This is a bit of a quirky Australian native plant, with the flowers several metres up in the air where you can hardly see them. Also known as Gymea Lily, it’s native to the coastal eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, NSW to Queensland. Doryanthes is the Greek word for spear flower while excelsa is Latin for exceptional. Gymea is the aboriginal name for the plant.

The leaves are linear to lance-shaped to 2 metres long and 10cm wide, arranged in a rosette.

The flowers are arranged in a large inflorescence that sits on top of a 5m long flower peduncle. The inflorescence is up to 70cm wide. The flowers are tubular and red, up to 10cm long enclosed in bracts. They appear in winter and spring. The flowers contain a large amount of nectar. Fruit is a capsule containing brown seeds.

This plant is common in gardens around Sydney, being able to tolerate many types of soil. If kept dry it can tolerate frost. It’s happy in full sun or semi shade.

To propagate, seeds can be sown in spring. Bulbils can sometimes be produced on the stems. Suckers can also be produced once flowering has finished.

Traditional uses for this plant are the stems and roots for eating. In gardens, they are good for adding a bit of interest. Bear in mind, though, that they do get big so they need plenty of space.