Australia: Christmas orchids and a woolly bush On the other side of the globe, Christmas takes place during summer - making a barbecue on the beach a more likely occurrence on 25 December than ...

The plant known as the NSW Christmas bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) gets its red colour not from its flowers but from the bracts, or leafy material that encases the petals of the flower.

The flowers, which they've named Tropidogyne pentaptera, are part of the Cunoniaceae family. The flowers resemble a modern day "Christmas bush" found in Australia.

Christmas bush, Cerapetalum gummiferum, flowers in spring with creamy little blooms, and then develops the characteristic pink or red sepals that hold for weeks.

Victorian Christmas bush or Coranderrk (Prostanthera lasianthos) – a tall mint bush from 1-6m tall that prefers a damp, shady spot and has interesting white flowers with mauve markings.

December 8, 2005 — 9.12pm Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Advertisement Christmas bush ablaze Bunches of Christmas bush, below, make a real Australian-flavoured Christmas.