Newsletter No. 281 – December 2012
President: Harry Webb -
harry.webb@bigpond.com
Secretary: Bruce McGinness –
brucesm@unimelb.edu.au
Treasurer: Frank Scheelings -
ftscheelings@gmail.com
Editor: Ade Foster -
adefoster@internode.on.net
Australian Plants Society – Geelong P.O. Box 2012 Geelong. 3220
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN HOLIDAY
Ade Foster
In another life, I’m involved with gymnastics as the
announcer at most of the major competitions around
Australia. I was invited to do a big competition in
Perth in October, so we took the opportunity to take a
few extra days and have a look at the wildflowers that
we had heard so much about.
We booked accommodation in Toodyay, about
90km north-east of Perth. Toodyay is in the Avon
Valley on the edge of the escarpment. Head west and
you’re in the hilly red laterite soils. East takes you into
the sandy wheat-belt country, and north west is the
coastal heathland. The plan was to make day trips
into other areas to experience the different plant
communities they offered, while being close enough
to Perth to commute for the competition.
Our cabin was tiny, but the rear deck with wood fired
BBQ and an outlook over the dam was a delight. We
were visited daily by Ringneck parrots, Galahs, Rufous
treecreepers, Wood duck, Black duck, Magpies and
Henry, the camp’s magnificent Peacock.
Penny feeding the ringneck parrot
There were a few interesting little flora reserves
within 15 minutes of Toodyay, so, each morning I
would be up before the sun exploring these while
Penny had a sleep-in, like normal people.
Morangup Nature Reserve was once part of a steel
company’s holding’s. Much of the timber was cleared
for the manufacture of charcoal, and slag heaps were
piled around the area. Declared a reserve in the
1970s, there is still evidence of the industry and the
area has been allowed to regenerate itself. The
disastrous bushfires of last summer ripped through
this area, and though there was a lot of regrowth, the
landscape has been changed yet again.
The open areas were fields of blue Leschenaultia
boliba, and several different Dampieras, or white
from an interesting Conospermum, C. glaumaceum,
or yellow from the Verticordia citrella, found only in
this reserve.
Leschenaultia biloba
There were many interesting and for me, new plants
to see including Dryandras, Petrophile, Hakeas,
Isopogon, Conospermum and Grevillea.
Wongamine Nature Reserve on the Goomalling road
was an interesting area on a hillside with soil types
and plant communities changing drastically as you
moved up the hill. There were several species of large
Eucalypts around the base of the hill with grasstrees,
callistemon, kunzea, and dryandra on the slopes.
Dampieras, Calytrix and Leschenaultias were common
here. I was delighted to find a large stand of E.
macrocarpa on the sandy summit. I determined to
come back and explore this sandy area later, but
never quite made it .
E. macrocarpa - Mottlecah
There was another little reserve across the road
from camp, the Mavis Jeffrey Reserve, which was
burnt in the bushfires. This was on the red, rocky soil
and had a completely different plant community.
Goodenia scapigera, a 1.5 metre high plant with
masses of white flowers was everywhere and the
ground was covered with tiny plants in a variety of
amazing colours – most of which I could not identify!
There were some lovely trigger-plants in pink, white,
yellow and mauve, and a very interesting and delicate
little plant called Tripterococcus brunonis. It was so
delicate that I doubt you would notice it when the
bush has regenerated, but would be a delight in a pot.
And, it was here that I saw my first ‘wild’
Anigozanthos manglesii, including a pure yellow one,
obviously an aberrant colour form. This beautiful
kangaroo paw is what I think of when someone says
WA wildflowers.
Anigozanthos manglesii – yellow form
We took a road trip north and east through
Goomalling, Dowerin, Daroux and up as far as Burakin,
then across to Wongan Hills and home. The roadside
reserves along the northern part of this route were a
blaze of colour, and it was great to see plants that I
have in my garden growing in their natural state. In
one place, that I call the grevillea strip, there was G.
armigera, G. excelsior, G. pterosperma, G. paradoxa,
and G. petrophiloides all growing in a 50 metres strip
of sand beside the gravel road. I could have spent the
entire week in that region without seeing half of what
was on offer.
The Grevillea strip – near Cadoux
The changes were quite startling as we drove further
north, then turned west and south again. Some
roadsides were masses of yellow, with Verticordia,
Senna, Calytrix, Hibbertia and Glischrocaryon or
shades of blue. mauve and purple with Dampiera,
Leschenaultia, Cyanostegia and Pityrodia. In one spot
a slab of granite was exposed in the sandy soil. It was
surrounded by a mass of red, mostly Kunzea pulchella
and Callistamon sp.
