Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Lamont » Sat 17 Oct, 2020 2:06 pm

Looked better before I shrunk it.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby peregrinator » Sat 17 Oct, 2020 2:25 pm

Still looks pretty good, but would be better if you hadn't put it the washing machine.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby GregG » Sat 17 Oct, 2020 2:35 pm

[quote="Lamont"]Looked better before I shrunk it.[/quote]
As the bishop said .....
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Lamont » Sat 17 Oct, 2020 3:11 pm

111
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Lamont » Sat 17 Oct, 2020 3:19 pm

---
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Tyreless » Wed 11 Nov, 2020 7:11 pm

Dunphys Pass, Blue Mountains NP. Can anyone identify it for me?
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby north-north-west » Wed 11 Nov, 2020 7:16 pm

Blandfordia, aka Christmas Bells. Didn't know you got them on the northern island.
Different species to our endemic Tozzie beasts.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Neo » Wed 11 Nov, 2020 10:00 pm

Also different to what I've seen mid north coast NSW. Lighter colours and less flowers in the cluster up there.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Wed 11 Nov, 2020 10:04 pm

north-north-west wrote:Blandfordia, aka Christmas Bells. Didn't know you got them on the northern island.
Different species to our endemic Tozzie beasts.

Neo wrote:Also different to what I've seen mid north coast NSW. Lighter colours and less flowers in the cluster up there.

There are actually three species of Christmas Bells on the northern island:
Blandfordia nobilis endemic in coastal regions south of Sydney to around Bega.
Blandfordia grandiflora from Sydney to Fraser Island including occurrences in lower to mid Blue Mountains.
Blandfordia cunninghamii (rare) restricted to a narrow range of habitats in the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra areas of eastern NSW.
I suspect Tyreless' example could be the latter. I took this photo at Curra Moors in coastal Royal NP, assumed to be Blandfordia nobilis.
Blandfordia Curra Moors RNP.JPG
Blandfordia nobilis, Curra Moors, Royal NP via Waterfall NSW
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Wed 11 Nov, 2020 10:05 pm

The Tassie species of Christmas Bells is Blandfordia punicea. I took this on Twelvetrees Range in the southwest. I've seen them also up on The Sentinel Range:
Blandfordia punicea Twelvetrees Range.jpg
Blandfordia punicea, Twelvetrees Range, Southwest NP via Maydena Tasmania
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby rowdy » Fri 13 Nov, 2020 8:34 am

Mid North Coast NSW Christmas Bells

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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby GregG » Fri 13 Nov, 2020 7:37 pm

Ii
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Sat 28 Nov, 2020 11:41 am

I have recently made a couple of trips to check out how many of my local patch of Hyacinth Orchids have flowered this year. They are again out in numbers and some of the early ones have just started to unfurl their flowers.

Well it has happened again. I did a quick visit early today and someone has nicked one of the plants. :evil: I cannot believe it. There is no way it will survive in a pot. Just makes me so angry. So we can add one Hyacinth to the two Donkey Orchids stolen from the local area.
20201128_100334.jpg
The aftermath of the theft.

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Early blooms just starting to flower.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Neo » Sat 28 Nov, 2020 8:22 pm

I've spotted some in the Wingello Tallong area. Purple skinny asparagus spear-like things.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Sun 29 Nov, 2020 9:53 am

michael_p wrote:I have recently made a couple of trips to check out how many of my local patch of Hyacinth Orchids have flowered this year. They are again out in numbers and some of the early ones have just started to unfurl their flowers.

Well it has happened again. I did a quick visit early today and someone has nicked one of the plants. :evil: I cannot believe it. There is no way it will survive in a pot. Just makes me so angry. So we can add one Hyacinth to the two Donkey Orchids stolen from the local area.

Very disappointing Michael, I'll never understand the mentality of such people.
Was this in one of the council reserves or our local NP?
p.s. You were keen to be out anywhere yesterday, even early on.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Sun 29 Nov, 2020 3:38 pm

Neo wrote:I've spotted some in the Wingello Tallong area. Purple skinny asparagus spear-like things.

Yep, they do look like purple/red asparagus.
johnw wrote:Very disappointing Michael, I'll never understand the mentality of such people.
Was this in one of the council reserves or our local NP?
p.s. You were keen to be out anywhere yesterday, even early on.

It was OK early but it did warm up by the time I got home. This is the patch I PM'ed you the location of some time back. Give it a another week or two and lots should be out. That area is producing of surprising number and variety of Orchids this year.

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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Sun 29 Nov, 2020 5:55 pm

michael_p wrote:It was OK early but it did warm up by the time I got home. This is the patch I PM'ed you the location of some time back. Give it a another week or two and lots should be out. That area is producing of surprising number and variety of Orchids this year.

Michael.

Ah, those ones! Thanks, yes that was around Christmas time last year. I'll wait a week or more and go and have a look again on a cooler day.
I wonder if the increased rainfall since the bushfires has influenced the number and variety.
Many of the small terrestrial orchids are quite delicate, sometimes you need to be rigorously attentive to spot them.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 11:14 am

johnw wrote:I'll wait a week or more and go and have a look again on a cooler day.

I just thought I would warn you that some idiot has gone and cut off the flower heads from nearly all the Orchids in that area.
If you have a scout around there are a few still left.

Via a friend, I have been put in contact with someone from council and have reported the shenanigans to them. Not sure if much can be done but it is better than nothing.

