By Botanist Greg Kighery

= Blutt Knoll,the highestpoint ol the StirlingRange and homeof Darwiniasquaffosa and Darwinia collina. by Botanist Gregkighery It was one of the more rewardingmoments of my many visits to the Stirling Rangewhen in September 1981after a long, har4 wet climb I first saw,in full flower on Mt Success,a previouslyunknown species of mountain bell. ' The Stirling Range,rising to flowering plants,including 6o work began to otrtain more a height of over 1,OOOmetres, is that occur nowhere else. information about the total the nearestapproximation to a As a scientistI have been flora of the range,with special mountain rangethat the associatedwith the range since attention being paid to the subdued topography of Western 1977 when I first became mountain bells.The results of Australiahas produced.Now interestedin the lovely and seven years' work are now to enclosedin a magnificent varied plants,mountain bells hand, revealinga fascinating National Park, the range is (Danoiniaspecies\. At this time history and descriptionof the home to almost 1,OOOspecies of their nameswere confused,so DanDiniasn this region. - P o This unnamedDarw,nla species ditfers Irom Darwiniasquarosa (opposite)in thatthe bractsare slightly more red in colour,and the flowersprotrude. Thrs is the only bell confined to a single peak. All of the mountain bells genus,a member of the Ruta- belong to the genus Dararinia ceae family, has pale yellow, (named after Erasmus Darwin, slender bells and is endemic to grandfather of Charles Darwin). the range. It can be distin- The genus is a member of the guished from Datwiniosin family Myrtaceae, and is closely having a solitary flower per bell, related to the Ceraldton waxes and in flowering in autumn and (Chamelaucium), Albany swamp early winter, not spring and daisy (Adinodium)and the feather early summer. All speciesof flowers (Verlicordid.The genus Danoinin atlract birds who feed b Danoiniain Western Australia is on the nectar produced by the comprised of approximately 60 plant and who pollinate the species(about 1,5-20 are flowers. Muiriantha is also E unnamed),and can be divided pollinated by honey-eating birds into several very discreet and has probably mimicked the The talse bell, Muiriantha hassellii sections. One of these sections shape of the Daruinitrsin order mimics the Darwinia torm. However the bell is actuallya single flower, contains the mountain bells and to attract pollinaters. unlikethe bellof the Da.wfla whichis the very rare Donuiniocarnea, Ihe The distribution of each composedof flower-like leavescalled only member of the group speciesof mountain bell is bracts. found outside the Stirling shown in the accompanying Ranges. map. One popular misconcep- Close-up tion is that the bells are confined to particularpeaks. This is The bell of the Daruinie is in not generally true, although fact a cluster of flowers that most occur within well defined hang down and are enclosedby regions, either upon several colourful petalJike leaves peaks or in the valleys between referred to as bracts. One plant them. Always they occur above frequently mistaken as a Dal- the 300 metre contour level, winia is Muiri,tnthahassellii, This and on acid sandy clay soil. Figurc1 0islribution0I DanrviniaSpecies in theStirling Range National park c N (m Darwiniameebotdii E Darwiniasquarrosa Eil Darwiniamacrostegia Darwinialejostyla Bunbury Darw!niaoxylepis Darwiniawittwororum Darwiniahypericifolia Darwiniacollina N Darwinia speciesnova NationalPark E The simplestway to consider western margin of the range. forms be preserved, as the each speciesis to discussthem Originally this specieswas Hamilla Hills form is the Cran- in a geographicalsequence from thought to be confined to brook emblem and is characrer- the driest area (Cranbrook) to Donnelly Peak, but our sub- istic of this group of mountain the wettest (Bluff - Knoll sequent searcheshave failed to bells. East). The first bell encountered locate it on this peak There are The second speciesis Gill- is the Cranbrook bell (Dsnoinia two distinct colour forms, the ham's bell, (Danoiniaoxyleptst, meeboldii)which is the emblem of yellowish Hamilla Hills form long considereda form of the Cranbrook Shire and occurs and the paler Western Stirlings Donoiniolejostyla, but always on the Hamilla Hills and the far form. It is important that both considereddistinct by longtime Cranbrook resident Alf Gillham. Our studiesshow it to be deserving of separate species status,and we then discovered that JamesDrummond had collectedit on his visit to the range in 1848.His material had been described as a speciesof Cenetyllisby Russian botanist Turczaninow in 1852,and subsequentlyignored by English and Australian botantists. However, the original name has now been resurrected as this speciesis considered to be closely related lo Dnrutinin neeboldii.not D. leiostyla.lt is confined to lowland regions rather than the peaksof the Stirlings. B Darwinia meeboldii is the emblem of the Cranbrook Shire and shows the characteristicbe shape of the O specres. 