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Native Plants October 2015 — Page 1
Native Plantsfor New South WalesNative Plantsfor New South Wales
Journal of the Australian Plants Society NSW Ltd Vol 50 No 4 October 2015
$5.00
Page 2 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 3
Front cover: Rainbow
Lorikeet in callistemon.
Photo: C
arol Drew
Back cover: W
entworth Falls view
to Federal P
ass. Photo: P
hillip Grim
mS
ee page 44 for more inform
ation.
ContentsIntroduction ......................................3E
volution of a garden and gardener ................................4B
lue Mountains
Get-together report ......................11
West G
lenbrook NR
.......................16P
hil Bendall’s garden .....................18
Charles D
arwin W
alk .....................19Inveraw
e Gardens .........................20
AP
S N
SW
Life Mem
bership and C
onservation Awards ...........21
Coates W
ildlife Tours .....................22B
arangaroo Reserve .....................23
2016 Activities................................25
Conservation R
eport P
rostanthera densa ....................26B
ush Tucker native fertiliser ..........28P
resident’s report ..........................29D
istrict Group directory ..................31
Mem
bership form...........................32
District G
roup directory continued ...34S
ylvan Grove G
ardens ..................35Fire! Fire! P
art 3: Recovery and
renewal the house ......................36
New
mem
bers ...............................42Vale A
llan Woollett .........................43
Leionema .......................................45
Duffys Forest under threat .............50
Seed B
ank update .........................54S
tudy Groups notes .......................55
Study G
roups directory ..................60M
embership discounts...................62
AP
S N
SW
contacts, com
mittees and services ............63
Native Plants for N
SWPublished quarterly in January, April, July and O
ctober by the Australian Plants Society NSW
Ltd AC
N 002 680 408
Editor:
David C
rawford
Proof R
eading: Rhonda D
aniels
Jan Douglas
Layout: Lachlan M
cLaine The Journal is a forum
for the exchange of view
s of mem
bers and others and their experiences of propagating, conserving and gardening w
ith Australian plants.
Contributions are w
armly w
elcomed. They
may be em
ailed, typed or hand written and
accompanied by photographs and draw
ings. If handw
ritten, please print botanical names and
names of people.
Photographs may be subm
itted as either high resolution digital files, such as jpg, or prints.A
PS NSW
Office
Mail:
PO
Box 5026
O
ld Toongabbie NS
W 2146
Phone: (02) 9631 4085
Email:
.auW
ebsite: ww
w.austplants.com
.auFacebook: w
ww
.facebook.com/A
PS
NS
W
Deadline for the January 2016 issue is
1 Decem
ber 2015.
Deadline for the A
pril 2016 issue is 1 M
arch 2016.
All original text m
ay be reprinted, unless otherw
ise indicated, provided the source is acknow
ledged. Perm
ission to reprint non-original m
aterial, all drawings and im
ages m
ust be obtained from the copyright holder.
Opinions expressed in this publication are
those of the authors and may not necessarily
represent the official policy of the Australian
Plants S
ociety NS
W Ltd.
Num
ber of Copies: 1400
Printed: E
lect Printing, Fyshw
ick AC
T.
Print P
ost Approved: 100000848
© 2015 IS
SN
1323 – 7314
IntroductionDavid Craw
ford, Editor Native Plants for NSW
Welcom
e to another bumper issue of N
ative Plants for N
SW. I begin by apologising to several m
embers
who subm
itted articles which have not m
ade it into this issue, not because of any deficiency in the articles but because of the lim
itations of this publication. The printed journal needs to be a certain size (pages in m
ultiples of four), come out on a certain date and fit the restrictive form
at of these sm
all pages with punched holes. An on-line or em
ailed journal could break free of som
e of these constraints but would lose som
e of the favourable attributes of a hard-copy publication in the process. Any change is an issue for consideration by APS m
embers and officials alike.
Rem
ember that this journal is alw
ays available on the website (w
ww.
austplants.com.au) a few
weeks before it arrives in your letterbox.
This issue features several reports on the 2016 Get-together hosted
by AP
S B
lue Mountains G
roup last July (pages 11, 16, 18, 19). It was
obviously a very full program, judging from
the articles.
The next major event on the A
ustralian Plant S
ociety calendar is the national biennial conference in C
anberra in Novem
ber. It would be
great to have some w
illing volunteers to write brief articles (preferably
with pictures) about the conference and its associated activities. P
lease em
ail me via the office if you are happy to help, nom
inating which aspect
you’ll report on.
Our next N
SW
activity will be a quarterly gathering intended for late
February 2016. See page 25 for the currently available details.
In this issue you can enjoy reading about a great private garden in the H
unter region (p 4), a great public garden that has recently been opened at B
arangaroo on the edge of Sydney H
arbour (p 23) and a garden that is recovering from
fire (p 36).
John Knight has w
ritten about the genus Leionema w
hich contains plants m
any of us will know
by their old name of P
hebalium. S
o go to page 45 and sort out how
to tell the two genera apart and w
hich species m
ight make valuable additions to your garden.
There are two conservation-related item
s. On page 26 read how
AP
S
is helping to conserve an endangered species and on page 51 learn about the plan to destroy an endangered ecological com
munity and
how you can register a protest.
And there is m
ore, so take the time to have a good read.
Page 4 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 5
Evolution of a garden (and gardener!)B
eing on the top of the hill, there are no frosts. But there are very strong
westerly w
inds in spring, with gusts up to 150 km
/hour. Not only do
plants get ripped out by their roots, but pool canopies and their metal
poles get ripped out of the concrete!
There is high rainfall, at 900 to 1100 mm
per year, mostly falling in late
spring and summ
er. Twice in the last 10 years, w
e’ve had 400 mm
or m
ore in a few days. This has led to rivers overflow
ing, bridges being w
ashed away and electricity cuts. B
ut the garden seems to cope.
The soil is fairly shallow on the top of the hill, silty loam
, slightly acid with
reasonable organic matter, but w
ith patches of clay and many, m
any rocks. Fossils of ferns abound in m
any rock outcroppings, indicating the C
arboniferous/Perm
ian age of the area (360-250 million years ago).
Going native
I went fully native after a couple of years. It w
as partly a comm
itment to
sustainability (water and nutrients), partly to fit w
ith the landscape, partly ecological and a lot about the subtle beauty and scents of A
ustralian plants.
I remem
ber walking around the garden one day and thinking, ‘I need to
do my bit to protect these incredible plants’. I hope w
e can bring natives m
ore into the mainstream
so we can conserve as w
ell as revel in their beauty and unique qualities. M
y ambition is to create a garden that is
attractive and accessible, then not only will I and m
y family enjoy it, but
perhaps others may be inspired to do the sam
e, and support, in a small
way, our environm
ental heritage.
Heather M
iles has recently become the S
ecretary of AP
S N
SW
. She is a
mem
ber of the Hunter Valley G
roup. Here she describes the developm
ent of her garden, som
e plans for its future and some of her gardening philosophy.
Perched on the top of a w
indswept hill in the H
unter Valley, this Australian
native garden started with som
e lofty goals:
• O
ffer beautiful views from
the house•
Create a haven for local fauna
• B
e a rewarding ‘w
alk-around’ experience with places to sit
• P
rovide a rich source of vegetables•
Provide places for kids to play
We fell in love w
ith the land in 2003 and while hubby built the house, I
started planting. Little did we consider the vicious w
esterly winds, shallow,
compacted soils, clay, 45
o days and the locals eating the plants. All we
saw w
ere the stunning views and the sense of space and belonging.
Garden opportunities and challenges
Part of a 100 acre block, the garden sits on the top of a ridgeline in the
lower H
unter Valley, 2 hours north of Sydney (200 km
) and an hour west
of New
castle (60 km).
The garden is approximately 1.5 hectares around the house, w
ith a mix
of native and vegie gardens, an orchard of about 30 trees and lawn
areas.
About 40%
of the 100 acres is cleared and 60% bush. It w
as previously used for cattle grazing. O
ver the last 100 years or so, selective logging took out very large R
ed Cedars (Toona ciliata), R
osewood (D
ysoxylum
fraserianum) and other dry rainforest trees, but the bush is still dense
and not too weedy. W
e have started reafforesting and have planted about 6,000 trees across the property.
At 400 m
etres above sea level, there are views east to N
ewcastle,
south over the Hunter Valley, north to B
arrington Tops (on a clear day) and w
est, through the trees, to Singleton and beyond.
(L) Hardenbergia violacea in full bloom
leading down to the garden from
the house.(R) Facing south are plants that can cope w
ith very poor and dry soils, like Crowea ‘Festival’,
Lomandra cylindrica ‘Lim
e Cascade’ and Westringia spp.
‘There are no gardening mistakes, only experim
ents.’ Janet K
ilburn Phillips
Page 6 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 7
Experiments in design and style
There was m
uch experimentation w
ith styles and plants – what w
ould look good, w
hat would survive, how
to do layers, getting the scale right as w
ell as managing for fire risk. I started w
ith a few trees but not m
uch else. I got som
e great ideas about layout, shapes and plants from a
garden designer, Michael C
ooke.
The garden is a mix of form
al and informal:
• Triangles and straight lines provide som
e structure and complem
ent the bush style and grass paths.
• The inform
ality comes from
repetition of plants, like mounds of
Westringia spp. and m
ass plantings of Anigozanthos, although I
admit to a bit of serendipity rather than design: ‘This seem
s to grow
well here, I think I’ll plant m
ore!’
• S
cale and perspective has been a learning experience – I would
buy a statue and it would disappear! O
r I would create a design on
paper, and then walk around and have to re-adjust.
• G
etting layers right has been an ongoing experiment. I have w
ell-populated upper and m
id-level plant layers, but not enough lower
level plants to create that layered effect. Som
etimes they just get
crowded out. A
nd other times I m
iscalculated how tall plants w
ould grow
, or they just bolted!
• In term
s of hardscaping, we have a w
onderful big gazebo looking to the w
est, attached to the house by a walkw
ay. There’s nothing better than sitting there w
ith family and friends w
ith a coffee or wine,
looking out to the south and east. We also have the drivew
ay, a few
rock walls and, of course, big rocks in the garden beds.
I am constantly thinking about ‘design’, being m
ore of a plantswom
an than a designer. For m
e, design is 5% inspiration and 95%
perspiration!
Zones, not garden rooms
The garden has three zones with different needs and challenges, as
well as an orchard and vegie patch. The zones have quite different
needs and ‘look and feel’:
• The north east zone is in front of the house. It w
as the first area I planted. It is relatively w
ell protected with a w
indbreak and has good sun, soil and m
oisture. Many plants thrive, including B
anksia ‘Giant
Candles’, D
oryanthes excelsa, Hibiscus ‘Baram
bah Creek’, G
revillea flexuosa ‘Zig Zag’, A
cacia cognata ‘Limelight’, W
estringia fruticosa, A
nigozanthos and Xanthorrhoea. The boronias last quite a few
years
and we have just planted a Ficus rubiginosa in the m
iddle of the lawn
to give shade in summ
er. Perhaps I’ll regret it in 30 to 40 years…
• The south east zone is below
the house with clay soil on a slope,
surrounding the wastew
ater treatment system
. It gets good water
run-off from the house, but then sits in clay, requiring plants that
don’t mind w
et feet or bone-hard soil in the dry weather. P
lants include Leptosperm
um spp., K
unzea baxteri, Crow
ea ‘Festival’, P
hilotheca spp., Lomandra cylindrica ‘Lim
e Cascade’, W
estringia spp., C
allistemon ‘R
ocky Ram
bler’ and Doryanthes palm
eri. Three D
oryanthes were transplanted about 5 years ago, and I’m
waiting
with bated breath for them
to flower! I’ve just planted a new
garden of m
assed Anigozanthos, an idea courtesy of A
ngus Stew
art, w
ith Westringia ‘S
mokey’ and C
hrysocephalum apiculatum
. The kangaroo paw
s are a kaleidoscope of red, orange, yellow and lim
e.
The rest of the south area is a steep grassy slope, looking out to the bush and view
s. It’s very peaceful. Kangaroos and w
allabies regularly graze on the grass (and occasionally plants). W
e have regular visits of w
ombats and have even seen a spotted quoll.
There’s a large Spotted G
um in the m
iddle of the view, w
hich some
people say to get rid of as it impacts the view
. But I think it fram
es the view
perfectly, and the kookaburras use it to spy from.
North east: H
ibiscus ‘Barambah Creek’, G
revillea flexuosa ‘Zig Zag’, A
cacia cognata ‘Limelight’,
Westringia fruticosa, w
ith Anigozanthos, Boronia and X
anthorrhoea.
Page 8 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 9
• The w
est zone is a very dry area that competes w
ith mature stands
of Corym
bia maculata (S
potted Gum
) and ironbarks. This area takes the brunt of the w
esterly winds, and has very poor shallow
soil and m
any rocks. The plants have to enhance the windbreak, as
well as look good and so are drought resistant, w
ith a mix of colour
and texture.
Acacia vestita provides protection w
hile its stunning colour and texture contrasts w
ith the silvery white of E
remophila spp. and
the lime green of A
cacia cognata and Lomandra ‘Little C
on’. S
tenanthemum
scortechinii has put on a stunning display this
winter (im
age below). In this area G
revillea ‘Sylvia’ is now
coming
good while G
revillea ‘Sandra G
ordon’ is going well, as is G
. ‘P
oorinda Queen’.
