Author Archives: cjccg01

Plant of the Month – April 2015

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RUBY SALTBUSH

(Enchylaena tomentosa)

   

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit, fruits and leaves, close-up of fruit; Cape Jervis)

OK, the fruit shown in the close-up is ‘ruby’…but simultaneously on the bush you might see green, yellow, orange and red ones! The green ones are the new fruit, but the colour changes as those fruit ripen.  These are small (about 5mm), succulent and shaped like a squished ball. Flowers and fruit occur over most of the year, making this an important food source for birds. The sprawling shrub is low-growing, often just knee-high, though the branches can reach 1m. These are covered in cylindrical, fleshy blue-green leaves, about 1-2cm long. The leaves in turn are covered in fine hairs (‘tomentose’), which are responsible for the bush’s greyish colour, but also aid in reflecting heat which might otherwise damage the plant. Ruby saltbush is found in most poor soil types across Australia, from sand to clay, but prefers those that are slightly saline and not boggy. It is hardy, being drought and frost tolerant…handy on the peninsula!

Weed of the Month – April 2015

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CAUSTIC WEED

(Chamaesyce or Euphorbia drummondii)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit, close up of leaf, tap root)

We recently found caustic weed on our lower site at Cape Jervis. If you have found it in your garden, you will know it is a persistent little sucker. It is an annual or short-lived perennial herb with a deep taproot. Smooth, thin red stems fan out from the centre and hug the ground; these stems can grow up to 20cm long, and can exude a corrosive, milky sap when damaged.  The oval-shaped leaves are blue-green with a reddish-purple blotch. They grow in pairs with very short stalks, opposite each other along the stems. The tiny flowers have no petals; they grow in small groups that are composed of one female flower surrounded by several male flowers; even so, the entire flower head is fairly inconspicuous. Seeds can germinate at any time, with the biggest flush in spring; then the plants grow quickly over summer.

Carolyn’s Corner – March 2015

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Want to help protect your garden and the Cape from woody weeds? One  great way is to learn to recognise the young seedlings of Acacia cyclops and olives. In their first 6 months of life both are easily pulled out by hand. Cyclops grows quickly and can reach > 1 m x 1 m in 1-2 years, setting seed in 2-3 years. Cyclops and olives often germinate in the shade of shrubs such as Leucopogon (coastal beard heath) or in the ground covers muntries (Kunzea pomifera). I recently found 10 seedling in one old muntries, near Fleurieu Ave. Imagine how different the view would look in 2-3 years if they were left to grow. The easiest way to get good at recognising cyclops and olive seedlings, is to learn by doing. We  are happy to show you how..

Photos C. Schultz: Leucopogon + cyclops (circles); 10 cyclops hidden in muntries

 

Next get together, 11 & 12 Apr 2015. Training & cake provided.

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

Plant of the Month – March 2015

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NITRE-BUSH

(Nitraria billardierei)

(Photos: E. Cousins; habit, fruit, leaves; all at Cape Jervis)

The nitre-bush is sometimes called the Native Grape. The photo of its ripe fruit was taken in early February: they are grape-shaped, and red or yellow. The ones on this particular bush were plump, and very edible! They are only about 1cm long though, so you would need a lot to make a meal of them, especially since the seed inside itself is large compared to the fruit.
Birds also like the fruit, which helps to spread those seeds. The nitre-bush grows as a dense, stiff shrub, with long, arching, tangled stems. The leaves are an olive green colour, and fairly elongated; flowers are small and white. This shrub likes over-grazed and hot, saline areas, so does well at Cape Jervis, where it helps to stabilize dunes. In Australia there is only one species in the genus Nitraria, but other species exist overseas … makes one wonder how that came about!

Weed of the Month – March 2015

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COASTAL GALENIA

(Galenia pubescens)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit, close-up of leaves and flowers)

There are some patches of coastal galenia near the start of the Heysen Trail at Cape Jervis. They occur as flat, sprawling patches about 1-2 metres across. The oval-shaped leaves are very small; like the stems, newer ones are covered in fine hairs, which you might be able to see in the second photo. You’ll also see tiny flowers at the leaf junctions. These are white, possibly with a pink tinge at the start, but turn yellow as they age. The leaves are normally a sage-green colour, but summer stress has changed the ones shown to a reddish-brown in places! Galenia is a common environmental weed around the coast of SA. It likes sandy soils and disturbed sites… in the photo above, the clumps are on a path!  It can be difficult to eradicate when established.

