April 2021 Sutherland Group Newsletter

About Sutherland Group Coming up.. We meet at 8 pm every third Wed, 21 Apr Sutherland Group meeting – A walk among the Wednesday from February to dead; discovering the native of Woronora November at Gymea Community Cemetery, with Ralph Cartwright Centre, 39 Gymea Bay Rd, Gymea. Visitors welcome. Sun, 2 May JB Reserve working bees are back on. Thurs, 6 May Rules for Covid-19 are in place, more here We support awareness and conservation of Australian native Sat, 15 May APS NSW Quarterly meeting – see Diary, page 2 plants. Wed, 19 May Sutherland group meeting. Pipeworts? Learn more

See our website & Facebook about the Eriocaulon genus with Richard Jobson http://austplants.com.au/Sutherland Look out for.. Integrifolia (Coast Banksia)

www.facebook.com/APS.Sutherland

President Leonie Hogue 75A Wattle St Jannali 2226 [email protected] Ph 0416 286 083

Secretary Rhonda Daniels [email protected] Ph: 0491 629 760

Treasurer B. Integrifolia subsp. compar (Coast Banksia) with glossier dark Anne Webb green leaves than the other subspecies (Photo: Cas Liber) 9 Connels Rd Cronulla 2230 This tree, like other , is currently a stand-out attractive tree Ph 9523 6067 no doubt appreciating recent weather patterns. Its plentiful lemon coloured flowers are on show. Even the prostrate form is showing Publicity Officer & more flowers than usual. It is quite widely planted and usually Speaker Convenor available at the Sutherland Council Nursery. Ralph Cartwright [email protected] As a tree it may be slightly less popular than B. serrata but it does Ph 9548 1074 also feature distinctive bark, leaves, flowers and seed cones. The 0416 030 872 easy identification attribute is the silver underside of the leaves. It is used as a street tree which indicates its resilience. A row recently planted in the Kirrawee commuter car park have grown into an Newsletter Editor appealing formation in a reasonably short time. Peter Shelton [email protected] It is one of the original specimens collected by Banks and Solander Ph 0411 286 969 and is currently recognised with three subspecies listed.

Newsletter Deadline: Inside this issue First Wednesday of the month For your diary ...... 2 At the March Meeting ...... 3 News and more ...... 6

For your diary Contact John Arney ph 9525 0449, [email protected] Wed, 17 Apr Sutherland Group meeting Our plans are in place to cope with Covid restrictions. From 7.45 pm We restarted 2021 with a face-to-face meeting in our usual location at the Gymea for 8:00 pm start Community Centre in February. Complying with all current directives is a priority. A walk among the dead; discovering the native plants of Woronora Cemetery, with Sutherland member Ralph Cartwright. His talk will be a mixture of historical information and photos of native plants planted there. This will be followed by our table hosted by Phil Keane. Physical specimens can be brought in by anyone for learning or teaching. Sat, 1 May Walk, Woronora cemetery and river. Follow up on Ralph’s April talk with a walk. Meet at 9 am at Sutherland station (outside Platform 1, southern end) for a walk through Woronora Memorial Park at Sutherland. We’ll then leave the cemetery and walk down the concrete path through the bush of Prince Edward Park to Woronora River. We’ll stroll along the river to explore the pedestrian bridge, wharf and Crescent Bushcare site. A great chance to explore this peaceful area if you are not familiar with it. Then it’s back up the hill at your own pace. Bring a snack and water and, if you wish, lunch for afterwards. Or visit the cafe at The Boatshed Woronora. Contact Rhonda Daniels on [email protected] or 0491 629 760. Sun, 2 May Joseph Banks Reserve working bees Thur, 6 May Covid 19 restrictions will be observed, but there is plenty of space to work in. Sat, 15 May APS quarterly gathering at Kurnell, hosted by Sutherland Group. Details here.

