October 2016


Volume 43, No 10

Next Meeting, 26 November

In previous years we would be preparing for our Annual General Meeting in November but to comply with the amended bylaws of our Society you may recall that early this year we amended our Rules and rescheduled our AGM for the February meeting each year. Consequently your present Committee will remain active until our February meeting next year.

On Saturday, 26 November 2016, we are to hear from Angie Michaelis, a former member of our Group, Angie’s subject will be Bushcare: new sites/new insights. We suspect every member loves a healthy bush and Angie is sure to advise us on effective options to maintain our bushland in top condition and to help our garden plants too.

Angela (Angie) Michaelis started as a volunteer bush carer on Cumberland Plain Woodland at Riverstone, when she was still assisting her husband running Sydney Wildflower Nursery West at Marsden Park. Trained as a horticulturalist, but with no formal qualification in bush regeneration, she has learnt loads about plants, projects and people in the 20 or so years this has been her hobby. Her current sites are in Balmain and at Shark Island, in Sydney Harbour.

She’ll share what she’s learnt, through weeding and planting, about the ecology and challenges of these areas. She’s also the author of Native Plants for Your Garden: a Guide for the Cumberland Plain.


Last Meeting

We were disappointed to hear at the last minute that our planned speaker was unable to attend but Tony stepped into the breech. Tony has been undertaking a project to identify where species are, the number of species and the number of plants within those species in Eastern Australia. He spoke, however, of the area around Sydney extending roughly 300km from the city. The districts within this area vary from about 2,000 ha to 1,000,000 ha and include National Parks and other protected areas..

Tony stated that he gathered information from the Atlas of Living Australia, Plantnet and other Government and published sources of data. His work is massive even for the area within 300 km of Sydney. I confess to never having heard of some of the plants Tony has on his lists but many of these are exotics, some being weeds, which he has included too, It is fascinating to see the number of habitats that Tony has listed, 48 in number. And there are 18 different types of vegetation beginning with “forest” in these districts. Tony has Excel thumbnail maps that are built up from squares which represent areas of 10km x 10km and reveal occurrence and by colour coding each little square the density of the species. Obviously one needs to study Tony’s work closely to understand the value of it.

Pip Gibian led our activity program to identify Casuarinas and Allocasuarinas in the Sydney area using a fairly simple key. Though simple it led us to become more aware of the difference between the species. The key prepared by Laurie Johnson some years ago is considerably more complex but it serves to identify all the species of the two genera in Australia. It is available on-line.

With Pip’s key the essentials were the number of leaf teeth and the size of the cone.


Calendar

Oct 2016
Wed 12 Propagation at Bidjiwong Community Nursery at 10am

Nov 2016
Sun 6 Deadline for Calgaroo news / articles
Wed 9 Propagation at Bidjiwong Community Nursery at 10am
Sat 26 Our meeting at Gumnut Hall at 2pm – Angie Michaelis will speak on Bushcare: new sites/new insights


APS NSW Get-together in Tamworth

We are unaware of any of our members attending the APS NSW Get-together in Tamworth on 20 and 21 August 2016. There are reports of the event in several Group newsletters which you may read on-line at http://www.austplants.com.au including that of APS North Shore Group and APS Southern Highlands Group which may be the two most complete reports I have read.


Disposal of Our Library Books

Sue Gibbons, our Librarian, has produced another list of library books culled from our library. It is of books in the category of “Cultivation of Native Plants”. The availability of updated data on the web together with changes of plant names make so many books less valuable than they were when purchased.

Books will be presented at meetings. Please feel free to make an offer for any titles that may appeal to you. If you cannot attend a meeting you may phone Sue on 9634 1823 to reserve a title.

