Enchylaena tomentosa – Ruby Saltbush, Barrier Saltbush seeds x3 gram – approx 300 seeds (bulk)

A native of all of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and West Australia with the exceptions of Cape York, northernmost Northern Territory, the coastal strip from Brisbane to Melbourne, Cape Leeuwin in West Australia and all of Tasmania.

Ruby Saltbush has a wide climatic, soil and topographic tolerance. Full sunlight encourages the best growth and the variation in fruit colour adds to this plants ornamental value.

This plant is a sub-shrub (a low growing, semi-woody plant) with ascendant branches that rarely reach 1 metre in height more often 50cm. An evergreen with cylindrical, semi-succulent leaves covered in white hairs which gives the plant a greyish-green colour and are the method the plant uses to conserve moisture loss.

The flowers are insignificant and occur in spring/early summer and again in autumn. The flowers are followed by showy, small fruits 10mm across which turn red when ripe. The plant bears fruit in the green, yellow and red stages of ripening at one time.

It has been recorded as growing in salt marshes in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates, coastal sand dunes facing the Southern Ocean, riverine clays and deep siliceous sandy soils of semi-arid regions. Needless to say, it is drought and frost tolerant.

The Australian Aboriginals relished the sweet and succulent berries while the early Australian settlers used the leaves as a green vegetable because of their high vitamin C content.