I Leader: Mrs Qarbara Wcndrrson 270 iFQrrow Qad 18. Sarnsonvafe. Q. 4520 p . / s a x : 07-3289 9272 APRIL' 2004.

De and other readers,

Greetings and salutations - I ' m running late again, missed Christmas, so it is not Christmas Bells on the heading, maybe this year 1'11 get there. I hope you b a l l had a lovely festive season, and survived s m r without too many plant losses. Here in south-east Queensland, it was pretty rugged,

s of a week of daily evening electrical storms, lots p v e f -, It was rather

Wallurn boffltbrrr~h b bb - 3 s We weather has been ~ a ~ , j ~ ~ m o n p o ~ ~ y p ~ ~ ~ / ~ ~

&r t& d d &y ar two, End it could stay this - way forever, just perfect Queensland.

w Last October brought "family trees" into my l i f e , when information on my father's family came to us. We've found out about several generations pre-grandparents. Then there was a gathering of members of Geoff's mother's family i n March, and a request £ r a n a cousin of my f i r s t husband, for infomtion to f i l l the gaps in that family's records. More recently, pre-Easter, I started looking into my mother's family history, and have started to "find" 'third cousins I never knew before. Most thrilling is the knowledge that the schools my parents attended in their childhood are both-having their 100th Centenary celebrations in October this year and May next year. Wlsy, busy I am. Wlt now I must return to my SGAP

id$ w i l l have to wait. , the Wallum Bottlebrush, featured here, has been flower- past couple of months, one red flower after another on

the slender upright shrubs. The flowers only last for a couple of days, but if I grew scrne more, I 'd have a much better show. Because of this plant's sparse habit (even in the Wallm swamps it is fairly open), it is best to grow several in a group for best effect. I like to wve it with Banksia robur, Melaleuca thymifolia, Leptospem semibaccatum and Melastana malabathrim (affine), as

I these are usually found together naturally. 4 - Details of ccming activities w i l l be on Page 2 , but here is a preview of the

annual Bribie Island day, ccming up very soon on Saturday 15th May (a,couple of weeks away). We have feund the format used for the past 2 years successful, so

see no reason to change it. We meet between 9 & Looking at Flowers 9.30 a.m. a t the Bribie ~s land Camunity Nursery,

' W I I ~ my cuts I S C C . I ~ C nowcr Througb rhc dark I must SIOQYC~. see map on Page 9. Morning tea (BY0 also lunch) rhc f lour IS my IOVC. uncrna~n ond rhv and a b i t of socialising before we head off for a AII rlrnc IS ~n ~hc nowtr. , ofrull and shodour and all louc COSI rrom I ~ C SPY. Wallum walk under John W a r d ' s guidance. Then 11mc and rhc llowcr and rnr

back to the Nursery for lunch, after which there . llmc tonnol ltow mc. o mo,mogc C O ~ P I C I C 11 ~rachcs, I WOII. w i l l be a discussion on germination, propagation Wc arc lwclhtr . lo learn lhol my lour a unlly maks morrrogc wllh halt

and cultivation of Wallum species, garden efforts, successes and failures, and anything else we know

Wrrh my rnrnd I raw rhc flower M y lovc and my mlnd and all was drssolwd. arc bound lo my narnc.

' about Wallum plants, and what is happening out lor I ~ C nowr WOI o symbol rhr f l o u r btcomcs I there in our Wallurn areas. We'll be able to look around whlch lhoughl rtuolud. a mylh or monklnd.

Korhltm MrAr,h;r 1 around the Nursery, and purchase plants , before MU rhoughl IS o [rollor. the day finishes with afternoon tea for any late

I ID lead mc os~ray from look~ng or Awlrollon , '

lrorn low and a nowtr a,I Wlldflowrr by Kolhlrtn MrArlhur ~ t a y e r ~ . - I lo lhc unknown ruoy by Kangaroo Press Pry Lld 1986

. . -.-. ACTIVITIES (2wamAR .,*:;4. - -.\ . - .... 7 . - , I""' .; " . ,

Our. Society members are a busy lot ,- and arranging an Activities Calendarinvariablyresults in clashes ofdates, but our-Study Group

I has developed an annual pattern over the years, and I try to stay as 1 : ~ 4 5 6 7 8 close as possible to it each year. There are scme extra dates. 9 1 6 11 12 13 14 @ I .is.SGAP Qld's Autumn Plant Sale a t the Grovely TAFE 17 18 19 20 21 22 osed leaflet. Member-grown plants available. 3 24 25 26 27 28 29

Saturday 15th May is our Bribie Island day. hope you can cane.

