Author Archives: cjccg01

Plant of the Month – August 2015

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MALLEE POMADERRIS

(Pomaderris paniculosa ssp. paniculosa)

 

(Photos: E. Cousins, habitat at Cape Jervis, a pomaderris behind hibbertia; https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6194/6123759156_85ef3c5dfd_m.jpg, close-up of leaf stem )

This waist high shrub is one of the hardy survivors around Cape Jervis. It can grow in windy coastal locations as well as woodland and mallee, and doesn’t mind rocky ground. Despite this, the shrub is now extinct in NSW, and endangered in Victoria. The dull green, oval-shaped leaves are about 1 cm long, and look furry. This is because of fine white hairs along and below the leaf edges. The hairs on raised veins, the younger stems and buds look rusty, giving a brown-green look to the shrub. Little flower buds occur in loose hanging clusters (see third photo above), and the tiny 3 mm flowers that follow the buds are yellow; look for these shortly in spring!

Weed of the Month – August 2015

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RICE MILLET

(Piptatherum miliaceum)

    

(Photos: E. Cousins, plant, seed head; http://ausgrass2.myspecies.info/content/piptatherum-miliaceum)

This perennial grass can be recognized by its long, wiry stems. These stems can be up to 1.5 metres tall, and are segmented, looking very much like bamboo! Whereas the leaf-sheaf is smooth, the leaf-blade surface is ‘scaberous’ (rough, as if it is covered with scabs). The plant occurs as a loosely tufted clump. As can be seen from the second photo, the seed stem has several spirals of branches; branches in turn divide into secondary branches which bear clusters of the grass flowers. Green/purple flowers then seeds appear over summer and autumn. Originally from Eurasia, this grass is now fairly widely distributed over the bottom half of Australia. It likes disturbed sites, and has frequently spread from plantings used to stabilise mine dumps, etc.

Plant of the Month – July 2015

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PALE GUINEA FLOWER

(Hibbertia pallidiflora)

DSC00452 DSC00448 DSC00449

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit; leaves and flowers; size of flower compared to a fingertip)

Because of the strong salt winds around Cape Jervis and the dry summers, plants have to be tough to survive there. Many are consequently very tiny, such as the little hibbertia shown here. This rare little plant likes the limestone around the Fleurieu. The bush itself is small and compact, growing to only about 20cm high at Cape Jervis. The leaves are rounder than those of other hibbertias, with Because of the strong salt winds around Cape Jervis and the dry summers, plants have to be tough to survive there. Many are consequently very tiny, such as the little hibbertia shown here. This rare little plant likes the limestone around the Fleurieu. The bush itself is small and compact, growing to only about 20cm high at Cape Jervis. The leaves are rounder than those of other hibbertias, with star-shaped hairs underneath. The flowers, carried on long stalks, are cup-shaped and do not open out very much. They tend to hang down (see the middle photo). You can see how tiny the flowers are, from the photo showing the flower and a fingertip!

Weed of the Month – July 2015

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PYRAMID TREE or NORFOLK ISLAND HIBISCUS

(Langunaria patersonia)

(Photos: E. Cousins, Cape Jervis; tree, seed pod, leaf)

This is a weed in the Marino Conservation Park, and in other coastal cliff top regions. Although not common at Cape Jervis, it does occur. Look out for trees 12-20m tall, with dense, glossy grey-green foliage. In spring and summer, 5cm hibiscus-shaped pink flowers appear at the leaf axils (that is, in the angle between the upper surface of the leaf and the stem). Fuzzy capsules follow the flowers; these contain orange seeds and fine, white hairs that irritate the skin, leading to another common name: the itchy bomb tree! It likes well-drained soil, sunny positions, and doesn’t object to salt spray, so has been planted in coastal gardens from which seeds then escaped! Watch out for it on the Fleurieu.

Plant of the Month – June 2015

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BLACK-ANTHER FLAX LILY

(Dianella revoluta)

       

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit; flowers and buds)

You can see from the pictures above why this plant is commonly called the black-anther flax lily: those pretty blue flowers have black stamens, with an orangey-yellow base to them. The plant grows about shin high, with very stiff, blue-green leaves which fold together at their base. You are most likely to see the flowers in spring and early summer. The wiry flower spikes sit above the leaves, to about knee high at Cape Jervis. There are several branches per spike, and several flowers per branch, with one flower on a branch opening per day. The six flower petals bend backwards, ‘reflexed’. After the flowers, you get pretty dark-blue seed pods. Adaptable to most soil types, the plants are also hardy, and can produce quite large clumps over a period of time, making them a very useful garden plant.