This list includes the following titles:-

(The) Ark Mulch Report – P Shenstone, L Nolan, I Hamilton Smith
(The) Austraflora Book of Australian Plants – B Molyneux, S Forrester
(The) Australian Gardeners’ Wildflower Catalogue – D Grieg
Australian Natives for Your Garden – P & J Rose
Australian Native Indoor Gardening Made Easy – P Radcliffe
Australian Native Plants (4th Ed.) – J Wrigley, M Fagg
Australian Native Gardens and Birds – B Salter
Australian Native Plants for NSW Gardens – P & J Rose
Australian Plants for the Garden – T Y Harris
Australian Rainforest Plants for Your Garden – D Mansfield
Birdscaping Your Garden – G Adams
Blue Mountains APS Group Leaflets (Introducing Native Plants)
Bush Regeneration (Recovering Australian Landscapes) – R Buchanan
Bush Regeneration – J Bradley
Cumberland Plain Woodland Species for Your Garden – Blacktown & District Environment Group (2 copies)
Gardening Down Under – K Handreck
(A) Gardeners’ Guide to the Native Plants of Western Sydney – Western Sydney Conservation Alliance
Gardening with Australian Native Plants – Bay Books
Gardening with Australian Native Plants – Green Leaf Series – Ed. M MoodyGardens in Miniature – B Molyneux
Going Native – Lifestyle Mag – Ed. F Boxall
Growing Australian Plants – I Holliday & N Lothian
Growing Australian Native Plants – Ure Smith & M Masters
Growing Australian Native Plants – F J Rogers
Growing Native Plants Indoors – J Wrigley & M Fagg
Grow the West’s Best Native Plants – G Lullfitz
Grow What Small Plant – Australian Plant Study Group
Grow What Tree – Australian Plant Study Group Grow What Wet – Australian Plant Study Group Grow What Where – Australian Plant Study Group
Guide to Native Australian Plants – A Blombery
Shrubs and Trees for Australian Gardens – E Lord
West Australian Plants for Horticulture – Book 1 – K Newby
West Australian Plants for Horticulture – Book 2 – K Newby
Wild Flowers of Australia –A Blombery                   


Our Next NSW Gathering

The November Gathering of APS NSW Ltd will be hosted by the APS Macarthur Group at Black Stump Natives, 26 Crana Road, Brownlow Hill, Camden, on Saturday, 19 November 2016.

Ben Walcott, leader of the ANPSA Garden Design Group will talk on Garden design: a personal perspective. For location and information about the venue see http://blackstumpnatives.com/

Google suggests the drive from Castle Hill will take at least 1 hour without traffic via the M7, Elizabeth Drive, Badgery’s Creek Road and M9 to Crana Road on the left. It is likely to take at least 75 minutes with traffic.


Subscriptions Now Available for ‘Australian Plants’

You will have read in Native Plants for NSW and Calgaroo that the Board has been working to make it possible for people to subscribe to Australian Plants through our APS NSW website. This facility is now available.

Your family and friends locally or internationally who love Australian plants, may like to learn more but have not been able to join APS because of other commitments. To subscribe people simply need to go to the home page of our website. “Subscribe to Australian Plants” is the last item in the main menu on the left hand side of the home page. The subscription in Australia is $25 and overseas for $40 including postage. To find the subscription section visit http://www.austplants.com.au/subscribe.html


Visit to The Gibian Garden

About 16 members visited the Dural garden of Pip and Tom Gibian on Saturday, 17 Sep. After morning tea on Pip’s deck which was noted as much for the animated conversations as for the delicious offerings we moved around the large garden where we found a really dense bush garden that continued to reveal wonderful gems. As Pip had said previously she and Tom had encouraged the original bush to grow and had planted selected shrubs to provide additional flowering. There was a substantial slope to the garden providing good drainage

The orchids were generally at their best and the spread of Dendrobium kingianum, D. speciosum and Dockrillia linguiformis was eye-catching.

Banksia, Boronia, Phebalium, Prostanthera, Hibbertia, Tetratheca, Leptospermum, Callistemon, Melaleuca, Lambertia, Isopogon, and of course Grevillea were present throughout.

Thanks to Pip and Tom for inviting us to see a wonderful garden and the refreshments they provided.


Another Specialist, Graham Ross

I confess to rarely listening to commercial radio and have discovered that I miss a program featuring Graham Ross who was a serious contributor to APS when it was SGAP. He was our Master of Ceremonies at our annual Flower Show, the lack of which may be one of the reasons for our diminishing membership.