- it is about time we visited the Scientific Area a t If you are interested (art icle and pictures in the

of "Australian Plants"), be a t the Matthew Flinders argan Creek, on' the Glass House Mountains Road, see t Map 126 Ref. B.16., between 9 & 9.30a.m. for a

d ccmfort stop. We'll then proceed to Roys Road, east of the township, to access the Scientific Area. A l l gates into the

8m locked, cars access only under permits, and a key is needed. I m p s e n t l y awaiting my permit, but have a key. We w i l l have t o

, allowed on the permit, and go from there. Just r m i t done in time. Bring usual excursion needs.

A

july I'll d my Grwp 8ctiv-

S M T W T F S hg%+$emtak*mm

. 1 2 3 around 9/9.30 a.m., and a th, we could go to "Bush

' 4 5 6 @ 8 z l ! 2 . - E LJXC ME KN3i I F YOU ARE 3 13 14 15 16 17 ed to confirm a booking.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

That brings us to August and September, the busiest Wallum months.

protect the Island's natural heritage.

is definitely a weekend to note of the Noosa Parks Association

far there is nothing definite about the annual Show which is usually held on this weekend.

1'11 have to confirm this date i n the next newsletter.

ACxaTf:ES CALE~Q? antbed: B a n Bower

Saturday 4th September w i l l be an opportunity to see the wildflowers of Kathleen McArthur's greatest win - the Currimundi Lake (Kathleen McArthur) Conservation Park (see Page 4 for the report on last year's re-naming ceremony, to which I was invited). This is always one of the most enjoyable days in my hectic year. I simply attend for the day, set up a display and table, and chat to my Wildlife P re s . Socy, friends £ran Caloundra branch, and to anyone else who stops to look. Directions and more info. in next newsletter.

S a w 11th L Sw&y 12tha- are important days in S.G.A.P. Qld. Region i n south-east Qld. That's when we have the Spring Flower Show. Last year it had its f i r s t showing a t M t . Coot-tha Gardens Auditorium, and was a huge success. I set up a c d i n e d display ~~m~~~ sY~Vesh-Iis "Wallum and Coastal Plants", for the Study Group and Redcliffe & District branch. It was a lot of work, and everything just f i t ted into my car, so I plan to reduce things this year. Until a theme is chosen, I ' m not sure just what 1'11 do, but I plan to use a lo t more pictorial content - i t ' s lighter to handle. If anyone can help out with sane Wallum or other local wildflowers, I ' l l accept them.

Saturday 25th Septmhr w i l l be my annual Wallum I . D . workshop day based between the Mudjimba Wallum Wildflower Rescue Garden and CcrnTNlity Hall, from 9.00 a.m. If interested, please contact me A.S.A.P., as bookings must be made.

A s I ' l l already be a t the Sunshine Coast this weekend, I ' l l be happy to do a Wallum day on .Sunday 26th September. Ehru Mountain, north o f Coolum ~each, - is one place always worth visiting, so for now, I ' l l put that on our plans. More next time.

And that 's it for our activities for now. Call m on 32899272 with any queries. ********lk*********b****rk*.********

Now for scme serious business. With this newsletter w i l l cane a nmharship renewal 'form for the year 2004-2005, pue by end of June. It is caning out a b i t

qAtive q,,k early, I know, but the next newsletter won ' t be done until end of July or beginning of August. Renewals are needed as soon as possible after end of June, so I can canpile a list of current members, as required by our our ASGAP Study Group Coordinator. A t the same time as you return your renewal, you might give sane thought to sending me sanething for that July/August newsletter issue. I don't like to do a l l of the work myself, and I ' m sure members would like to know what others are doing, or what is happening in the coastal heathlands around Australia. Do you know of any reserves or walks in your area? Does anyone have a garden of

heathland plants they would like to show to members who may be travelling through their district? Let me know, please.

