October 2014 Next Meeting 8.00pm Wednesday 8 th October Community Centre, Annandale Shopping Centre Abelmoschus moschatus subsp. tuberosus Newsletter of the Society for Growing Australian Plants Townsville Branch Inc. PO Box 363, Aitkenvale, Qld. 4814. sgaptownsville.org.au Committee Meeting 27 th October 7.30pm Dates to Remember 12 th October- Sunday Outing to Palmetum See pg 6 for details This Issue From September meeting 2 SGAP in flower 3 The Tech spot 4 September outing 4 Species list Alli Ck 5 Communications 6 From Elsewhere 1&2 6-8 Membership 9 Chairman.. Janice Lough j.lough@aims.gov.au Vice Chairman Rex Grattidge rgr57487@bigpond.net.au Treasurer.. Keith Townsend noeltownsend@bigpond.com Secretary.. John Elliott jw-elliott@aapt.net.au Newsletter Val Colquhoun crabfami1@bigpond.com Librarian.. Rex Grattidge Provedore Jane McLean On Wednesday 8 th October at 8pm Rex Grattidge will present a talk entitled Grafting 1
From the September meeting Wongaloo True to his word Mark Stoneman and his wife appeared at the September meeting. What an interesting well-presented talk! Mark s talk was titled The Journey continues The main points addressed were:- The habitat very late wet flood. Cyclone Dylan high salt weed reduction. Apparently normal but tidal salt intrusion. Open water- Changes in 2014 Habitat Rehabilitation Control benefit Tourism progress slow No geese nesting Swans No swamp hens. Huge black duck numbers No Caspian terns Jabiru chick-failure Feral pig reduction. Pink Bauhinia removal-forest fringe Lantana clearing- woodlands Constrain- control fencing Weed spraying regime Birds / swamp / cattle Blue Goose bus Glamping Hold ups with rail crossing Grey nomad access Many thanks to Mark for taking the time to come to the meeting and share his enthusiasm with us. We look forward to the next progress report. Many of us who are new to SGAP did not previously know of the plans for this wetland project. SGAP is glad to be able to provide an up to date species list. 2
SGAP in flower Acanthaceae Amaryllidaceae Annonaceae Caesalpiniaceae Cochlospermaceae Dilleniaceae Lecythidaceae Pittosporaceae Myrtaceae Proteaceae Rubiaceae Rutaceae Graptophyllum excelsum Graptophyllum ilicifolium Proiphys amboinensis (Cardwell Lily) Fitzalania heteropetala Maniltoa lenticellata Cassia sp. Paluma Range Cochlospermum gillivraei Dillenia alata Barringtonia acutangula Bursaria tenuifolia Xanthostemon verticillatus Xanthostemon youngii Leptospermum flavescens Cardwell Syzygium australe Callistemon 'Captain Cook' Callistemon 'Pink Alma' Grevillea banksii Grevillea 'Birdsong' Grevillea 'Dorothy Gordon' Grevillea 'Flamingo' Grevillea 'Firesprite' Grevillea 'Little Honey' Grevillea 'Moonlight' Grevillea pteridifolia Grevillea venusta Darlingia darlingiana Gardenia psidiodes Timonius timon Larsenaikia ochreata Flindersia brayleyana 3
The TECH SPOT organised by Keith At the September meeting a practical investigation! The members who participated in the flower parts identification really enjoyed this learning (or re-learning for some) experience. These are the stamens. It is inferior isn t it? Oh, it is attached to the petal! Ah look, that s the female parts. Outing in September:- To Alligator Creek (Mt Elliot Section) of Bowling Green Bay National Park We had very pleasant weather for our walk along the bank and the boardwalk and back through the bush road to the picnic table where morning tea was enjoyed. There were not a lot of plants in flower but armed with a list provided by Scott we managed to check off quite a few and were even able to add some more (efficiently recorded by Jane). Nanette tweaked the list and for the complete version please consult the Townsville SGAP website. The list below is quite incomplete, due to lack of space, in addition I have removed the introduced species. Charlie provided the following few photos which you may like to identify. 4
Abutilon auritum Denhamia disperma Mallotus polyadenos Abrus precatorius Diospyros geminata Marsdenia microlepis? Acacia holosericea Dodonaea viscosa Melaleuca fluviatilis Acacia leptostachya Drypetes deplanchei Melaleuca leucadendra Acacia spirorbis subsp. solandri Elaeodendron melanocarpum Melaleuca viminalis Aidia racemosa Erythrina vespertilio Melia azedarach Albizia procera Eucalyptus crebra Memecylon pauciflorum Alchornea thozetiana Eucalyptus platyphylla Micromelum minutum Alectryon connatus Eugenia reinwardtiana Milletia pinnata Alectryon tomentosus Euroschinus falcata Mimusops elengi Alphitonia excelsa Evolvulus alsinoides Mnesithea rottboellioides Alstonia scholaris Exocarpos latifolius Myrsine variabilis Alyxia spicata Ficus congesta Nauclea orientalis Amyema cambagei Ficus hispida Pachygone ovata Antidesma parvifolium Ficus opposita Passiflora aurantia Aphananthe philippensis Ficus racemosa Phyllanthus novaehollandiae Atractocarpus fitzlanii Ficus virens Physalis angulata Breynia cernua Fitzalania heteropetala