Gillam's (Christmas) Bell

So Merry Christmas, if that's your thing. For tomorrow. To celebrate, here is a Christmas bloom, of sorts. It's Gillam's Bell.

Mr Gillam it seems, was a 'wildflower enthusiast' from Cranbrook. His Bell, Darwinia oxylepis, grows in the Stirling Range, north-east of Albany and not far from Cranbrook. It also grows, as illustrated here, in the Western Australian Botanic Garden at Kings Park in Perth.

The species is listed as Endangered under Commonwealth of Australia legislation due it now consisting, in the wild, of a limited and diminishing number of plants. Twenty years ago there were about 6000 plants in four separate populations, dotted through gullies in the lower slopes of the mountains.

There were, and are, plenty of stresses for these plants. Including disease, such as Phytophthora cinnamomi (dieback), tourism (some stands are at or near popular scenic spots), competition from weeds, and fire. It was a fire, in October 2000, that reduced those four populations to two, with an uncertain number of surviving plants.

Darwinia species do generally regenerate after fire from seed in the soil, so the species may be in better shape that it appears. Another positive for its long term survival is its ability to be propagated easily from cuttings, although it does better grafted onto Darwinia citriodora and is tough to grow from seed. It can be tough to maintain in a garden but it is grown here and there.

In terms of its connection to Christmas, that's a little weak. It flowers from August to November, which doesn't help (I photographed it in late September). It's pollinated by birds, perching on the large flowers or poking at them from the ground, and possibly ants - you'll see one crawling about in the photo above. Interesting, but nothing festive there.

The genus name Darwinia is named after a famous Mr Darwin. Not Charles, but his grandfather Erasmus, who wrote poems that contained hints of evolutionary thinking if my memory serves me well. Erasmus also drove around in a carriage with the family motto 'e chonchis omnia' emblazoned upon it. That is, everything from shells. A diverting fact, but nothing Christmasy there.

As to the species name, 'oxylepis' means sharp scales, a reference to the red outer layers of those pretty blooms. This is a good and close as it gets, their resemblance to Christmas lanterns...

There are other Australian plants with similar big bold floral bells (including the unrelated Qualup Bells, Pimelea physodes, from just a bit further east in Western Australia). According to the Australian Native Plant Society (Australia) site, Gillam's Bell is one of a small group of Darwinia species known as the Mountain Bells (the others are Darwinia leijostyla, Darwinia macrostegia, Darwinia meeboldii and Darwinia squarrosa).

In my mind, Gillam's Bell has the size and colour to be the best Christmas tree ornament. Like all the species mentioned above though, the 'flower' is mostly bracts, modified leaves. In this case deep red and pointy, acting as a beacon to birds (and ants), drawing attention to a collection of ten or so small red, and sometimes white, flowers inside.

So, like Christmas, it is perhaps an illusion. Still, happy festive season!