9 am to 12 noon: Banks–Solander walk, Kamay National Park Meet at the Kurnell Visitor Centre, Kamay National Park for guided walks beginning between 9–10 am along the Banks–Solander track. This well-maintained track is an easy 700 m walk featuring many of the plants collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during their eight day visit to Botany Bay in April 1770. You can take a virtual tour of the Banks– Solander track on Google Street View Trekker

12 noon to 1 pm: Lunch. Bring your own and enjoy it on the foreshore of Botany Bay (great for plane spotters). Food can be purchased at Kurnell Visitor Centre (limited), Silver Beach Cafe and Milkhouse Kurnell.

1 – 3 pm: Marton Community Hall, 92–94 Captain Cook Drive, Kurnell. $5 entry fee covers afternoon tea and associated costs. Hall open from 12.30 pm. 1:00 APS NSW Annual General Meeting 1:30 Talk by Dan Clarke on the plants that Banks and Solander collected and described during their visit to Botany Bay in 1770. Dan is a well-known environmental consultant and the APS NSW Conservation Officer. Dan is a very entertaining speaker with an extensive knowledge of the flora of the Kamay National Park and surrounds 2:30 Afternoon tea provided by Sutherland Group. Wed, 19 May Sutherland Group meeting: Guest speaker Richard Jobson will talk about Pipeworts, the Eriocaulon genus. From 7.45 pm for 8:00 pm start, at Gymea Community Hall. Covid19 regulations permitting. 1,2,8,9 May (10 – 4) Illawarra Garden open days. These are the first two weekends in May. 24 Apr – 9 May Fungi x Botanica Exhibition Lion Gate Lodge Garden, The Royal Botanic Garden, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney. 11 – 16 Sep, 2022 ANPSA Biennial Conference delayed until 2022 due to Covid-19 considerations. APS Sutherland – April 2021 2

APS groups nearby Have you considered visiting another local APS group? Each group welcomes APS members and visitors, so check your diary. East Hills Group Menai Wildflower Group Wednesday 5 May, from 2 pm Saturday 12 May, 1 pm (1st Wednesday of every month except January) Illawong Rural Fire Brigade Lugarno-Peakhurst Uniting Church Old Illawarra Rd, Illawong 909 Forest Road, Lugarno (opposite the Lugarno shops) https://austplants.com.au/Menai-Wildflower https://austplants.com.au/East-Hills At the March Meeting From flowers to fruit: a focus on the diversity of fruits Many people are initially attracted to Australian native plants for their interesting flowers, but the fruits are also fascinating. The fruits are the structures that enclose and protect the seeds. Not all plants produce seeds. Grasses produce grains, which are single-seeded fruits. Appreciating diversity There is great diversity in the types of fruits produced by flowering plants. Dehiscent fruits dry and split, while indehiscent fruits do not split. Some fruits are hard and woody in the form of follicles, capsules or pods, while others are fleshy as berries, which have their seeds in flesh, or drupes, which have one seed in a hard casing. Just as there is diversity in flowers for pollination, there is diversity in fruits and seeds to ensure survival through seed dispersal. Fruits have co-evolved with animals and the environment. The botanical lifecycle A seed grows into a seedling which matures and produces flowers, which, after pollination by two grains of pollen, then produce fruits which contain seeds. Flowers may be self-pollinated from the same plant or cross- pollinated from other plants. After pollination, the ovary at the base of the flower develops into a structure bearing seeds. For instance, each banksia flower spike may contain hundreds or thousands of individual flowers. Only some of these flowers turn into woody seed follicles, less than 2%. Banksia follicles often need heat to split open and release the triangular seed which has a papery wing. Often the follicles with seed are retained on the plant for several years.

Eucalyptus pilularis showing progression from buds to seeds. It can be difficult to work out exactly what part of the plant or stage in the lifecycle you are looking at. For instance, Eucalyptus species produce green flower buds, then flowers, then immature fruits, then woody mature fruits which open to release the tiny seeds. The size and shape of Eucalyptus fruits are a key feature in identifying species.