Closer to Wongan Hills the scenery changes again
with areas of dense heath, impossible to walk
through, while the roadsides were lined for miles with
Grevillea petrophiloides. Our road-trips were curtailed
by an unexpected illness, but my appetite is certainly
whetted, and we’ll certainly be back in W.A. in future.
Yellow roadside – Calytrix and verticordia - Burakin
PLANT TABLE
Frank Scheelings
The plant table was a little depleted this month, but
what it lacked in numbers it made up in colour and
form. What a delight this part of our meeting is. And
no less for the plants than the friendly jibing that goes
on amongst the more rowdy of our members.
There were some startling red flowers from
Calothamnus quadrifidus, the One-sided Bottlebrush,
Banksia coccinea, the Scarlet Banksia, Melaleuca
eximia and plant of the month Regelia valutina, the
Barrens Regelia.
There were a host of grevilleas including the rich
orange, G. juncifolia, the Honeysuckle grevillea, and
bright golden hybrid of G. juncifolia x G. spinosa.
Grevillea excelsior, again a gorgeous rich orange/gold
or G. eriostachya with its bright egg yolk yellow
flowers. John brought in a specimen of G.
leucopterys, known as ‘Old Socks – offensive to some,
rich honey to others.’
Strong scents, too, from the delicate pink Goodenia
macmillanii, and another white-flowered goodenia of
uncertain identity. Both were a little unusual in that
most goodenias are yellow. Apparently G. macmillanii
was used in medicine by the aborigines of Gippsland ,
where it occurs naturally.
Goodenia macmillanii – photo Brian Walters
There were many eremophilas from deep purple to
blood red to delicate pink/mauve, and chameluceums
from white to deep purple, and every shade in
between.
There were a number of kunzeas and melaleucas,
including a very pretty mauve one M. pulchella.
Melaleuca fulgens was present in two colour forms,
purple, and pink. It also comes in salmon pink and
orange COLOUR FORMS.
Bruce also brought along a beautiful orchid,
Sarcochilus hartmanii, a native of New South Wales
and Queensland, where
it grows amongst leaf
litter in a variety of locations, or as a lithophyte
on rocks.
PLANT OF THE MONTH Regelia valutina
Plant of the month chosen by our raffle winner,
Pam Baars, was Regelia valutina, from Philip
Vaughan’s garden. The following information is from
the ANSP website
Regelia is a small genus of 6 species, 5 of which
occur naturally only in south Western Australia and
one species in Kakadu National Park in the Northern
Territory. All species occur in well-drained sites - on
sand plain, woodland or rocky hillsides or
escarpments.
The genus is closely related to the more familiar
Melaleuca, both genera having stamens which are
joined into clusters. The difference between the
genera is in the arrangement of the anthers (the
pollen bearing structures of the flowers). In Regelia
these are attached to the stamens at their bases
(basifixed) whereas in Melaleuca the anthers are
attached along their sides (versatile). Other genera
closely related to Regelia include Beaufortia,
Calothamnus and Eremaea.
Regelia velutina [Image © John Colwill 2012]
Regelia velutina is reasonably well known in
cultivation. It is a large shrub to about 3 metres with
attractive, greyish green, velvety leaves to about
13mm long. The large clusters of brilliant red/orange
flowers (occasionally yellow) open in spring and are
well displayed towards the ends of the branches.
Following flowering, seeds develop in woody capsules
similar to those formed with Melaleuca species. The
seeds are retained within the capsules indefinitely.
R.velutina is a very striking plant in both foliage and
flower but it is not common in cultivation, particularly
in areas of summer humidity and rainfall. Under these
conditions all species can be short lived even in well
drained soils. In drier climates the plants are desirable
garden subjects, the colourful flower clusters being
attractive to birds. The species should be grown in
well drained conditions in full sun or dappled shade
and it is tolerant of at least moderate frost.
Propagation is easy from seed but cuttings can be
difficult to strike, particularly in mist propagation
systems as the hairy foliage retains moisture and can
rot.
