One of the most delightful plants in the Sydney region is the Gymea Lily. It is flowering at the moment and if you keep your eyes out there are plenty to see on a drive through the Royal National Park.

The leaves are sword like and sprout from the ground. The flower is located on the top of a long narrow green shoot which can reach up to six metres.

When these plants are not in flower they are just your average plant in the bush. When they flower it is a whole different story.

Arising from the leaves below is a crimson red flower that will immediately catch your eye.

The Gymea Lily takes a while to flower, at least five or more years. They are a hardy native and a bush fire does not set the plants back for long.

The word Gymea originates from the local aboriginal people and is attributed to either the Dharug or Dharawal Language group. The word means ‘a small bird’.

When you look at the plant in flower the name makes sense.

The flower is a long way from the plant, many metres, and looks like it could be flying if you don’t take in the long narrow stork supporting it. It is roughly the size of a small bird.

Two nearby suburbs also go by this name, Gymea and Gymea Bay.

If you take the Royal National Park tour with Sydney Nimble Tours in Spring you will see the Gymea Lily and a number of other native plants in flower.

The flowers of the Gymea Lily are followed by oval shaped capsules and in late summer the capsules split and release seeds.

It is a great time to be out and about in a Sydney national park.