Colour is such fun! I do love colour and try to create colour themes. There’s a grove in the
north east that ‘goes off’ in spring with G
revillea ‘Moonlight’, Cham
elaucium uncinatum
‘CW
A Pink’, A
nigozanthos ‘Bush Pizazz’, Grevillea ‘Jennifer Joy’, Callistem
on spp. and Leptosperm
um ‘Cardw
ell’.
In a separate spot, under stands of Spotted G
ums, a rock garden
houses a mass of D
endrobium speciosum
giving a beautiful display each spring (im
age below).
Page 10 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 11
My journey as w
ell as the garden’s Like any garden, this is a w
ork in progress. My next evolution is to
learn more about horticulture and planting design so the experim
ent continues.
I have created an arboretum extending dow
n to the dam w
ith trees including E
ucalyptus scoparia, E. saligna, E
. acmenoides, E
. amplifolia
and Casuarina cunningham
iana. The flowering gum
s are not happy – too w
indy and exposed, I suspect. I’m w
ondering how to com
plement
these with low
maintenance m
ass plantings of colour and texture. This area is definitely still a w
ork in progress.
This quote from E
nglish poet laureate, Alfred A
ustin sums up gardening
for me:
‘The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart w
ith nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.’
A weekend w
ith APS
Blue Mountains G
et-togetherThe A
nnual Get-together for 2015 w
as hosted by AP
S B
lue Mountains
Group over the w
eekend 3-5 July. Mem
bers attended from across
Sydney and from
as far afield as Arm
idale and Coffs H
arbour. There w
as even a visitor from A
merica learning about A
ustralian plants and the B
lue Mountains environm
ent on Am
erica’s Independence Day.
The following reports show
how m
uch participants enjoyed their weekend.
Lindy Monson w
ith a little help from M
artyn Robinson, both from
APS
Northern Beaches G
roup, have written this thorough account of the event.
Over three brisk but sunny days, A
PS
Blue M
ountains Group gave
AP
S m
embers a diverse range of opportunities to appreciate the
local geology, geography, flora, fauna, cuisine and culture of the Blue
Mountains.
Saturday morning sem
inarM
argaret B
aker’s tw
o lectures
revealed her
deep respect
and understanding of the B
lue Mountains’ environm
ental importance. The
Greater B
lue Mountains A
rea was listed in 2000 as a U
NE
SC
O W
orld H
eritage Site, and M
argaret described the formation of its geology and
plant comm
unities.
Any geologist will tell you it all starts w
ith the rocks and Margaret’s talk
demonstrated how
the current Blue Mountains landscape cam
e to be form
ed. Going back to the supercontinents of Pangea and G
ondwana,
Margaret explained how
the movem
ent, separation and later erosion of these land m
asses resulted in the different layers of rocks (with their
resultant soil types), which becam
e the familiar rock form
ations and plant com
munities w
e know today. It’s hard to im
agine that parts of the Blue M
ountains were once as high and pointy as the Andes or the H
imalayas
but Margaret assured us this w
as the case. This long history has resulted in an enorm
ous variety of plants as species changed and adapted to m
eet the different conditions. As the continents separated, conditions becam
e cooler and drier with rainforest contracting to m
oist valleys, to give w
ay to fire adapted species such as eucalypts in more exposed
areas. Margaret’s talk included exam
ples of plants which are rem
nants from
ancient times as w
ell as more m
odern species. She explained that it w
as this extraordinary variety of plants and plant comm
unities from
the broad geological time scale that m
ade the Blue Mountains such a
special place and why it deserved its W
orld Heritage Listing.
Find APS NSW
on Facebook at
ww
w.facebook.com
/APSNSW
Great N
ative Plant PhotosM
any AP
S m
embers are keen and capable
photographers. This
journal needs
good quality im
ages to adorn its pages. If you have outstanding
photos of
native plants
please share them
with other m
embers by contacting
the editor via the office. Several m
embers have
already provided great photos that mem
bers have been enjoying in the pages of N
ative P
lants for NS
W.
Page 12 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 13
The lectures were illustrated w
ith diagrams, graphs and photographs.
Alm
ost as fetching were som
e AP
S m
embers, dressed as if for a
European w
inter. This proved prescient as the climate in the Lapstone
school hall was perishing, notw
ithstanding the warm
generosity of the m
embers of A
PS
Blue M
ountains Group w
ho catered for two m
orning teas for such a large audience.
In her second lecture Margaret outlined the various m
ethods used to list threatened plant species and plant com
munities, such as the
Federal Environm
ent Protection and B
iodiversity Conservation A
ct 1999 (E
PB
C), the N
SW
Threatened Species C
onservation Act 1995
(TSC
A) and the R
OTA
P (Rare or Threatened A
ustralian Plants) coding
system developed by the C
SIR
O. The latter is a relatively sim
ple means
of categorising the ‘at-risk’ status of Australian plants.
Margaret
presented num
erous cases
of at-risk
plants and
plant com
munities, som
e in very small areas. For exam
ple, the comm
unities of the ‘w
aterfalls, wet cliff faces and dam
p rock ledges’ of the upper m
ountains, such as Wentw
orth Falls, include the dwarf m
ountain pine. P
herosphaera fitzgeraldii (Dw
arf Mountain P
ine, previously Microstrobos
fitzgeraldii), which has a very lim
ited natural distribution and depends on the spray it catches on the rock faces of m
erely seven waterfalls. It
is not found in similar w
aterfall comm
unities with the northern aspect
of the Govetts Leap side of the m
ountains. Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii
is listed by the TSC
A as an endangered species. Margaret elaborated
on how a com
munity m
ay remain unprotected despite protection of the
plant species. Activity such as building a footbridge designed to protect
plants from w
alkers can result in the plants being trampled during
construction, whilst natural and unpredictable rockfalls can also lead
to losses.
Other com
munities that M
argaret discussed were:
• tem
perate highland peat swam
ps on sandstone•
upland basalt eucalypt forest of the Sydney B
asin bioregion •
threatened shale comm
unities of the Lower B
lue Mountains
• B
lue Mountains shale cap forest
• S
ydney turpentine ironbark forest•
shale / sandstone transition forest •
Sun Valley cabbage gum
forest•
river-flat eucalypt forest on coastal floodplains of the Sydney B
asin.
Afternoon w
alk to Darks C
omm
onD
uring the walk to D
arks Com
mon after lunch, M
argaret stopped by m
any plants and also showed us in the field how
the soils of the region are directly related to geology and landscape position.
Standing over G
lenbrook Gorge, the N
orthern Beaches G
roup mem
bers w
ere thrilled like kids to see the trains travel into the tunnel.
Saturday evening dinnerThe m
ain dinner in Em
u Plains on S
aturday was another opportunity for
sociability, and the Northern B
eaches Group took out the highest score
for special-diet meals. It is on a sober note that one can consider that
the weekend’s tw
o dinner venues were in clubs located further from
built-up areas than m
uch of the bushland we exam
ined during the get-together. N
o doubt fine bushland once occupied these sites too.
The Presidents’ Dinner
The Presidents’ D
inner in Springw
ood on Friday was a tim
e to consider the strengths and future direction of A
PS
. Greg S
mith addressed the
group of about 20 presidents, AP
S N
SW
office bearers and group representatives. G
reg was the C
EO
of non-profit organisations such as P
araquad and the Asthm
a Foundation and now w
orks as a consultant and speaker. G
reg’s talk covered his own experience and the endem
ic difficulty that groups have in attracting and retaining m
embers and
volunteers. He had interesting thoughts on bank balances, spending,
strategy, purpose, change, the internet, marketing, volunteer w
ork structure and the know
ledge-base of mem
bers.
Investigating native plants on the Charles Darw
in Walk at W
entworth Falls (P. G
rimm
)
Page 14 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 15
Glenbrook N
ative Plant Reserve
Glenbrook N
ative Plant R
eserve, together with nursery production
and sale of plants, is a testament to the achievem
ent of AP
S B
lue M
ountains Group m
embers and volunteers, w
ho have maintained the
site’s remnant bushland and added enrichm
ent plantings. Access to ‘the
experience’ of the bush is created through engineered bridges, paths and w
ays. How
ever, as with S
tony Range B
otanic Garden at D
ee Why,
the illusion is not completely sustained, as the noise of the highw
ay rem
ains the walker’s constant com
panion.
SundayO
n Sunday the B
lue Mountains G
roup hosted a garden visit at Phil
Bendall’s in S
pringwood (see page 18), and m
embers led w
alks at G
lenbrook, West G
lenbrook, Wentw
orth Falls and Katoom
ba.
Glenbrook B
ird Walk
Dick Turner enthused a large group to a
cold early start to find birds on the old Great
Western H
ighway, now
a sealed walking
and bike track in Glenbrook. D
ick is very know
ledgeable about local history and plant and bird species, as w
ere many of the other
walkers.
A single
Eastern
Yellow
Robin
(see picture right) accompanied us m
ost of the w
ay. The Lapstone railway tunnel is nearby and A
rthur Streeton’s
Fire’s On (1891) recreates the dram
a of a tragic accident during its construction. A
bove all, the painting still speaks of the dominance of the
landscape captured in the Australian m
idday light.
Charles D
arwin w
alkC
onnie Southw
ell led the Charles D
arwin w
alk to see the hanging sw
amp. In her nineties, C
onnie can still walk on bush tracks and she
conveyed her knowledge of local plants and appreciation of their
aesthetics. Many of us continued the w
alk to see Wentw
orth Falls and the w
ide views of the cliff faces.
Returning to W
entworth Falls railw
ay station and shops, the group ate at a local bakery cafe before farew
elling each other and the mountains.
We then slipped off hom
e through the winter afternoon shadow
s.
More inform
ationN
ative Plants of the B
lue Mountains 2nd E
dition Margaret B
aker & R
obin C
orringham, A B
ower B
ird Book 2004
Australian N
ative Plants S
ociety (Australia) Threatened Flora Lists, including
RO
TAP coding anpsa.org.au/coding.htm
l G
lenbrook Native P
lant Reserve w
ww
.apsbluemtnsgroup.org
Arthur S
treeton Fire’s On 1891 w
ww
.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/w
orks/832/
Birdwatching 8am
on a frosty Sunday morning in K
napsack Reserve, Glenbrook. G
uide Dick
Turner (W. G
rimm
)
Charles Darw
in Walk beside Jam
ison Creek, Wentw
orth Falls, Blue Mountains N
ational Park. (W
Grim
m)
Page 16 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 17
West G
lenbrook Nature Reserve
Sunday 5 July 2015The prom
ise of a good spring flowering w
as all around as 14 of us set out on a sunny July m
orning to discover the plants of West G
lenbrook N
ature Reserve w
ith bush guides Margaret B
aker and Jill Dark. This
Reserve is tucked aw
ay between a quiet residential area and the B
lue M
ountains National P
ark and supports a host of native plants in a num
ber of different plant comm
unities. In just three hours we strolled
through endangered Shale/S
andstone Transition Forest and several different sandstone associations w
here, with the help of M
argaret and Jill, w
e named all of the plants that w
ere in flower.
Many plants w
ere in bud on the open shale capped ridge but we w
ere lucky to find, through graceful drifts of K
angaroo Grass (Them
eda triandra), open flow
ers on Sunshine W
attle (Acacia term
inalis subsp. angustifolia), D
aviesia squarrosa, Dillw
ynia sp. trichopoda and Lissanthe strigosa. The track w
ound in a southerly direction and in the damp shade
we w
ere treated to a colony of delicate Pixie C
ap orchids (Acianthus
fornicatus). Another bend brought us into sandstone w
oodland where
on a south facing embankm
ent we discovered m
ore terrestrial orchids, the N
odding Greenhood (P
terostylis nutans), that intermingled w
ith a m
iniature forest of Drosera auriculata. The last stage of the w
alk, in the w
arming sunshine of the north facing plateau edge, m
eandered by a stunning display of Flannel Flow
ers (Actinotus helianthi), that led to
groves of Myrtaceae (C
alytrix tetragona, Euryom
yrtus ramosissim
a and M
icromyrtus ciliata) and Fabaceae (D
illwynia elegans, D
. sericea and P
ultenaea tuberculata). In just a few dam
p spots we w
ere very lucky to spot the bright yellow
flowers of Villeia lyrata, an uncom
mon m
ember of
the Goodeniaceae fam
ily.
Everyone agreed that this w
as an excellent morning of botanising.
We all found plants that w
ere new to us and gained an appreciation
of the diversity of species and of comm
unities that can be enjoyed in the Low
er Blue M
ountains. Thank you Margaret and Jill for this special
experience.
Villeia lyrata
Pterostylis nutans (Nodding G
reenhood)D
rosera auriculata
Acianthus fornicatus (Pixie Caps)
Page 18 —
Native P
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Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 19
Phil Bendall’s garden Leonie Hogue from
APS Sutherland Group and Neil McGlashen from
APS Blue Mountains
Group both contributed to this article.
Blue M
ountains Group put on lovely w
eather for us when w
e went to
visit Phil B
endall’s garden in Springw
ood in July.
The entry to Phil’s battleaxe block is dow
n a steep drive past the neighbouring houses w
ith their conventional gardens. Both sides of the
driveway are planted w
ith natives and the small front garden is densely
planted, creating an eye-catching low-m
aintenance native garden that takes in all the front of the house.
