Newsletter 145 SGAP Cairns November 2014 Society for Growing Australian Plants, Cairns Branch A clear warm sunny Spring day was ideal weather for another get-together of friends this issue to explore and appreciate our Excursion report P.1 habitat. Some News from the ATH P.2 enjoyed the barbecue Botanical explorers’ beds P.5 facilities overlooking Upcoming events P.6 Lake Morris as we gathered for a show and tell session with interesting plants brought along for identification/ discussion. Dave Barrow had a EXCURSION REPORT flowering vine specimen which Rob Lake Morris, October 2014 identified as Derris sp. BY DON LAWIE Claudie River, and unnamed species. seed germinate readily and I can saprophytes, or more correctly now Derris is an interesting experiment with making my own “myco-heterotrophs”. The above plant: when the vine is insecticide powder. orchids are reputed to be impossible crushed in water it to grow in artificial, garden makes a powerful fish Stuart presented an insignificant, tiny conditions. This advance in botanical poison (Beasley), the flowering plant of indeterminate colour knowledge may have opened the saponin-containing which he said was a rarely-collected way to in vitro cultivation which will leaves are eaten by saprophyte Sciaphila . This little wonder be a significant boost to horticulture. the larvae of the lives on the forest floor, in and among Orange Aeroplane leaf litter. The term “saprophyte” Stuart We digested this gem of information butterfly (Townsend) told us, is now redundant since the with our lunch as we strolled down thus making them plants that have no chlorophyll and to and across the dam wall, then up unattractive to avian which depend on decaying vegetable a steep concrete road which predators. Dave tissue for their sustenance are not eventually leads to either Davies reports that the vine is actually eating the material but instead Creek or Kuranda. There are plans prolific in the Pugh are parasitising the various mycorrhiza afoot to expand the usage of the Creek area which we which break down the tissues for easy will be visiting next ingestion by the plant. Several well- month –I may look for known orchids such as Pseudovanilla, a cutting, though the Dipodium sp., Aphyllorchis sp. are NEWS FROM THE ATH FUTURE OF THE ATH. The Australian Tropical Herbarium was established as Oct 2014 Excursion Report (cont.) a joint venture between the State Government, CSIRO and James Cook University. Lake Morris area. David planted nativ es, and a measured an altitude of Although based at JCU, it is Warmington pointed out few exotics. A few 460 metres and we had an independent entity. the site of the “village” orchids were seen – a the expected mix of The initial Joint Venture where the workers who couple of very large lowland and upland agreement comes to an end built the dam lived and Cymbidium madidum in vegetation in the in March 2015 – all too soon. We are hoping the funding this waterside beauty deep shade, not showing rainforest beside the agreement will be renewed spot would be ideal for either flowers or fruit – cement road. for the facility. At the picnics, canoeing and the fruit hangs on for Placospermum coriaceum moment all the signs are good., but nothing is certain perhaps even camping in over a year, the orchid which was prolific at until pen is put to paper. time to come. I was again needs light and so Davies Creek was also OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. struck by the similarity of perhaps they had seen here, again as small this area to Loch Katrine responded to their roadside seedlings. in the Scotttish Trossachs. gloomy habitat by Syzygium kuranda, The loch is the water growing in size rather Kuranda Satinash fruit source for the city of than reproducing by seed. littered the roadside and Glasgow, the level was Rob found a disconsolate Rob pointed out a large artificially raised in the specimen of Dendrobium mature tree of the 1800’s, and the outflow jonesii , but Pauline could species which would have provides hydro-electric find no trace of the been a timberman’s power. Limited activities biggest Oberonia titania dream tree. Rob also are permitted on and she had ever seen, found found several small A reminder that the ATH around the loch. (I would beside the cement road specimens of the Rare has a freely accessible public reference collection. The like to volunteer to lead a on our previous visit (Ing and Threatened collection comprises well study team there if Cairns excelled himself on that Cleistanthus discolor and over 2000 specimens Regional Council picks up occasion by shinnying up an archaic Bubbia representing most of northern Queensland’s the expenses). The the slender host tree to semecarpoides , survivor flowering plants. The access road from Cairns obtain