ASSOCIATION OF SOCXETXES FOR GROWING AUSTRALIAN PLANTS lnc, EPACRIS STUDY GROUP Group Leader: Gwen Elliot, P.O. Box 655 Heathmont Vic. 3135 Email: [email protected] Greetings to all Epacris Study Group members,. Our Study Group Newsletter is coming toyou a few weeks earlier than usual this year mainly to give members adequate notice regarding the Annual Flower Show of the Yarra Yarra Group of the Australian Plant Society at Templestowe on October 13th-14thJ where our Study Group will be having a display of Epacris. I will also be away immediately prior to this display, assisting in the leadership of a Wildflower Tour in Western Australia for Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne Vic. AS you will see above, this is now Newsletter No. 24 of the EPACRIS STUDY GROUP,- since its inception in 1992. Two Newsletters each year have been published since 1998 each with a different SPECIES PROFILE PAGE. In this issue, an item which started off as a small piece entitled WHEN IS AN EPACRIS NOT AN EPACRIS has ended up as a full profile page on Rupicola apiculata. This plant was previously Epacris apiculata and it is interesting to follow through on the features which resulted in its move from Epacris to Rupicola, and to look a little futher into its new genus. A separate PROFILE PAGE features the most recent botanical revision in the genus of Epacris, including the descripti~nof three new species in the " Epacris tasmanica complexJJ. This work has been undertaken by Dr. Ron Crowden of Tasmania, founding leader of the EPACRIS STUDY GROUP. We are pleased to be able to also include a page entitled MULCHES AREN'T JUST MULCHES, kindly provided by Study Group member, Phil Watson, who is Parks & Natural Areas Officer for the Clarence City Council in Tasmania. Phil has also written an attractive and informative 30-page booklet which has been published by the Clarence City Council, entitled PLANTS FOR THE WATER FRIENDLY GARDEN - NATIVE PLANT FIELD GUIDE. Local residents of the region may have already received a copy, or you could check for further information on the ~ouncil'sWebsite - www.ccc.tas.gov.au The page on Epacris Flowering Times is again included, as a number of members are continuing to record flowering times of plants in their garden, and this information will provide a valuable ongoing resource for our records. We hope you enjoy the booklet on EPACRIS which accompanies this Newsletter for all financial members of the Study Group. Any information which members are able to provide regarding Epacris plants and their survival during times of drought, fire, floods or other challenging situations would be very much appreciated for future Newsletters. Warm greetings, and happy gardening, Page 2 News Gt Notes Special coragratula~ionsto Dick Burns and Jan Sked It is with much delight that we are able to offer our congratulations to both Dick Bums and Jan Sked, on being awarded ASGAP Australian Plants Awards in the amateur division. The Association &Societies for Growing Australian Plants Inc., of which we are all members, makes these awards honouring members who make an outstanding contribution to the Sociev, at each National Conference. Dick Burns from Tasmania was founding Secretary of our EPACRIS STUDY GROUP and continues to be an adive mem ber of the group, as well as being active in many other aspects of the Australian Plant Society Tasmania, and also nationally. Jan Sked from Queensland has recently retired -from the position of national Study Group Co-ordinator for ASGAP. She also continues to be a very active member of the Society in Queensland. Both Dick and Jan have a deep passion for Australian plants and we thank them for their significant contributions to ASGAP and in particular our Study Groups. Forthcoming Epacris Study Grous Display The Yarra Yarra regional group of the Australian Plant Society will be presenting the APS Yarra Yarra Flower Show, on the weekend of October 13 - 14th, at Templestowe College, Cypress Avenue, Templestowe Vic. The show will be open from 9arn to 5pm on the Saturday, and 9am - 4pm on the Sunday. Tbe Epacris Study Growp has been invited to present a display on Epacris and our Study Group activities, and it should provide an excellent opportunity for us to display the Victorian State ~mblemand other species. The display will also be featuring a series of dioramas to illustrate some dthework ofthe botanieJames Drummond, plus a display of drought-resistant plants suitable for Melbourne suburban gardens. Do come along ifyou live in or are able to visit the Melbourne region on October 13-14th. A speclal Gift for Study Group Members As mentioned in our MARCH 2007 Newsletter we are very pleased to be able to orwa ward with this Newsletter to all financial members of the EBACRIS STUDY GROUP, a