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Fruits for identification Fruits can be used to identify plants, in combination with other features, and some species are named for their fruit: -carpa/um refers to fruit, and sperma/um refers to seed. For instance: • size of fruit: Eucalyptus macrocarpa from WA and Leptospermum macrocarpa = big fruit • shape of fruit: pyriforme (woody pear) = pear-shaped, Dodonea triquetra = three-sided fruit, Grevillea heliosperma = sun or spherical-shaped fruit • taste of fruit: Austromyrtus dulcis (midgen berry) = sweet, Leptomeria acida (native currant) = acidic • texture: Angophora costata = ribbed fruit • colour: Auranticarpa rhombifolia = gold/orange fruit (formerly Pittosporum). The family generally have fruits that split open to a V-shape, many woody, such as Banksia, , Grevillea, and Xylomelum (woody pear). However, has fleshy drupes like grapes and Telopea () has leathery follicles. The round drumstick flowers on are a distinguishing feature from the cone-shaped fruit of . The Fabaceae family have pods or legumes which split open and release seeds. For the many Acacia species, the size and shape of pods are useful for identification. For some genera like Casuarina, the fruit may be much more noticeable than the tiny flowers. In contrast, some plants have fleshy and edible fruits, where the fruit is attractive for animals to eat. Rainforest species tend to have fruits that are larger, fleshier and bright to attract animals in low light. Think of Syzygium/Acmena (lilly pillies), Davidson plum and Pittosporum. Some common names may suggest a fruit is edible for humans but this is not the case. Despite their names, Elaeocarpus reticulatus (blueberry ash) and Glochidion ferdinandi (cheese tree) do not have edible fruits.

Recommended The distinctive spherical-shaped council plantings in Sutherland showing reading fruit of Grevillea heliosperma of fruit colour in gardens, here featuring (Ph: R. Daniels) A. rhombifolia, B. spinulosa (Ph: P. Shelton) Survival and propagation Plants have evolved different strategies for their flowers, fruits and seeds to ensure survival. Protective fruits have greatly enhanced the success of these plants. The diversity of fruits reflects different strategies for seed dispersal. For some plants, the fruits are eaten and the seeds then dispersed by birds and small mammals. For others, the seeds are wind or air dispersed. The fruit splits open and releases seed to the ground, or the fruit splits and propels the seed with force. Seeds can then be water dispersed or transported by animals such as ants. Heat, fire and smoke also have a role. When collecting seed for propagation, it is important to be aware of what part of the plant is the fruit and seed and when the seed is mature. Watch ripening, drying, hardness, colour change and opening. While seed may be released easily from fruit such as Myrtaceae capsules and captured in bags to avoid losing any, some seeds need to be extracted from the fruit by drying them out with heat or fire. Soft fruits, such as Dianella berries, may need squashing, washing and/or soaking. Note that some hybrids or cultivars may not produce seeds at all or the seeds may be infertile. In summary, flowers are spectacular but so are the fruits. Plants have co-evolved different strategies for fruits and seeds to survive. Hopefully this talk helps you to appreciate the diversity of our native fruits, and be aware of fruits for identification and propagation.

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For more on fruits, resources include: • Seed Collection of Australian Native Plants by Murray Ralph • Sutherland Group’s Coastal Plants of the Royal National Park CD-Rom, which has photos of fruit of 300 plants • Australian Rainforest Seeds book, reviewed last newsletter. Rhonda Daniels

On the plant table The plant table is a great way to see what grows well in Sutherland Shire and what flowers when. Please free to email some photos in addition to showing the plant specimens at the meeting. These may be included in the newsletter. You can email by reply to the newsletter or to Dan Clarke at: [email protected] Plant steward Phil Keane’s nursery, Ausplants R Us, is in Sutherland. Visits by appointment or check out sale days (often Saturday 12 – 4:30) on https://www.facebook.com/ausplants/` Ph: 0435 410 857 or [email protected]

Here are just some of the plants featured at our Plectranthus spp. at JB Reserve (Ph: P. Shelton) last meeting. Grevillea ‘Moonlight’ (Family: Proteaceae) Callistemon ‘Little John’ (Family: Myrtaceae) Another popular cultivar, it grows to 3 x 3 m. Bright Bottlebrush up to 1 m high with attractive yellow which will attract the birds. dark red inflorescences. Responds well to pruning. Dissected foliage with thin segments. Not overly fussy. Give a well-drained soil with good sunlight. Prune periodically for good results.