Pipturus argenteus Bursaria incana Flueggea virosa Planchonia careya Cajanus marmoratus Ganophyllum falcatum Pleiogynium timorense Cajanus reticulatus Geijera salicifolia Pogonolobus reticulatus Canarium australianum Geitonoplesium cymosum Polyalthia nitidissima Capparis sepiaria Glochidion lobocarpum Polyscias elegans Castanospermum australe Gossia bidwillii Pseuderanthemum variable Casuarina cunninghamiana Grevillea parallela Psydrax odorata Cayratia trifolia Grewia latifolia Pterocaulon sphacelatum Cheilanthes sieberi Grewia retusifolia Rapanea variabilis Chionanthus ramiflora Guioa acutifolia Sauropus albiflorus Cissus oblonga Harpullia pendula Scleria sphacelata Claoxylon tenerifolium Helicteres semiglabra Senna gaudichaudii Cleistanthus xerophilus Heteropogon contortus Sida subspicata Clerodendron floribundum Heteropogon triticeus Smilax australis Cochlospermum gillivraei Indigofera sp.(australis or pratensis) Sorghum nitidum Commersonia bartramia Ipomoea sp. Spermacoce sp. Cordia dichotoma Jagera pseudorhus Stephania japonica Corymbia clarksoniana Jasminum didymum Syzygium australe Corymbia dallachiana Jasminum didymum subsp.racemosum Tacca leontopetaloides Corymbia tessellaris Larsenaikia ochreata Terminalia sericocarpa Crotalaria calycina Litsea glutinosa Themeda triandra Croton arnhemicus Livistona sp. Trophis scandens Cryptocarya triplinervis Lomandra longifolia Turraea pubescens Cupaniopsis anacardioides Lophostemon grandiflorus Tylophora williamsii Cycas media Macaranga tanarius Vachellia bidwillii Cymbopogon sp. Mallotus philippensis Xenostegia tridentata 5
COMMUNICATIONS OCTOBER OUTING:- We have decided, as it is now getting warm, to visit the Palmetum for our outing on Sunday 12th October. We will meet at 9am in the car park, and will explore the rainforest section in order to complete our species list which we began in May 2014. Please bring morning tea, hat, mosquito repellent, etc. From elsewhere -1 At the SEPTEMBER meeting John brought along a couple of local young palms of a vulnerable species called Livistona lanuginosa. These palms were placed in the care of two of our more established members. Some information provided by the Palm Specialist Group follows. Livistona lanuginosa Rodd Status: Vulnerable (Dowe 1998; Rodd 1998; Henderson 2002) Common name:- Wooly Livistona, Wooly Cabbage-Palm, Cape River Livistona, Burdekin Livistona. Natural range Livistona lanuginosa is confined to the Burdekin River catchment in north eastern Australia between S20º19 20.8 to S21º36 23.9 and E145º36 11.18 to E147º19 20, with an altitudinal range of 140 270 m. It is a riparian species occurring primarily along the banks of braided stream systems and adjacent floodplains in sandy alluvial soils mostly derived from granite. The climate of the Burdekin River system is strongly seasonal, with unreliable monsoonally influenced summer rain patterns. The average annual rainfall is 600 700mm, and extreme temperatures range from 5 45ºC, in an otherwise semi-arid tropical environment. The total population of Livistona lanuginosa consists of not more than ca. 700 mature adults. The main occurrence is in the lower Cape River system (which is an inland tributary of the Burdekin River), on both the Cape River and most of its primary and secondary tributaries. Populations most commonly occur in more or less linear stands along stream edges. There are a few disjunct populations away from the Cape River within the Burdekin River system, but no further than 40 km from the main population on the Cape River and its tributaries. Recognition characteristics Livistona lanuginosa is a single stemmed fan-palm, growing to a maximum height of 18 m and a diameter at breast height of 25 35 cm. The leaves, about 40, are produced in a rounded crown. The petioles are armed on the margins with single curved spines in the proximal portion. The leaf blade is circular in outline, pale gray-green above, and a lighter gray-green below. The leaf blade is regularly divided into 70 90 segments in mature palms. Segments have a thin coating of w wax on both surfaces. The paniculate inflorescences are borne within the leaves and are about 200 cm long but not extending beyond the crown. 6