copy of the booklet EPACRIS which was written and illustrated by S.G.A.P. member Alice Talbot in 1977. This publication was one of a series undertaken by the Australian Plant Study Group and published with the assistance of S.G.A.P. Maroondah Group in Victoria. All copies have been numbered and signed by Alice. Some years ago Alice kindly gave us permission for the Epacris Study Group to use her illustrations at any time we wish, and several have been included in our Prof3le Pages. We hope you enjoy reading through this publication, and would welcome your comments, additions and other details regarding your own experiences with growing Epacris, which we will be happy to share with other Study Group membem through our hlewsletters. Page 3 ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES FOR GROWING AUSTRALIAN PLANTS Inc. EPACRIS STUDY GROUP Special Plant Profile Paw QUESTION - menis an Epacris NOT an Epacris ? ANSWER - When Egacris apiculata becomes Rupicola apiculata Rupicda apr'culat'a(A. Cunn.) Telford was originally described and named as Epacris apiculata by Alan Cunningham in 1825 then following a botanical revision by the botanist Ian Telford in 1992 it was transferred to the closely related genus of Rupicola. A major difference between the two genera is in the filaments and anthers of the stamens. In Rupicola the filaments are inserted at the base of the floral tube and the anthers converge around the style. Then pollen is released through a slit at the tip of the anther. In Epacris the filaments are inserted in the throat of the tube with the anthers attached at about their middle to the filaments. The pollen is released through a longitudinal split. Flower of Epacris Flower of Rupicola Illustrations by David Mackay from FLORA OF NEW SOUTH WALES, Vol. 3. Edited by Gwen Harden, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Published New South Wales University Press, 1992 R upjcula spjculata occurs in rocky areas of the Blue Mountains region of NSW, where it grows in moist situations usually in sandy soils. It is a small shrub to about 50 cm tall with : hairy branchlets, pointed green leaves to 1.2 cm long and white flowers to about 1 cm across, produced near the branchlet tips mainly in spring and sometimes also during autumn. This species is not common in gardens as plants have proved difficult to maintain, 'but it has been propagated from cuttings and cultivation in containers appears to provide best results. Plants of Rupicola can appear very like a number of Epacris species and a hand lens or other form of magnification is often needed to distinguish between the two genera. Illustration O Trevor Blak Encyclopaedia of Australian plants vol. 8 Published- Lothian Books, Melbourne 2002 Page 4 The genus Ru#cola Maiden Er Betche Rupicola is a small genus, described and named by the botanists Joseph Maiden and Ernst Betche in 1898. There are just four species, all of which are endemic in the Central Tablelands and Coastal Districts of New South Wales. They are Rupicola apiculata (formerly Epacris apiculata), R. ciliata, R. decumbens and R. sprengelioides. Rupicola gnidoides was previously in this genus but has now been re-classified as Budwangia gnidoides. The genus name comes from the Latin rupis, meaning a rock, and colo to inhabit, referring to the fad that these are plants of rocky regions. Joseph H. Maiden was born in London in 1859 and died in New South Wales in 1925. He arrived in Australia in 1880 and became first Curator of the Technological Museum, Sydney, where he established an herbarium in 1883. He was appotnted Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney in 1896, retiring in 1924. He travelled widely throughout Australia, collecting and researching native plants and wrote many publications on Eucalyptus Acacia and other genera. Joseph Maiden and Emst Betche produced A Census of New South Wales Plants published in 1917. D. Ernst L. Betche was born in Germany in 1851 and died in New South Wales in 1913. He arrived in Sydney in 1881 and was appointed as Collector for the Sydney Botanic Gardens. He was promoted to Botanic Assistant toJoseph Maiden in 1897. He had a major interest in the family Goodeniaceae and published papers on other genera also. He worked with Maiden on A Census of New South Wales Plants which was published in 1917, after his death in 1913. R UP~CQ~~apicdata (A. Cu nn .) Telford was originally described and named by Alan Cunningham. Alan Cunni~ghamwas born in England in 1791 and died in Sydney in 1839. He arrived in Australia in 1814 and was among the very significant early botanists in Australia. Alan Cunningham also named Epacris reclinata and further details regarding his work can be found on that Profile Page, in Epacris Study Group Newsletter 10, Spring 2000.