Budawangia* an E-Newsletter for All Those Interested in the Native Plants of the Nsw South Coast
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BUDAWANGIA* AN E-NEWSLETTER FOR ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN THE NATIVE PLANTS OF THE NSW SOUTH COAST Contact: Dr Kevin Mills – [email protected] No. 18 – September 2013 Aims: To connect those interested in the native flora of the NSW South Coast, to share up to date information on the flora of the region and to broaden the appreciation of the region’s native plants. Editorial There is something about spring – must be closely associated with our evolution that we feel invigorated to get out and about in the garden and the bush. A walk in Morton State Conservation Area early in the month found all those prickly shrubs that were scratching our legs in winter were resplendent in abundant yellow, white and purple flowers. This month’s offerings include the second episode in the seed dispersal story and feedback on the issue of the native ‘weed’ Pittosporum undulatum. The mystery weed and plant of the month appear as usual. A new species of orchid has been described in the Shoalhaven and you can find out about it in this edition, along with photographs. I would be pleased to receive appropriate articles, however small, on interesting observations, new discoveries, plant name changes, etc., up to two A4 pages, including some photographs. If anyone has a question about plants, we will get an answer for you. “I shall collect plants and fossils, and with the best of instruments make astronomic observations. Yet this is not the main purpose of my journey. I shall endeavor to find out how nature's forces act upon one another, and in what manner the geographic environment exerts its influence on animals and plants. In short, I must find out about the harmony in nature.” Baron Alexander von Humboldt, letter to Karl Freiesleben (1799), in Helmut de Terra, Humboldt: The Life and Times of Alexander van Humboldt 1769-1859 (1955). Kevin Mills, Jamberoo, NSW. Tel. 02 4236 0620 * Budawangia is a monotypic, endemic genus restricted to the Budawang Range on the western edge of the South Coast region. The genus was named by Telford in 1992; the species Budawangia gnidioides (Ericaceae) was previously named Rupicola gnidioides. Page | 1 Seed Trek - The Next Generation - Episode Two An important dispersal mechanism for many species of plant is provided by the wind. All manner of winged and hairy appendages have evolved to promote wind dispersal. The plants in the family Asteraceae have developed the most beautiful architecture in their seed attachments for wind dispersal. The seeds are often suspended below a parachute-like attachment called a pappus. Next time you happen upon a dried out thistle, take a close look at the delicate structure that the plant has produced to ensure the next generation. Common local trees that use wind dispersal include Sassafras Doryphora sassafras, which has a very light and hairy seed attachment, and Coachwood Ceratopetalum apetalum, which produces a propeller-like ring of calyces that spins and floats on the wind. Seed dispersal by wind has been mastered by species in the daisy family (Asteraceae), the orchids (Orchidaceae) and the spores of ferns, as well as many species in many other families. Some examples are shown below, demonstrating that similar structures have evolved in several different plant families. The head of a Dandelion contains many small parachute-like structures with a single seed attached at the bottom; see photograph. This most elegant apparatus has evolved to ensure seeds are blown afar by the wind. Seeds of Monkey Rope Vine Parsonsia straminea. The beautiful architecture of a Dandelion head; each seed is suspended below a dainty parachute. Spear-thistle Cirsium vulgare seeds. Photographs: © Kevin Mills 2013. Common Milk Vine Marsdenia rostrata seeds. Page | 2 Among other things, successful weeds have evolved excellent methods of seed dispersal. Chief among these are wind dispersed seeds as they require no other agent than the wind, which occurs everywhere. The Spear-thistle and Dandelion (family Asteraceae) are mentioned above; another wind- dispersed species is in an entirely different family. Moth Vine Araujia sericifera (Apocynaceae), which appeared in newsletter no. 11, produces a choko-like fruit containing many wind borne seeds. The photograph below shows the bundle of seeds in the fruit. The split fruit of Moth Vine Araujia sericifera showing the many seeds inside, each attached to long silky hairs for wind dispersal. In some plants water is the key dispersal agent. Like so many areas of biological investigation, Charles Darwin contemplated seed dispersal. Among other things, he undertook experiments to see how long seeds could remain viable floating in sea water. In many cases he found that seeds do remain viable for relatively long periods of time immersed in salty water. He also looked how theoretically seed attached to floating branches could survive crossing wide expanses of water. Dispersal by water is