It was early in the season so there w
asn’t a lot in full flower, but
Hardenbergia violacea (N
ative Sarsaparilla or P
urple Coral P
ea) was
twining around m
aking a show and C
rowea exalata (S
mall C
rowea)
was peeking out am
ongst the small local plants. This area is a haven
for birdlife.
Phil’s backyard is also filled w
ith native plants. Past the gates, w
e entered a m
agical lush garden at the bottom of a sunny dell. A stunning
Phebalium
nottii (Pink P
hebalium) m
et us as we entered. It w
as covered in tiny pink flow
ers and was a real show
-stopper at this time of
year. Visitors wind their w
ay around the garden beds. Mature trees and
shrubs such as Syzygium
wilsonii (P
owderpuff Lilly P
illy) protect smaller
plants. Acacia aphylla (Leafless R
ock Wattle) and A
cacia denticulosa (S
andpaper Wattle) w
ere two of the m
ore unusual wattles to catch the
eye of the visitor.
The success of Phil’s plant selection is especially evident in the m
oist area under the tall trees near the creek w
hich runs behind his back fence.
The garden presents an example of creating a native landscape that
is attractive to wildlife and people on an urban block. The bow
erbird clearly finds this to his liking as he has chosen to build his bow
er in the back yard.
Blue Mountains W
eekend Get-together
Charles Darw
in Walk
John Arney, APS Sutherland Group
On S
unday 5 July, several of the weekend group opted for the C
harles D
arwin W
alk, which descends from
the Great W
estern Highw
ay at W
entworth Falls along Jam
ison Creek, to the actual falls, a distance of
2.8 km one w
ay. Som
e chose to do the walk both w
ays, while others
settled for a car-shuffle back to the starting point near Wentw
orth Falls B
owling C
lub.
It was a beautiful w
inter’s day for the mountains, crisp, sunny, and no
wind, w
ith small patches of frost still to be seen in shaded areas around
midday.
The narrow track alongside Jam
ison Creek w
as well patronised by
people of all ages and we w
ere soon in the rhythm of leaning to the
side and letting others past as we exam
ined plant species that are not so com
mon in our hom
e areas. Our thanks to som
e sharp-eyed visitors and especially to our guides for identifying the various species that w
e encountered. A
s a general comm
ent on the walk in the upper area, it
was great to see w
hat could perhaps be described as a classic hanging sw
amp, w
ith steep, wet slopes of sandstone covered w
ith ferns and
Charles Darw
in Walk beside Jam
ison Creek, Wentw
orth Falls, Blue Mountains N
ational Park. G
uide Jim W
ard (W. G
rimm
)
Page 20 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 21
low shrubs, and just the occasional banksia or larger tree w
here soil conditions perm
itted.
A few of the plants of interest w
ere Acacia ptychoclada, B
aeckea linifolia, G
revillea acanthifolia, Mirbelia platylobioides and O
learia quercifolia, w
ith Em
podisma m
inus, Gleichenia dicarpa and B
lechnum nudum
being w
ell represented and seemingly revelling in their environm
ent. The end of the w
alk presented us with great view
s across the Jamison
Valley to Mount S
olitary and beyond.
Again, our thanks to the B
lue Mountains G
roup for their great attention to detail for this m
emorable excursion.
See the w
alk description from W
ild Walks at:
ww
w.w
ildwalks.com
/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw
/blue-mountains-
wentw
orth-falls/charles-darwin-w
alk.html
APS NSW
Life Mem
bership and Conservation Aw
ards for 2016N
ominations are being sought for these tw
o awards.
Life Mem
bership is the highest accolade the Australian P
lants Society
NS
W can bestow
upon a mem
ber who has m
ade an outstanding contribution to the S
ociety, their Group and their com
munity.
No m
ore than two Life M
embers m
ay be appointed in each calendar year except w
here a nomination includes both a husband and w
ife.
Conservation A
ward - each year, A
PS
NS
W seeks to recognise the
significant contribution made by an individual m
ember or a D
istrict G
roup to the conservation of Australia’s native plants, in particular those
of NS
W. This m
ay include the conserving of a population, a species or a com
munity of plants.
AP
S N
SW
invites District G
roups to submit nom
inations for Life M
embership and/or the C
onservation Award.
Nom
inations for Life Mem
bership and the Conservation Aw
ard can only be m
ade on the official application forms that are available from
the A
PS
NS
W office or can be dow
nloaded from the A
PS
NS
W w
ebsite w
ww
.austplants.com.au. N
omination form
s will also be em
ailed to D
istrict Group presidents and secretaries in O
ctober 2015.
The Board of the A
ustralian Plants S
ociety NS
W m
ust endorse all nom
inations prior to consideration by the Annual G
eneral Meeting in
May 2016.
Nom
inations in both categories must be received at the A
PS NSW
office no later than M
onday, 29 February 2016.
Postal address:
AP
S N
SW
P
O B
ox 5026O
ld Toongabbie NS
W 2146
or
Em
ail address:office@
austplants.com.au
For further information or any enquiries, please contact the office.
Advertising in Native Plants for N
SWM
embers
Non-m
embers
Size Single Issue
4 IssuesSingle Issue
4 Issues Full page
$122.50$416.50
$175$595
½ page
$63$214
$90$306
¼ page
$31.50$107
$45$158.50
Visiting Tasm
ania?
Don’t m
iss ...
Inverawe N
ative Gardens
15 Minutes south of H
obart
ww
w.inveraw
e.com.au
Page 22 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 23
Barangaroo ReserveA visitor’s perspectiveAlix Goodw
in, APS Blue Mountains Group
I can honestly say that I have awaited the opening of the B
arangaroo headland on the w
estern edge of Sydney C
BD
with great anticipation.
Having had the pleasure of visiting this new
Sydney landm
ark on a sunny late w
inter’s day just after its opening in August I am
looking forw
ard to many returns.
Entering the six-hectare park m
idway along w
hat was once know
n as H
ungry Mile it is im
possible not to be struck by the wondrous foreshore
that has been recreated from large blocks of golden S
ydney sandstone. N
early 10,000 sandstone blocks hewn from
the site adorn both the curving ‘1836’ shoreline w
ith its two coves and the parkland. A ‘natural’
amphitheatre has been created at the southern end and, on the day
my m
other and I visited, students from the A
boriginal dance college, N
AIS
DA
, were perform
ing on the jetty.
Abundant in native plants of the S
ydney region, the headland is a set of lovely tiered gardens that provide inspiration for the hom
e gardener. O
ver 80 comm
on and lesser known species have been planted
including young trees (Morton B
ay and Port Jackson figs, eucalypts,
corymbias, acacias and banksias), ground covers, sedges and grasses
This view clearly show
s some of the terracing em
ployed on the steep slope down to
the water’s edge and the advanced plants used to create an established look (P
atrick Law
nham)
Contact us for our full 2015 tour program:
Free Call: 1800 676 016 W
eb: ww
w.coatesw
ildlifetours.com.au • Em
ail: [email protected]
GSA Coates Tours Licence no 9ta1135/
36
Specialists in Nature Tours since 1986 (Sm
all groups 12–14 passengers)
New
Zealand South Island Wildlife &
Wilderness Expedition
15 Day A
ccomm
odated Tour – Departs 13
th February 2016 This unforgettable tour looks at the natural history of the breathtakingly beautiful lower South Island, Stewart Island plus three of the countries national parks and the unspoilt coast of the Catlins region
and the Otago Peninsular.
Sri Lanka Wildlife, H
istory & Culture
18 Day A
ccomm
odated Tour – Departs 14
th March 2016
HIGHLIGHTS: Yala and Bundala National Parks, Kitulgala and Sinharaja Rainforests, historic Sigiriya and Polonnarawa. This trip has it all a diverse array of m
amm
als from w
hales, elephants to squirrels plus each year we record sightings of over 200 species of birdlife. W
hen you add this to the local culture, food and wonderful historic sites plus being lead by one of countries top naturalist guides, this a trip not to m
iss. Pilbara Reef &
Ranges Expedition 15 D
ay Camping tour – D
eparts 5th A
pril 2016 Experience Ningaloo Reef, Abrolhos Islands & Karijini National Park. Join us as we explore the w
ildlife of the W
estern Australian coast including the Abrolhos Islands, Shark Bay and the Ningaloo Reef before travelling in land to experience the spectacular Karijini National Park.
Kimberley D
iscovery 15 D
ay Camping /
Accom
Tour – Departs Broom
e 4th June 2016
Enjoy a wonderful outback experience as we discover the Kimberley’s w
ildlife, spectacular outback scenery, and m
any wonderfully refreshing waterholes as we explore Purnululu N.P, the many gorges of the
Gibb River Rd, El Questro and M
ornington Stations. Kim
berley Wonders
12 Day Cam
ping Tour – Departs 25
th June 2016A different tw
ist on the Kimberley, we include the best of the Gibb River Road but add a visit to the
Mitchell Plateau. O
n the plateau experience the spectacular Mitchell and M
ertons Falls plus great examples
ancient rock art along with the regions wonderful flora and fauna.
Kununurra to Alice Springs Expedition
14 Day Cam
ping Tour – Departs Kununurra 14
th July 2016 This trip is packed w
ith highlights including a Lake Argyle cruise, the Keep River National Park, Duncan Highway, W
olf Creek Crater, Lake Stretch, the Tanami Road, New
haven Sanctuary and the W
est MacDonall Ranges.
Page 24 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 25
(such as Lomandra, H
ardenbergia and Hibbertia species). G
rown on a
ridge top at Mangrove M
ountain to prepare them for the exposed and
windy conditions of S
ydney Harbour, the nearly 74,000 plants have had
an incredibly low m
ortality rate of 1%, rather than the expected rate of
10%. It w
ill be fascinating to watch the shape of B
arangaroo change as the trees and plants grow
over the years ahead.
The northern end of Barangaroo is hom
e to a grassy park and trees; perfect for fam
ily picnics and viewing the firew
orks on New
Year’s Eve.
A set of walkw
ays meander through the park, som
e of which have been
given Aboriginal nam
es. Visitors can cycle or walk the foreshore and
wander across the headland. A
ccess is very easy for those who are
less mobile, and a lift has been installed at the southern end.
What I really love about the area is the w
ay that Millers P
oint has been reconnected to the foreshore. If you’ve strolled around this area you w
ill know that the P
alisade Hotel once looked darkly over the form
er dockyard and, in m
y mind, w
ould have featured well in a w
ork of S
alvador Dali. Today it is integrated into the B
arangaroo parkland, bringing w
armth to this once arguably desolate area.
Without the vision, drive and determ
ination of former Prim
e Minister, Paul
Keating, the restoration of this headland might have been an idea only. H
e successfully negotiated the inclusion of the headland park, an essential
element of one of the unsuccessful
plans for the entire Barangaroo site, into the final approved design. I am
eternally grateful to Paul Keating for this achievem
ent and for this reason Barangaroo w
ill always be Keating
Point in my m
ind.
That said, it is fitting that the parkland is nam
ed after Barangaroo. A ‘fierce
and un-subm
issive character’
according to one early settler, she w
as a Cam
meraygal w
oman and
the companion of B
ennelong – the S
ydney Opera H
ouse is located on B
ennelong Point. The restoration of
the headland, lost to Sydney over
100 years ago, brings this couple together once again as guardians of the S
ydney Harbour B
ridge.
Designed by landscape architect Peter W
alsh there will no doubt be
many view
s about Barangaroo Reserve. For m
e, it is a great success and w
ill become a favourite place to visit for m
any Sydneysiders and visitors alike.
To read more about this am
azing area, go to the web and type in
Barangaroo A
BC
or Barangaroo S
MH
to find a small num
ber of news
articles that provide information on the site’s genesis and developm
ent.
Most im
portantly, take a visit to Barangaroo R
eserve and enjoy every m
oment.
Two view
s showing different aspects of the reserve. (L) D
ense planting with Banksia robur
featured (R) Open grassed areas w
ith standing stones and eucalypts (Alix G
oodwin)
Another view
of Barangaroo Reserve (Alix
Goodw
in)
2016 Activities – Advance Notice
APS N
SW February G
athering Northern B
eaches Group has been
confirmed as the host for the first quarterly gathering on 27 February
2016. Full details will be in the January 2016 issue of N
ative Plants for
NS
W.
2016 APS N
SW G
et-together Planning is still at an early stage,
but preference is to hold the event in spring. The Board is exploring
possible alternatives but unfortunately nothing can be confirmed at this
stage. Native P
lants for NS
W w
ill contain details as soon as possible.
Page 26 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 27
Conservation Report
Prostanthera densa surveyD
an Clarke is the C
onservation Officer for A
PS
NS
W and
can be contacted by email at conservation@
austplants.com
.au
I have been preoccupied in the last quarter with A
PS
Sutherland
Group’s field search and m
onitoring of Prostanthera densa w
hich has the com
mon nam
e of Villous Mint B
ush. This activity is a voluntary contribution by the A
ustralian Plants S
ociety to the NS
W G
overnment’s
Save O
ur Species P
rogram, w
hich aims to conserve threatened species
in the wild for the next 100 years.
A group of AP
S S
utherland mem
bers headed down to the target
population of Prostanthera densa at M
arley in the Royal N
ational Park
in late June 2015. I am happy to report that our survey w
as a success. W
e tagged and recorded data for 27 plants of P. densa in sandstone heath vegetation, about 400 m
etres upslope from M
arley Beach.
