51/70 D007 Australian Flora--Ric

Richea Scoparia (Scoparia) is a prickly plant that can only be found in the Tasmanian wilderness. Growing in a relatively cold environment with turbulent winds, the bush is superbly adapted to these conditions with its compact growth, and tough, pointy leaves. It branches mostly from the base and is clothed with stiff, sharp-pointed leaves. Its hard, sharp leaves and inclination to form dense thickets give it a bleak reputation among bushwalkers.

Its flower spikes are borne at the end of the branches in spring or summer, in a kaleidoscope of colors like red, pink, cream, orange, gold, white, crimson, ochre and colors in between. 

The flowers are odd in that its delicate reproductive organs are inside closed caps formed by fused petals. Such adaptation is great for protecting its valuable flowers from the harsh conditions outside, but it also gets in the way of pollination. But in one of those amazing associations of plants and animals, a native lizard, known as the snow skink, bites off the caps to get at the nectar. In doing so, the plant's reproductive structures are liberated from their protective sheath and insects can then pollinate them. It may not be just snow skinks that are involved either. Evidence of birds removing the calyptra have also been documented.