. It is used as a hedging plant near the beautiful sandstone gecko in the Sensory Gardens and may also be found in the refined and elegant outer roji of the Japanese Tea House.
The magenta lilly pilly, Syzygium paniculatum has been planted in the Oasis Valley as part of a suite of Australian dry rainforest plants. It grows to a height of 15 m with a trunk diameter up to 35 cm.
Both the Syzygium australe and Syzygium paniculatum produce attractive edible fruits which may be eaten fresh or cooked. The fruit can be used to make jams and jellies. Autumn visitors to the Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden will be able to spot the fluffy white flowers and small magenta fruits on the Syzygium australe.
By Ian McAlister & Karen Hagan