Most recorded plants w
ere in flower and m
ost appeared healthy, with
little or no browsing dam
age evident from the feral R
usa Deer w
hich are a considerable problem
in the Royal N
ational Park.
We have not yet covered the entire area, w
ith earlier collections made
in 2005 and 2008 located further north-west from
our recorded patch. Therefore, m
ore surveys will be planned for the com
ing months.
A progress report is available on the Conservation section on both the
AP
S N
SW
and Sutherland G
roup websites.
Special thanks to A
PS
mem
bers John Arney, R
honda Daniels, Ian H
ill, P
aul Rendell and P
eter Shelton w
ho conducted the monitoring w
ith me,
as well as N
PW
S staff m
ember P
atsy Nagle for assisting w
ith logistics and finding a few
extra plants for us on the day.
My background research of online databases for previous records of P.
densa in the Royal N
ational Park has unearthed a som
ewhat forgotten
collection made in the 1970s in a different location, w
hich also requires further investigation on our part.
I look forward to updating you on our survey.
The activity was a great exam
ple of citizen-science and I encourage any m
ember w
ho is interested in threatened species monitoring to get
in contact with m
e.
Close-up of flow
ers and foliage of Prostanthera
densa (Dan Clarke)
Left: Tagging of plants with m
etal pins and num
bered brass tags –the tags are being affi
xed to pins using pliers. (D
an Clarke)
Below: The team
having lunch at the site, show
ing the habitat of the area. (D
an Clarke)
Page 28 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 29
Bush Tucker native fertiliserB
ush Tucker is a new product currently being developed by N
eutrog Fertilisers in conjunction w
ith renowned native expert and m
edia personality A
ngus Stew
art and leading soil scientist Sim
on Leake.
An organically based fertiliser for A
ustralian plants, Bush Tucker has
been fortified with trace elem
ents to ensure it will provide the specialised
needs of native plants. Trials are currently underway at a num
ber of sites around A
ustralia including botanic gardens, major golf clubs,
native plant nurseries and by mem
bers of the Australian N
ative Plants
Society (A
ustralia).
Neutrog com
menced in 1988 and has since grow
n to become the
largest manufacturer of its kind in A
ustralia. Neutrog supplies its
products to some of the m
ost magnificent grounds and gardens in
Australia, and m
any of the leading comm
ercial primary producers w
ithin the horticulture, viticulture and broadacre m
arkets.
From its beginnings, N
eutrog has actively sought to continuously im
prove the efficacy and performance of its products. E
ach new product
is developed over many years and is trialled and tested before being
released to the marketplace.
At the 2015 A
PS
NS
W M
ay gathering, Vince Davey from
Neutrog
spoke to our mem
bers about the development of B
ush Tucker and the im
portance of testing it before its release on to the open market.
Vince offered mem
bers a 5 kg sample of the fertiliser to trial on their
gardens on the understanding that those participating in the trial would
report their result back to him for evaluation. M
embers w
ho accepted a sam
ple of Bush Tucker are asked to em
ail their experiences with
Bush Tucker to Vince D
avey at [email protected]
.au. If AP
S N
SW
is to forge relationships w
ith horticultural companies, such as N
eutrog, it is im
portant that we do our part by providing feedback to the suppliers
informing them
of our experiences with their products.
(L-R) Simon Leake, A
ngus Stewart, Bush Tucker pail and logo
President’s ReportJohn Aitken, President APS NSW
Congratulations to A
PS
Blue M
ountains Group
for organising
and hosting
a very
successful w
eekend Get-together in July. I w
ould also like to thank and congratulate all those m
embers of the
Blue M
ountains Group w
ho were involved in the
weekend’s activities for their w
arm hospitality and for their w
onderful efforts in ensuring that this year’s G
et-together was an outstanding
success.
The Presidents’ dinner on the Friday night preceding the event once
again provided a wonderful opportunity for D
istrict Group P
residents or their representatives and the m
embers of the A
PS
NS
W B
oard to m
eet and share their experiences. Our guest speaker, G
reg Sm
ith, who
has headed a number of non-governm
ent organisations and not-for-profit organisations, shared his experiences on how
to attract and retain m
embers and volunteers. A
ll agreed that Greg w
as a wonderful and
insightful speaker. It is important that A
PS
NS
W develops a strategic
plan to strengthen our future.
There is a general decline in the number of people joining not-for-profit
organisations such as ours. If we are to survive, w
e need to attract and retain m
embers and volunteers. In order to do so, w
e must m
eet the needs of the m
embers of our com
munities in a rapidly changing w
orld.
In the 1970s and 1980s people flocked to join the Australian P
lants S
ociety to obtain information about grow
ing Australian native plants,
which w
as then not widely available. D
uring those two decades, w
e w
ere seen as relevant to people’s needs. With the grow
th of the internet, how
ever, people can now readily access m
uch of this information,
without being a m
ember of A
PS
NS
W. They m
ay perceive that we are
no longer relevant to their needs.
As m
embers of D
istrict Groups w
e know that the A
ustralian Plants
Society is m
ore than an information bank on A
ustralian native plants. We
are far more than that and each D
istrict Group caters for its m
embers in
a wide variety of w
ays. Other organisations, such as B
ushcare groups run by local governm
ent, now offer volunteers inform
ation on Australian
native plants, identification courses, bush walks, social activities and so
on – all for free. We need to inform
the comm
unity why w
e are special and w
hy we are relevant to them
. All groups have tried various strategies
to attract more m
embers; som
e successful, some less successful. A
PS
Page 30 —
Native P
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Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 31
District G
roup directoryD
istrict Groups are located in m
any areas throughout New
South W
ales and range in size from
fewer than 20 to over 100 m
embers. G
roup m
embers are able to take part in m
any activities including bushwalks,
bush regeneration and conservation projects. Regular m
eetings enable m
embers to keep in touch w
ith people of similar interests and to hear
expert guest speakers. Contact the S
ecretary of a specific group for further inform
ation.
Arm
idale and District
President: P
hillip Rose
Em
ail: prosecarwell@
bigpond.comSecretary: H
elen Schwarz
( (02) 6772 1584
PO Box 735, Arm
idale NSW
2350E
mail: w
Meetings: A
SC
A House, 166 B
arney Street,
Arm
idale3rd Tuesday of the m
onth at 7.30 pm (excluding
Decem
ber, January, June, July).
Blue M
ountainsP
resident: Dick Turner
( (02) 4739 5362
Secretary: A
lix Goodw
in ( (02) 4739 1571
PO
Box 23, G
lenbrook NS
W 2773
Website: w
ww
.apsbluemtnsgroup.org
Meetings: N
ative Plant R
eserve, Great
Western H
wy, G
lenbrook 1st Friday of the m
onth at 8 pm (S
ep-May) and
1st Sunday of the m
onth at 10 am (Jun-A
ug). N
o meeting w
hen there is an outing in the month.
Central C
oastP
resident: Richard S
treet ( 0414 762 324
Secretary: Liz H
oese ( (02) 4339 1274
Em
ail: aps.cc.secty@gm
ail.comM
eetings: Phillip H
ouse, 21 Old M
ount Penang
Road, K
ariongG
enerally 2nd Friday of the month (excl.
Jan, Dec) at 7.30 pm
but winter m
eetings on S
aturday afternoons. Check w
ebsite for details. W
ebsite: ww
w.australianplants.org
Central W
estP
resident: Gillian B
aldwin
( (02) 6332 1583
Secretary: Lyn B
urgett ( (02) 6331 9170
Em
ail: [email protected]
Meetings: B
imonthly at alternating centres.
Contact the secretary for details.
Coffs H
arbourP
resident: Dr M
Duggan
( (02) 6649 3202
Em
ail: morris@
guarana.orgS
ecretary: Gw
yn Clarke
( 0419 414 324
123 Sandstone D
r, Kungala N
SW
2460E
mail: gcl.38500@
bigpond.com
Meetings: C
offs Harbour B
otanic Gardens
Display R
oom norm
ally on the 2nd Wednesday
of alternate months at 7.30 pm
(excluding Jan).W
ebsite: ww
w.coffs.australianplants.info
East Hills
President: G
raham W
alters (
(02) 9534 3039E
mail: agw
S
ecretary: Karlo Taliana
((02) 9709 6135
Em
ail: [email protected]
.au M
eetings: Lugarno–Peakhurst U
niting Church
909 Forest Road, Lugarno
1st Wednesday of each m
onth at 7.30 pm
(excluding January).
Haw
kesburyC
ontact: Arthur R
utter (
(02) 4577 327199 The Terrace, W
indsor NS
W 2756
Em
ail: [email protected]
.auM
eetings: This group was re-launched at the
AP
S N
SW
gathering in Novem
ber 2014.
Hunter Valley
President: M
ichael Belcher (
(02) 4930 1458S
ecretary: Kevin M
antle (
(02) 4937 320029 W
allaroo Road, S
eaham N
SW
2324E
mail: m
antlej58@gm
ail.comM
eetings: The Polish H
all, Cnr G
rant & O
ldR
ose Sts, M
aitland 3rd W
ednesday of the month (Feb-N
ov) at 7.45 pm.
Illawarra
President: Kath G
add (
0414 333 475Em
ail: kath@m
alleedesign.com.au
Keith Hunter
( 0481 599 008
Email: keithjohnhunter@
gmail.com
Facebook: type ‘APS Illaw
arra’ in the Facebook search bar.Activities: This group is aim
ing to have an activity each m
onth – check the Facebook page or contact the leaders.
Continued page 34
NS
W is a collection of groups, and as such w
e must w
ork cooperatively to prom
ote the benefits of mem
bership.
AP
S N
SW
has been working hard to raise our public profile in the
comm
unity. We do this through our stall and displays at the R
AS
E
aster Show
, TAFE
colleges, through our website, Facebook, quarterly
gatherings where m
embers of the public are invited, N
ative Plants
for NS
W, and m
ore. Our G
rowth and P
romotions C
omm
ittee, led by R
honda Daniels, has proposed and enacted a num
ber of strategies to prom
ote the Australian P
lants Society.
There is a need to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and the
direction in which w
e are heading if we are to m
eet the needs of, and be relevant to, a rapidly changing society.
Personally, I am
very confident and excited about our future. Since the
AG
M in M
ay, all Board positions have been filled. For the first tim
e in 12 years w
e have a Treasurer and a Publicity O
fficer. In addition, H
eather Miles, w
ho has a background in corporate strategic planning, has joined us as S
ecretary.
Finally, all those who knew
Allan W
oollett, a former S
ecretary of AP
S
NS
W, w
ould have been saddened to hear of his death in June. Allan
was one of ‘nature’s gentlem
en’, who w
ill be remem
bered fondly by those w
ho had the pleasure to know him
. We ow
e Allan a great deal of
gratitude at both the District G
roup and State levels. H
e was a com
mitted
and tireless worker in the S
utherland and New
castle Groups and as
Secretary of A
PS
NS
W for m
any years. Allan w
ill be remem
bered for his integrity, the highly professional w
ay in which he undertook and
completed any task, his gentle nature and his com
passion for others.
APS N
SW on the w
ebw
ww
.austplants.com.au
For the latest information about your S
ociety see the web site, w
here you can read articles and new
sletters, and participate in the forum
about all aspects of native plants.
Page 32 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 33
Mem
bership application and renewal form
Please select your application type.N
ew m
ember
Renew
ing mem
ber: Mem
bership number
_ _ _ _ _ _
P
lease tick if any details have changed from last renew
al
Gift m
embership. D
onor name _______________________
Include any personal card you w
ish to accompany the new
m
ember’s pack.
1. Com
plete your details
Nam
e(s) _____________________________________________
Address
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Postcode
Em
ail _____________________________________________
Phone
( ) ________________________________________
Mobile
_____________________________________________
District G
roup affiliation ________________________________
2. Select your mem
bership type12 m
onths mem
bership. Rates at 1 January 2015. G
ST inclusive.
Joint mem
bership applies to two people at the sam
e address. Each
receives a mem
bership card. A concession is available to Seniors,
people on a limited fixed incom
e and full-time students.
Individual $53
Individual – Concession
$45
Joint $61
Joint – Concession
$53
Overseas
A$60
Optional donation to A
PS
NS
W $ __________
3. Select your payment m
ethod
Cheque or m
oney order payable to Australian Plants Society NSW
Visa M
asterCard
Card num
ber _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
Expiry date
_ _ / _ _ C
VV
/CS
C: _ _ _
(The last three digits printed on the
signature panel on your card)
Cardholder’s nam
e ___________________________________
Cardholder’s signature _________________________________
Direct deposit
B
ank C
omm
onwealth B
ank of Australia
A
ccount name
Australian P
lants Society N
SW
Ltd
B
SB
062 217
A
ccount no. 0090 7163
Please use as the reference your surname and 6-digit m
embership
number w
hich is on your mem
bership card and your journal m
ailing envelopes. Please em
ail merleaps@
bigpond.com to
advise of your deposit.
