June 2021 Sutherland Group Newsletter

About Sutherland Group Coming up.. We meet at 8 pm every third Wed, 16 Jun Sutherland Group meeting – Pipeworts? Learn Wednesday from February to more about the in with November at Gymea Community Richard Jobson, Royal Botanical Gardens. Centre, 39 Gymea Bay Rd, Gymea. Visitors welcome. Thurs, 1 Jul JB Reserve working bees are back on. Sun, 4 Jul Rules for Covid-19 are in place, more here We support awareness and conservation of Australian native Wed, 21 Jul Sutherland group meeting. .

See our website & Facebook Look out for.. Leptomeria acida (sour currant bush) http://austplants.com.au/Sutherland

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 Anne Webb Leptomeria acida growing on the Florence Parade Trail, 9 Connels Rd Royal National Park (Ph: P. Shelton) Cronulla 2230 Ph 9523 6067 Also known as acid drops, the fruit of this shrub is quite sour. They are quite juicy and rich in vitamin C. The volume of fruit varies a bit Publicity Officer & from year to year with the climate, but this seems to be one of the Speaker Convenor better years. Cultivation is not easy or common as this is a root Ralph Cartwright parasite . So see it in the wild, along the Florence Parade Trail, [email protected] the Honeymoon Trail and other dry forest areas around NSW. Ph 9548 1074 0416 030 872 It is an erect shrub ranging from 1 – 3 m. The drupes are up to 7 mm but often smaller. It can be found from coastal regions of NSW and as far west as the Blue Mountains. Newsletter Editor Peter Shelton [email protected] Ph 0411 286 969 Inside this issue For your diary ...... 2 Newsletter Deadline: At the May Meeting ...... 2 First Wednesday of the month APS NSW Quarterly meeting at Kurnell ...... 5 News and more ...... 5

For your diary Contact John Arney ph 9525 0449, [email protected] Wed, 16 Jun Sutherland Group meeting Member Ralph Cartwright shares photos from his recent From 7.45 pm trip to Mungo National Park in the state’s west. The park is part of a series of dry lakes for 8:00 pm start which fill infrequently. It’s a fascinating mix of geology, heritage and plants. This will be followed by our plant table hosted by Phil Keane. Physical specimens can be brought in by anyone for learning or teaching. Sat, 26 Jun Walk: Burnum Burnum, Sutherland and Bonnet Bay area 9:00 am Meet at 9 am for a morning walk around Burnum Burnum Sanctuary overlooking Woronora River. We will zig-zag our way along tracks through this patch of sandstone bushland on a plateau with district views. It’s a small area, but a great environment for practising identification of common species. If you have a copy, bring Les Robinson’s Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney. Bring water, hat and snack. Meet 9 am at the northern end of Coolgardie Place, Sutherland (a few streets off Tudar Road). We’ll send a reminder email a few days before. Please RSVP to Rhonda Daniels, 0491 629 760, [email protected] Thurs, 1 Jul Joseph Banks Reserve working bees, Manooka Place Kareela, from 9 am Sun, 4 Jul We have been working and planting along the eastern edge of the reserve overlooking Sylvanvale. Sat, 10 Jul Menai Group meeting. Rhonda Daniels is talking on the diversity of native fruit at from 1 pm APS Menai if you missed her March talk at Sutherland Group. Illawong Fire Station. Wed, 21 Jul Sutherland Group meeting. Guest speaker will be Dr Kevin Mills from the Fern Study Group From 7.45 pm for 8:00 pm start, at Gymea Community Hall. (Covid19 regulations permitting) 3,4,10,11 July (10 – 4) Illawarra Grevillea Garden open days. These are the first two weekends in July. Sun, 12 Sep Stony Range 60th Anniversary Spring Festival. Sutherland Group will have a trip to visit Stony Range at Dee Why by public transport. See story below, page 6 11 – 16 Sep, 2022 ANPSA Biennial Conference delayed until 2022 due to Covid-19 considerations.

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 7 Jul, from 2 pm Saturday 10 Jul, 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 May Meeting Pipeworts – now we know they are small aquatic plants with white-grey Before the meeting, not many of us knew what a pipewort was, but we were curious. Now we know! Dr Richard Jobson, a research scientist at the Royal Botanic Garden and Sutherland Group member, shared research on pipeworts being conducted with PhD student Paulo Baleeiro from the University of . Pipeworts are the common name for plants in the family which are aquatic and monocots. Worldwide, the family has about 700–1400 species in 10 genera with a tropical distribution. They vary in size from absolutely tiny to over 1 metre for a species from Brazil. Richard displayed a basket made

APS Sutherland – June 2021 2 from fibre his student Paulo brought from Brazil. It was a lovely golden colour. Some species have antimicrobial properties. Habitat photos showed pipeworts growing in fast flowing creeks and there is one fully aquatic species.

