The Blue Leschenaultia Biloba is puzzlingly called “the Floor of the Sky”
Aboriginal people (of Australia) are said to have called blue leschenaultia “the floor of the sky” because during spring in areas, particularly in the Darling Range near Perth, the ground is carpeted with these blue flowers.
Bees are attracted to this flower which is designed as a blue landing platform with a white centre that helps the bee find the nectar at the base of the tubular petals. To reach the nectar the bee must either pick up or deposit pollen.
I visited Perth and the surrounding mountains with my parents in a jeep about two years ago. That was where I got to be really interested in Australian plants. Western Australia has 21 different leschenaultias. There are also red and yellow leschenaultia.
DESCRIPTION: Blue leschenaultia is a small, spreading shrub that rarely grows to more than 50 centimetres high with narrow, soft leaves about a centimetre long and a millimetre wide. It has a suckering habit which enables it to spread over a wide area, resulting in massed spring displays.
NATURE IN JAPAN 