Weed of the Month – June 2015

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LINCOLN WEED or WILD ROCKET

(Diplotaxis tenuifolia)

(Photos: E. Cousins; Cape Jervis)

We recently found this declared weed on a hillside at Cape Jervis, while we were looking for Lemon Beauty Heads. Lincoln Weed is an erect plant with dark green leaves and yellow flowers. The flowers have four short rounded petals (about 1cm in length); they occur in small clusters at the end of the flower stems. The dark green leaves occur on the lower stems. They are shaped like a lance, with lower leaves often having several lobes. If you crush the leaves, you might recognize the aroma…the plant is a member of the mustard family. Though versions of rocket are used in salads aplenty these days, this one has been reported as being toxic to stock. It reproduces both from seed and by branching from its long taproot, which needs to be removed if you are hand weeding.

Plant of the month – May 2015

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WHITE FANFLOWER

(Scaevola albida)

(Photos: E. Cousins; plant amongst others, flowers)

Though this plant can grow upwards, we normally see it as a prostrate shrub around Cape Jervis, growing only to about shin high. Although the name would suggest the flowers are white, they actually vary and are normally more blue than white around Cape Jervis. And no, they haven’t all been eaten by snails, leaving just half a flower! This lopsided flower shape is what makes fanflowers easy to identify: the petals only grow on one half, like a fan or a hand. The oval leaves are bright green, and like the flower colour, can vary in look: they will be smooth or hairy. Look for the flowers in spring. It really is a pretty little plant.

Weed of the Month – May 2015

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FEATHERTOP

(Pennisetum villosum)

                   

(Photos: C. Schultz, Cape Jervis)

This is a tufted grass, up to 1 m tall, on the S.A. environmental weed list. The leaves are narrow, mostly hairless, and droopy. Where the leaf sheath meets the leaf blade is a ring of hairs, like a collar. The spiky seed-heads are up to 12cm in length, composed of long, feathery bristles. They are  greenish-white when young, fading to white, cream then a straw colour. The flower head is made up of lots of little spikelets, surrounded in turn by long whitish bristles. It is these bristles that give the plant its feathery appearance. The seeds, with their bristles, are dispersed by the wind, or carried on animals, clothing, vehicles, etc. This weed is similar to another weed, Fountain grass (Cenchus or Pennisetum setaceum). If you do like This is a tufted grass, up to 1 m tall, on the S.A. environmental weed list. The leaves are narrow, mostly hairless, and droopy. Where the leaf sheath meets the leaf blade is a ring of hairs, like a collar. The spiky seed-heads are up to 12cm in length, composed of long, feathery bristles. They are  greenish-white when young, fading to white, cream then a straw colour. The flower head is made up of lots of little spikelets, surrounded in turn by long whitish bristles. It is these bristles that give the plant its feathery appearance. The seeds, with their bristles, are dispersed by the wind, or carried on animals, clothing, vehicles, etc. This weed is similar to another weed, Fountain grass (Cenchus or Pennisetum setaceum). If you do like their feathery effect though, try planting Cenchus advena…this is a nonseeding hybrid, so it won’t become invasive!

Carolyn’s Corner – May 2015

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Bringing back the Glossies: when will the plan become a reality? Hopefully in the next few years! Glossy black cockatoos are fussy buggers. They only eat the seed pods of the drooping she-oak, Allocasaurina verticillata. We had a visit in April from two researchers, Karleah and Mike, from the KI Glossy Black-Cockatoo Recovery Program. They were impressed with the extensive she-oak plantings around the Cape that started with Greening Australia ≈ 17 years ago. Other groups have contributed including COOTs, Cape Jervis & Delamere Progress Association and CJCCG. Keep your eyes and ears open; for the distinctive “chewings” at the base of trees, and their noisy, creaky, wheezy calls (http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Calyptorhynchus-lathami. Will you be the first person at the Cape to spot one?

Photos R Tipper. Glossy black facts – Natural Resources South Australia

Next get together – Tree Planting, Jun 5 & 6 2015. Training & cake provided.

We welcome new volunteers.  Contact Carolyn Schultz 0423 213 481.

 

Carolyn’s Corner – April 2015

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No tree branches – No worries! I’ll just use this garden stake to sun myself … thinks this adult bearded dragon (left photo). What a treat to see as we were doing a site visit on the “lower loop” near the start of the Heysen Trail / ferry terminal. The other lizard is also a bearded dragon, but a very young one, that I found while removing weedy gazanias from a remnant patch of scrub containing Lomandra effusa (scented mat rush) in my garden. Rushes, grasses and sedges provide great habitat (food and shelter) for lizards so it was not surprising that I would find one in this patch. We are including lots of different species of these important food and shelter plants, so we should start to see more and more lizards over the next few years.

Photos C. Schultz: Adult bearded dragon, juvenile bearded dragon

Next get together, 11 & 12 Apr 2015. Training & cake provided. We welcome new volunteers.

Contact Carolyn Schultz 0423 213 481.