Pipewort basket E. scriosum E. cinereum (Ph: R. Daniels) (Ph:Wikipedia commons) (Ph: M. Fagg) They have diversity in morphology across genera and also diversity in floral structure, although most have small white to grey flowers. They continuously until the environment dries up. With a mouldy smell, they are likely pollinated by small flies. The rosettes of leaves are distinctive. They are dioecious, having separate male and female plants. Of the ten genera worldwide, Australian has only one genus called Eriocaulon with about 34 species and more unnamed species. The genus probably dispersed from south into Australia at least six times, but it has not yet reached Tasmania or New Zealand which have no species. Richard noted his research is funded by an Australian Biological Resources Study national research grant as we need to understand the taxonomy of species better and assess conservation status among threatened species. As part of the research, plant material is sent to Korea for DNA tests to better understand complex relationships. There are two main clades or groups in Australia. The Eriocaulon carsonii complex is found in the Great Artesian Basin area, while the complex is found in eastern Australia. There is also an Eriocaulon cinerum complex in northern Australia. Ian Hill asked what to look out for in the Royal National Park. Les Robinson’s Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney lists one species – Eriocaulon scariosum (common pipewort), described as “an unusual little herb with a tuft of short leaves and greyish ball-like flower heads on slender stalks 10–18 cm tall. Found in sunny ground in marshy meadows and on creek beds”. It is uncommon but widely reported on sandstone and the Cumberland plain. As far as I can google, ‘wort’ means plant, herb or vegetable, from an Old English word ‘wyrt’ for root or plant. Rhonda Daniels

On the plant table The plant table is a great way to see what grows Rhonda. Goodenia ovata is a very vigorous, fast well in Sutherland Shire and what flowers when. growing shrub to about 1 m with glossy green Please free to email some photos in addition to leaves and small yellow flowers. These showing the plant specimens at the meeting. characteristics mean it could be kept pruned and These may be included in the newsletter. You can used as a hedge, but it is not commonly used for email by reply to the newsletter or to Dan Clarke that purpose. It is also available as ground cover at: [email protected] form which has smaller leaves. Plant steward Phil Keane’s nursery, Ausplants R At the meeting, we also smelled some aromatic Us, is in Sutherland. Visits by appointment or plants provided by Phil Keane. The perception of check out sale days (often Saturday 12 – 4:30) on and reaction to aroma can be very individual. https://www.facebook.com/ausplants/` Australian natives tend to have fragrance in the Ph: 0435 410 857 or [email protected] oils of leaves, not in the flowers. Without resorting to wine-type descriptions, we do need to develop With our numbers at our May meeting lower than better descriptions than “lemony”, “citrusy” or usual, we only had one plant specimen from

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“cinnamon”. The genus Backhousia in the Myrtaceae family has 13 species which grow to aromatic shrubs and trees. They are found in rainforests and dry forests of Queensland and NSW, and also in Western Australia. The genus is named in honour of James Backhouse (1794–1869), a botanist and missionary for the Quaker Church in Australia. The best known species is Backhousia citriodora or lemon myrtle. Backhousia myrtifolia ‘Mini Cini’ is a compact form about 1 m by 1 m of what is usually a small rainforest tree. It has a cinnamon aroma, although Leonie says it is more like nutmeg. It has dense foliage and tiny cream white flowers. Backhousia enata (River myrtle) which has stiff glossy leaves had a stronger aroma on the night, described by one website as a “menthol smell”. It is found in north-eastern Queensland in the Tully River catchment.

Z. smithii plants (Ph: J. Howes) One of our raffle plants was a Smilax glyciphylla, a local species with somewhat edible or chewable young leaves, and also used as a bush tea. It is known as native sarsaparilla and the species name refers to the sweet leaf (glyci=sweet, phylla=leaf). Phil also had for sale an unusual Gossypium ‘Flirtatious’ with the flowers tucked inside bracts.