4. Return your form
A
PS
NS
WM
embership O
fficerP
O B
ox 3066B
OW
EN
FELS
NS
W 2790
Mem
bership inquiries
Merle Thom
pson, Mem
bership Officer
merleaps@
bigpond.com
Ph (02) 6352 3805
Fax (02) 6351 2384
Page 34 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 35
Parramatta and The H
ills District
President: vacant
Secretary: B
rodie Sutcliffe
( (02) 8809 0833
Em
ail: brodie.fuller@hotm
ail.com
Meetings: B
i-monthly m
eetings 2 pm on 4th
Saturday of Feb, A
pril, June, August, S
ept and N
ov at Gum
nut Hall, G
umnut P
lace, Cherrybrook
Website: w
ww
.apsparrahills.org.au
South East Region
President: M
argaret Lynch (
0408 447 678E
mail: yaraan@
southernphone.com.au
Secretary: M
ichele Pym
ble (
(02) 4473 8587E
mail: m
ishpymble@
gmail.com
Meetings: A
t various locations, generally on 1st S
aturday of every month except January.
Contact P
resident or Secretary.
Southern Highlands
President: W
endy Johnston ( (02) 4883 6376
Secretary: Jane P
ye ( (02) 4862 3750
Em
ail: iandjpye@gm
ail.comM
eetings: CW
A Room
, next to council building in E
lizabeth St, M
oss Vale. Bim
onthly at 2 pm on
the 1st Thursday of February, April, June, A
ugust and N
ovember.
Southern TablelandsP
resident: Bob G
alland ( 0407 248 154
Em
ail: [email protected]
Secretary: G
udrun Delbridge (
0417 651 811E
mail: gudrun.delbridge@
gmail.com
Meetings: O
nly when essential – our group is
concentrating on walks and other activities.
SutherlandP
resident: John Aitken
( (02) 9589 1363
Em
ail: jeaitken@gm
ail.com
Secretary: Leonie H
ogue ( (02) 9528 6083
Em
ail: leoniehogue@gm
ail.comM
eetings: Gym
ea Com
munity C
entre, Gym
eaB
ay Rd, G
ymea. 3rd W
ednesday of the month
at 8 pm (February-N
ovember).
Website: w
ww
.sutherland.austplants.com.au/
Tamw
orthP
resident: Matt C
osgrove (
(02) 6765 2693E
mail: cosgrove72@
bigpond.comS
ecretary: Kerrie G
ray ( 0427 652 986
PO
Box 1193, Tam
worth N
SW
2340E
mail: dyso57@
bigpond.comM
eetings: Botanic G
arden Meeting R
oom.
10 am on 4th S
aturday Feb to Nov. O
utingsand field trips at other tim
es – contact theS
ecretary.
Macarthur
President: R
obin Davies
Secretary: Rod Bray
( (02) 4647 9928
147 Holdsw
orth Drive, M
t Annan N
SW
2567 E
mail: yarbdor@
westnet.com
.auM
eetings: Jack Nash C
lub Room
s, Nash Place
Currans H
ill NS
W 2567. 3rd W
ednesday of the m
onth at 7.30 pm (Feb-N
ov).
Menai
President: Jason Cockayne
( (02) 9570 8559
Em
ail: Jay.shaz@hotm
ail.comSecretary: Annette Tuckfield
( (02) 9543 1490
Em
ail: menaiw
ildflower@
austplants.com.au
PO
Box 3104, B
angor NS
W 2234
Meetings: Illaw
ong Rural Fire S
ervice. 2nd S
aturday of the month at 1 pm
(June–Aug)
2nd Wednesday of the m
onth at 7.00 pm (others
excluding January).
New
castleP
resident: Colin Law
rence (
(02) 4965 6110E
mail: president.aps.new
castle@gm
ail.com
Secretary: M
aree McC
arthy (
(02) 4943 0305E
mail: secretary.aps.new
castle@gm
ail.comM
eetings: The Wetlands C
entre, Sandgate R
d, S
hortland 1st W
ednesday of the month at 7.30 pm
(excluding January).
Northern B
eachesP
resident: Conny H
arris (
(02) 9451 3231E
mail: conny.harris@
gmail.com
Joint Secretaries:
Lynne McN
airn (
(02) 9982 7964Julia Tom
kinson ( (02) 9949 5179
PO
Box 393 D
ee Why N
SW
2099M
eetings: Stony R
ange Botanic G
arden, Dee
Why. 1st Thursday of the m
onth at 7.15 pm
(Feb-Nov).
North Shore
President: Barry Lees (
(02) 9653 3691E
mail: barrylees99@
bigpond.com
Secretary: S
ue Bow
enP
O B
ox 141 Roseville 2069
Em
ail: [email protected]
Meetings: W
illow P
ark Com
munity C
entre, 25 E
dgeworth D
avid Ave, Hornsby.
2nd Friday of the month at 8 pm
(Feb-Nov).
Website: w
ww
.blandfordia.org.au
Now
raP
resident: Lesley McK
innon ( (02) 4443 4004
Secretary: G
wen S
mith
( (02) 4443 3497
PO
Box 140, S
anctuary Point N
SW
2540E
mail: rapidpulse@
bigpond.comM
eetings: Now
ra Town B
and Hall,
174 Kinghorne S
t, Now
ra. 2nd Thursday of the m
onth (Feb-Nov) at 7.30 pm
sharp.
District G
roup directory continued
Page 36 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 37
Fire! Fire! Part 3 – Recovery and renew
al around the houseGw
yn Clarke, Coffs Harbour Group
Gw
yn and Geoff C
larke live on a property on the back road between C
offs H
arbour and Grafton. In A
ugust 2014 fire ravaged their property. In the April
2015 issue of Native P
lants for NS
W, G
wyn described the property and the fire
control measures they had undertaken. In the July issue she described the day
of the fire. In this article she describes the recovery of the garden and in the final article due in the January 2016 issue she w
ill describe the regeneration of the bush on their property.
This morning a striated pardalote is sitting above the w
indow trying
for insects in an old mud w
asp’s nest. It was not like that on S
unday 3 A
ugust 2014 - it was sm
oky and the sunlight made things look hazy.
The voices of birds, frogs, crickets and indeed all the sounds of the bush w
ere silent. We w
ere interested in having a close look at all the areas surrounding the house. It w
as still very dry. Even a slight breeze
blew the ash and debris. In the house a fine, black dust quickly coated
everything. After about five days w
e had visitors. The yellow-tailed black
cockatoos came in large num
bers and settled on the ground wherever
banksia or hakea plants had once stood. They sifted through the ash looking for the dropped seeds. W
e haven’t seen them since.
Early days and the impact of rain
Few plants show
ed signs of revival. After
a week you could see in the centre of
grass trees tiny green shoots but there w
as not much else.
In the garden only one plant had survived the burn in the garden bed on the north beside
the drive.
This w
as a
small
kangaroo paw know
n as Anigozanthos
‘Bush P
earl’. Som
e of the plants were
scorched or
skeletonised and
others w
ere nowhere to be seen. A
t that stage it
looked like
a com
plete replant,
but know
ing Australian plants w
e decided to w
ait and see. What w
e needed was rain.
On Saturday 23 August, exactly three w
eeks after the fire, it rained. We
had 178 mm
in two days. It didn’t take long for the effects of this to be
seen in the damaged garden beds along the drive. By early Septem
ber young shoots could be seen pushing through the soil. In the burnt out garden bed D
ianella, Lomandra, A
nigozanthos and Libertia came back
first. Dianella and A
nigozanthos put up flowering stem
s first, followed
by new leaves. This w
as a surprise. Scaevola albida cam
e back next from
a little hole in the ground. It grew to about 60 cm
and then began to flow
er and kept going until late autumn. Then the S
wainsona sejuncta
reshot and it wasn’t long before they w
ere little bushes again. By O
ctober most plants had leaves and flow
ering stems and late O
ctober to early N
ovember saw
most plants flow
ering. How
ever the Grevillea
and Boronia in this bed did not recover and have now
been replaced by other plants.
It was the sam
e story all along the northern edge of the drive. Those plants closest to the fire w
hich had suffered most cam
e back vigorously. The kangaroo paw
patch showed spaces w
here plants had been burnt, w
ith half-dead plants as well as undam
aged ones. Those which had
survived the fire just started flowering and they flow
ered really well
(no doubt thanks to the abundant ash blowing around). The others
responded to the rain as did all the monocotyledons. G
revillea sericea (C
ollaroy Plateau form
) was scorched on one side. W
e pruned off the dam
aged stems and it has recovered w
ell. This winter it flow
ered better than ever.
A few plants killed by em
ber attack did not come back. O
nly one of these tried to regrow
– a local Hovea. U
nfortunately every time it tried
reshooting there was som
e hungry insect around waiting to eat the
leaves. In the end it gave up.
(L) Dam
aged Kangaroo Paw
s (R) The same area 12 m
onths later (G. Clarke)
The damage to the south of the house is clearly visible
soon after the fire (G
. Clarke)
Page 38 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 39
The western garden – rainforest plants
The western area of the garden houses the rainforest plants. There is a
4 metre w
ide cleared strip between the garden and the bush. The story
here was sim
ilar to the northern area. Those plants closest to the fire suffered m
ost, but the ginger was the w
orst. Again w
e decided to wait
before replacing plants, but we w
ere not so sure with the rainforest.
Surprise! S
urprise! Syzygium
wilsonii on the very edge of the garden
closest to the fire did not even scorch. It was covered by shadecloth to
protect it from the sun. The shadecloth did not get dam
aged so neither did the plant. Tw
o other small shrubby plants nearby w
ere burnt, but they have both recovered. The native ginger (A
lpinia caerulea) has recovered to som
e extent but does not look great.
The eastern gardenD
own on the eastern side of the house w
hich was attacked first, w
e lost tw
o Brachychiton and an A
raucaria cunninghamii. They have show
n no signs of recovery. W
e had planted them there because there w
as deeper soil and less rock and they had done w
ell but we w
ill not replace them
. Instead we w
ill allow the local grasses and sm
aller local shrubs w
hich are regenerating well to grow
there now. The grasses w
ill grow
towards the shadehouse area and the shed. This area w
ill be kept m
own. The sm
aller local shrubs will be grow
ing behind the grassed area fringing a rocky area. A
ll the larger plants will only be allow
ed to grow
further from the house, beyond these rocks.
The plants growing in this area enjoy the sunlight and exclusion of larger
trees. Patersonia sericea has form
ed a circle of plants which flow
er every tw
o or three days. Their purple flower heads are very show
y and som
etimes three or m
ore flowers open in the one head. They started
flowering in late June and are still putting on a great show
. There are som
e Acacia brow
nii growing w
ell that have not grown in that area in
the past. They are quite small shrubs the biggest being 30 cm
x 40 cm
with sm
all golden ball flowers. D
odonaea crucifolia is a dainty plant that has already grow
n to 60 cm x 60 cm
and some are already fruiting.
This is a recently named species w
hich is only found in this area. For
(L) Death of the ginger plants (R) The ginger now
, you can see it is struggling (G. Clarke)
Patersonia sericea a local plant that is much bigger and has m
ore flow
ers than usual, clearly the fi
re has been to its liking (G. Clarke)
Rainforest area recovered with no dead plants around. N
ote the house is again becoming
difficult to see (G
. Clarke)
Page 40 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 41
many years it had been called D
odonaea hirsuta because that also grow
s in the area, but it is very hairy and D. crucifolia is not hairy at all.
Hardenbergia violacea seem
s to be twining through everything else. It
will probably only last a couple of years and leave behind lots of seed in
readiness for the next fire.
Persoonia stradbrokensis has com
e up in seedling clumps. There are
about eight plants in the tallest clump. I think I w
ill dig up and separate the sm
aller seedling clump nearby as it is not every day that P
ersoonia does this and w
e will have som
e plants available for those who w
ould like to grow
it. It grows into an upright sm
all tree if not crowded out by
bigger plants.
Other plants to put in an appearance are A
ctinotus helianthi, Acacia
ulicifolia, Bossiaea heterophylla, B
rachyloma daphnoides, H
ibbertia vestita, H
ovea heterophylla, Jacksonia scoparia, Leucopogon virgatus, P
imelea linifolia, and P
ultenaea species.
The protected southern edge
On the south the fire did not com
e over the edge of the escarpment in the
area where the house and other buildings are situated. A
t the eastern end the Lom
andra longifolia and Myoporum
boninense growing over
the septic trench did a sterling job keeping the fire at bay. The pictures tell the story best. A
t the southern end the firies kept the escarpment
edge under control. It was am
azing to see an Isopogon petiolaris still green and flow
ering in front of dead plants. There is very little garden in this area apart from
the rocky area around the house, only some
kangaroo paws on the house side of the septic tank and som
e ferns behind the shed. N
one of these suffered any damage.
(L) This shows a side view
of the lomandras those on the left are the m
ost exposed to the fire
and the most dam
aged on the right the least damaged
(R) Lomandras and m
yoporum 12 m
onths later – recovered (G. Clarke)
(L) The burnt out garden bed beside the drive (R) The same bed 12 m
onths later (G. Clarke)
Part of the rockery that survived the fire w
ith the burnt bush behind – an indication of the stunning native garden (G
. Clarke)
After the fire w
e were very fortunate to have plants still flow
ering in the rest of the garden. The bushland w
as badly burnt, particularly the understorey plants. R
ead about its recovery in the final article.
Page 42 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 43
New
mem
bers October 2015
Merle Thom
pson, Mem
bership Officer
The Australian P
lants Society N
SW
warm
ly welcom
es the follow
ing 31 new m
embers (26 m
emberships) and
wishes each of you a long, rew
arding and enjoyable association w
ith the Society.