Scrnething else which would always be welca-ned by m are photos, pictures, drawings, etc. , of the Guinea s o w e r wildflowers and scenes of heathland where you fhfersonia live. While I have dozens, maybe hundreds of my own photos of south-east Queenslandls wildflowers,

I am rather l o w on images frcm other States. If you have any spares, or could spare copies (any expenses would be covered), they would be most appreciated. Then I would be able to put together laminated A3 posters for displays. A s it i s , I make a habit of buying field guides and relevant small books whenever I am interstate, to help me learn about and identify the local flowers elsewhere. Perhaps saneone you know has prcduced a small local field guide or such on your coastal heathlands, If you th ink it would be useful, please t e l l me about i t , I might like to buy it.

Hibberfia sficla

. . a

w

I 've included here one of l i t t l e tales written by Janet Whish-Wilson for the Sunshine Coast Envir- onment 'council s magazine "eco echo" . Janet is usually the guide for the Noosa Parks Assoc. walk in August ( see "Activities" ' page 2 ) , and is almost . as howledgable about the Wallum as about birds.

grow and flourish, from semi- Most Wallum flowers are too insects to perform .. the desert and alpine slopes to small for the birds' bills to pollination. Nevertheless,

Range! in ~harge.'welcpmed the 80 or. -.

coastal heathlands. reach the nectar. The some bird species help out exceptions are the blgger with Fair and Scrub Wrens

Here on the Sunshine. Coast, blooms of Banksla, Melaleuca, seeklng food and shelter in

which applied broadly to that grow on the edge of the Swallows hawk insects low coastal lowland country). Here Wallum or on-the dry heath of overhead. a wealth of species thrive on the hlgh dunes such as sandy -sub-soils and often Marcus Shores. This The Wet Wallum, consisting of under harsh conditions. gorgeous area teems with a a density of sedges, grasses These plants grow in delicate variety of birds which benefit and low plants, depend balance with eachother, from both nectar and insects, completely on insects for. bursting into bloom in the late spreading pollen as they pollination. This habitat is w~nter and spring. 'forage. It has recently been necessary for the survivial of . Gone are the days when \tie subjected to an unscheduled the Ground Parrot. Althoug!

white, mauve and pink that

the wildflower fields and brave for supremacy, while smaller little plants exist In isolated honeyeaters - Brown and ,- - pockets or emerge along White-cheeked Honeyeaters - - 4 sandy tracks or roadsides. flit actively in the foliage. The few remaining flora Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos reserves are treasured by lick the banksia blooms for those who care. . . nectar while Glossy Black

Cockatoos feed on Casuarina . The relationship between cone seeds. Flycatchers; Wallum flowers and our Whlstlers, Rainbow Bee- bridlife is complicated due to eaters and many more come the different plant to this magical area. Many communities. The perfume .birds nest in this environment our worthy politician was and beauty of flowers is not to where a good supply of food due to start. Wlt with M r . please us, of course, but to and sites abound. The ~ r y Wells arriving 30 minutes attact pollinators to ensure WaIIum, which once spread survival. Both insects and over large xeas, suppons a

late, h is "protest" was over and done before everything

:;a E& SP, 1024 20 started. Oh, frustration!

which once hung on the trunk of a . ; ' . J , - t a l l , old Yellow Strinavbark/White

crossrtd the road, and's& the tree alight, mt,'/fl causing i t to I'c.hinmeyl' as it was hollow. . ~t had to

- - . mailbox sits' on a-ledge cut into the blackened stump.

'

many hours a t the T i n Can City Farm, their Ccmnunity Nursery. She w i l l t ry any method possible t o germinate & propagate her local Wallum species. Last September I spent 4 days a t Tin Can Bay t o attend their Seafood Festival, and to have a short holidav a t one of oui loveliest coastal Wallum places, now under severe attack fran developnent. IXlring the Festival, a Wallum Walk was officially opened, with a lovely brochure about i t , and that was when I learned that Melastana affine is now M. malabathrim subsp. malabathrim. Wonder .what was wrong with "affine"? Other m a i l included comes fran Judy Barker, East Hawthorn, Melbourne; Vic., and frcm Gisela Chorley, Vincentia, a "village" near Jervis Bay, southern NSW. Both are new

t- members, as is G r a h a m Combs from Nambour, Sunshine Coast, S-E Qld. G r a h a m joins another member frcm up there, one of my earl iest - Harry Laidlaw frcm E l i B l i , on the Coast. These two were for many years, Chairman and Secretary of the Sunshine Coast branch of S W , and I could never get them to learn the names of plants, as there were always others on our walks who knew the plant names: With the branch presently "in mothballs", the two are very busily occupied a t the Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens.

