About Exocarpos sparteus R.Br.
Exocarpos sparteus R.Br. is an erect shrub that grows up to four metres tall, with drooping branchlets and is almost leafless. Its flowering branchlets may hold small, stalkless, greenish-yellow leaves. The flowers are 1 mm across, matching the leaf colour, and are occasionally white. The fruit is egg-shaped, pink or red, and 4 to 5 mm long. This plant has an upright growth habit that becomes slightly curved; its many regular branches combine to create a rounded overall appearance. The drooping branchlets, leaves and flowers of similar colour and size, and upcurving outward branches give the species a smooth, spherical-looking form. In its ecology, the fruit of Exocarpos sparteus is eaten by Australian ringnecks (Barnardius zonarius), and presumably also eaten by other birds. It is also thought to be the Exocarpos species eaten by Indigenous Australian people, especially before European colonisation. This species is a hemi-parasite, like many other members of the Santalaceae family, and obtains nutrients from the roots of other plants.