nowhere more evident than in plants that grow on beaches and around estuaries. Floating seeds or fruits, clearly a great advantage to plants that grow near water, may disperse the plant across vast oceans. It is not surprising that some beach plants are found very widely around the world. Seeds from these plants can remain viable for a long time submerged in water. Mangrove seeds float for long distances and may start to grow while floating, so that when washed ashore they can quickly grow into the mud before the tide takes them away. Gravity may seem a minor method of dispersing a plant’s seeds. However, consider the large fruit and seeds of the local rainforest tree Planchonella australis (Sapotaceae). The fleshy part of the fruit is no doubt eaten by many animals, but the seeds are large, hard and not appetising at all. So unless animals carry the fruit away from the parent plant, the only way the seed travels any where is by gravity. Another new word for us all Following pteridomania in the previous newsletter, Ann Long of Foxground sends in the following: Nemophilist – one who is fond of forest or forest scenery; a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude. Also, nemophily - a fondness or liking for forests, woods, or woodland scenery. Origin: Greek ne`mos - wooded pasture, glade, filei^n - to love. Page | 3 Mystery Weed A shrub from Asia, this is a weed for our friends on the tablelands. Okay, enough hints! Answer next edition. Feedback on Pittosporum undulatum The piece in the last newsletter on the native Pittosporum undulatum drew several comments from readers. I have provided these below, with minimal editing as I think people should be given the freedom to respond as they wish. Other responses that may come in will be included in the next newsletter. From Adrienne Grant, Batemans Bay. We do not know where Pittosporum undulatum used to grow before European settlement. The idea that it has become ‘naturalised’ is based on human views over a limited time period. Several other colonising Australian native plants grow faster than P. undulatum. For example, from my own experience I can verify that Melaleuca quinquenervia, M. styphelioides, Acacia longifolia and Grevillea robusta grow much more quickly than P. undulatum in Sydney. The definition of a weed that we were taught in Horticulture is that a weed is a plant that is ‘growing out of place”. I have heard people say that because of its oil, P.undulatum is a fire hazard. However, it is not widely appreciated that P. undulatum is actually a fire retardant plant, i.e. ‘a plant that will not burn in the first wave of a bushfire but may burn once dried out” (from Aust. Plants Soc. of Victoria). What bothers me most about people who talk about Australian native colonising species being weeds, is that while they place emphasis on those native plants, the introduced plants (that find themselves in a climate where it is summer time all the year round) are ignored and they spread and displace native animals that depend upon the native plants that humans have described as weeds. What is often not appreciated is the importance of P. undulatum which provides shelter and food for birds. It is important to appreciate the fact that if we remove native colonising species from specific areas, then plants introduced from other countries, particularly Europe, may grow more rapidly and may lack the animals and cold climate that would keep them in check in their home countries. Unfortunately, while P. undulatum and other colonising species are being targeted and removed, less attention is paid to long-lived plants that were introduced for decorative purposes e.g. Cotoneaster spp. From Steve Douglas, Bundanoon With regards to Pittosporum undulatum, I think that it is the best example of an indigenous species that has not only extended its range but has seemingly dramatically increased in abundance within its range (excluding the factor of habitat loss). I've seen it in Mallacoota just south of the NSW border and it was looking and acting much like Large-leaved Privet does - clearly highly invasive and significantly modifying the understorey, and also likely altering fire behaviour in its favour. Page | 4 Pittosporum undulatum colonising coastal forest near Sussex Inlet. I've recently moved into urban Bundanoon and see strong evidence that this species isn't just in over abundance due to altered fire regime and nutrification, but that changes in avifauna are also seemingly significant. The increased abundance and dominance of Pied Currawongs appears to be a factor in P. undulatum being spread more effectively than is 'natural'. Seedlings turn up in my garden in high densities, despite a reasonable mulch cover, though other woody weeds do much the same here, which leads me to think there is a complex of factors involved in favouring such things: no/low fire; better vectoring; higher nutrients in riparian zones; more fragmented remnants that are generally more susceptible to invasion - be it from natives out of control, or more substantially non-indigenous plants (and animals).