Frank Antram
G
oulburnLauren B
ullard & A
nthony Frampton
Adam
stown
Julie Burness
Oyster B
ayH
ugh Capes
Now
raG
regory Donovan
Berow
ra Heights
Nina D
rydale S
aumarez P
ondsS
tephanie Francis W
oy Woy B
ayD
an Ganter &
Karm
en Hughes
Now
ra Hill
Paul G
arde H
azelbrookP
aul Wayne H
attersley D
almeny
Arthur K
elly C
amden
Judith Locke U
kiB
arbara MacTaggart &
Norm
an Wise
Bathurst
Gerda M
aeder C
ardiffB
elinda Meredith M
edlyn W
arrimoo
Jan New
by S
outh Turramurra
Marysia N
owak
Shoalhaven H
eadsB
rett O’M
aley H
ornsby Heights
Janet Raabe
Dalm
enyE
yn Roti
St Ives
Agnes R
yan S
un ValleyN
orm &
Andrea S
age Lorn
Tamw
orth Central N
orthern R
egional Library Tam
worth
Tim &
Jennie Watkins
Coffs H
arbourG
ordon Ross W
illock C
herrybrookG
lynne Wood
Artarm
on
Vale Allan Woollett
Allan W
oollett was active in A
PS
and its predecessors for about thirty years from
the early 1980s. Som
e mem
ories are shared below.
From Peter O
ldeA
llan and Moreen W
oollett became m
embers of the A
ustralian Plant
Society during m
y term as P
resident of the Sutherland G
roup in the early 1980s. It soon becam
e clear that this quietly spoken man w
ith a subtle sense of hum
our, who alw
ays went bush-w
alking in neatly pressed trousers and shirt, w
as an exceptional person. Allan held to
the philosophy that joining a group meant that you contributed to it and
was never shy to take on extra w
ork. He w
as a very supportive and know
ledge-hungry mem
ber and soon joined our council.
When I becam
e President of the S
ociety in NS
W in 1988, I asked A
llan to stand as S
ecretary, which he did, fulfilling that role w
ith distinction and quiet, hard w
ork during a very difficult period. You could not fault his reliability and sense of propriety. I w
anted to recomm
end him for life
mem
bership, but he would not hear of it, believing he w
as only doing w
hat he enjoyed, needing no further reward. H
e was the m
ost self-effacing m
an I ever met, to the point even at his death w
here he did not w
ant and did not have a public funeral.
Allan w
as also a great supporter and knowledgeable enthusiast of the
Fern Study G
roup whose m
eetings he regularly attended. When he
and Moreen left the S
utherland area, he cut all ties and moved into
his new life. I am
sure Paddy Lightfoot at N
ewcastle w
as the recipient of a w
onderful and comm
itted assistant. We lost contact but typically
remained friends. W
hen I was invited to speak at the N
ewcastle G
roup som
e years back, Allan rang and offered accom
modation w
hich I gladly accepted. H
e and Moreen w
ere just the same friendly and supportive
people and it was very special for m
e to have his company to m
yself for that short stay, touring his w
ildflower garden the next m
orning. Allan had
recently been diagnosed with a term
inal cancer, but before it became
fully expressed he suffered a stroke from w
hich he appeared to recover before relapsing suddenly and dying in hospital. G
oodbye Allan and
thank you for everything you did for me, for A
ustralian plants and for this organisation.
From M
erle Thompson
Allan’s dem
eanour was of the quiet, retiring gentlem
an. Those with
whom
he worked knew
that he was also clear thinking, resolute and an
indefatigable worker. H
e brought to the position the knowledge gained
Page 44 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 45
Native plant profile
Leionema – I used to be a Phebalium
John Knight continues his regular series, this tim
e looking at Leionem
a, a genus which w
as created when P
hebalium
was subdivided som
e years ago.
Identifying plants,
whether
in the
bush or
our gardens, can present challenges. I really appreciate those
botanists w
ho have
used recognisable
characteristics to
name
plants, rather
than honouring a person, no m
atter how deserving the
person might have been.
When physical differences are used as the basis for nam
ing plants, particularly describing the genus, w
e are better placed to identify the plants, or at least recognise characters w
hich are distinctive and therefore place the plant w
ithin its correct grouping. It is helpful to know
a little botanical Latin and Greek to aid the process.
This is the case with Leionem
a, which sits w
ithin the Tribe Boronieae in the Fam
ily Rutaceae. In the late 1990s Paul W
ilson from the W
estern Australian H
erbarium review
ed Rutaceae and proposed m
any changes to better reflect relationships. These changes included splitting P
hebalium,
raising Leionema to genus status, and resurrecting N
ematolepis.
Within R
utaceae the tribe Boronieae contains 18 genera, and includes
most of the desirable cultivated plants, such as B
oronia, Correa,
Crow
ea, Eriostem
on, Phebalium
and Philotheca. A
ll the genera within
the Boronieae tribe have dry dehiscent fruit, and the seed w
hen ripe is explosively discharged. In stark contrast to this are the citrus, the fruit of w
hich is described as a berry, with the seed enclosed in fleshy pulp.
There are some sim
ple characters to help growers rem
ember w
hich genera are w
hich. For instance Boronia and C
orrea have opposite leaves and flow
ers with 4 parts. C
rowea, P
hebalium, P
hilotheca and E
riostemon have alternate leaves and flow
ers with 5 parts. There are
of course some plants w
hich might not conform
to these simple rules.
Leionema has 24 species found in eastern A
ustralia, and a single species, L. nudum
(Mairehau), w
hich grows in N
ew Zealand and has
been studied for the value of its volatile oils for the perfume industry.
The difference between Leionem
a and Phebalium: scales
Leionema and P
hebalium can be distinguished by scales. P
hebalium
has simple alternate leaves of varying size, and flow
ers with 5 sepals,
from w
orking at a senior level in a public sector position and accurate and m
ethodical procedures.
Behind the scenes and sharing in the w
ork but without holding office
was A
llan’s wife, M
oreen. They were a w
onderful duo of quiet achievers.
From Leonie H
ogueA
llan was a great support to S
utherland Group for m
any years in the 1980s and 1990s. H
e was in m
any ways the backbone of our com
mittee,
holding many positions but never w
anting any accolades. When he and
Moreen decided to m
ove north to be closer to family in N
ewcastle, our
group’s loss was N
ewcastle G
roup’s gain.
From K
yrill TaylorA
llan’s (and Moreen’s) contribution to ‘A
ustralian Plants’ w
as without
doubt the most extensive in m
y experience - for many years a room
at their residence w
as dedicated to the Secretarial duties of the R
egion (N
SW
) and the ever throbbing phone calls of enquirers and mem
bers.
Cover images
Rainbow
Lorikeet in callistemon (C
arol Drew
)A
n image from
Carol’s garden show
ing one of the great benefits of a native garden – the added interest provided by the w
ildlife that is attracted to your plants.
Wentw
orth Falls view to Federal Pass (Phillip
Grim
m)
An im
age captured on the Charles D
arwin W
alk during
the 2015
Get-together
hosted by
Blue
Mountains G
roup last July.
[Thanks to
Carol
who
continues to
provide outstanding photos, and to P
hillip who photographs
every A
ustralian P
lants S
ociety event
that he
attends and is therefore an indispensable aid to the editor in the preparation of this publication. M
ore good photos of wonderful A
ustralian plants, gardens and A
PS
events are always w
elcome – just
email the office and the editor w
ill contact you.]
Page 46 —
Native P
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Native P
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Page 47
5 petals and an ovary containing 5
carpels. A
key feature
of P
hebalium is the scales w
hich cover
the underside
of the
leaves, and often on the flower
buds, sepals,
stamens,
ovary and the stem
s of new grow
th. These scales are described as being lepidote (from
the Greek
lepidotus meaning scaly).
All currently recognised plants
within
Phebalium
have
these scales,
as do
plants w
ithin the
small
resurrected genus
Nem
atolepis, w
hich has
one W
A species
and six
species occurring on the east coast.
A readily
observed point
of difference
is that
the anthers
are fixed to the stamens at their
base (basifixed) in Phebalium
, but are fixed to the back of the stam
ens in N
ematolepis, w
ith the anthers then described as being versatile.
Leionema does not have scales, but like N
ematolepis has anthers
which are versatile. The leaves and stem
s of Leionema species are
glabrous or variously hairy, but never scaly, although in some, oil glands
are readily seen. There is value in using morphological characters in
naming plants. Leionem
a, from the G
reek Leios, meaning sm
ooth, and nem
a a thread, describes the glabrous staminal filam
ents, whereas in
Nem
atolepis, Nem
a again refers to the staminal filam
ents, but lepis refers to scales, and describes the hairy scale at the base of the filam
ent in N
. phebalioides.
Leionema w
orth trying in your gardenLeionem
a includes a range of desirable garden plants. Most species
are reliable, and tolerate dry soils once established even though some
come from
wet forests. They also survive w
ell in shady sites, with the
glossy green foliage and massed w
hite flowers adding depth and life to
your garden in such situations. They are worry-free plants.
Leionema elatius, know
n as the Tall Phebalium
, occurs along the ranges of the N
SW
north coast and just into south Queensland and has tw
o subspecies. L. elatius subsp. elatius grow
s to about 2 m or m
ore, with
dark green foliage. It is found in shaded aspects. The more com
monly
grown, but m
uch rarer, L. elatius subsp. beckleri, grows only in w
arm
temperate w
et forests and rainforest on Mt Lindesay in Q
ueensland’s M
cPherson R
ange, and can grow to 5 m
. Foliage is somew
hat smaller
than the other subspecies, only about 10 mm
x 8 mm
, dark green with
a slightly notched apex, and is fragrant when crushed. It is easily grow
n in a shaded site, but appreciates a bit of w
ater during dry weather w
hen grow
n in areas where sum
mer rainfall is lacking. B
oth subspecies produce copious w
hite flowers in spring, and are naturally bushy, so
can be pruned to hedges.
Leionema lam
prophyllum (lam
pro, shining, phyllum, leaf, refers to the
shiny green foliage) is a shrubby species that occurs from the central
tablelands of NS
W, and further south, and into the ranges of E
ast G
ippsland in Victoria. There are three subspecies, each of which is
found on inhospitable sites of rocky ranges. L. lamprophyllum
subsp. lam
prophyllum is found in subalpine w
oodland of the East G
ippsland ranges and into N
SW
, usually on rocky escarpments w
here it grows
to around 1 m, but in cultivation it can get taller. R
equiring well drained
soils but little else, this is a rewarding no-fuss plant w
hich copes under tree canopy or that im
possible spot under eaves, and is also quite happy out in the open. W
ell-displayed white flow
ers are borne during w
inter and spring.
(L) Phebalium squam
ulosum subsp.
ozothamnoides w
ith the anthers basifixed i.e.
connected to the filam
ents at the base (J Knight)
(A) Leionem
a lamprophyllum
subsp. lam
prophyllum, w
ith anthers versatile i.e. connected to the fi
laments at the back (J K
night)
This picture of Phebalium squam
ulosum ssp.
squamulosum
, shows on the underside of the
leaves, silvery scales, and on the petals brown
scales, which are also on the young stem
(J Knight)
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Native P
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Native P
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Page 49
The popular garden hybrid Leionema ‘G
reen Screen’ (L. elatius x L.
lamprophyllum
) has proved very adaptable. It is a shrub to 2 m w
hich holds its foliage to the ground, and m
akes an excellent hedge or background shrub. It takes quite hard pruning.
Leionema am
biens, the Forest Phebalium
, grows in the border ranges
of northern NS
W and into southern Q
ueensland, where it is confined
to protected rocky crevices. This is a good indication of the conditions best suited to successful cultivation, although the plant is quite happy in sunshine provided the soil does not dry out. It is also a great plant for a dark shady garden, and w
ill grow happily beneath trees. P
lants grow
to 2 or more m
etres, but take to pruning very well. Foliage is highly
aromatic, giving rise to a local com
mon nam
e of Fruit Salad B
ush, w
ith leaves often more than 100 m
m long and 40 m
m w
ide. The base of the leaves surround the stem
, hence the specific ambiens, w
hich m
eans around or surrounding. During late w
inter and spring, massed
white flow
ers are held outside the foliage, attracting a range of insects including introduced honey bees.
Leionema bilobum
is called the Notched P
hebalium for the leaf apex,
which has a distinct notch, although in som
e forms the end of the leaf
looks like it has been cut off with scissors. Leaves are up to 50 m
m x
10 mm
, but usually smaller, w
ith many oil glands w
hich exude a lovely spicy arom
a on warm
days. Plants are found in a range of habitats in
Victoria and Tasmania, and three subspecies are recognised. A sm
all tree form
, L. bilobum subsp. serrulatum
, comes from
the wetter forests
east of Melbourne to G
ippsland. Grow
ing to 4 m or m
ore, it is upright in form
, making a good plant for narrow
shaded gardens. I grow it w
ith P
rostanthera species on the south side of the house. Flowers are
showy, starry w
hite, and adorn the plant from w
inter through spring, held in prom
inent terminal clusters.
A much sm
aller plant from M
t Thackeray and adjacent rocky areas in the G
rampians area is L. bilobum
subsp. thackerayense. It is an attractive shrub, often less than 1 m
tall, with glossy green foliage. It features pink
to red flower buds, before opening into the typical w
hite flowers, and
as these age, a reddish tinge again appears, adding to the ornamental
value of this plant. Grow
this subspecies in a sunnier site, with good
drainage, as plants in dry shade under trees have not been thrifty.
