Ecbolium glabratum flower

The flowers of Ecbolium glabratum grow in spikes from leaf axils of upper stem parts. Each flower has broad, leaf-like bracts that overlap each other around the flower base. The five-lobed calyx is hairy, the lobes similar.

The corolla of E. glabratum is two-lipped. The lower lip is broad and three-lobed; its round-tipped to square-tipped or sometimes pointed lobes are borne about horizontally, each with a longitudinal fold down its centre. The upper lip is narrow and erect, about lance-shaped above the flower mouth, sometimes forked near its tip.

Corolla colour is blue in the throat, mainly white or very pale blue in other parts. Flowering happens from late spring to autumn.

The fruit is a stalked, club-shaped capsule. The seeds are rimmed on one side with hygroscopic hairs, i.e. hairs capable of absorbing and retaining water. The generic name Ecbolium is derived from the Greek word ekballein meaning to throw out, referring to the explosive way in which ripe Ecbolium fruits disperse their seeds (Pooley, 1998; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iSpot).