Scientific Name: Dracophyllum minimum Endemic Having a natural distribution confined to a particular geographic region

Common Name: heath cushionplant

Family Classification (Clade): Eudicots

Family: Ericaceae

Form Description: Hard, compact, mounding, densely branched cushion plant.

Height (m): 0.25 – 0.5

Flowers: White; open widely with five anthers clearly visible in the throat.

Fruit: Capsule – at first semi-succulent and crimson but becoming hard and dry when mature.

Municipality
Central HighlandsDerwent ValleyHuon ValleyKentishMeander ValleyWest Coast
Plant Communities
Alpine and Sub-alpine Vegetation
Habitat Notes

Locally abundant at altitudes above about 1200m in places where snow lies for several months of the year on mountains of the Central Plateau and west.

Site Tolerance

Exposed, Moist, Windy

Soil Tolerance

Clay, Fertile, Nutrient-poor, Poorly-drained, Well-drained

Frost Tolerance

Hardy

General Notes

Hard to grow at lower altitudes. Culture has generally been limited to pots. It is worth trying in a rockery but it must have a peaty soil, ample moisture and good light.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Seed, Division

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Seed may be collected from capsules in the autumn. Success has been reported propagating from seed.

Seed Treatment Method

Cold Some species require exposure to cold before they germinate. These species are best sown in early winter and left to germinate in a shade house.