As he has for years Graham has a web site at http://www.gardenclinic.com.au and a radio show on 2GB from 6 to 9am every Saturday and Sunday. An alternative is to listen on line at www.2gb.com

In his radio show in early September Graham spoke about a hybrid created in Queensland from two Western Australia Grevilleas. G. nana ssp. abbreviate X G. ‘Sid Cadwell’, which is an attractive, heavy blooming variety with bright pink luminous semi-pendulous flowers throughout the year.

Named G. ‘Lana Marie’, it grows to 1.5m tall but at least 2m wide. It is frost tolerant to -3ºC and is often grafted onto Silky Oak rootstock to extend its growing into heavier soils and moist areas.

Go to his web site to see what else Graham has spoken of in a recent show.

  Grevillea ‘Lana Marie’   

Grevillea ‘Lawson Queen’

While at the Gibian’s we learnt that Pip had obtained Registered Cultivar status for the Grevillea that she found in the Lawson area nearly 30 years ago.

Thought to be a Grevillea sericea hybrid, possibly with G. oleoides which also occurs in the area, the differences are in the deepness of the pink in the flower colour and the leaf characteristics. The very best- coloured G. sericea comes nowhere near it. The leaves are much wider than those of G. sericea and is a much darker green than that of G. sericea. G. sericea can be quite variable in leaf, and for a while it was thought it could possibly be a new species however it does not set seed suggesting it may be a sterile hybrid.

It is now known as G. ‘Lawson Queen’ and has been in Pip and Tom’s garden since it was first collected. Several other members probably have this Grevillea too having bought cutting grown plants over many years.


Allo: the other Casuarina

*John Turnbull

Allocasuarinas grow in some mighty tough places. They are highly adapted to growing in low nutrient soils with some of the driest of deserts while others tolerate waterlogging and salinity.

How have these Allocasuarina species been able to survive and prosper in such challenging environments? Firstly, most species have reduced their demand for water and nutrients by remaining shrubs or small trees. Protective modifications to foliage are common when a plant has evolved in dry conditions. Allcasuarinas have leaves reduced to ‘teeth’ located on photosynthetic branchlets (cladodes). Raised ridges along the cladodes protect the stomata from direct heat and reduce water loss through transpiration. Fine hairs around the stomata also mitigate moisture loss.

Secondly, Casuarinas can harvest atmospheric nitrogen and scavenge for scarce nutrients from infertile soils. Actinomycete bacteria in root nodules fix atmospheric nitrogen; endo- and ecto-mycorrhizal fungi in and around the roots aid uptake of phosphorus and other elements; and cluster roots (proteoid roots) form a dense mat near the soil surface to capture nutrients washing through the soil.

Fossils in South America, South Africa, and New Zealand indicate an ancient Gondwanaland family. Pollen records suggest casuarinas were much more common in Australia prior to the recent Ice Ages, but were then displaced by more fire resistant eucalypts.

Fire remains a regular threat to Allocasuarina survival. Many are easily killed by fire but reproduce from seed released from a seed bank maintained in woody cones retained for many years. A few species also have lignotubers enabling them to survive and reshoot after fire.

Some species struggle to survive despite these adaptions. A prime example is A. portuensis, a struggling shrub, known originally from a single population of 10 individuals on a sandstone headland in the Sydney Harbour National Park. These plants have all died and only planted specimens exist.

*This article by John Turnbull appeared first in Fronds, the newsletter of Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, at http://www.friendsanbg.org.au/sites/default/files/pdf/news72dec12.pdf


The Hills Council’s Living Sustainably Walks and Workshops in October

It is essential to Book your Walk or Workshop event by phone on 9843 0555 or preferably on-line at www.thehillsenvironment.eventbrite.com.au when you will receive all necessary details.

Water saving in your garden Thursday 13th Oct 10.00am to 11.00am

Minimise water loss in your vege or native garden. Learn about suitable irrigation techniques and other methods to save water and reduce your watering bills in summer.

Bird attracting garden Thursday 20th Oct 10.00am to 12 noon

Create a diverse and attractive garden while at the same time establishing important habitat for our threatened smaller native birds. Celebrate Bird Week 17th – 23rd Oct.

