Macropidia is a genus closely related to Anigozanthos, the Kangaroo Paws, consisting of one species. These are all native to Western Australia and grow from a rhizome that grows just below the surface. Macropidia is in the Haemodoraceae family
Macropidia fuliginosa, also known as the "Black Kangaroo Paw", grows in kwongan and woodland in lateritic soil. It has fans 20 to 50 cm long with a flowering stem to 1.5 m and flowers 5-6 cm. It is hard to come by outside of Australia. There is a magnificent bed of these growing in Kings Park and Botanic Gardens in Perth, Australia. I couldn't believe it when this became available from an Australian native plant specialty nursery here in Southern California. So I bought one. It is sending up scapes now and the fuzz on the buds are really and truly black (as opposed to a really dark purple or red). I think it is very striking. Photos taken October 2006 by Lee Poulsen.
Photos taken in Kings Park, Perth, October 2007 by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner. It is a little difficult to photograph the bed as the flowers blend together into a mass of color.
