The Clematis Autumn 2007 Issue No 71 BAIRNSDALE POSTAGE Victoria 3875 PAID Quarterly Newsletter of theBairnsdale & District Field Naturalists Club Inc A0006074C 20 1 BAIRNSDALE & DIST FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB INC. SALE & DISTRICT FIELD NATURALISTS PROGRAM A0006074C List of Office Bearers for 2007 Contact Numbers: Joan 5144 3436 President: Pat McPherson ph. (03) 5152 2614 [email protected] Mary 5144 4224 Secretary: Wendy Parker ph. (03) 5152 2615 [email protected] Treasurer: Margaret Regan ph. (03) 5156 2541 APRIL 13th Michael Harper, ‘Arboreal Marsupials’ Correspondence to: 15th. Excursion: Walkerville Heathlands The Secretary, P.O. Box 563, MAY BAIRNSDALE 3875 4th. Allan Scrymgeour, ‘Strait into the Future’ Web Site: www.eastgippsland.com/bdfnc 5th. Excursion: Beach - Science of beach combing with Allan 14 –17th. Pt. Hicks General meetings take place at: Noweyung Centre, 84 Goold Street Bairnsdale JUNE 3rd. Friday of the month at 7.30pm sharp. No meeting June, July, August 1st. Steve Darby, ‘Reptiles of Gippsland’ Committee meetings take place: Thursday of the previous week 3rd. Excursion; Mitchell River walk, Macleod’s Morass before the 3rd. Friday of the month at members homes except June, July, August when held on field excursions if required. LATROBE VALLEY FIELD NATURALISTS PROGRAM Group Co-ordinators: Botanic Group: James Turner Ph. (03) 5155 1258 Contact Number: 5634 2246 (AH) Fauna Survey Group: Jenny Edwards Ph. (03) 5157 5556 Bushwalking Group: Noel Williamson Ph. (03) 5152 1737 APRIL Plant Study Group: Pauline Stewart Ph. (03) 5152 1606 27th. Forest management Issues –Anne Westwood Newsletter Editor: Pauline Stewart Ph. (03) 5152 1606 28th. Related excursion to Grieve Nature Reserve 80 Bengworden Rd. Bairnsdale.3875 email: [email protected] MAY 25th. Hazelwood Wetlands –Kevin Jones All articles for Winter Clematis must be in by June 1st. 26th. Mullundung: Survey for Chestnut-rumped Heathwren JUNE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 22nd. Lichens –Simone Lowhoff 1. To further the study of natural history in all its branches, promoted by 23rd. Related excursion to Morwell NP periodical meetings, field excursions and other activities. 2. To observe and strengthen the laws for the preservation & protection of indigenous flora and fauna and habitat and important geological features. 3. To promote the formation and preservation of National and State Parks and Reserves. 2 19 various notebooks and documents was donated to the State Botanical RULES TO OBSERVE ON FIELD TRIPS: Collection. 1. Excursions are cancelled on days of TOTAL FIRE BAN. 2. Participants to keep a visual on the car in front and behind. Among the other collectors, scientists and botanical artists represent- 3. When making a turn, give signal, and stay at intersection until ed in the exhibition are Henry Tisdall, a keen plant collector and following car has also turned. teacher from Walhalla who was encouraged by Mueller to collect fun- 4. If separated from other cars, stop, and stay with your car. gi; Otto Tepper, another of Mueller’s protégés, who sent him hun- Other members will return to find you. dreds of specimens from South Australia and was later to move from 5. Car pool passengers should offer a donation to the driver for fuel costs. school teaching to become an entomologist; Ilma Stone, one of only 18 women at The University of Melbourne when she studied botany in the 1930s; and bryologist George Scott, whose contribution to Aus- SUBSCRIPTION FEES tralian bryology was considered exceptional and who was honoured in his lifetime by being elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Family membership $25 Single membership $15 Hidden in Plain View: the forgotten flora will provide a rare oppor- Mid-year fee (new members only) $ 7.50 tunity to discover the remarkable world of the forgotten flora and of those who have dedicated their lives to revealing its secrets. Responsibility for the accuracy of information and opinions expressed in this Exhibition dates newsletter rests with the author of the article. 7 April –11 June LIBRARY INFORMATION - Librarian - Dot Prout Phone: 5153 1303 McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, • Books are generally borrowed for one month - however you can write on Langwarrin the sign-out sheet if you wish to have it longer. The Gallery, Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne • Should any library materials need maintenance, please make me aware of same. • If you wish to recommend a book, this can be done by writing a short 23 –7 October recommendation for the Clematis. This information could be from our li- Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery brary books or from other books that you believe our library could look at purchasing. 