l 1 A WARM WELCOME t o these new members, I hope they came to enjoy being part of the Wallum Study Group. A l e t t e r came £ran Bob O'Neill, Katandra Gardens, Wandin, Vic. Bob is A.P.S. Victoria Study Group Liaison Officer, and a "Correa" person, but also has a keen interest i n Hibbertias.. I visited his garden back in la te 2002; and it is just what I would love t o have - not h i l ly , just a couple of very gentle walkable slopes, with an accessible dam dowr.the bottan, just right for legs which are ageing and gett ing-to disl ike steep slopes ( l ike I have here). Fran my most regular writer, Ida Jackson of Kangaroo Island, S.A., comes the usual

t update, which I ' l l put into the "Hibbertia Tnterest Section", as it deals mostly with Hibbertias. Rosemary Opala from Victoria Point, the southern part of our Moreton Bay, also writes often, keeping me in touch with what is happening in her favourite part of Queensland. While Rosemary i s n ' t a f u l l member, she is very valuable, having been a close friend and canpanion of the l a te , great Kathleen McArthur, i n the Wallum Gli the Sunshine Coast. She receives a n e e l e t t e r in return for snippets of information, and an offer to use her marvellous drawings of our coastal plants. Then I have an update on the Pine Ridge (Runaway Bay, Gold Coast) Conservation Park from Lynette Reilly. I ' l l t ry t o f i t in most of what ,they have sent me.

Pine Ridge Update - Easter 2004: Two years & 2 months have passed since the disas- trous f i r e of February 2002. Although i t ' s been same weeks since our l a s t good shower of rain, there is still water blocking the main sandy track through the Conservation Park - from both eastern & western ends. A ccmbination of th is water and prolif ic growth along the track edges is deterring most of the bike riders and dog walkers. PINE RIW8 IS LOOKING AFTER ITS OWN! We ploughed through nevertheless to photograph the greening & record what was in flower th is month. . ~6~ of joys. A lone sprig of Epacris pulchella - the f i r s t since the f i r e - stocd

bravely beside the path. I hope it is the forerunner of thousands. . A few tiny Acacia baueri were also in flower and w e noted their positions for

future reference. . The few tiny Boronia safrolifera stems we saw sane months ago are s t i l l in hidinq

near the Gahnia comer. They are almost overgrown by their neighbours and perhaps th is w i l l save them as they grow.

. Blue Ccmesperma defoliatum raised their heads. Once we had our eye in , they were eyerywfiere,

"MAILBOX" continued: Pine Ridge Conservation Park Update

. Yellow Xyris ccmplanata dotted the path and i t s borders. Their flattened stems were easy to find. Special today were the white flowers of quite a few l i t t l e Olax retusa and Drosera peltata - the la t te r ' s droplets shining in the sun. . There are always a few white Pimelea linifolia, yellow Gcmpholobium virgatum and lemon Acacia ulicifolia, along w i t h scme delicate Baeckea frutescens (our garden specimen has had sane flowers for months). . _Last but not least of the "specials" were a single Bossiaea heterophylla 'and .the t a l l Hibiscus diversifolius by the bike path, its open yellow flowers bril l iant against the blue sky.

Not flowers, but the new red growth of Baeckea frutescens, Smilax australis and the velvet Banksia oblongifolia called for photos too.

Works update: . The western edges of the Conservation Park have been bulldozed i n preparation for the new road widening..(I try not to look as I drive past.)

. A new Green Corps is continuing the good works of last year's young people.

. One householder near Columbus Drive i s continuing to throw garden rubbish over the fence. (Thinks: if only sane of t h i s could fly through the a i r as i f by magic and return to i t s owner!)

A l l in a l l , the Reserve i s looking lush and green. Most species have made a good recovery - only the gaunt skeletons of dead Cypress, Casuarina and Melaleuca remind us of the fire. HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO LIVE NEAR SUCH A VALUABLE AND

BEAUTIFUL "BIT OF BUSH".