SOME UNUSUAL GARDEN TOOLS
By Tony Cavanagh
Last weekend, my wife suggested that it was about
time we repotted our pot plants as some had not had
any attention for a couple of years. As many were
large pots and not easy to manage, it fell to me to do
all the big ones but I was unwilling to go to a larger
pot size as I would not be able to shift them. Some
plants were quite pot bound so I needed to remove a
lot of soil/roots from around the sides and bottom to
get them back into the same pot. Others needed to be
divided up, generally cut in half and throw one bit
away. (I hasten to add that those which received most
of this drastic treatment were not natives). What to
do?
I looked at my tool supply and decided that I
needed to be a bit lateral in my thinking. I had an old,
rusty hand saw and a hatchet (what we as kids called
a “tommyhawk”). These were great, the saw could be
used to divide plants or even to cut, say, the bottom
6-8 cm off a pot bound plant. The hatchet was ideal
for taking off 4 or 5 cm all the way round a plant, a
little light trimming of the roots! The attached
pictures tell the story and so far everything is looking
fine and I can still shift the pots.
I should also mention two other unusual items in the
garden tools. The first is what my children laughingly
call “Dad’s teaspoon”. This is a garden spade I have
had since the early 70s and it is still my favourite
planting and edging tool. It was an English Skelton,
one of the best you could buy at the time, with high
quality steel that could be sharpened to a fine edge. It
has had so much use that it is now less than half its
original length, but every plant that has been put in
on this and many other properties has had the holes
dug with this spade. And its sharp blade also makes it
ideal for skimming weeds and garden edging. It might
even become a family heirloom!
The other is a home-made digging tool fabricated
from a piece of electrical conduit tubing from the days
when they made them of decent gauge steel. It was
made by an old electrician who fitted a wooden
handle and flattened and sharpened the tubing so
that is ideal for cutting the roots of weeds and digging
them out and also for making small holes in difficult
areas for planting.
Tony’s digger – a bit of ingenuity
BUS-TRIP to Gisborne, Bullengarook, Bacchus Marsh
Saturday 24
th
November promised to be fine and
warm, as we gathered at the Harvey Norman Corio
car-park to begin our trip visit Graeme and Ros
Woods’ garden in Gisborne. Graeme spoke to us
about Grevilleas sin April, and invited us to come and
visit his garden for a first-hand look at his collection.
Graeme’s beautifully tended garden is 3.5 acres in
extent, and has 250 grevilleas as well as a large
collection of banksias and hakeas, with a few lovely
exotics thrown in. The plants are mostly in raised beds
and arranged in groups and clusters to encourage the
visitor to wander and explore. There were delights
around every twist and turn. And the aromas,
especially from the grevilleas, ranged from honey,
through chocolate to old socks.
Graeme and Ros very kindly offered us the use of
their extensive verandah for lunch, but we sat on the
benches or on the grass, drinking the tea and coffee
that out hosts also provided.
Grevillea eriobotrya – Wooly Grevillea, in full flower
After lunch we visited David and Barbara Pye’s
Sun-Tuff Natives nursery at Bullengarook, but not
before some idiot got us lost in Gisborne. A three
point turn with a 20 seat bus and trailer in a suburban
street is quite fun, really.
The Pye’s house is on a little plateau with
extensive, magnificent views across the rugged hills
of the Lerderderg State Park. Their garden is a delight
with many unusual and interesting native species and
hybrids. The trailer was quite full once we had raided
visited their little nursery. Again we were graciously
offered tea, coffee and iced water before making our
way to Bacchus Marsh .
Lunch in the Gisborne sunshine
In 1993 funding was obtained to commence the
establishment of an Australian native plant garden in
Darley Park, Bacchus Marsh. The intention was to
develop a unique collection of Australian native plants
that would be able to survive in an area of low rainfall.
At that time the park was used for sporting facilities
only.
The original concept was to establish gardens on
all borders of the park, but funding was sufficient only
to establish the north east area of the park. In 1995,
the Darley Gardeners Group was formed to maintain
the gardens. Since then, this small group of volunteers
has continued to not only maintain the gardens but to
expand them, with the aim of establishing gardens on
all park borders. Considerable progress has been
made towards this aim.
This little park is an absolute gem, and is a ‘must
visit‘ if you are ever in Bacchus Marsh.
WHY EUCALYPTUS IS NOT AROMADENDRON
by Frank Scheelings
The genus Eucalyptus was first named and
described by a Frenchman from a living specimen that
he saw growing in England. Charles Louis L'Heritier de
Brutelle wrote a compendium of rare plants grown in
English gardens around London in the years 1786 and
1787. The book, titled the ‘Sertum Anglicum’, was
published in Paris in 1788.