Grevillea ‘Moonlight’ at JB Reserve (P. Shelton)

Callistemon ‘[Not-so-]Little John’ at JB Reserve Smilax glyciphylla (Sweet Sarsaparilla) (Family: (Photo: P. Shelton) Smilacaceae) A common Sydney bushland vine which can be found in dense patches in moist Plectranthus argentatus (Silver Plectranthus) sheltered gullies. It has lanceolate leaves with (Family: Lamiaceae) An herbaceous plant with a strong venation and is easily identifiable. New habit and appearance resembling a Salvia, leaves can be red with adult leaves green and to growing to about 1 m tall. It has soft wood and 10 cm long by 4 cm wide. The leaves have a large diamond shaped leaves which have an sarsaparilla flavour and it is stronger in new red overall grey-green sheen. It has small purple leaves. Berries have a delicious strong liquorice flowers produced at the terminals. flavour in the opinion of some! Grows very well from cuttings, it likes partial shade May make a nice vine in some circumstances, and well-drained soils. It needs a hard prune every especially if you have some natural bushland 2 years. Do not over water. Makes a great dense onsite. Can be used to cover logs and fences. shrub cover if pruned. Might be hard to purchase - check local nurseries.

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Scleranthus biflorus (Cushion Bush) (Family: Caryophyllaceae) A grassland species from alpine areas in NSW, it has become popular as a tight ground-hugging plant, reminiscent of some sort of moss, from a distance. Leonie displayed one growing in a pot at the September 2018 meeting. It can be used in rockeries and pathways on mounds of soil to great effect. It also does well in pots. Likes full sun and some moisture. Adapts to most soil types. Eustrephus latifolius (Wombat Berry) (Family: Luzuriagaceae) A common Sydney vine in sandstone and other bushland, it has leathery lanceolate leaves to about 10 cm long by 4 cm

Smilax glyciphylla fruit is almost finished wide, on a very wiry stem. Flowers are produced in (Ph: http://www.floragreatlakes.info/) cymes in leaf axils and are very interesting, having 6 tepals, 3 of which are clearly different to the Scaevola albida (Fan Flower) (Family: other 3 (this plant being a monocot – related to Goodeniaceae) Groundcover/scrambler with white lilies and clumping plants). The flowers then or purple fan-shaped flowers and toothed to entire produce conspicuous orange capsules. leaves. Easy to grow and propagate. Grow in part shade. Plant many plants together for a dense Not overly common in gardens but may be able to ground cover. Also does well in hanging baskets. be sourced and established. Most plants seen in There are cultivars called ‘White Carpet’ and ‘Blue gardens are part of the original bushland Mist’ vegetation. Grow in a moist location for best results. (Old Man Banksia) (Family: Proteaceae) Locally common and very iconic tree Syzygium ‘Cascade’ (Family: Myrtaceae) to about 5 metres tall of slightly more. It has (S. luehmannii x wilsonii) – a Lilly Pilly with bright lanceolate to oblong leaves with serrated margins pink inflorescences growing to about 4 m tall. Full- which are produced in false whorls and large sun and good watering recommended. inflorescences – spikes – which can be grandiose More information can be found at these websites: and up to 40 cm long! A slow growing banksia and often found in Sydney sandstone bushland. Great www.anspa.org.au www.anbg.gov.au cut flower. Also has gnarled bark when mature. plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au www.wikipedia.org Grows from Tasmania to norther NSW, mainly www.austplants.com.au/plant-database along the coast. Is being used more and more and PLUS: Dan Clarke has all the monthly plant table as street tree in Sutherland. information compiled in his Plant Table Master list document available from our web site. Needs good drainage to thrive. Dan Clarke Plant Table Masterlist News and More Membership Call out for Guest Speakers! If you are not receiving the monthly APS NSW Since Covid struck a year ago, we have had some enewsletter from enewsletter editor Rhonda great speakers appearing via Zoom, but since we Daniels, please email [email protected] returned to face to face meetings, I have been so we can sort out whether we have your correct having problems in finding speakers to come and email address in our records. Each monthly issue present to our group. is emailed at the end of the previous month. I know that our members have a huge amount of Membership renewal experience and knowledge as well as many Members receive an email from APS NSW when contacts and ideas for possible speakers. their membership is due through the year and can If you have an idea for a speaker and/or subject, renew online on the APS website. Check your please contact me with a name and possibly membership status with our treasurer Anne Webb email/phone contact details if you have them. at the March meeting or by phone. If you think you yourself might be able to do a presentation, just let me know.