13 October—11 November Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale CONTENTS 24 November –17 December Domain House, Royal Botanic Gardens Program March to June 5 Melbourne Mountain Pygmy Possum 6 –9 Bentley Plain 9 –14 From Florea 15 Autumn 2007 Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Aust. Plant Study Group - Colquhoun Forest 14 –16 18 3 CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS and email address’s for meetings HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW and field trips. Some of the historical treasures and specimens of the State Botanical Andrew Bould 5156 6494 [email protected] Collection, housed in the National Herbarium of Victoria, will be dis- Jenny Edwards 51575556 [email protected] played for the first time in a touring exhibition Hidden in Plain View: Heather Oke 5156 3231 [email protected] the forgotten flora. Pat McPherson 5152 2614 [email protected] The exhibition can be seen at four regional galleries during 2007, cul- Wendy Parker 5152 2615 [email protected] minating at Domain House at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Margaret Regan 5156 2541 in December. Jeremy & Nina Stewart 5153 0216 [email protected] Pauline Stewart 5152 1606 [email protected] The forgotten flora on which Hidden in Plain View focuses are the James Turner 5155 1258 [email protected] non-vascular plants of liverworts, hornworts, mosses, lichens and fun- Noel Williamson 5152 1737 [email protected] gi. These remarkable intricate and beautiful organisms are intro- duced through botanical illustrations, photography, contemporary and historical writing and artifacts. The forgotten flora or crypto- DEGREE- OF DIFFICULTY FOR BUSH WALKS gams (Latin cryptic, secret or hidden) form 15% of the 1.2 million her- Easy Flat, good firm track. barium specimens and historical documents of the State Botanical Moderately easy Mostly flat, track in good to fair condition Collection , making one of the largest collections in Australia. Moderate May be undulating, track in good to fair condition Mod. difficult May be some steep sections, track may be rough in The exhibition also reveals something of the history and influence of places botanical research by the Royal Botanic Garden’s first Director, Fer- Difficult May have long steep sections, track may be non dinand von Mueller, and his contemporaries and those who followed existent at times in their footsteps. Many of their unique collections and notes are an Walks vary in distance from 6 to 14 km. important part of the Herbarium’s collection. Contact the leader of the walk for a rating if it’s not included in the program. A centerpiece of the exhibition is Mueller’s microscope which he ac- quired from London in 1857 for the grand total of 4 guineas at the Please take note of safety procedures in your Bairnsdale & District time offering to ‘pay for it in books and specimens’. This microscope Field Naturalists Club Inc. ‘RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY’ would have been an essential tool of trade: between 1847 and 1877 booklet. Mueller collected approximately 23,000 specimens for the Herbarium, and more than 15,000 specimens were sent to him by other collectors. Please note this program could be subject to change. Among the other historical treasures on show are Richard Bastow’s It is your responsibility to contact the co-ordinator of each field Key to Australian Mosses and the associated reference sets of speci- trip to notify them of your intention to participate. The co- mens. Bastow, a contemporary and friend of Mueller, was forced to ordinator can then notify you if the trip has to be cancelled due to sell his own ‘beautiful’ microscope and settle his debts before he adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances. moved from Hobart to Victoria in 1887. He was an active member of Evening committee meetings may not be required. Please check the Royal Society and the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, and after before arriving. his death in 1920, his large personal herbarium of cryptogams and 4 17 Our next challenge was a daisy-bush. Initial guess’s proved to be correct PROGRAM - MARCH TO JUNE 2007 being Olearia lirata (Snowy Daisy-bush). The description once again fa- voured being near a stream in sheltered forests. The leaves measured be- MARCH tween 4-16cm. x 7-35mm wide. Frid. 16th. General meeting 7.30pm. Speaker: Trish Fox “Habitat The other Olearia in the book with large leaves was the Musk Daisy-bush Hectare Assessment” (Olearia argopylla.) This daisy-bush favours fern-gullies and on cool Sun. 18th. Monthly excursion: To be announced. moist sheltered slopes. Its leaves are longer 6-15cm and much wider than Sun. 25th. Bushwalk 9.00am to Mottle Range. O. lirata being 3-7cm wide with a musky smell. Contact: Jeremy and Nina Stewart. Other plants being investigated were Prickly Current Bush (Coprosma APRIL quadrifida), Burgen (Leptospermum phylicoides), a Raspwort (Gonocarpu Wed. 11th. Plant Study Group 10.00am (Bridge Club) to Moormurng. sp) and a Wombat Berry. Contact: Pauline Stewart. Thurs. 12th. Committee meeting 7.30pm at Margaret Regan’s home. Everyone declared that they enjoyed their morning investigating the plants Frid. 20th. General meeting 7.30pm. Speaker: Dr.