P must stand for PRETTY PIMELEA

Pimelea (often seen spelled Pimelia which is in fact the name of a genus of beetle) is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae.  There are about 80 species in the genus, native to Australia and New Zealand.  Many of the species are poisonous to cattle and horses.

Here in Western Australia we have some very beautiful Pimelea, including.

Pimelea rosea which is an erect shrub 0.3-1 m high with pink/red-purple flowers July to December.  It grows on sand, sandy clay and gravel on coastal sands and dunes, limestone or granite rises.

 Pimelea physodes (Qualep bell) grows on the sandplains and hillsides in the south of Western Australia. It is arguable the most spectacular member of the genus due to its large pendant flower heads. It is prized as a cut flower.  It grows to about 1 metre high with oval shaped leaves and small flowers whihc occur in clusters at the ends of the branches. and are enclosed in leafy bracts.  These may be yellow. green, red or purple in colour.  Flowers appear in winter and spring.

Pimelea calcicola is yet another species occurring in Western Australia. Its pink flowers are produced in September-November:

Pimelea aeruginosa is mostly an inland species, occurring from west of Kalgoorlie to the Geraldton region, then SE to Esperance.  The individual hairless flowers are slender tubular and individually are not particularly ornamental, but are clustered within 2-3cm (1") diameter yellow bracts, which go on to develop an orange bush as the internal flowers progress to seed.  These plants flower from May to October.

 

Pimelea brachyphylla is a common and widespread species around Esperance.  It can grow to a metre (3') high and flowers can be bright pink in bud but will open to a sparkling white to form attractive multi-flowered heads.  They flower anytime from June to October and are very attractive to butterflies:

 

Pimelea nivea is not native to Western Australia (it grows in Tasmania from sea level to about 1200m) but I thought the photos of the bud and flower were so cute I had to include them.

I could include dozens more of these spectacular plants but I have to draw the line somewhere. Hopefully I've been able to show the diversity of these plants which do grow quite well in home gardens although I am not sure which species are suited to which climates etc.

Strangely enough there are many other plants also beginning with the letter P.  Q may prove to be impossible and I may do the R and T and perhaps go back and do more of the P flowers.  As far as I know there's not many beginning with R but I am sure to find one or two and I have a very special T stored up, ready and waiting.  May be difficulty with UVXYZ; haven't even glanced at them yet so could be fortunate in finding any at all.