Adoxa moschata (Adoxaceae), Germany, 2008. Australia has many weird little ephemeral plants in the arid zone; often closely related to larger and longer lived species, they have evolved to quickly grow and seed after only a few weeks, often self-pollinating in the process, because they are living in a habitat with very unpredictable rainfall. This European herb does not have the same excuse. It is a fairly close relative of several groups of shrubs that used to be in the Caprifoliaceae but for some reason it has evolved to be so tiny that it is easily overlooked on the forest floor.
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