Lynet t e Reilly . ........................ Back in late May 2003, Helen Schubert sent a two-page le t ter , each page with three l i t t l e colour pictures of Banksia oblongifolia, Hibbertia salicifolia and their pond. I should have included her notes in the August newsletter, but only had time for a very short newsletter with no "Mailbox". She ccmnted on the "most enjoyable and informative day" a t Bribie Island, "still drooling over Geoff McKenziels WALLUM WONDERLAND (one l i t t l e comer garden in this yard was just wonderful). What a nice man to share this lovely patch of Wallum with us." Half of the McKenziels acre block has been le f t natural Wallum, the house and various gardens occupying the other half. She sent a l i t t l e report on their successes and failures with cuttings - w i l l have to include this, perhaps w i t h an update, i n next newsletter. They had started holding workshops a t the City Farm Nursery each Wed. 9-12noon, an ongoing p r o g r m of seed collecting & cuttings, processing, propagation, etc., available to anyone willing to learn about local wildflower species, especially protecting & propagat- ing for their survival. Land being cleared ccmpletely for housing development. Collected lots of seed of Thysanotus tuberosus Mullens Creek area, planted right away, and plants of Viola betonicifolia (no seed available), Also got seed E m a

--- - - +- pat&-of ~e-li&-G um~aminifolium, near snapper h e k Road. Helen then asks i f anyone knows how to propagate the seeds of ground orchids. "HELP!! frcm'any orchid people out there." One of their group especially would like to know, as she is the orchid girl!l If she hasn't already found someone, perhaps Helen should contact our Indigenous Orchid Study Group leaders up north a t ~abinda - Don & Pauline Lawie, P.O. Box 230, Babinda. 4861. They might be able to provide information for Helen & Susie, and anyone else needing help. O r t ry to get to the Tuesday 15th June meeting of.Queensland Region a t the M t . Coot-tha Botanic Gardens Theatrette (see March 2004 Bulletin, but date i s wrong). ?"nat night the guest speaker is Wayne Harris, orchid specialist a t the Qld. Herbarium, topic being "Native Orchids of south-eastem Qld.". The rest of Helen's le t te r includes info. on work they are doing a t the Rainbow Beach School, with a wildflower walking track. The Cooloola Coastcare Group has an enomus area under heavy pressure f r a i a l l sorts of developlent, and there is a continuing loss of the Wallum plant c m i t y .

Guinea sower

*I "HIBBERTIA INTEREST SECI'ION"

Letters from Ida Jackson, S . A . , and Bob O'Neill, Vic., both had a f a i r content of Hibbertia news, so I ' l l place their ccmnents

in th is section. With the interest in Hibbertias apparent, it is a shame that the Study Group lapsed for want of a

leader. If any of you know of anyone who would be willing to take on the Hibbertia Study Group again, don't l e t them get away!

I can only do so much towards the study of th is wonderful genus, which has so much potential for gardeners t o use. We have a lo t of attractive l i t t l e Guinea Flowers which would be perfect for small

Hibberhi sln'cfa suburban gardens, but much research is needed to find the best ones t o use, and then develop them into cannercia1 propositions.

Meanwhile, we' l l just exchange information and enjoy them. Now frcm Ida:

" I am glad you have decided to give us a Hibbertia section. They are lovely plants and we have a good selection growing naturally on the Island (Kangaroo Island). A few years ago H. scandens appeared in the local nursery and soon i n everyone's garden. Ours grew and flowered very well for a year and then died. If i t i s a native of Queensland, perhaps our winters are too cold for it. H. r iparia (formerly H. s t r ic ta) is flowering now (August 2003). H. virgata is rather straggly, about 50m. high and - has flowers 12-25 mn. across. H. sericea has flowers up to 30 mn. across and i s very attractive especially in the semi-prostrate forms. H. aspera grows everywhere and is the only Hibbertia I can be sure of recognizing when not in flower! However, though it can make an untidy mass up to 2m. high, it is not one of my favourites.

I I There are several forms, some t id ie r than others. H. prostrata can be found in flower almost a l l year round, but l ike most of our Hibbertias, it is c m n e s t in spring." She. then asks i f I grow my Hibbertias from cuttings or frcin seed? She's never had any luck in collecting seed, but could send cutting material.

I have found seed of H. aspera under the plant, but almost l i t e ra l ly had t o "fight" ants for it! But I 've never been able to grow Hibbertias from seed, I always take cuttings. Sanetimes I 've been successful, but never loo%, and I wonder i f there are certain times of year t o do Hibbertia cuttings. What do other members do?

My thanks, as always, t o Ida for her contribution th is time and previously.