E. obliqua – A plate from ‘Sertum Anglicum’
These distinctive aromatic trees were quite new to
science. Other species of the same genus were
collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander at
Botany Bay in 1770, and the seed of the tree
described by L'Heritier had been collected by David
Nelson, botanist on Cook's last voyage in 1777, from
Bruny Island. L'Heritier's was the first scientific
description of this new genus. Dr William Anderson,
the surgeon on Cook's last voyage proposed the name
Aromadendron but neither he nor Banks ever
published a formal description.
L'Heritier proposed the name Eucalyptus meaning
'well-covered' referring to the cap of the unopened
flowers and by the rules of scientific nomenclature is
the accepted name.
Editor’s Note: A google search for Charles Louis
L'Heritier de Brutelle turned up some interesting sites
including the Project Gutenburg’s E-book version of
‘Sertum Anglicum’ . Although the text in in Latin ( OK
for Frank) it’s still most interesting.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38937/38937-
h/38937-h.htm
THE LARGEST LYSIOSEPALUM INVOLUCRATUM IN
CAPTIVITY? by Tony Cavanagh
Late winter early spring in our garden is what we
describe as our “purple and pink” period. Many of our
mint bushes (which are usually purple or blue) flower
now as do many of the Thomasia family, the
Sterculiaceae. One of my favourites for its hardiness,
attractiveness and reliability is the Western Australian
Lysiosepalum involucratum. It does well in near full
sun or dappled shade and can stand extended dry
periods once established.
Lysiosepalum involucratum in Tony’s garden.
According to Rodger Elliot’s Encyclopaedia of
Australian Plants, its usual dimensions are 0.6 – 1.3m
by 1 – 1.5 m high, i.e. a low spreading shrub. As the
picture shows, if it finds a situation it likes, it can grow
much bigger. I paced it out at 3.5 by 3 m spread, while
its height is less than 1 m. It stays flowering for nearly
two months and then the new growth in spring
appears, densely hairy leaves of a pleasing soft brown.
All in all, this is definitely a plant worth having in the
garden.
CHRISTMAS BREAK-UP
December 8
th
The Christmas break-up this year will be at John and
Barb Bell’s house at 1050 Horseshoe Bend Road, near
Torquay. Arrive at 5.00 pm. We are grateful to John
and Barb for their hospitality, and look forward to
another great night. BYO chair, cutlery, crockery and
glass. The club will providemeat and bread, wine, beer
and orange juice. Please bring a salad or dessert to
share.
Annette and Robert Packett, who live in nearby
Torquay/Jan Juc, have offered her garden for a visit in
the afternoon before the BBQ. Drop in around 4.00
pm for a look at a delightful native garden. Annette’s
descriptive directions :- To get to our place you need
to come through Torquay--across the roundabout and
turn right into the Ocean Views estate. (Just past the
RACV monstrosity!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
The Editor
Firstly, a big thank-you to those who have
contributed articles this year …. Tony Cavanagh, Deb
Gaskill , Frank Scheelings and Kaitlin Biro.
Thank you all for being such wonderful company at
meetings, on outings, at sales and gatherings. I very
much enjoy the fun and good humour displayed by
everyone, and the knowledge that you all have and
are willing to impart to others.
We will have a newsletter in late January with details
of our February meeting place, time and format. Stay
tuned.
So, from Penny and me, have a wonderful and safe
Christmas, whatever you perceive it to be, and that
you all come back next year for more fun and frivolity
at APS Geelong .
Merry Christmas, Nollaig Shona Dhuit and a very
Happy New Year to you all.
Document Outline - WESTERN AUSTRALIAN HOLIDAY Ade Foster
- In another life, I’m involved with gymnastics as the announcer at most of the major competitions around Australia. I was invited to do a big competition in Perth in October, so we took the opportunity to take a few extra days and have a look at t...
- We booked accommodation in Toodyay, about 90km north-east of Perth. Toodyay is in the Avon Valley on the edge of the escarpment. Head west and you’re in the hilly red laterite soils. East takes you into the sandy wheat-belt country, and north west ...
- Our cabin was tiny, but the rear deck with wood fired BBQ and an outlook over the dam was a delight. We were visited daily by Ringneck parrots, Galahs, Rufous treecreepers, Wood duck, Black duck, Magpies and Henry, the camp’s magnificent Peacock.
