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| Photo Courtesy Daryl Joyce |
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| Sybille Orzek looks on as James Lee cross-pollinates Ptilotus nobilis.
Photo of Ptilotus varieties nobilis and exaltatus by Hugh O’Brien. |
The Centre for Native Floriculture at Gatton has teamed with US flower giant
Ball FloraPlant and Queensland’s Pohlmans Nursery to develop an indigenous
wildflower for the blossoming
world market.
Scott Trees, Product Development Manager in California for Ball FloraPlant,
travels the globe searching for unique plants and flowers with worldwide commercial
market potential.
At the University of Queensland’s Centre for Native Floriculture (CNF)
at Gatton, 70 km west of Brisbane, Scott was introduced to Ptilotus nobilis,
an indigenous wildflower which grows in arid Australia.
The result is that Ptilotus selections developed by the CNF are now being grown in production trials in California and Australia and are set to bring a piece of the Queensland outback into homes and gardens all over the world.
CNF Director Daryl Joyce said Ptilotus was an ideal native flower to lead Queensland’s assault on the world market.
“It’s an unusual, attractive looking flower which is suitable as both a potted and bedding plant and also offers cut flower potential,” he said. “The plant offers visual balance between inflorescences – groups of flowers – and foliage, comes in a variety of forms and colours and is relatively easy to grow.
“The annual value of the world floriculture industry is around $40 billion, with Australia’s share estimated at less than one per cent. It’s estimated that the Queensland native cut flower and nursery industry has the potential to grow to $60 million over the next decade, and to more than double its workforce,” Daryl said.
Australian production rights for Ptilotus lines developed by the CNF will be held by Queensland’s largest nursery, Pohlmans at Gatton. Pohlmans’ Technical Services Manager Lionel Sach said the plant could achieve sales exceeding 100 000 units per year as ‘potted colour.’
“For Ptilotus selections with cut flower potential, the domestic home garden market may be between 30 000 and 200 000 units. If a Ptilotus selection became a mainstream commercial floriculture product, tube stock sales might reach two million plants,” Lionel said.
The Ptilotus germplasm was collected in south-west Queensland. Plant location by the CNF uses a state-of-the-art, comprehensive database developed by the Queensland Herbarium, part of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ptilotus Selection and Breeding Team is headed by Dr Margaret Johnston and includes Post Doctoral Researcher Dr Dion Harrison, Research Officer Dr Melinda Perkins and PhD students James Lee and Sybille Orzek. James is looking at hybridising among Ptilotus species to develop novel, smaller, more pot-friendly varieties.
The CNF was opened in May 2003 to help create an internationally-competitive native floriculture industry in Queensland and reduce the industry’s dependence on wild harvesting from state forests. The Queensland Government contributed $2 million to help establish the CNF.
Three quarters of Australia’s 35 major vegetation types occur in Queensland, and the state accommodates over 8000 flowering species from the wet tropics to the arid deserts.
Last reviewed 19 January 2006