From Bob O'Neill: "We have a strong place for Hibbertias here too. Being a small-growing group of plants, I am able to use them as f i l l - ins , especially a t the front of beds. In particular we have a longer flowering form of a small clumping plant that is able to cope with a range of conditions - most useful indeed. I think it is H. aspera that layers and spreads - anyway we have 2 plants of sane size. The larger is 5 feet t a l l and sane 6 metres in breadth, and swamping a l l before it. It is the kind of plant t ha t needs a l o t of space and copes with less than f u l l sun. It is currently in f u l l flower ( l a t e October 2003)."

When I visited Bob's garden i n November 2002, during the weekend of the F.J.C. Rogers "Boronia, Coma and other Fragrant Friends" Seminar, I found a very large planted area enhancing their hane and B & B cottage. Bob has a large collection of Correas, plus many other genera and species. There were sane magnificent Stylidium gramini- foliurn flower spikes, which put our humble l i t t l e ones to shame, while Bob is trying t o establish a collection of Acacias. I did find out, however, that he grows quite a few Hibbertias, but didn' t know a l l their names. Oh well, you can' t be expert about everything. Maybe now b b , you'll start finding out those names.

Meantime, thanks for writing, and for those lovely l i t t l e reports on my newsletters, 1' in the A.P.S. Victoria State Newsletter. They are most encouraging. I Ros- Opala writes from Victoria Point, southern Moreton Bay: "Re Hibbertias -

Continuing Rosenay's Hibbertias:

my favourites among wildflowers, even i f I get a b i t confused about species a t times. Here a t present a H. scandens i n flower on my back t r e l l i s , mixed up with a gorgeous Hardenbergia canptoniana ( ? W.A. or S. Aus. species). I 've never seen anyone else growing it here, but was given the (moribund ? ) plar-it sane years ago and it just TOOK OFF".

That l e t t e r is dated 13/9/03, spring las t year, and Rosemary continues with more about her local wildflowers. It is interesting to receive le t t e r s frcm Rosemary, plus the other b i t s she sends. It is a pity we can't get, together more often,' but ge,tting fran one side of Brisbane t o the other i s n ' t the easiest as we grow older, and the t raff ic gets busier. My thanks go t o Rosemary, and I hope I can f i t in scme of her writings and drawings in a future newsletter.

**************

Now for sane ccmnent on those le t t e r s ' contents about Hibbertias -

When in Melbourne in November 2002, I managed to get to Kuranga Nursery, and bought a few Hibbertias, a l l mentioned in Ida Jackson's account. Of a l l of them, only H. riparia has survived, but I ' m not sure whether I actually had the same ones as Ida speaks of. I suppose I ' l l never know, but I do th ink clinatic conditions w i l l decide whether K . I . plants grow in S.E.Q., and vice versa. H. scandens just might have objected to Kangaroo Island's cold winters, as I do think it belongs to our w m r climes. Wibbwtia aspera, mentioned by Bob O'Neill, seems to vary a lo t frcm State t o State. Our local forest and montane species grows into a compact, i f slightly sprawling small shrub up to a metre high and across, nowhere near the size Bob describes. A few years ago I purchased a plant with this name tag frcm a local nursery, and planted it out. Instead of forming a shrub, it sent out long prostrate stems up t o 2m. long in a l l directions. but never a flower did it produce. It seems to h e died, and I think it was f r m southern N.S.W. I t is a pity that local plant nurseries couldn't do sane work on our own species, as it can be very confusing to go out in the bush and show people a plant, give it a name, .then find a plant under the same name but totally different appearance, in a nursery. : J.,

.I

Hibbertia scandens occurs in N.S.W. and Qld., we have both a coastal and a montane form. The former seems to be the one w i t h that somewhat stranqe d o u r , while the - montane/~ah~Iu~est form is much less offensive. I n a l l the years I have known and grown this plant, the colour of its f l o w e r s have always beer! the 1eq21= Hibkrt ia bright yellow. But in July 2003, a t a local nursery near Samford, I found a l l these plants going cheap for $3 in 5in. pots. So I "rescued" 14 of them, for various uses, A t least 3 plants, and mybe a few of those which went to other hanes, have been a very pale buttery yellow, which I find interesting, not disappointing. I wo11de1- where they originated. Has anyone else ever purchased pale yellow H. scandens? It is a versatile plant which can be used in several ways in a garden. Tip-prune it t o control it into a lovely rounded shrub, l e t it crawl along the ground as a ground cover provided it doesn't see a climbing support. I t can also be l e t grow among those lower dead branches of Leptospermms, etc. , t o f i l l the "qap". And those lovely big flowers so bright & happy inthega.rden* - - More about Hibbertias next time, I 've

such as the flowering record I've keeping since November 2003.