- Penny feeding the ringneck parrot
- There were a few interesting little flora reserves within 15 minutes of Toodyay, so, each morning I would be up before the sun exploring these while Penny had a sleep-in, like normal people.
- Morangup Nature Reserve was once part of a steel company’s holding’s. Much of the timber was cleared for the manufacture of charcoal, and slag heaps were piled around the area. Declared a reserve in the 1970s, there is still evidence of the indus...
- The open areas were fields of blue Leschenaultia boliba, and several different Dampieras, or white from an interesting Conospermum, C. glaumaceum, or yellow from the Verticordia citrella, found only in this reserve.
- Leschenaultia biloba
- There were many interesting and for me, new plants to see including Dryandras, Petrophile, Hakeas, Isopogon, Conospermum and Grevillea.
- Wongamine Nature Reserve on the Goomalling road was an interesting area on a hillside with soil types and plant communities changing drastically as you moved up the hill. There were several species of large Eucalypts around the base of the hill with ...
- E. macrocarpa - Mottlecah
- There was another little reserve across the road from camp, the Mavis Jeffrey Reserve, which was burnt in the bushfires. This was on the red, rocky soil and had a completely different plant community. Goodenia scapigera, a 1.5 metre high plant wit...
- Anigozanthos manglesii – yellow form
- We took a road trip north and east through Goomalling, Dowerin, Daroux and up as far as Burakin, then across to Wongan Hills and home. The roadside reserves along the northern part of this route were a blaze of colour, and it was great to see plants t...
- The Grevillea strip – near Cadoux
- The changes were quite startling as we drove further north, then turned west and south again. Some roadsides were masses of yellow, with Verticordia, Senna, Calytrix, Hibbertia and Glischrocaryon or shades of blue. mauve and purple with Dampiera, Les...
- Closer to Wongan Hills the scenery changes again with areas of dense heath, impossible to walk through, while the roadsides were lined for miles with Grevillea petrophiloides. Our road-trips were curtailed by an unexpected illness, but my appetite ...
- Yellow roadside – Calytrix and verticordia - Burakin
- PLANT TABLE Frank Scheelings
- The plant table was a little depleted this month, but what it lacked in numbers it made up in colour and form. What a delight this part of our meeting is. And no less for the plants than the friendly jibing that goes on amongst the more rowdy of our m...
- There were some startling red flowers from Calothamnus quadrifidus, the One-sided Bottlebrush,
- Banksia coccinea, the Scarlet Banksia, Melaleuca eximia and plant of the month Regelia valutina, the Barrens Regelia.
- There were a host of grevilleas including the rich orange, G. juncifolia, the Honeysuckle grevillea, and bright golden hybrid of G. juncifolia x G. spinosa. Grevillea excelsior, again a gorgeous rich orange/gold or G. eriostachya with its bright ...
- Strong scents, too, from the delicate pink Goodenia macmillanii, and another white-flowered goodenia of uncertain identity. Both were a little unusual in that most goodenias are yellow. Apparently G. macmillanii was used in medicine by the aborigi...
- Goodenia macmillanii – photo Brian Walters
- There were many eremophilas from deep purple to blood red to delicate pink/mauve, and chameluceums from white to deep purple, and every shade in between.
- There were a number of kunzeas and melaleucas, including a very pretty mauve one M. pulchella. Melaleuca fulgens was present in two colour forms, purple, and pink. It also comes in salmon pink and orange COLOUR FORMS.
- Bruce also brought along a beautiful orchid, Sarcochilus hartmanii, a native of New South Wales and Queensland, where it grows amongst leaf litter in a variety of locations, or as a lithophyte on rocks.
- PLANT OF THE MONTH Regelia valutina
- Plant of the month chosen by our raffle winner, Pam Baars, was Regelia valutina, from Philip Vaughan’s garden. The following information is from the ANSP website
- Regelia is a small genus of 6 species, 5 of which occur naturally only in south Western Australia and one species in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. All species occur in well-drained sites - on sand plain, woodland or rocky hillsi...
- The genus is closely related to the more familiar Melaleuca, both genera having stamens which are joined into clusters. The difference between the genera is in the arrangement of the anthers (the pollen bearing structures of the flowers). In Re...
- Regelia velutina [Image © John Colwill 2012]
- SOME UNUSUAL GARDEN TOOLS
- By Tony Cavanagh
- THE LARGEST LYSIOSEPALUM INVOLUCRATUM IN CAPTIVITY? by Tony Cavanagh
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