Leionema coxii is a tough plant from
a restricted area of the southern tablelands of N
SW
. On rocky ridge tops it can be a stunted plant to 2
m w
ith a very stout trunk festooned with lichen due to m
oisture rising from
the surrounding area, but in adjacent valleys it can reach 6 m as
a narrow upright sm
all tree. It is at its best as a tree, with bright green
foliage looking luxurious, and exuding a strong fruity aroma, w
hich som
e suggest is like passionfruit. Grow
this species in shade, where
it shows to best advantage, w
ith dark green foliage complim
ented by w
hite flowers through spring and sum
mer. O
nce established, it is quite hardy, and can be underpruned to lift the foliage and allow
plants which
need more shelter to be grow
n beneath. Hovea species m
ake a nice choice w
ith their strong purple hues contrasting with the w
hite.
The heathy species, Leionema diosm
eum, prefers sunny situations,
although it tolerates dappled light. Found along the south coast of NS
W
and just into Victoria, it also occurs on sandstone south of Sydney,
where it grow
s with other heathy plants, often in full sun, although it also
inhabits the adjacent forest. Plants can reach 2 m
in the understorey, but exposed to the elem
ents they are often only 1 m high. Foliage is slightly
hairy, and not dark green like the other species, but still has a lovely fragrance w
hen crushed. Flowers can be bright yellow
, particularly those of the sandstone country, and are held above the foliage from
w
inter to late spring. This species suckers strongly after fire.
PropagationA
lthough we rarely see Leionem
a in nurseries, they are quite easy to propagate from
cuttings of firm new
season’s growth, w
hich can be taken from
Novem
ber onwards. U
se tip cuttings about 100 mm
long, w
ith the first couple of leaves removed, typically these rooted from
6 to 10 w
eeks in a 50/50 mix of coarse sand and perlite, having been
dunked in Esi-R
oot hormone liquid for 5 m
inutes.
Leionema elatius
subsp. beckleri (J K
night)
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Native P
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Native P
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Page 51
Duffys Forest in danger
What value Endangered Ecological Com
munity status?
Conny H
arris is the President of N
orthern Beaches G
roup. She is passionate
about native plants and the local environment. S
he wants all A
PS
mem
bers to know
about an environmental disaster unfolding in her area associated w
ith a proposal to dram
atically widen W
arringah Road in conjunction w
ith the Northern
Beaches H
ospital Developm
ent.
Sydney’s N
orthern Beaches have often been labelled ‘the hidden
gem’. A
nyone who loves the bush and beaches w
ould agree. Beautiful
bushland within N
ational Parks and C
rown Lands interm
ingles with
residential areas. Locals get surprised by swam
p wallabies on roads or
even in their gardens. The occasional snake, usually a diamond python,
or birds like black cockatoos or black swans w
ith their cygnets are the happy nature stories talked about. P
eople feel blessed to be here.
How
ever the NS
W G
overnment is likely to change this blissful picture
soon. With the help of precisely crafted rules for S
tate Significant
Sites (S
SS
) and State S
ignificant Infrastructure (SS
I), our precious environm
ental protection legislation is being swept aside and a rem
nant hilltop forest is to be destroyed for a road developm
ent.
The remnant hilltop forest is classified as D
uffys Forest Ecological
Com
munity, (D
FEC
), named after the suburb of D
uffys Forest, where
its special nature was first recognised.
DFE
C is listed as an endangered ecological com
munity under N
SW
legislation. It is an ecological com
munity restricted to local hilltops w
ith a richer soil containing ironstone. O
nly about 15% of the original or pre-
European D
FEC
remains today. It occurs only in isolated patches, all
within a radius of about 20 kilom
etres.
DFE
C is characterised by its high biodiversity w
ith a high percentage of species from
the Proteaceae fam
ily. No particular plant is needed
to define DFE
C. It is the com
bination of a large number of species
matching the characteristic assem
bly. It may host threatened species,
but it is not required to do so. It has specific eucalypts, like E. sieberi, E
. capitellata, E
. umbra and E
. pilularis. The Sydney R
ed Gum
, Angophora
costata is also often about, but E. haem
astoma indicates the periphery
of the DFE
C.
A significant aspect of the section of forest under threat is its function as a w
ildlife corridor between the bushland of N
arrabeen Lagoon C
atchment, w
hich includes Garigal N
ational Park E
ast and the bushland
of Manly D
am. W
ithout this forest corridor, terrestrial fauna cannot cross betw
een these areas.
It is by no means an ideal corridor. Its w
idth is often just enough for anim
als to hide in and it is cut by a six lane road, which anim
als are required to cross. H
owever roadkill data confirm
the corridor’s regular use by sw
amp w
allabies. Genetic studies dem
onstrated long nosed bandicoots also cross over.
The proposed development is to w
iden Warringah R
oad to alleviate congestion during the peak hours. The 6-9 lane w
ide road is to be w
idened to a 10-15 lane wide tarm
ac with the central 4 lanes low
ered in a deep channel to facilitate better transport w
ithin the area and for future grow
th, which is expected to follow
the construction of a large hospital near this location. A
n Environm
ental Impact S
tatement (E
IS)
was prepared. It is daunting, being over 2500 pages, but selected
sections make an interesting read. For exam
ple five threatened fauna species
were
encountered during
the E
IS
survey: R
ed-crowned
Toadlet, Pow
erful Ow
l, Grey-headed Flying-fox, S
wift P
arrot and the W
hite-bellied Sea E
agle.
Boronia pinnata (Jane March)
Page 52 —
Native P
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Native P
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Page 53
The recently rediscovered Spotted-tailed Q
uoll was discounted in the
EIS
as having enough other habitat, even though large tree stumps are
its favourite habitat and there are plenty in this section of DFE
C. It is
acknowledged that the area is likely habitat for 17 threatened flora and
35 threatened fauna species.
How
ever as no threatened terrestrial fauna was encountered, it is not
regarded as necessary to keep this corridor. Our com
mon fauna species
like Sw
amp w
allabies, which rely on this corridor to reach the M
anly D
am bushland w
ould quickly become locally threatened and extinct
within the M
anly Dam
Catchm
ent if this corridor were to be term
inated. The E
IS ignores this sim
ple and undeniable conclusion.
The government’s ecological consultants predict the proposed clearing
will over tim
e drive the local DFE
C stand at Frenchs Forest to extinction.
Duffys Forest provides a range of eco-services. It acts as a noise and
light absorber, filters the air from pollutants, produces oxygen, acts as a
sponge in storm events and retains m
oisture and cools the area during heat and drought. It also relaxes our m
ind and lifts our spirits.
It is hard to believe that our Liberal G
overnment, w
ith the
Prem
ier M
ike B
aird living
adjacent to
Manly
Dam
, could be supportive of the destruction of the iconic
ecology in
his backyard. B
ut apparently w
idening Warringah R
oad for a short distance of 1 km
is worth sacrificing all
this. Roads and
Maritim
e S
ervices predict
it w
ill shorten travel tim
es during the evening peak period in 2028 by alm
ost 50%,
saving motorists just over
1 minute com
pared to their predicted w
orsened travel tim
es and the do-nothing scenario.
The afternoon peak will be slow
er even with all the extra lanes and
during the morning peak, the road w
ill only save a few seconds. A
s for the w
ildlife corridor it will be 100%
cut for terrestrial fauna, as high noise barriers and retaining w
alls are required in the design.
I thank A
PS
N
SW
for
objecting to
this developm
ent during
the subm
ission period. Bossiaea obcordata (Jane M
arch)
Large old tree with nesting hollow
s required by many fauna species (Jane M
arch)
Page 54 —
Native P
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Native P
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Page 55
But w
hat can you do? If you can spare a few m
inutes contact Rob
Stokes, M
inister for Planning and request that he sim
ply rejects ‘R
oadworks for S
tage 2 of the Northern B
eaches Hospital’ or requests
a redesign protecting DFE
C and the w
ildlife corridor. As his electorate is
very close by contact his local office on 9999 3599 or email pittw
ater@parliam
ent.nsw.gov.au If you w
ould like to help more please contact
Conny on 0432 643 295.
The introduction of Regional P
lanning Panels to assess developm
ents over $20M
is another recent change to the planning process in NS
W. It
will be im
portant to keep a close eye on what is happening w
ith similar
projects in the future.
APS NSW
Seed Bank updateJohn Randall, Seed Bank Curator
Requests for seed can be sent by m
ail to:John R
andall8 C
oachmans Place,
Mardi N
SW 2259
An updated seed list w
as published in the April 2015 issue of N
ative P
lants for NS
W. This list can also be found on the A
PS
NS
W w
eb-site w
ww
.austplants.com.au by selecting Seed B
ank in the Resources
pane on the Hom
e page, or it can be accessed directly by pasting the follow
ing address into your browser: austplants.com
.au/seedbankThere is a lim
it of six seed packets per request. Inquiries can be made
to John at [email protected]
.au or on (02) 4353 9390. Please
enclose a stamped ($1.40) self-addressed envelope (110 x 220 m
m) for
return of the seeds. Please list seed requests in alphabetical order and
include a list of alternative selections.S
eed donations are always w
elcome and are vital if the seed bank is to
remain viable. P
lease state the source of the seed, whether from
natu-ral or cultivated m
aterial. Please do not send seed from
hybrid plants.
Additions:
none
Deletions:
Dodonaea peduncularis, E
ucalyptus ovata.
Donors:
none
Study Groups notes
Wendy Grim
m, Study Group Liaison Officer
Fern Study G
roup mem
bers, including fern greats K
yrill Taylor
and P
eter H
ind, w
ere extrem
ely saddened
to learn
of the
passing of
Allan
Woollett in June. A
llan was a m
ost inspiring and know
ledgeable Fern Study G
roup Leader and w
onderful person.
The Walcott garden features as one of the excursions for people
attending the AN
PS
A Biennial C
onference in Canberra in N
ovember.
Ben and R
os Walcott lead the G
arden Design S
tudy Group.
Waratah &
Flannel Flower Study G
roup (Jun. 2015, No. 9)
Actinotus forsythii, a pink-flow
ered species of flannel flower, has been
propagated from w
ild-collected seed and grown through to flow
ering and seed set at the M
enai Wildflow
er Group’s garden at Illaw
ong R
ural Fire Brigade S
tation. Lloyd Hedges described the seed pre-
treatment he used and his intention to experim
ent to try to improve the
germination rate.
If flannel flower seed is sow
n directly into the final bag or pot, the pricking-out step can be bypassed. This is desirable as the roots are very fragile and easily dam
aged.
Grevillea Study G
roup (Jul. 2015, No. 101)
Grevilleas
hybridise readily
and a
Victorian m
ember
reported a
hardy, accidental
hybrid that
he know
s as
Grevillea
‘Galah
Hill’,
arising in
his garden. It propagated w
ell from cuttings
and exhibited strong root growth.
This predominately Q
ueensland edition included
a sum
mary
of a
grevillea-focused trip to C
ape York by mem
bers of the S
tudy Group. Further south, a
local nurseryman docum
ented a large stand
of hybrid
grevilleas near
the village of C
oominya, 83 km
west of
Massive roots on G
revillea ‘Galah H
ill’ cuttings (Tony Cavanagh)
Page 56 —
Native P
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Native P
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Page 57
Brisbane. D
ubbed the ‘Coom
inya Collection’, their flow
ers ranged from
creams through yellow
s and into red tones. As these are local hybrids,
they may w
ithstand the drought conditions that have prevailed in the area for som
e time and m
ay be worth propagating for local sale.
In Western A
ustralia, a senior Kings P
ark plant breeder released a new
cultivar, Grevillea ‘R
SL S
pirit of Anzac’, as a com
mem
orative plant for the A
nzac centenary celebrations. Appropriately this cultivar flow
ers in A
pril.
Acacia Study G
roup (Jun. 2015, No. 129)
The Acacia S
tudy Group is now
a mem
ber of the Wattle D
ay Association
and encourages all Australians to celebrate W
attle Day on 1 S
eptember
each year.
A dwarf form
of Acacia fim
briata known as ‘C
rimson B
lush’ is a small
wattle w
ith attractive foliage. It would be w
ell suited to most sunny or
shady gardens.
A spectacular type of Acacia bark w
hich comes in varying shades of
red and peels off in narrow shavings w
hich curl back on themselves is
known as ‘M
inni Ritchi’. W
attles with ‘M
inni Ritchi’ bark generally have
phyllodes with m
ore than one longitudinal vein and flower heads in
cylindrical spikes.
Grevillea ‘R
SL S
pirit of Anzac’ (P
eter Olde)
A new book, P
lant Life of Southw
estern Australia – A
daptations for S
urvival, focuses on the survival mechanism
s, adaptations and ecology of the unique flora of southw
estern Australia and m
ay be downloaded
for free from http://w
ww
.degruyter.com/view
/product/430900
Hakea Study G
roup (Jun. 2015, No. 58)
A mem
ber of the Study G
roup from the A
delaide Hills continues to
document the recovery of his hakea plants after bushfire dam
age in January 2015. Intense heat caused m
ost leaves to drop off and many
plants have died. Som
e are reshooting from the base of the plant.
He w
as able to collect the released seed from m
any species that are program
med to regenerate from
seed rather than re-shooting.
Dryandra Study G
roup (Jul. 2015, No. 69)
Field collecting expeditions undertaken during winter w
ill ensure that the W
estern Australian H
erbarium has a com
prehensive collection of all form
s of Dryandra conferta. The D
ryandra conferta Project w
ill use genetic w
ork to explore the differences which m
ay exist within this
species. The Study G
roup will contribute to the cost of this project.