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If you think that you might have the knowledge and about at 7am putting up arrangements. information/photos, but need help in putting it The photo shows Marie O'Connor helping Joan together, I’d be more than happy to help get it set- Zande prepare her prize-winning arrangement for up. judging. If you just have a subject that you’d like to learn Leonie Hogue more about and that might interest our group, let me know! Other Easter Show Entries Ralph Cartwright Marie O’Connor reports that she also placed an entry in the wool embroidered section, with a Sutherland hosts APS NSW AGM design based upon native blossoms, nuts and Sutherland Group is hosting the AGM and leaves. Quarterly Get together for APS NSW at Kurnell on 15 May. This will be the first face to face APS NSW meeting since Covid-19 restrictions. I am asking for volunteers to help with the following: • Set up the hall • Pack away and tidy up afterwards • Help serve afternoon tea • Bring food for afternoon tea - both sweet and savoury (we’ll organise gloves and tongs to serve food safely). There will be walks in the morning and people provide their own lunch but we will have tea and coffee available. Bring any food for afternoon tea by 12 noon. Many thanks. Please contact Leonie on 0416286083 if you can help. Royal Easter Show Detail of Marie’s entry. This is just a small part of This year's entries into the Easter Show by the work. (Photo: D. O’Connor) Sutherland Group was another great success. Seventeen of our entries won a prize. Some other were also received in other categories by Mary Hedges (a first) and Liz Aitken (a third). I The most successful thing was the lovely show am sure they will all be happy to talk about them at made by all the entries. A steward stopped me to future meetings. particularly comment on the wonderful display Australian Plants make each year. Seasonal stories from the Noongar In a story on ABC News, titled How to tell the new season is starting, according to the Noongar people of WA the following excerpt includes direct reference to changes in indigenous plant growth as key indicators. Blossoming gums and banksias The second key sign is blossoms blooming on certain native plants — in particular the banksia and gum trees. "The one that is dominating is the marri, which of course has the beautiful off-white, bone coloured flowers," he said. "They are an indicator to us that (this year) there will be an early break to the season because they Joan and Marie at work (Ph: Leonie Hogue) have been so prolific in their flowering." I particularly enjoyed catching up with friends from Mr Nannup said when the marri was flowering, it Central Coast and Menai Groups as we scurried

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usually took a couple of a weeks to see the full More Fruit scope of the weather change.

Marri tree flowers (ABC local: Anthony Pancia) Davidson’s plums (Davidsonia jerseyana) are quite Other plants to look out for include the candlestick easy to grow so well worth a try. They provide banksia, which begins to grow a miniscule bud at bunches of juicy, but sour fruit as shown here by a the centre point of its leaves, and the black seeds satisfied home gardener. It’s just past the end of its within the grass-tree flower. ripening period now. Thanks Roy! (Ph: P. Shelton) According to the Bureau of Meteorology's Noongar Catch up at our youtube channel calendar, written by Noongar man Jason Barrow, Djeran is also a "time of red flowers" especially Watch archived zoom meetings at our youtube from the red flowering gum, the summer flame and channel. For example, watch any of last year’s also the red 'rust' and seed cones forming on male meetings and female sheoaks. including Plant Tables Mr Nannup said when looking for the plant with Dan indicators, it was important to make sure the plant Clarke or was in its native environment for the forecast to be Peter Olde’s accurate. talk on And here’s a reminder of a similar conversation in Grevillea book form in Tim Entwistle’s Sprinter and hybrids at Sprummer which he published in 2014. This was the more about suggesting a different regime for the February seasons as opposed to our current four seasons. APS meeting. Latest addition: the North Sydney group’s latest speaker on Going Native In The Urban Landscape

If undeliverable, return to: Australian Plants Society, Sutherland Group 169 Peninsular Road Grays Point NSW 2232

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