Dracophyllum secundum is a prostrate to semi-erect shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 found in eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It occurs from as far south as Pigeon House Mountain

Pigeon House Mountain

Pigeon House Mountain is a mountain named by Captain James Cook during his voyage of discovery along Australia's eastern coast in 1770. The prominent remnant of a two tier sandstone structure, the summit rises to 720 m above sea level. Located on the South Coast region of New South Wales within the...

 north to Kendall, New South Wales

Kendall, New South Wales

Kendall is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kendall was originally named Camden Heads, as it is located on the Camden Haven River. In was renamed Kendall, in 1891, after the Australian poet Henry Kendall, and not, as some tourists suspect, after the similarly-spelled...

 on the mid north coast. A common plant in the Blue Mountains near Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. Found as far west as Blackheath

Blackheath, New South Wales

Blackheath is a small town located near the top of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, 120 kilometres west north west of Sydney and 11 kilometres northwest of Katoomba. In 2006, Blackheath had a population of 4,177 people...

. Often noticed by bushwalkers

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 for the attractive flowers and arching foliage. The specific epithet secundum means "arranged on one side only".

The habitat is moist rocky areas and wet cliff faces, usually on sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

. Sites are nutrient poor with permanent moisture. The range of altitude is from sea level to 1100 metres above sea level, with an average annual rainfall between 900 mm and 1600 mm.

The shrub is around 60 cm tall with narrow crowded leaves with pointed tips. Leaves are 12 cm long by 1 cm wide, smooth edged or slightly toothed.

Flowering occurs mainly between July to October. Being pink and white. Bell shaped flowers are 6 to 8 mm long, appearing on a long raceme

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

. The fruit is a capsule, around 5 mm in diameter. Seeds are dispersed by wind, water and gravity.

This plant first appeared in scientific literature in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in the year 1810, authored by Robert Brown.