B. citriodora (Ph: J. Howes) We had two other local aromatic shrubs which are good in more shaded spots. Prostanthera sieberi, one of the mintbushes, is very aromatic and can be overpowering in small spaces. It is in the Lamiaceae family. This is a fast growing shrub to 2 m with multi-branched foliage, copes with shade Gossypium ‘Flirtatious’ (Ph: R. Dniels) and has small soft leaves. It does have mauve flowers, but is grown more for its foliage. Zieria More information can be found at these websites: smithii, a shrub to about 2 m, is found along the www.anspa.org.au www.anbg.gov.au east coast including in Sydney. It is in the citrus plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au www.wikipedia.org Rutaceae family. The oil glands are prominent on www.austplants.com.au/plant-database the leaves, and it also has four-petalled white Plus: Dan Clarke has all the monthly plant table flowers in spring. The common name of sandfly information compiled in his Plant Table Master list Zieria likely arose from its use as an insect document available from our web site. repellent. The crushed leaves secrete bitter aromatic oil high in safrole. Rhonda Daniels Plant Table Masterlist APS Sutherland – June 2021 4

APS NSW quarterly Meeting at Kurnell

John Arney leads Banks and Solander walk at Kurnell (Photos supplied: Jane March, Northern Beaches group) The quarterly meeting was hosted by Sutherland in May with great success. Walks, plant sales and plenty of food at afternoon tea. You will have read about it in the eNewsletter from APS NSW but a few local highlights are worth noting. The photo shows Leonie Hogue receiving her life membership from John Aitken. John stepped down from President of APS NSW after 6 years but still remains as Vice President. Meanwhile John Arney received The Conservation award. Read more about APS NSW awards at these links: Leonie Hogue Kris Gow John Arney

Thanks to all the volunteers who made the day run smoothly. News and More Membership Update your first aid for free If you are not receiving the monthly APS NSW In 2020, we received a federal government enewsletter from enewsletter editor Rhonda volunteer grant for first aid training. Members can Daniels, please email [email protected] complete the one day first aid course at the St so we can sort out whether we have your correct George and Sutherland Community College at email address in our records. Each monthly issue Jannali. It is held regularly through the year on the is emailed at the end of the previous month. first Saturday of the month, approx. 9 am to 3 pm. Membership renewal If you would like to attend, please contact and pay Members receive an email from APS NSW when the college directly at www.workskills.sgscc.edu.au their membership is due through the year and can or phone 8543 7412. Let me know at renew online on the APS website. Check your [email protected] so we can keep track and membership status with our treasurer Anne Webb reimburse you $120 on course completion. We all at the March meeting or by phone. benefit from up-to-date first aid knowledge. Rhonda Daniels

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Stony Range More about feral deer Stony Range Botanic Garden is nestled in the From ABC News: A Senate committee is warning beachside suburb of Dee Why and is a green unless policies change soon, Australia could face oasis amongst medium density housing. Its 3 an explosion of feral deer. It recommended all hectares of natural bushland are set amongst states label deer as feral pests, but such a move fantastic Hawkesbury sandstone outcrops with would face opposition from recreational hunters. winding soft natural tracks and hard surface paths In this broadcast on Country Breakfast, the deer suitable for all abilities. Indigenous plants from situation is covered from about 10 mins 20 secs. other areas in Australia have also been used and speciality plantings such as banksias, bush foods The link is also provided below: etc have been established. With support from the https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/countrybreakfast/co Northern Beaches Council, over the last 60 years untry-breakfast-features-may-29/13359884 a team of dedicated volunteers have turned a More on protecting the Wollemi Pine derelict and weed infested area into a bushland haven and respite from the busy world outside. The link is to a story titled 'Dinosaur trees' survived Black Summer, but they haven't recovered enough for the next bushfire in the Sydney Morning Herald.

As it is 60 years since the official opening of Stony Range in 1961 there is to be a special 60th Anniversary Spring Festival on Sunday 12 September 2021 with plant sales and advice from the Stony Range Nursery and the Northern A Wollemi pine begins its recovery by coppicing, or Beaches Australian Plants Group plus displays, resprouting. (Photo: BERIN MACKENZIE/DPIE) live native animals, music, children’s activities, It includes fascinating details about how they were coffee shop and BBQ. managed during the recent fire season and their APS NSW Banksia Study Group in SMH difficult future. This recent story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Catch up at our youtube channel How WA’s banksias are growing on the east coast Watch archived zoom meetings at our youtube quoted Phil Trickett of the Banksia Study Group. It channel. For example, watch any of last year’s mentions his work on grafting Banksias and meetings including Plant Tables with Dan Clarke growing the rare B. Vincentia at home. or Peter Olde’s talk on Grevillea hybrids at the https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/how-wa-s- February APS meeting. banksias-are-growing-on-the-east-coast-20210503-p57oel.html You can also refer to the APS NSW newsletters and journals archive

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

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