Carapooee West, Vic - Mid Winter

åIt’s on again- the season turns

Out on Border Track today 13th July 2023 to check on orchid cages and re-emergence of plants, I found a very early Long-leaf Early Nancy (Wurmbea latifolia).

This is an ordinary Early Nancy- female plant- note the purple band.

Below is the very early Early Nancy- Wurmbea latifolia (today) with female flowers- no purple band.

Also flowering was Clematis microphylla.

Like Wurmbea, this species has separate male and female plants so the 3 that I know of out here in the National Park are either too far apart to pollinate or are all of the same sex . I have never found either seed or new plants- a case for a bit of a replant to boost the chances.

Near the last of the orchid cages was a small colony of Pterostylis robusta, protected from the busy mouths of the wallabies by fallen branches.

Large Striped Greenhood,

On 7th July my Golden Wattle was flowering-this is about the earliest I have recorded.

That’s all from Carapooee West and the Kara Kara National Park north end

Anne.

Home, Home on the Range

As you travel down Centre Rd from St Arnaud you notice the lack of understorey vegetation in many places.

Trees, yes, although few are older than 90 years due to extensive felling for timber up until the late 1990s.

A few are thick with Golden Wattle and Grey Everlasting; these are areas that have been burnt over the last 20 years.

Monitoring by the Club over a 10 year period showed little increase in the species in the burnt areas,a total of maybe 5, including Gorse Bitter-pea and a couple of lilies while the unburnt sides contained up to 30 floral species.

Despite over 100 years of sheep grazing (up until 1996) mining and timber felling and the grazing pressure from increasing numbers of kangaroos, small patches of quite rich floral diversity can still be found.

One such patch on Shearing Shed Rd is on the top of an ironbark ridge and small treasures such as Blue Pincushions, Blue Finger Flower and Grass Triggerplant and are abundant within maybe, a 4 acre plot.

Blue Finger Flower Cheiranthera cyanea- the fingers refer to the arrangement of the stamens- like a hand.

This plant of the Goldfields is nowhere common now.

Blue Pincushions Brunonia australis

A Raspwort species - I don't know which- easily overlooked as it is quite small but the hot pink flowers are intriguing

Grass Triggerplant- Stylidium graminifolium- rare now on the Range, it can be seen in greater numbers in the Wax Garden

Of course, Bursaria is flowering madly- I always think of it and Buloke Mistletoe as the Christmas Bushes of the Box-Ironbark forests.

Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa with its seed capsules forming

Another small patch of rich diversity can be found on Centre Rd south of the Aliens' Camp Rd intersection.

Here, under straggly and dying Red Stringybarks (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) a vast horde of Rosy Baeckeas (Euryomyrtus ramosissimus)ramble down the hillside

in company with many small peas, lilies and the red form of Common Correa(Correa reflexa).

Rosy Baeckea

Red form of Common Correa

Along with the Wax Garden, View Point and another small patch on Boundary Rd, these tiny patches have survived.

Better management, protection and a helping hand is called for to allow them to survive and re-seed the bush in time.

Christmas greetings from all our Club members- may you all have a happy festive season and return to 2020 reinvigorated and refreshed.

Mugga Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) in a member's garden this December, attracting birds, insects, gliders and possums although not all at the same time.

No- it's not a Wattle.

Saturday morning saw me out in the Hard Hills east of St Arnaud to try and get a photo or two of the Bristly Greenhood that had spiked up in the Club's big enclosure on L Bray's Rd.

Coming round the corner past the transfer station I was pulled up by the sight of what I first thought was a large wattle in full bloom.

Aha" I thought- a new species although I couldn't place this plant at all in the local wattle list.

The bush was full of bees having a grand time and after taking as close a look as I dared, realised that this was a melaleuca, in fact it was Mallee Broombush Melaleuca uncinata in full fig.

There were only 4 or 5 bushes on the roadside and on reflection I realised that I had rarely seen this species in the Hard Hills although it is on the list for the area.

Has anyone else seen this species in the Hard Hills other than just east of the transfer station?

This is a valuable plant for insects in particular and is a beautiful sight at this time of year.

Along with its cousin, Totem Poles Melalueuca decussata, it provides food for a number of insects, cover for small birds and would be a good addition to any windbreak planting or just in the garden as is decussata.

Totem Pole Flowers

After this small interruption, I went on to our site to find one Bristly Greenhood completely dessicated and the other, vanished!

This is P. setifera in slightly better times 9 years ago.

It is very similar to P despectans(Lowly Greenhood) but without the absurdly long sepal tips.

The trip was worthwhile, as most bush trips are, even if you don't find what you went out for!