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Did You Know? Suzanne Jones

Did you know that there is an Australian Seed Bank Partnership? It is an Australia-wide initiative aimed at a

national effort to conserve Australian native plant diversity through seed collecting, seed banking, research and

knowledge sharing. This Partnership (ASBP) unites the expertise of 14 organisations, including universities, herbaria,

botanic gardens, non-government organisations and state environmental agencies.

The Victorian Conservation Seedbank, housed in Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens is one of the partners. It

holds seed of more than 15% of Victoria's plant species. This includes species that are endemic to Victoria or are

regarded as rare or threatened in Victoria or are regarded as 'keystone' species of significant plant communities.

More information can be found by consulting the ASBP website: www.seedpartnership.org.au

Quiz Questions

Suzanne Jones

Botany: How many seed leaves does a dicotyledon

have?

Wildlife: How do Anemonefish prevent the Sea

Anemone from paralyzing them with poison

darts, then eating them?

General: “The Saucepan” is the common name given to

which constellation in the sky?

Answers at the end of this newsletter

Contents …

Did You Know? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

Quiz Questions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

What Am I? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2

Outback Travels – Part 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2

Another Test for Your Identification Skills ---------------------------------------------- 5

Local Plants – Acacia melanoxylon ----------------------------------------------------- 8

Plants Flowering Lately – Sannantha bidwillii ----------------------------------------- 9

Wildlife in Native Gardens – Moths of the Arctdiiae Family --------------------- 10

What Am I - Answer ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 11

Another Test of Your Identification Skills – Answer ------------------------------- 12

Diary Dates ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12

Answers to Quiz Questions -------------------------------------------------------------- 12

Australian Native Plants Society

East Gippsland Inc

Reg. No. A0016046J

Issue 143 February 2018

Website: www.apsvic.org.au Email: anpseg@gmail.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ANPSEG/?ref=bookmarks

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What Am I? Suzanne Jones

How closely do you look at your flowers? Do you know the genus or, better still, the species of the plant in this

photo? Answer at the end of this newsletter.

Outback Travels – Part 1 Graeme and Jan Donnan

Spring 2017! It was time to hit the outback roads again in search of our country's native flora – in its natural

habitat.

Given that we had lived at Oodnadatta (1967-1971 : Graeme was a Weather Observer with the Bureau of

Meteorology) we never miss an opportunity to travel up the Oodnadatta Track to visit our old home - stopping of

course, to identify and take photos of plants along the way. This gibber stone country is generally quite flat, with

plant life very sparse.

However, disturbed soil/sand along the road verges, along creek beds (dry virtually all of the time) and sand dunes,

are generally good for some plants. Of course in this very arid environment rainfall is low, whilst temperatures -

with an average of 32 days a year in excess of 40 degrees at Oodnadatta, for instance - are extreme.

Unfortunately, with Oodnadatta only totaling 19mm of rain over the previous six months the plant life in this region

was far from its best. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of stops.

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Between Port Augusta and Leigh Creek (The Outback Highway) Eremophila freelingii (Limestone Fuschia) was again

prominent, albeit not as vibrant as normal (photo below left). Eremophila duttonii was also found (photo below

right).

Among other genus/species there were Dodonaea lobulata (one of the many hop bushes common throughout),

Ptilotus obovatus, Pycnosorus pleiocephalus (Soft Billy Buttons) (photo following page) and various forms of

Maireana (Bluebush) and Atriplex (Saltbush). Various Senna species were also prominent, as too Sida and various

species of Solanum.

Continuing on the Outback Highway we soon came to the end of the sealed road before skirting Lake Eyre South and

arriving at Marree. Here was the original rail head (1883) for the cattle industry, before the extension to

Oodnadatta was completed in 1890.

Before that extension, all freight was carried further north by the Afghan cameleers with their camels: hence the

ultimate naming of the passenger train as the Ghan. Nowadays, with the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta

Tracks, this small town relies on tourism.

After leaving Marree - now on the Oodnadatta Track - the route of the old Ghan railway line and Overland Telegraph

line are effectively followed.

It is a veritable history lesson - complete with what remains of this infrastructure of the latter 1800's. The road also

traverses Anna Creek Station which, with an area of 23,677 square kilometres is the largest working cattle station in

the world.

Along the Oodnadatta Track, between Leigh Creek and Coward Springs, of special interest were the native apricot

Pittosporum angustifolium and the quandong Santalum acuminatum. Along this stretch we added maculata and

neglecta to our list of Eremophila.

Also, a couple of different Darling Peas, Swainsona stipularis and Swainsona phacoides. Streptoglossa liatroides

(Wertaloona Daisy), Scaevola collaris and Pterocaulom sphacelatum (Apple Bush) were also found. Cullen

australasicum (Tall Verbine) was common.

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Arrival at Coward Springs at a reasonable time ensured a good camp-site: here for two nights. Next part will see us

continue up to Oodnadatta and then on to Archaringa’s spectacular ‘Painted Desert’.

‘Outback Travels – Part 2’ will begin at Coward Springs – see our April newsletter!