Correa Study G
roup (Jul. 2015, No. 52)
The 2015 Correa C
rawl explored Victoria’s E
ast Gippsland area and
encountered both red and green forms of C
orrea reflexa and also the
Correa ‘P
eachy Bob’ (M
. Hitchcock)
Page 58 —
Native P
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Native P
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Page 59
pale Correa law
renciana. In the evening mem
bers swapped cuttings
and listened to a fascinating presentation by Peter O
llerenshaw on the
breeding of correas. See his w
ebsite: ww
w.byw
ongnursery.com.au/
Maria H
itchcock described several hardy correa varieties that are thriving in her garden in A
rmidale in northern N
SW
.
Garden D
esign Study Group (A
ug. 2015, No. 91)
This issue includes an article on Cloudy H
ill garden which is located in
the high country near Blayney, N
SW
. Com
petition for water betw
een shrubs and trees is an ongoing difficulty and the dem
ise of an imm
ature B
anksia serrata and several other shrubs was attributed to the com
bined effect of the proxim
ity of Eucalyptus m
acrorhyncha (Red S
tringybark) and the dryness of the sum
mer. D
uring winter, various shrubs have
difficulty contending with the w
eight of snow. P
runing rescued those plants w
ith split branches but Prostanthera ovalifolia and A
cacia spectabilis had snapped at ground level.
include L. laevigatum, L. brachyandrum
and L. madidum
var. sativum.
At a recent M
elbourne convention, individual talks focused on banksias, acacias and eucalypts and their use as bonsai.
Wallum
Study Group (A
ug. 2015, No. 39)
The Study G
roup holds excursions in South E
ast Queensland and
this newsletter contains im
ages of species seen in April in Freshw
ater N
ational Park.
Eremophila Study G
roup (Aug. 2015, N
o. 111)The new
leader of the Study G
roup, Lyndal Thorburn, introduced her Q
ueanbeyan garden to mem
bers. She described its site and the
challenges that frequent frosts and fogs presented to the growing of
Erem
ophila. Once-w
eekly watering is delivered via drippers and slow
release pellets are used to encourage rapid developm
ent of the roots after planting out. W
ith the garden supporting about 120 species of E
remophila, Lyndal m
ust be doing something right! S
ee the colour-w
heel of spring-flowering erem
ophilas below.
Banksia spinulosa at Cloudy Hill (Fiona Johnson)
Eremophila fl
owers laid out as a colour-w
heel demonstrate the range of fl
ower colours
available with this diverse genus (Lyndal Thorburn)
Australian Plants as B
onsai Study Group (Jun. 2015, N
o. 28)Leptosperm
um species can frequently be found as neglected nursery
stock but they feature prominently am
ong the native plants cultivated as bonsai. Leptosperm
um is a w
idespread genus and the naturally small
leaves and varied barks translate well to bonsai culture. S
pecies used
Page 60 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 61
Study Groups directory
Fees are listed as Australia/Overseas/Em
ail
Acacia ($10/$20/$7)
Leader: Bill A
itchison13 C
onos Court
Donvale, V
IC 3111
( (03) 9872 3583
Email: acaciastudygroup@
gmail.com
Australian Plants as B
onsai ($14/$20/$14)Leader: R
oger Hnatiuk
PO
Box 450, Jam
ison Post O
fficeM
acquarie AC
T 2614(
(02) 6251 2228E
mail: rjhnatiuk@
yahoo.com.au
Banksia ($10/$20/$7)
Leader: Cas Liber
PO
Box 83, S
t Pauls N
SW
2031(
(02) 9559 2656E
mail: casliber@
ozemail.com
.au
Boronia &
Allied G
enera ($10 email)
Leader: Doug C
oates305/87 Yarranabbe R
dD
arling Point N
SW
2027(
(02) 9363 0619E
mail: doug.coates@
bigpond.com
Brachychiton and A
llied Genera
($5/$10)Leader: K
erry Rathie
6 Bright S
tToow
oomba S
outh QLD
4350(
(07) 4638 4305E
mail: krathie6@
bigpond.com
Correa ($10/ – /$6)
Leaders: Dot and B
ob O’N
eill7 H
illsmeade D
riveN
arre Warren S
outh VIC
3805(
0425 887 068E
mail: oneills@
heart-reflections.com
Adm
in & E
ditor: Russell D
ahms
13 Everest Ave
Athelstone S
A 5076(
(03) 8336 5275E
mail: correastudygroup@
gmail.com
Dryandra ($10/$12/$5)
Leader: Margaret P
ieroni22 R
avenhill Heights
Denm
ark WA 6333
( (08) 9848 3331
Em
ail: mpieroni@
bigpond.com
Epacris ($5/$10/$5)Leader: G
wen E
lliot81/72 K
angan Drive,
Berw
ick VIC
3806(
(03) 8774 2483E
mail: gw
.au
Eremophila ($5)
Leader: Lyndal Thorburn3 C
onsidine Close
Greenleigh N
SW
2620(
(02) 6297 2437E
mail: lthorburn@
viria.com.au
Eucalyptus ($10/$20/$5)Leader: W
arwick Varley
PO
Box 456, W
ollongong NS
W 2520
( (02) 4284 5282
Em
ail: talloww
ood@hotm
ail.comA
dmin: S
ue Guym
er13 C
onos Court
Donvale Vic 3111
Em
ail: aitchguy@gm
ail.com
Fern ($5)Leader: P
eter Bostock
PO
Box 402
Kenm
ore QLD
4069(
(07) 3202 6983E
mail: pbostock@
ozemail.com
.au
Treasurer: Dan Johnston
9 Ryhope S
treetB
uderim Q
LD 4556
Em
ail: [email protected]
Garden D
esign ($15/$20/$6)Leader: B
en Walcott
10 Wickham
Cres
Red H
ill AC
T 2603(
(02) 6161 2742E
mail: bw
.au
Grevillea ($10/$10/$5)
Leader: Peter O
lde140 R
ussell LaneO
akdale NS
W 2570
( (02) 4659 6598
Em
ail: peter.olde@exem
ail.com.au
Treasurer: Christine G
uthrie32 B
lanche Street
Oatley N
SW
2223E
mail: brucem
.au(
(02) 9579 4093
Hakea ($10)
Leader: Paul K
ennedy210 A
ireys Street
Ellim
inyt VIC
3249(
(03) 5321 5569E
mail: hakeaholic@
gmail.com
Isopogon & Petrophile (free)
email only group
Joint Leaders: Phil Trickett and
Catriona B
ateP
O B
ox 291 U
lladulla NS
W 2539.
( 0409 789 567
Em
ail: catrionaandphil@gm
ail.com
Rainforest
Leader: Kris K
upsch28 P
lumtree P
ocket U
pper Burringbar N
SW
2483 (
(02) 6677 1466 E
mail: info@
plumtreepocket.com
.au
Wallum
& C
oastal Heathland ($5)
Leader: Barbara H
enderson36 R
ailway Terrace
Moore Q
LD 4306
( (07) 5424 7073
Waratah and Flannel Flow
er (free)Leader: M
aria Hitchcock
16 Hitchcock Lane
Arm
idale NS
W 2350
( (02) 6775 1139, 0421 961 007
Em
ail: maria.hitchcock@
gmail.com
The following study groups are all in
recess and require new leaders. If
you are interested in a role contact the A
PS
NS
W S
tudy Group Liaison
Officer, W
endy Grim
m at w
agrimm
@tpg.com
.au
Australian food plants
Australian plants for containers
Calytrix
Daisy, the A
ustralianFabaceaeH
ibiscus and Related genera
Orchids, Indigenous
Palm and C
ycad Prostanthera and W
estringiaR
hamnaceae
Succulents, Native
VerticordiaW
etlands (and Water Plants)
Wildlife and N
ative Plants
Page 62 —
Native P
lants October 2015
Native P
lants October 2015 —
Page 63
Mem
bership discountsD
iscounts are available from the follow
ing organisations to Society m
embers
who present their current m
embership card.
Sydney
All G
reenGold N
urseries 5%
discount, except on landscape m
aterials, garden design services or discounted m
erchandise.
Florilegium
The Garden B
ookstore 65 D
erwent S
t, Glebe 2037
PO
Box 644, R
ozelle 2039 (
(02) 9571 8222. M
on–Sat 10am
–6pm, S
un 11am
–5pm.
10% discount on som
e titles. P
lease check before purchasing.
Sydney Wildflow
er Nursery
9 Veno St, H
eathcote 2233w
ww.sydneyw
ildflowernursery.
com.au
10% discount
Arm
idale
Cool N
ativesR
etail mail order nursery
16 Hitchcock Lane A
rmidale
2350O
pen by appointment only
( (02) 6775 1139
0421 961 007E
mail: m
aria@coolnatives.
com.au
ww
w.coolnatives.com
.au10%
discount
Blue M
ountains
Glenbrook N
ative Plant R
eserve Nursery
G
reat Western H
ighway,
Glenbrook 2773(
(02) 4739 8597Sat, Sun, W
ed. 12 noon–4pm.
10% discount to m
embers,
20% for roster participants.
Central C
oast
The Wildflow
er Place 453 The E
ntrance Rd,
Erina H
eights 2260(
(02) 4365 55105%
discount
Central W
est W
ombat G
ully Native
Nursery
1729 Coxs C
reek Rd, R
ylstone (
6379 620210%
discount
Hunter Valley
Musw
ellbrook Forest N
urseryN
ew E
ngland Highw
ay,M
uswellbrook
( (02) 6543 2622
Em
ail: mfn@
hlmaus.com
.auw
ww
.musw
ellbrook forestnursery.com
.auM
–F 8.30am–4.30pm
Weekends 10am
–3pm
10% discount
Nepean Valley D
arvill Nursery
Darvill R
d, Orchard H
ills 2748C
ontact for price list or arrange to visit beforehand(
(02) 4736 5004 w
ww
.darvillnursery.com.au
10% discount
New
castle Leearne N
eal at New
castle W
ildflower N
ursery 260 Lake R
oad, Glendale 2285
( (02) 4954 5584
Open 7 D
ays 9am–5pm
.10%
discount
North C
oast B
onny Hills G
arden Centre,
1055 Ocean D
rive,
Bonny H
ills 2445 (
(02) 6585 5764
10% discount on all plant
purchases
Greenbourne N
ursery O
xley Hw
y, Wauchope 2446
(opp. ‘Timbertow
n’) (
(02) 6585 2117 10%
discount
Mildura N
ative Nursery, M
ildura 10%
discount on the purchase of any native plants or other products, including the W
atertube ordered online at w
ww
.nativenursery.com.au
South Coast
Wildgem
s Native N
urseryIllaw
ambra Valley R
oad, Yow
rie 2550(
0427 937 398 W
holesale / retail nursery. P
lease ring and arrange day before arriving.10%
discount
Verdigris Fern Nursery
Currow
an Creek 2536
Mail order is available through
the website w
hich includes useful inform
ation on fern cultivation. The nursery is open by appointm
ent. (
(02) 4478 1311. E
mail: verdigrisferns@
gmail.
comW
holesale price for AP
S
NS
W m
embers
APS NSW
contactsA
PS NSW
Office
Email: office@
austplants.com.au
Website: w
ww
.austplants.com.au
Facebook: ww
w.facebook.com
/AP
SN
SW
Postal address: PO
Box 5026, O
ld Toongabbie NS
W 2146
Office: S
hop 1, 33 Em
ma C
rescent, Wentw
orthvillePhone: (02) 9631 4085 (voicem
ail messages)
Adm
inistration Officer: vacant
Financial Officer: S
harlene Corm
ackP
lease contact office-bearers, internal Com
mittees (M
anagement, P
ublishing and P
rojects) and representatives through the office email or by phone.
APS NSW
Office-bearers
President
John Aitken
Vice President
Alix G
oodwin
Honorary S
ecretary H
eather Miles
Treasurer H
arry LootsM
embership O
fficer M
erle Thompson
Com
pany Co-ordinator
Alix G
oodwin
Editors A
ustralian Plants
John Aitken and M
erle Thompson
Editor N
ative Plants for N
SW
D
avid Craw
fordP
ublicity Officer
Richard S
treetP
rogram O
fficer John A
ndrews
Exhibition O
fficer G
raeme Ingall
Property O
fficer R
oger Starling
Conservation O
fficer D
an Clarke
Study G
roup Liaison Officer
Wendy G
rimm
Seed bank curator
John Randall
Website m
anagers M
ark Abell and Jam
es Ward
APS NSW
Board mem
bers at 1 July 2015John Aitken, John Andrew
s, Rhonda D
aniels, Alix Goodw
in, Mary H
edges, Graem
e Ingall, H
arry Loots, Tony Maxw
ell, Roger Starling, R
ichard Street and Merle Thom
pson.
APS NSW
Representatives to external bodiesA
NP
SA C
ouncil R
honda Daniels
Australian C
ultivar Registration A
uthority D
avid Murray
Australian Flora Foundation
Ross S
myth-K
irkB
urrendong Arboretum
Lyn B
urgett – [email protected]
Native Flow
er Grow
ers and Prom
oters Jonathan S
teedsN
ature Conservation C
ouncil M
argery Street
External B
ook Service
Florilegium -The G
arden Bookstore