Bush walk, Platypus track Saturday 22nd Oct 10.00am to 12 noon

Explore the peaceful sandstone valley of Excelsior Creek and the surrounding ridge top as you traverse these contrasting areas. Celebrate National Water Week 16 – 22 Oct.

Wildflower ramble, Middle Dural Saturday 29th Oct 10.00am to 12 noon

The Sydney sandstone flora is a very diverse plant community. During this walk you will observe the many plant varieties that flourish in this difficult environment.


News from Other Groups

Dendrobium speciosum
Image : Mark Henley
Dendrobium speciosum
Image : Mark Henley

I was delighted to receive an email from Mark Henley, Editor of the APS Newcastle Group newsletter, to which he attached images of a Dendrobium speciosum and a native of Lord Howe Island, Dietes robinsoniana, both of which are growing in his garden

Mark advised that he had fed the orchids with a couple of handsful of Native Plant fertiliser, and then the rain came at the right time.

Dendrobium is a large genus with around 1400 species spread throughout Asia and the Pacific. Australia has about 56 species, many of which are cultivated.

The various forms of Dendrobium speciosum have been transferred to the genus Thelychiton by some authorities but the earlier name is retained in ANPSA literature until the taxonomic situation becomes clearer.

Dendrobium speciosum is a lithophyte (growing on rocks) or an epiphyte (growing on another living plant, but not parasitic in nature). Pseudobulbs are up to 45 cm long, erect or spreading, thickest near base and often tapering towards the apex. There are usually 2 to 5 thick leaves at the top of each pseudobulb. Flowers occur on long stems in large clusters which may consist of over 100 flowers per stem. They are usually pure white to creamy yellow with purple dots on the labellum. Flowers are seen from late winter to spring.

If you haven’t one in your garden, plant one this Spring – but check the requirements first because you don’t place it in a hole in the ground.

Dietes robinsoniana
Image : Mark Henley

Dietes robinsoniana, the Lord Howev Island Wedding Lily, is found nowhere else. It grows on cliff faces, often in exposed situations. It is also found on forest margins, mountain tops and behind the beaches.

It is one of the world’s most intriging and remarkable biogeographic disjunctions, with its nearest phylogenetic relatives occurring in Africa – one continent and one major ocean away.

It is the largest plant in the genus and does not tolerate cold temperatures. It is an uncommon plant though abundant at certain sites. It grows up to 1.5m high with sword shaped or linear leaves from 4 – 7cm wide. Flowering occurs from September to December, Flowers are white with yellow markings near the centre and only last one day.

*Thanks to Brian Walters and the ANPSA web site for the detail above.


An Eye-catching Hibbertia (Trailing Guinea Flower)

Hibbertia dentata unfurling Image: Peter Shelton

Having opened the APS Sutherland newsletter I was almost blinded by a lovely large image of Hibbertia dentata which reminded me that Pip and Tom Gibian had several of these shrubs in flower.

Hibbertia is a genus of around 150 species, most of which occur naturally in Australia. They are generally small to medium shrubs with yellow, buttercup-like flowers.

Hibbertia dentata is a fairly non-vigorous climbing or trailing plant, growing to 1 to 2m in length. It has elliptic to obovate leaves 3-9cm long by 2-3cm wide, which are dark green with bronze or purple highlights. The bright yellow flowers, 3cm across, contrast sharply with the foliage and occur from late winter to late spring. The individual flowers usually last only a couple of days but new flowers are produced over a long period.

It is found down the East Coast from Queensland to Victoria and prefers soils with reasonable drainage (like most other guinea flowers), but does not like to dry out. It will tolerate at least moderate frost.

It is a fairly easy plant to grow so buy a plant or grow one from a cutting from a friend’s plant.

Read a most interesting newsletter via the APS NSW web site or direct at the Sutherland Group web site which they say will be available soon at http://sutherland.austplants.com.au/APS-SGN-2016-09e.pdf

*Thanks to Brian Walters and the ANPSA web site for the detail above. Thanks to Editor Peter Shelton and APS Sutherland Group for the lovely image.