Carolyn’s Corner – February 2015

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How Atlas of Living Australia helped us!  We got a tip off about a “new” plant called lemon beauty-heads (aka Calocephalus citreus). However I could not find it on my own, so the group decided to get help from Atlas of Living Australia (ALA, www.ala.org.au) a collaborative resource from CSIRO and 16 partners.

ALA informed us that the plant was “On slopes of coast reserve 300 m N of Cape Jervis lighthouse”. Imagine our surprise when we stopped not far from the top and Liz asked “is this it”? Sure was, and we have photos to prove it!

ALA shows a clickable dot on a map of Australia for every plant specimen collected by the major botanical gardens, citizen scientists and others. It also contains info about animal, insects & microbes.

Photos C. Schultz: Liz taking photos, Lemon beauty-heads

 

Next get together, 7 & 8  Feb 2015. Training & cake provided.

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

Plant of the Month – February 2015

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LEMON BEAUTY-HEADS

(Calocephalus citreus)

 

(Photos: E. Cousins; habit, side view, flower close-up; Cape Jervis)

The clumps of this plant that we have seen around Cape Jervis grow to about 20-30cm high. They look silvery-grey, possibly because of the small, white hairs on the leaves and stems. Stems themselves are slender, wiry and upright, growing in a tuft from the base. Narrow leaves are arranged opposite each other along the stems; they get progressively smaller the closer they get to the top. Between September and March, you’ll notice the lemon beauty heads themselves, sitting at the top of the plants: golden globe-like clusters of flowers, to 14mm long in total. Although lemon beauty heads don’t appreciate heavy disturbance such as urban development, grazing stock, or fertilizer use, they would make an excellent rockery plant: they require little watering, tolerate full sun or part shade and most soil conditions, are fast growing, long lived, and very hardy!          (See Carolyn’s Corner in Cape Jervis Courier for a story about our trip to find these locally.)

Weed of the Month – February 2015

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COASTAL TEA TREE

( Leptospermum laevigatum )

 

     

(Photos: http://anpsa.org.au/l-lae.html http://www.friendsofqueensparkbushland.org.au/wp-content/gallery/leptospermum-laevigatum/leptospermum-laevigatum-g3.jpg)

Tolerant of most soil types, and resistant to salt spray, this large, bushy shrub is grown in gardens along the coast… to about 5m tall, and with its greyish foliage, it can look quite attractive. However, although native to south-eastern coasts of Australia, in S.A. is now classed as an environmental weed. Identify it by grey-green, oval-shaped leaves (up to 30mm long) and white flowers. The 5-petalled flowers are round, with lots of little stamens around the centre (see photo above). The thin bark on older branches is quite stringy. Also, the fruits (seed capsules) of this tea tree have 6-11 compartments, distinguishing it from most other tea trees (maximum of 6). Why tea tree? Apparently early settlers used the leaves of some species as a substitute for tea leaves.

Carolyn’s Corner – January 2015

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Another reason I love Cape Jervis. The birds. What a treat to have a kestrel land on our balcony railing and watch us through the glass doors for over 10 minutes. Didn’t even fly off when we slowly opened the doors to get a better photo. Probably a young one – it was so fluffy.

Have you ever seen where a kestrel roosts? If you have, you may have noticed the regurgitated “pellets” that contain indigestible stuff, such as insect bits (see photos). Kestrels are highly adaptable and eat a variety of insects, reptiles, small birds and small mammals. We have lots of pellets on our back porch (home to kestrels when we are in the city).

Photos Carolyn Schultz: Kestrel, insect bits from pellet, intact pellets

 

Next get together, 7 & 8  Feb 2015. Training & cake provided.

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

cjccg.com.au

Weed of the Month – January 2015

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SEA-LAVENDER

(Limonium companyonis)

 

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit, side view, close-up of flower, Cape Jervis)

As with January’s Plant of the Month (the Small Yellow Rush-lily), the Sea-lavender looks very dainty. It’s a real shorty, growing to shin high only. At the base of the plant, there is a flat rosette of tough dark green leaves which have bristly hairs on them. Then the branched flower spikes erupt above them, with sprays of funnel-shaped flowers. The individual flowers have 5 petals and are blue-purple, with maroon shades before opening. From November to February, you can see these flowering along the waterfront at Cape Jervis: not unexpected, since they tend to like shallow soil pockets, limestone, saline soil, and full sun. In addition, they are a common weed in overgrazed paddocks, and along roadsides. By the way, these are not really lavenders: they actually belong to the same family as plumbago!