Westringia fruticosa (Willd.) Druce, Rep. Bot. Soc. Exch. Club Brit. Isles 1916: 652 1917. (Syn: Cunila fruticosa Willd.; Westringia rosmarinacea Andrews; Westringia rosmariniformis Sm.);  
 


 

Coastal rosemary, Westringia fruticosa from California: Westringia fruticosa (Willd.) Druce

Syn: Westringia rosmariniformis Sm.; W. rosmarinacea Andrews 
Common name: Coastal rosemary  
I photographed this small shrub few days back as possibly a white cultivar of rosemary. Only when I sat down to identify    I realised (having rosemary twig in one hand) that not flowers are white, leaves are without characteristic fragrance, stamens are not that long and more importantly (for this family) calyx is not bi-lipped. 
My books (incl. Bailey, Rehder, Japson) and eFloras did not help, but Google search did: “Rosemary like plant with white flowers”.  
This plant from Coastal areas of Eastern Australia is common grown in California, producing flowers in most of the months.


 
Requesting to please ID this plant with small purple white flowers growing wildly in San Francisco, USA in May 2013.


Westringia fruticosa (Willd.) Druce (syn: Westringia rosmarniformis)

For several days after I photographed this plant I though this to be a form of Rosemary till I got the correct ID.



Attached are pictures of Westringia fruticosa captured at USA, SFO in April 2013.
Was posted on the forum earlier and identified.


Yes … Nice photographs


nice. i don’t remember your earlier post. was it at the botanical garden? or a nursery?


… it is common as hedge plant. For many days I thought it to be a white flowered form of Rosemary (not my fault only, the plant is also known as Westringia rosmariniformis) till I studied it critically. 


ok. northern California seems to have an entirely different zone/ ecosystem and it would never survive as hedge in the snowy ne atlantic coastal towns and the leaves do remind me of rosemary…


 

Westringia fruticosa (Willd.) Druce
syn: W. rosmariniformis Sm.
A shrub often easily confused with Rosmarinus (rosemay) but distinguished by its white flowers and shape of corolla.
Photographed from Sunnyvale, California  


 
For this id, I have to thank …

Going through his posts, it became easy for me to id it correctly.
Taken in Fremont in Sept, 14.
Thanks again Sir Ji.


 
References: