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A slender subshrub or undershrub growing up to 2 m tall.
It is found naturally in NSW, from about the Royal National Park in southern Sydney, extending north, very close to the coast, in disjunct occurrences, to north of Rockhampton (Shoalwater Bay-area).
It grows in coastal swamps and wet heath in full sun, usually on sandy soils; and is not all that common.
Hibbertia have simple leaves which are alternate for the vast majority of species. In this species, leaves are linear to lanceolate-oblong, to 5 cm long and to 0.5 cm wide.
Hibbertia have bright yellow 5-petaled flowers which are mostly produced solitarily, either at the terminals of leaf axils. Flowers are bisexual and can have a few to many stamens and up to 5 carpels. In this species, bright yellow flowers occur in spring to autumn and are solitary or clustered in small groups, to 15 mm in diameter.
The fruit is a capsule, oval in shape, to 1 cm long by 0.5 cm wide.
This species is not overly common in cultivation but may be available at native nurseries. It is known to be cultivated.
It grows best well drained soils in sun or partial shaded coastal sites with some summer moisture. It grows naturally in wet areas so may need reliable moisture. It is hardy when established and ideal for narrow sites.
Prune to keep bushy.
Hibbertias, generally, are easy to grow from cuttings. Seeds can be slow and difficult to germinate.
It likely regenerates from seedbank after fire.
The Hibbertia genus or Guinea Flowers are common throughout the Australian bush. There are about 115 species and 110 of these are endemic. They are one of the most notoriously taxonomically difficult groups in Australia, with many similar species and many new ones being discovered in recent times. Around 5 species, all considered threatened with extinction, have been found in the Sydney-area alone over the last 30 years. NSW currently has about 68 species with a fair few of these having subspecies and considered to be species-complex.
Hibbertias are commonly known as Guinea Flowers and this name refers to the resemblance of the flower shape and colour to the ancient Golden Guinea coin.
Hibbertia – after George Hibbert (1757–1837) who was an eminent English merchant, politician, slave-owner, ship-owner, amateur botanist and book collector.
salicifolia – is derived from the Latin words salix meaning “willow” and folium meaning “leaf” referring to the willow-like leaves.
This species is not considerd to be at risk of extinction in the wild. It is not often found in large numbers though.
NSW Flora Online (PlantNET) – Hibbertia salicifolia profle page https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hibbertia~salicifolia
Wikipedia – Hibbertia salicifolia profle page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hibbertia_species