Country Racing Victoria in conjunction with the Melbourne Market Authority is proud to launch the Leucadendron Safari Sunset as the official country racing flower for the 2011 Spring Carnival in the Country.

 

The Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’, a vigerous native Australian shrub, this flower belongs to the Proteaceae family. Single-stemmed, this flower with its long, sturdy stem, is actually a cone surrounded by large colourful bracts (leaves), frequently mistaken for the flower itself. Famous as a cut flower, the Leucadendron (meaning simple beauty), can grow to be a medium to large shrub, and is well-known for its bracts rather than its blooms. Bracts are a deep wine red in Autumn and take on a pinkish cream flush towards Spring.

Known as a hardy flower, the Leucadendron loves warm conditions, are tolerable to the dry Australian climate and are available throughout the entire 65 days of the Spring Carnival in the Country right across Victoria. Visit your local florist and wear the Leucadendron Safari Sunset every time you attend the country races this Spring.