Local woodlands and forests are lighting up this week with the cheerful, bright yellow flowers of the Twining Guinea Flower, Hibbertia dentata. 

This delicate little twiner isn't particularly obvious when not in flower, although its gently toothed leaves are quietly attractive, usually a dark felty-looking green and occasionally a deep reddish purple, and the new stems are also reddish. You might pass it by in a grassy woodland or in Blackbutt forest on the escarpment and not give it a second thought. But when it flowers it's really obvious. The flowers are so bright they almost seem lit up from inside. 

This is a good species to attract insect pollinators. Solitary bees like the Teddy Bear Bee (Amegilla bombiformis) are known to pollinate Twining Guinea Flower, and I've seen hover flies around the flowers too. While each individual flower is quite short-lived, the plant as a whole flowers over several weeks.

You can see Twining Guinea Flower all around the region, for example in Wiseman Park in Gwynneville, and at many spots along the escarpment. A great place to see it is on the walks that run north and south from Sublime Point, where it is widespread and common. Here it is one of one of many small delicate vines of the region, including Sweet Sarsaparilla (Smilax glyciphylla) and Jasmine Morinda (Gynochthodes jasminoides).  

See how many vines you can spot on a wander.