The bracts on the inflorescence are covered in a dense woolly tomentum [lanuginose = woolly], hence both the scientific and common names. Bisexual flowers, yellow to about 3 mm long, are abundant, and crowded onto thin rachillae. Fruit are globose, to 25 35 mm diameter, and brown to black at maturity. The endocarp is ca. 2 mm thick and woody. The seed is globose, about 25 mm in diameter. The hard endosperm is partially intruded on one side by a kidney-shaped seed coat intrusion. Apart from some minor horticultural applications, the palm has no known uses. Natural history The few targeted ecological studies of Livistona lanuginosa were those conducted by the author in general investigation of the genus Livistona in Australia (Dowe 2001), and a survey to determine population structure and dynamics of the species (Pettit & Dowe 2003). Livistona lanuginosa is functionally dioecious and appears to be primarily wind-pollinated. Flowering occurs in the driest part of the year (Spring), and fruiting usually coincides with the Summer rains some 4 6 months later. Fruits are mainly dispersed by flood waters and settle in debris piles on the stream banks where seeds germinate and seedlings become established. It is not known if mammals or birds are involved in additional seed distribution. Seed germination occurs in the summer following seed-set, and seeds require relatively deep burial as the emergent seedling roots can extend for as much as 100 cm downward into the soil. Subsequent growth is initially slow and, at least in cultivated plants, maturity is reached in 15 20 years. Population structure at most sites follows the reverse-j curve model, with large numbers of seedlings and subsequent decreasing numbers of juveniles, subadults and adults. Individuals in populations are usually closely grouped with numerous seedlings and juveniles beneath the parent palms. Threats to survival There are no parts of the population of Livistona lanuginosa included in either National Parks or designated conservation reserves, as the entire area covered by the species is privately owned or leasehold tenured, and given over to beef cattle grazing. There are a few ex situ populations in botanical gardens, such as the Palmetum and Anderson Park Botanical Garden, Townsville, Australia, and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Montgomery Botanical Centre, Florida, USA. The primary threat to L. lanuginosa is browsing and trampling by cattle, and subsequent habitat alteration such as bank erosion and soil compaction. There are no significant water impoundments upstream of the main population, and water-flow regimes are natural. About half of the individuals in the studied populations are in a senescent state (Pettit and Dowe 2003) with only limited or no regeneration and unbalanced recruitment between class sizes. Overall, regeneration is severely restricted by the impact of cattle. Current Conservation Measures The species is recognized as Vulnerable by the Queensland Government s Environmental Protection Agency, and it is therefore legislatively protected (Henderson 2002). In effect, no action regarding conservation of the species has been implemented despite the population being in decline and under increasing pressure from grazing. However, with respite from grazing, recovery would be expected in most populations. Additional Necessary Conservation Actions Additional field work is required to determine the total population coverage, as some areas where it is suspected to occur are inaccessible and remote. There are legislative provisions within the Nature Conservation Act (Queensland) to declare some populations as conservation reserves, or possible National Parks, but this action would require a concerted effort by multiple government departments and the cooperation of land owners and lease holders. An investigation of genetic diversity across the population is presently being conducted, and this project hopes to achieve some recognition of the vulnerability of the species. Scientific Contributor Dr John Leslie Dowe, Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater research, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia. 7
From elsewhere - 2 Source: Website address: http://linearlegume.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/washout-paper-pots.ht Thanks to Delmar Colquhoun for this clever little article 8
Society for Growing Australian Plants, Townsville Branch Inc. P.O. Box 363 Aitkenvale, Qld. 4814 Membership Application or Renewal Form Membership Year is from 1 st April to 31 st March (Initial half yearly membership is available for those joining around October) Name: Address: Email address: Fee: $ If claiming full time student fee please quote Student No. Additional household members may be registered for a nominal fee of $2.00 per person but they will not receive newsletters or magazines. Society for Growing Australian Plants Townsville Branch Inc. ABN 92 312 012 800 Membership Fees: New Ordinary Member $45.00 New Student Member $35.00 Renewal Ordinary $40.00 Renewal Student $30.00 New Member (Half Year from Oct.) $25.00 Additional Household Member $ 2.00 Membership fees as above should be paid to Townsville Branch rather than to Brisbane - the most efficient method is by direct credit to our bank account, but they may be paid to the treasurer by post to P.O. Box 363, Aitkenvale, or at meetings. If paying electronically please quote Membership and your name Bendigo Bank BSB 633-000 A/C 113462386 The Society for Growing Australian Plants promotes the conservation of Australian native flora by encouraging its introduction into gardens. 9