Ptilotus obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell.
Ptilotus obovatus (Cotton Bush) is a much-branched, silver, grey-green shrub 10–120 or more cm tall and across. Flowering spikes are hemispherical to oblong or short-cylindrical, 1–3 rarely 5 cm long. The flowers are pink and grey or white, and as in all members of the genus, they consist of a single whorl of 5 ‘petals’. A dense covering of fine hairs gives the leaves and branchlets their silver appearance.
Cotton Bush is a very widespread and variable species that occurs in all mainland states. It grows in a wide range of habitats, from steep stony hillsides to clayey flats.
Photo: G. Byrne