A Rare and Endangered Allocasuarina,
A. portuensis

In view of our recent meeting activity, namely the identification of Casuarinas and Allocasuarinas, it seemed appropriate to bring to our attention the story of an extremely rare Allocasuarina, Allocasuarina portuensis, commonly known as the Nielsen Park She-Oak,

The plant was discovered by Amanda Lee Johnson, a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Horticulturist, who worked at Sydney Harbour National Park. A. portuensis was originally identified in 1986 from ten specimens at Nielsen Park, in the eastern suburbs. Those original plants have now died.

It was officially described by LAS (Lawrie) Johnson in 1989. The specific epithet portuensis is from the Latin, meaning “inhabiting a port”, as this species was originally found at Port Jackson. However, efforts to propagate and reintroduce the species began from the time it was identified, and plants were planted at several locations around Nielsen Park and nearby. In the year 2000 there were 54 cultivated plants growing.

It most resembles A. rigida and A. dystyla and can be distinguished by differences in the male flowers. The original range is unknown, as so much of the nearby bush has been cleared.

Allocasuarina portuensis male flower. Image A. E. Orme

Endangered and Vulnerable

As well as an assortment of pretty spring flowers, the plant table at our August meeting featured a few of our vulnerable species. Some were in flower, growing in pots.

Acacia gordonii is classified as endangered. It grows in a few limited areas in The Hills District, at Glenorie and Maroota, in bushland which could be cleared in the future. Fortunately it also exists in the lower area of the Blue Mountains National Park. It is a small shrub of about a metre in height, with single bright gold ball flowers on long stalks.

Acacia gordonii Image: Pip Gibian
Epacris purpurascens var purpurascens
Image: Pip Gibian

Epacris purpurascens var purpurascens is included in the vulnerable lists. It has quite a large area of occurrence in the Sydney basin, but is often in limited numbers in many areas. It is a narrow plant with long upright shoots. The pink star flowers are ranked up the stems, with the lower flowers opening first, and flowers appearing higher up over many weeks.

Tetratheca glandulosa is also classified as vulnerable, and it is also found in The Hills Shire. It can be found in parts of the northern Sydney area and the Central Coast, although not in very large numbers. Fortunately it occurs in a number of national parks. With a lens you can appreciate the dark red glands on stalks sticking out from the back of the sepals and the flower stalks.

Tetratheca glandulosa Image: Pip Gibian
Zieria prostrata Image: Pip Gibian

Zieria prostrata is endangered. It is not from the Sydney area, but is confined to a few headlands in the Coffs Harbour area. There cannot be very many uncleared headlands around Coffs Harbour and it must be in great peril there. Fortunately it seems fairly easy to grow in Sydney, and propagates quite well from cuttings. It is a prostrate plant with white star flowers in profusion. There is a registered cultivar named Zieria ‘Carpet Star’.

Zieria baeuerlenii is certainly endangered. It only occurs in a small area near Bomaderry Creek, north of Nowra. It has been cultivated by the APS Group in that area. Tony brought in photos of the one growing in his garden, still small but looking very healthy.

Zieria baeuerlenii Image: Wikimedia

Pultenaea flexilis

On viewing the APS Menai Wildflower Group newsletter one of the images I saw was of a Pultenaea flexilis. It reminded me of earlier days, may be 30 or 40 years ago, when we were interested in pea flowers. Regretably the bright little yellow blossoms seem to be a forgotten genus today as larger cultivars have become available.

The genus Pultenaea consists of around 120 species, all of which are Australian endemics and which can be found in all states and territories. All are small to medium shrubs commonly referred to as “bush peas”.

P. flexilis grows to 4m in the understorey on dry sheltered hillsides in Eastern Australia from Victoria to north of Brisbane and displays its flowers at the ends of branches from August to October.


We suggest P&H members who need to renew their membership complete the form in the centre of Native Plants for NSW and post it to Pip Gibian at her address above or choose the direct deposit option, follow the directions carefully and advise Merle Thompson and Gordon Brooks by email. Alternatively just pay Pip at the next meeting. Please ask if you are unsure of your membership status which is shown on the address label afixed to APS publications received quarterly.


Parramatta and Hills District Group

Email: apsparrahills@gmail.com
Website: https://austplants.com.au/Parramatta-And-Hills
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APSPARRAHILLS/