I am currently on a cruise around the south of Australia and today I visited a little place in South Australia called Port Lincoln. Everywhere I go, I like to look at the plants they have in the place that I’m visiting.

First up is a plant that I’ve not seen in a while that has the common name ‘Pig Face’. This is a plant native to Australia as well as some other countries. It has been used as a food plant by the traditional Barngarla people of the area around Port Lincoln, as well as white settlers. This plant has also been used medicinally to soothe insect bites and scalds.

Pigface is a great ground cover plant for a coastal environment as it can deal with salt spray, strong wind and drought. It grows easily on sand dunes so helps to stabilise them. It also attracts bees, insects and birds, whilst also looking really pretty.

Next is a random picture of the beach in Port Lincoln.

I found a few Moreton Bay Fig trees while I was out exploring, which are one of my favourite tree species. Below are the picture of the tree and its fruit.

Below is a view from the cruise ship.

I found this hibiscus in the grounds of a church and thought they looked really pretty.

Next is Cotyledon orbiculata, which is a new plant for me. I quite like it though, for its grey leaves and red-orange flowers.

Next we have a banksia. I’m not sure what species it is, I’ll have to do a bit of research on this one. I do like this genus though.

Finally, the trunk of an absolutely massive Norfolk Island Pine, aka Araucaria heterophylla. These trees are a common feature along seafronts in Australia, I see them in every seaside suburb in Sydney too. This particular specimen is larger than most I have seen.