Tiny Tuesday - red berries
Which are apparently edible, but I haven't tried them yet. You'd need a bush the size of the Sydney Harbor Bridge to get a decent feed. Each berry is smaller than those glass headed pins you use for dress-making. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask your significant other. He or she will most likely know.
I did find some fascinating information. I have seen very small fluttery things, and assumed they were moths. But no, they are the saltbush blue butterfly. It might even be worth braving the weather to try and find one. I've seen images, and they are apparently very common - and very beautiful.
As always for the curious minded, more info.
A vigorous, low groundcover, spear-head shaped leaves to approximately 1.0cm long. In open ground it tends to grow to about 15 cm in height It grows from a single stem and tends not to root at nodes. A single plant in open ground may reach 3 metres in diameter however it may scramble through other vegetation. Sprays of insignificant greenish flowers occur in mid summer on the ends of the stems. A fleshy berry rapidly swells around the developing seed, eventually becoming juicy, red or orange and sweet. These edible berries are also slightly salty.
Ecology:
Like the related Berry Saltbush, Atriplex semibaccata this saltbush is a valuable habitat species. The beautifully patterned Saltbush Blue Theclinesthes serpentata will soon find any patch of this species. It is a foodplant for the caterpillars. Tiny, fluttering adults can be seen patrolling above the plant throughout the warmer months.
Edit: This is the third try at the same image - they are not easy to photograph, and it's too hot to stay out there for long.
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