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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby highercountry » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 11:54 am

^^^
Think you'll find the culprit is much more likely to be a wallaby or deer, or any other browsing critter.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 12:13 pm

Ahh, yes. There are Swamp Wallabies in the area so that could be it. Thank you.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby highercountry » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 1:38 pm

Likewise the dug-up orchids from a few posts back are possibly the victim of something like a bandicoot or potoroo.
These critters like truffles and other fungi. Lots of orchards grow in a symbiotic association with various fungi.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 1:44 pm

michael_p wrote:
johnw wrote:I'll wait a week or more and go and have a look again on a cooler day.

I just thought I would warn you that some idiot has gone and cut off the flower heads from nearly all the Orchids in that area.
If you have a scout around there are a few still left.

Via a friend, I have been put in contact with someone from council and have reported the shenanigans to them. Not sure if much can be done but it is better than nothing.

highercountry wrote:^^^
Think you'll find the likely culprit is much more likely a wallaby or deer, or any other browsing critter.

michael_p wrote:Ahh, yes. There are Swamp Wallabies in the area so that could be it. Thank you.

Let's hope it's the swampies. I might still have a look and/or pick an alternate location.
Actually it's pleasantly cool this afternoon if I can find time to go out before the forecast storm later.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Sat 05 Dec, 2020 2:47 pm

highercountry wrote:bandicoot or potoroo

Good suggestions. We have lots of foxes around here (I saw one this morning and their scats are everywhere). Foxes have heavily impacted the native animals in the area. That's the main reason I am still leaning toward humans as the source of the digging and Wallabies for the grazing.

Only good thing is the foxes do keep the rabbit population down (don't get me started on rabbits :roll: ).

Hyacinth Orchids are absolutely dependent on Fungi. This is the reason they are one of my favourites as you only see them when they flower. Always a pleasure to find one poking up from the ground.

Cheers,
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby ribuck » Sun 06 Dec, 2020 3:30 am

Last year was a good year for seeds of the Macrozamia Cycad in Central Australia. There were plenty of them around. This photo is from near where Ellery Creek crosses the Chewings Range. But how do they spread? Specifically, how can they ever go anywhere but downhill?

The seeds are each about 6cm, which I think is too big to be eaten by a dingo or any marsupial. And it's too big for the seeds to be blown around much. So how can they ever germinate uphill of where they are dropped? It seems to me they can only roll downhill to grow there, but that makes no sense since the plants are found high and low.

It's probably a stupid question with an obvious answer, but enquiring minds would like to know.
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Macrozamia Cycad Seeds, Chewings Range, Central Australia
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Baeng72 » Sun 06 Dec, 2020 6:51 am

Found this on Mt Bogong summit plateau. I don't know if it's a fern, cycad or something else completely.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Heremeahappy1 » Sun 06 Dec, 2020 7:13 am

Looks like mountain celery, Aciphylla glacial. Usually in flower this time of year, small white (greenish) flowers.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby madpom » Sun 06 Dec, 2020 12:36 pm

Ha - beat me to it. I was thinking - 'At last, at last - one I recognise' ...

Though as it turns out the aussie variant is actually a different species to the alike-looking ones we get in the NZ mountains (A. divisa and A. dissecta).
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby johnw » Sun 06 Dec, 2020 9:06 pm

Heremeahappy1 wrote:Looks like mountain celery, Aciphylla glacial. Usually in flower this time of year, small white (greenish) flowers.

madpom wrote:Ha - beat me to it. I was thinking - 'At last, at last - one I recognise' ...

Though as it turns out the aussie variant is actually a different species to the alike-looking ones we get in the NZ mountains (A. divisa and A. dissecta).

Agreed, Aciphylla glacialis, seen lots of them over the years. The one below is on the Main Range in Kosciuskzo NP somewhere between Carruthers Peak and Mt Lee.
Pretty sure I've seen the NZ species on the south island. Maybe all are divergent from the breaking up of Gondwana?
Mountain Celery Main Range KNP NSW.JPG
Mountain Celery (Aciphylla glacialis), Main Range, Kosciuskzo NP NSW
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby michael_p » Fri 11 Dec, 2020 11:11 am

Pretty sure this is a Snake Orchid. Will keep an eye on it and see what the flowers look like to be sure.
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Re: Flora Seen on Your Last Walk?

Postby Hughmac » Wed 30 Dec, 2020 10:43 am

ribuck wrote:Last year was a good year for seeds of the Macrozamia Cycad in Central Australia. There were plenty of them around. This photo is from near where Ellery Creek crosses the Chewings Range. But how do they spread? Specifically, how can they ever go anywhere but downhill?

The seeds are each about 6cm, which I think is too big to be eaten by a dingo or any marsupial. And it's too big for the seeds to be blown around much. So how can they ever germinate uphill of where they are dropped? It seems to me they can only roll downhill to grow there, but that makes no sense since the plants are found high and low.

It's probably a stupid question with an obvious answer, but enquiring minds would like to know.


Interesting observation, and a very good question to my mind. Given that cycads are some of the most primitive extant plants on the planet, it would be reasonable to assume that the animals that originally dispersed their seeds are long since extinct. The size of the seed suggests they would have been fairly large animals - our megafauna may have filled the role until their demise. The plants growing at higher elevations are almost certainly the descendants of plants that used to grow at the same elevation.
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