a champion of the dinosaur age. reference collection can be has been extensively photograph). used by members of the Our botanists and public wishing to identify improved but is still plants. There is also a small The dam water level was enthusiasts may have narrow, winding and library, and interenet access hazardous. Opening the down by about a metre, gone on up the mountain is provided. The Public exposing a “tide mark” on further but the group Reference Collection is open road behind the dam to on business days, between the banks and revealing a feeling was that Tablelands visitors would 9:30 and 4. be a big plus for visitor mass of adventitious afternoon smoko was amenity. roots which had calling. We retraced our developed under water steps, chatted even more, All this was batted about on a tree trunk. then headed for home as we admired the Freshwater Creek below with heads awash with roadside vegetation, the dam outlet was dry information and some native, some rock. My altimeter memories. 2 The spectacular pompom flower cluster of Syzygium wilsonii . The unspectacular flowers of Guioa lasineura. This paperbark tree was once growing on the lake shore – falling A native gardenia – Gardenia ovularis. water levels have left it stranded. The beautiful juvenile leaves of Cissus penninervis. Hunting for rainforest ferns on the roadside banks. 3 MONIMIACEAE OCTOBER 2014 SPECIES LIST Austromatthaea elegans Compiled by Rob Jago and Stuart Worboys. Palmeria scandens WINTERACEAE For those who were taught botany in their school years, you will be Bubbia semecarpoides familiar with the traditional division of the flowering plants into MONOCOTS ‘monocots’ and ‘dicots’. The monocots – lilies, grasses, palms, orchids – had one seed leaf, long strap-like leaves with parallel ARACEAE veins, and usually flowers with 3 or 6 petals. The dicots – all the Pothos brownii (candle leaf) remaining flowering plants – had two seed leaves, broad leaves ARECACEAE with net-like veins and flowers with 4-5 petals. Calamus australis (lawyer cane) Calamus moti The revolution in our understanding of plant evolution over the last Linospadix minor 20 years has forced a rethink of this simple dichotomy. We now see the evolutionary tree of the flowering plants in a different light. HEMEROCALLIDACEAE At the base of the tree are several very, very distantly related Dianella atraxis groups – Idiospermum , the laurels, the custard apples, Dianella odorata Austrobaileya, etc. – which can be conveniently called ancient ORCHIDACEAE flowering plants. The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area contains Cymbidium madidum the greatest diversity of ancient flowering plants anywhere in the Dendrobium jonesii world. Don’t call them primitive – that word is unfashionable PANDANACEAE nowadays! The next branch in the evolutionary tree is the Freycinetia excelsa (climbing pandan) monocots. Finally, the topmost branch is everything else, now Pandanus monticola called the ‘eudicots’ (I like to think of them as the ‘new dicots’). This branch contains the silky oaks, the peas, the daisies, the RIPOGONACEAE eucalypts and so on – all of the familiar flowering plants which fill Ripogonum album our gardens and salad bowls. SMILACACEAE Smilax glyciphylla FERNS AND FERN ALLIES EUDICOTS CYATHEACEAE ANACARDIACEAE Cyathea cooperi (tree fern) Blepharocarya involucrigera (rose butternut) GLEICHENIACEAE APIACEAE Dicranopteris linearis Mackinlaya ?macrosciadea HYMENOPHYLLACEAE APOCYNACEAE Abrodictyum obscurum Alstonia scholaris (milky pine) LINDSAEACEAE ARALIACEAE Lindsaea brachypoda Polyscias australiana (ivory basswood) LYCOPODIACEAE Polyscias elegans (celerywood) Lycopodiella cernua Polyscias murrayi LYGODIACEAE Polyscias purpurea Lygodium flexuosum (climbing maidenhair) ASTERACEAE THELYPTERIDACEAE *Crassocephalum crepidioides Macrothelypteris polypodioides *Sonchus oleraceus (sow thistle) ANCIENT FLOWERING PLANTS *Sphagneticola trilobata (Singapore daisy) ANNONACEAE *Youngia japonica (Japanese hawkweed) Xylopia maccraei CUNONIACEAE LAURACEAE Gilbeea adenopetala Cryptocarya corrugata (corduroy laurel) DILLENIACEAE Cryptocarya grandis Tetracera nordtiana (fire vine) Cryptocarya lividula ELAEOCARPACEAE Cryptocarya mackinnoniana (Mackinnon’s walnut) Aceratium megalospermum Cryptocarya murrayi (Murray’s laurel) Elaeocarpus bancroftii (Kuranda quandong) Cryptocarya vulgaris Elaeocarpus grahamii Endiandra palmerstonii (black walnut) Sloanea langii (white carabeen) Endiandra wolfei ESCALLONIACEAE Litsea bindoniana Polyosma hirsuta Litsea leefeana EUPHORBIACEAE Neolitsea dealbata (bollywood) Macaranga involucrata var. mallotoides Macaranga subdentata Rockinghamia angustifolia PROTEACEAE FABACEAE Alloxylon wickhamii Acacia celsa (brown salwood) Cardwellia sublimis (northern silky oak) Acacia cincinnata