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Geijera parviflora (Australian Willow) - An attractive evergreen tree, typically growing 30 to 35 feet tall and 20 feet wide, with an upright, oval silhouette and rough dark gray bark. The main inner branches are composed of strong, wind-resistant wood and are directed upward, while the outer smaller branches are somewhat pendulous at their tips. This gives a decided weeping habit to older trees while younger trees are more oval shaped. This characteristic, combined with the thin, narrow, three to six-inch-long, aromatic olive-green leaves that droop from the branches, gives the tree much the same effect as a Weeping Willow. Short panicles of small, creamy-white flowers that appear in early spring and sometimes again in early fall are not particularly showy and have a mild musky odor.
Plant in full sun and irrigate occasionally to infrequently. It is cold hardy to 15-20°F and useful in USDA zones 9-11. A perfect choice for large or small parking lot islands, near a deck or patio, screen, specimen or as a residential street tree. Prune when young to reduce the many upright branches to a few well-spaced ones. Geijera parviflora comes from woodlands in semi-arid areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia from sea level to 700 feet in elevation. The origin of the name Geijera was not specified in the original description written by Heinrich Schott (1794-1865), the Director of the Imperial Zoological and Botanical Garden of Vienna when he described Geijera salicifolia in 1834, but it is thought that the name honors J. D Geijer (1661-1735 ) - alternatively spelled Geyer, a Swedish botanical author. John Lindley named Geijera parviflora in 1848 using a specific epithet that comes from the Latin words 'parvus' meaning "small" or "insignificant" and 'florus' meaning "bloom" or "flower" in reference to the small size of the flowers of this species. In Australia this plant is commonly called Native Willow or, more often, Wilga, an aboriginal name for a small tree. In Australia it is noted as a good habitat tree for birds and other small animals providing a dense canopy of long aromatic leaves for shelter and a source of food, with flowers that attract honey making bees. The bark and roots were also used to make splints to treat broken bones and wood used for boomerangs and bowls.
There is a particularly large specimen of Australian Willow growing nearly in our own backyard in downtown Goleta that was inches shy of being 50 feet tall when last measured and it spreads over 60 feet with a trunk circumference of 82 inches (26" DBH). This tree is now on the Big Tree Registry as the largest of its kind in the United States. Truly an amazing plant. For more information and images of this tree see Goleta's Giant Geijera.
The information displayed on this page about Geijera parviflora is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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