~ - c m vol. 1 of the "Flora of south-east Queensland", and done

I ' m assuning most of you know how t o get t o the picnic area a t Tibrogargan Creek, on May 16th. Just head towards the Sunshine Coast, but take the Glass House M t s . Rd. l e f t , and watch for the big mountain. I ' m sure you won't miss it.

Scme highlights since the last newsletter in August 2003:

1. I've already mentioned the SGAP Spring Flower Show held for the 1st time a t the M t . Coot-tha Gardens Auditoriun, on August 9/10th. The canbined Wallum S.G. & Redcliffe & District SGAP display "Wallurn & Coastal Plants" took a lot of, energy & time but looked lovely ( I thought so anyway.) The Show as a whole was a success, people came, looked, talked, bought, had cuppas, looked again, taking their time.

2. Another f i r s t - the Coolurn Wallm Wildflower Show organised by Coolum Coastcare, over one day, Sunday 31st August, also drew good crowds with its displays, talks, workshops, children's activities & walks. As the wildflowers were just next-door everyone walked, no responsibility of bus trips, no entry charge, successful.

3. Former Ehvironment Minister, M r . D%n Wells launched the Sunshine Coast Airport's Management Plan for its Wallun - an important large remnant - on Thursday 26th of September. As an official guest, I was designated to show Dean the wildflowers. We made it into local T.V. and newspapers that night and next day.

4. I 've already dealt with the re-naming of the Currimundi Conservation Park, with Dean Wells again officiating, on 19th October.

5. Then there was Tasmania in January 2004. The ASGAP Conference and Seminar, I spent a week there, and want to return one day to catch up on the coastal heath plants I- nevek-gototo see, attended.Study Group leader%' aml:well-attended (100 ? ) Consemtion meting$ .. ' Ail 24&?4P, Consemat iofi Cmfdiiator was -£odd, should now see consm'ation in SGAPJAPS given Zlbe same status & recognition as Study Groups. Wonderful talks about geology & climate as well as flowers, Christine Corbett was "scintillating" with the A.J. Swaby address. Outings to Ben Lcmond's alpine village where the scenery of rocks and plants was mostly grey-toned but simply beautiful. The Conference logo - Richea scoparia - everywhere in shades of cream through to dark red, worthy of its choice. Also to Habitat Nursery a t Liffey, losing the battle with temptation to bring hane 7 plants, 2 of which have since died. They were Aotus &mides 6r D U w y n i a glaberrh , both also up here, and also probably &d have died in'cultivation.' Visited 2 gardens, had a marvellous Conference dinner in a bequtiful old building, Launcestonls Albert Hall. It i s so different from mainland Australia,-just samething about it. Must go back.

6. My talk frcm the ASGAP Brisbane Conference 2001, along with my photos, in the December 2003 issue of "Australian Plants".

I n November, a t the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, the Queensland Museum launched its latest book "Wild Plants of Greater Brisbane". Wonderful mix of invited "guests', lots of people I have met f m various botanical & other places and times. Wlt I was very disappointed with the photos in the "Wallurn Heath" section, very poor shots of most. And scme information not the best (Patersonia sericea " u n c m n " ? ) , most glaring was picture of ~ J I I I for 1;. Uvemidgei.

Gn a sad note, we lost 3 notable persons wholve a l l done a lot of work with Wallum plants. Author of "Wildflowers of Bribie Island" and " B i r d s of Bribie Island, Pumice- stone Passage and R-wirons'', Ian lvhcRae lost the battle with illness las t September. A t the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens, mn Perrin has a plot of Thelionem caespitosum in his honour, as he taught both of us this plant. Q@ative %is Caboolture Daytime SGAP has lost two of its foremost members within the past 6 months. ma Duggan, the f i r s t mmber of our Study Group, and long-time SGAP member, also gave in to illness.:~n ~ a n u k y 2nd, a t the grand old age of 93. She just loved Australian native plants. Very suddenly, and totally unexpected was the recent death frcm heart attack mid-April of Jan Heisler, secretary of Caboolture Daytime SGAP. With her m y s k i l l s and energy, Jan was working hard, perhaps too .-.

hard, in a multitude of ways for Australian native plants. I met her when the C a b l L u e branch was formed, her death was a shock.