5 The third speciesencountered In the central part of the is the tulip darwinia or the range grows the lowland Mondurup bell (Danoinismacro- species,D anoinio wiI lwer or um, slegia),a plant with an untidy named after Ernst and the late straggling habit, but with large Magda Wittwer. This is a small bells showing red veins that erect shrub, which occurs on may vary from almost white to only a few sites in the central nearly pure red. In Europe Stirlings,and can be easily its almost during the nineteenth century distinguished by small this specieswas widely cultivat- closed bells, tinged red at the previously ed from seedssent back by base. It too was placedin Dnnoinialejoslyln. JamesDrummond, but ii is rarely grown now. Dnruininma- On all larger peaks of the crostegioprefers high wet slopes central Stirlings, one finds the of the larger western peaks. widespread Dnrwiniahypericifolin. Closely related to Daruinia. mocrostegia.it shares the same scrambling habii, but differs in Darwinia wittwerorum was named having narrow few-flowered Wittwerin 1981. afterErnst and lvlagda heads covered by pure red Notethat the bell structureis rounder than most other mountainbells. bracts. Finally, just before the high eastern peaks, Danoinialejostyla (note: Iejostylanot lerbsfyln)can be found, west of Chester Pass on Mt Trio and Tolls Peak. This is the second widespread sPecies, The Mondurup bell, Darwinia macrostegia. This bell was most lrequently grown in nineteenth- century Europe from seeds sent to Londonby JamesDrummond in 1850. It gainedthe nametulip bell because of the resemblanceof the bracts to a variegatedtulip flower. Belaw: Datwi nia oxy lepis growin g beautifully on the slopesnear the easternend of the StirlingRange National Park 3 = o Figure2 and the only one that crosses ChesterPass. Danoinia lejostyla has two distinct forms, a montane form with long, bright pink bracts,and a valley form, with upturned lighi pink spreadingbracts (known only to occur in the valleysbelow Bluff Coloured brocis Knoll). Our studiesindicate that thesetwo forms should be Brqcts recognizedas separatesub- speciesof Darwinialejoslyk. James Drummond found the valley form during his visit to the range, then climbinghigher he Nole f ound Dntwinia sq ua nosa, individuol However, sincehe normally z f lowers found only one bell per peakon A Typicol MountoinBell Showrnq Clusterof Flowers Surrounded Hong-ing the western hills he did not by Brocts climb further. Hencehe never saw the montaneform of Dnnoiniolejwtyla, nor Darwinin rollira,which was not named until the late 1920s. Righland Betow: Darwinia hyperificolia occurs on Mt Hasseiland other peaks in the central part of the Stirling Range National Park. .9 I The other mountain bells are all confined to the high, wet eastern peaks. Darwiniasquarrosa occurs generally at lower levels than Danoiniarollifla which is confined to the high plateau. The two speciesdo not normally occur together. Dnrwinia squarrosadescends the wetter valleys and, for example, occurs in a very localized position just above the waterfall on Bluff Knoll. This specieswith its fringed leaves and pink bracts is very distinctive. Darwiniacollina (aptly named in Latin as "dweller on hills'l is the most spectacularspecies of all the bells. In placeswhere the soils - are very shallow it grows as a dense shrub covered in large lemonlime bells (they are often P tinged with red o on Bluff Knoll The valley form ol Darwinia leiostyla was once con- and Coyanerup Peak). fusedwith membersof the genusGenetylrs but has The final species,discovered now beenconfirmed as a Darwlnla.Note the beautitul on Mt Successin 1981 and pink colour ol the bracts. currently unnamed, is probably the rarest mountain bell. It is Belaw The mountain form ot Darwinia teiostyla.This bell is probablythe most commonlyencountered by touristswho climb the peaks arouid Chester Pass{especially Blufi Knoll). z. I o closely related to Darwinict squarosabut differs in having a smaller bell, short red bracts and a scrambling habit (see photo on page 4). New Discoveries One final point of interest to note in the mountain bells is the presence of interspecific hybrids. As can be seen from the distribution map and notes on each species,the bells rarely occur together, being separated either geographically or altitud- inally. ln caseswhere two speciesdo meet, hybrids can be found. So far, two hybridizing - populations are known, Dnraririn ollina x Darwinia lejoslyln,and the P unnamed specieshybridizing o with Dnrwinia leiostyls.The

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