Scaevola collaris

Swainsona stipularis Eremophila neglecta

Santalum acuminatum Pycnosorus pleiocephalus

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Another Test for Your Identification Skills Suzanne Jones

This tree, growing in our garden, is about nine years old.

The photo at right shows the full tree in flower, which was

in November.

Photo of the buds below. Note how many buds are in the

cluster on each peduncle. I can count seven.

These next two photos show you the bark of the tree at that time. The photo at left shows the upper branches, whilst the

photo at right shows the trunk.

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The photos below show the adult leaves. Note the position of the leaves on the stem, the colour of the leaves, the shape

and the vein patterns.

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The glorious flowers are much loved by many species of insect. A small native bee and a few ants can be seen in the below

close-up photo at right, which is helpful in judging the size of the flowers.

Then of course, the fruits of the tree. The number of capsules in each cluster will be the same as the number of buds in

each cluster. The shape of the capsules can be an important identifying feature.

How did you go? Answer at the end of this newsletter.

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Local Plants – Acacia melanoxylon Suzanne Jones

Acacia melanoxylon or Blackwood is widespread in East

Gippsland. It is a small to large tree, reaching a height

between 5m and 30m depending on where it is growing.

It naturally grows best in deep soil in gullies where it will

grow very tall.

A. melanoxylon flowers between August and October with

pale creamy ball-like flowers in short racemes. It is a

very hardy tree and is long living in southern Australia.

The tree pictured here is sixteen years old and would be

about 6m tall, having survived drought conditions for

many of its years. The hard timber of A. melanoxylon is

valued by the timber industry.

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Plants Flowering Lately – Sannantha bidwillii Suzanne Jones

Plants previously known as Baeckea virgata have, relatively recently, been divided into different species and the

Australian native plants are no longer called Baeckea virgata. The differing growth forms previously known under

this name were then named different species in the genus of Babingtonia.

However, later on, these names were again revised and currently, only a Western Australian species is still known as

the genus Babingtonia. The species that are native to the Eastern states have been split into several new genera,

but it appears that plants that were, years ago, sold as Baeckea virgata would now be known as either Sannantha

bidwillii, Sannantha bidwillii 'Howie's Feathertips', Sannantha pluriflora, Sannantha similis or Sannantha tozerensis

- and possibly other species of Sannantha.

All very confusing. I think that the plants pictured here are now called Sannantha bidwillii, but this would need

confirmation. I am sure that they would still be available at nurseries. We bought them about nine years ago,

labelled as Baeckea virgata (dwarf form). These photos are of those bushes, growing in our garden.

We have found them to be very hardy and of a very neat shape. They flower profusely in the summer and insects

flock to the flowers. The Encyclopedia of Australian Plants states that Baeckea virgata is an adaptable species and

can cope well with frosts and dry conditions. It prefers to be in a sunny position.

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Wildlife in Native Gardens –Moths of the Arctiidae family Suzanne Jones

The moths pictured here all belong to the Arctiidae family. We commonly see them at home feeding from flowers

during the warmer months. The photo on the left below is of Asura cervicalis, the Spotted Lichen Moth and the one on

the right is of Asura lydia, the Lydia Lichen Moth. Both are feeding on flowers of Olearia lanuginosa.

Below left is the Magpie Moth, Nyctemera amicus, feeding on Myoporum parvifolium and on the right is the Heliotrope Moth, Utetheisa pulchelliodes, on a white flowering scaevola.

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Below is Thallarcha jocularis, a very small moth commonly called The Jester, on the flowers of Helichrysum baxterii.

Answer: What Am I?

Did you guess Persoonia pinifolia?

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Another Test for Your Identification Skills – Answer Suzanne Jones

This tree is Corymbia eximia, commonly known as the Yellow Bloodwood. It

is a small to medium tree with a relatively dense canopy and is native to

New South Wales where it grows on coastal hills within an 80 kilometre

radius of Sydney.

But it has grown well at our place. It is adored by so many insects

when it is flowering, but does only have a short flowering period of

about two weeks.

In this photo, you can see a native Hyleine bee, a wasp, ants, flies and

a beetle, all savouring the food source.

Diary Dates

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

7:30pm: General Meeting at Noweyung. Activity will be microscopes.

Tuesday, 13th March 2018

7:30pm: General Meeting at Riviera Christian Centre. Guest Speaker will be Phil Johnson, Landscape Designer and past winner of the Chelsea Garden Show.

General Meetings are held at Noweyung, Goold Street, Bairnsdale, from 7.30pm to approximately 9.30pm.

General Meetings are always on the second Tuesday of each month, with two exceptions - January and December. There is no General Meeting in January and the General Meeting in December is on the first Tuesday of the month.

Answers to Quiz Questions

Suzanne Jones

Botany: Two

Wildlife: Anemonefish are covered in a slime which contains chemicals that prevent the Sea Anemone’s tentacles from firing poison darts

General: Orion, which you can see in Australia from November until mid-May

If anyone has any articles for future

newsletters, could you please send

them to jonesn@westnet.com.au or

bring them to a general meeting

Thank you!