Australian Plants Junior Primary Student Guide

Australian Plants Junior Primary Student Guide

Junior Primary N Botanic Park 1 2 3 Adelaide Botanic Garden 4 5 6 7 Hackney Road Friends Gate Toilets Plane Tree Drive 11 10 8 9 Toilets Toilets Restaurant Kiosk Education Service Toilets National Wine Centre Royal Adelaide Hospital North Terrace Main Gate

1. GRASS TREE Is grass tree a good name for this plant? Finish the drawing by adding a flower spike. Grass Tree, Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata You may be surprised to find out that although I am only a small plant that I can live for more than a hundred years. The only country in the world where I grow is Australia, so that makes me very special. Some people call me a grass tree. Do my leaves or my trunk remind you of a tree? My flowers are very small but they all grow on a tall thin flower spike. Once the flowers have died the seed cases all along the spike make it quite prickly. Aboriginal people used the stem of the flower spike to make lightweight spears and fire sticks.

2. RIVER RED GUM There is an animal that lives in this tree. Look for scratch marks on the trunk. The animal is a P _ S S. River Red Gum, Euclayptus camaldulensis If you look around you will see I am close to a creek. I grow all over Australia but I stay close to creeks and rivers. Can you believe I am already more than 250 years old? One clue to my age is that my trunk is slowly becoming hollow which creates homes for lots of different birds, animals and insects. If you look carefully you will see a colony of introduced bees living in a small hollow half way up my trunk. Native possums have also made their home in me. Aboriginal people used me for making canoes, bowls, and weapons. My wood is hard and strong so Europeans used me to make railway sleepers and fence posts. My leaves contain eucalyptus oil which is used as a medicine for colds. I am a very important tree for the people and animals of Australia.

3. MORETON BAY FIG Holding hands, make a circle around this tree. How many children did you need? Find a fig on the ground. Open it. Tell a friend about the smell. Look for my long roots growing near the creek. Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus macrophylla Look up. Can you see the big roof my leaves make? In Queensland rainforest where I grow I make it cool and dark on the forest floor. My beautiful winding roots grow on top of the ground and help to balance my giant trunk and spreading branches. Here in Adelaide, my figs fall from the branches almost continually. They have an interesting smell. Break open a fig and smell it for yourself.

4. RIBBON GUM How many holes can you see on the trunk in front of you? The holes are made by small grubs called borers. Ribbon Gum, Eucalyptus viminalis Although the bark on my trunk is rough, my branches are smooth and white. Look up at the long ribbons of bark peeling from the upper parts of my trunk. They make homes for many little bugs and spiders. You will notice lots of holes in my lower trunk. These are made by grubs that eat my wood. Did you know I am one of only 20 types of gum tree that koalas like to eat? Although my leaves are quite tough, they provide both food and water for koalas in southern Australia.

5. HOLLOW TREE How many children can fit in this tree? Hollow Tree (River Red Gum), Eucalyptus camaldulensis Many people are tricked into thinking I am alive because there are green ivy leaves growing at the top of my trunk. Even though I am dead don t be sad for me because I lived here for about 400 years. My hollow trunk is home to many insects and spiders. Sometimes birds make mud nests here as well. Long ago Kaurna Aboriginal people burnt away my centre to make a shelter that kept them warm and dry in winter. I wonder if I can be a home to you all. See if the whole class can fit inside my trunk.

6. BANKSIA Find a flower that has turned brown. Now use your thumb to feel for a seed case. Desert Banksia, Banksia media I only grow naturally in Australia. Look for one of my fresh or dried flower heads. This is actually a spiral of many flowers around a thick stem. Each tiny flower makes sweet nectar so many birds like to visit me to drink from my flowers. My seeds develop inside a hard case and usually need the heat of a fire to be let go from the pod. This makes me a special plant because I can quickly regrow from seed after a fire.

7. WATTLE Look for a seed pod. What vegetable does it look like? Is this wattle in flower? Wattle, Acacia cunninghamii Wattles like me are well known Australian plants because many of us have bright yellow flowers that look like tiny pompoms. My small black seeds are found inside a seed pod that looks like a bean. When my seed pods dry out, they split open so that my seeds are thrown some distance away from me. Look for old seed pods hanging on my branches or lying on the ground. Seeds are not the only way I spread. I also grow by sending underground suckers away from myself that grow into new plants. Look around and see if you can find some suckers growing nearby.

8. BOTTLE TREE Hit the trunk of this tree with your hand. What does it sound like? Bottle tree, Brachychiton rupestre Check out my trunk! Some people think I look like a bottle. Some think I am more like a giant bowling pin. Others think I am like a big baseball bat. What do you think? My trunk holds lots of water. This keeps me alive in the dry season in Queensland where I usually grow. Aboriginal people discovered they could get water from me by cutting a chunk from my trunk and squeezing the soft wood. The scars on my trunk are made when my branches break off.

9. LEMON SCENTED GUM Run your hand up and down the trunk. The bark feels. Find a leaf dropped by this tree. Crush and smell it. The leaf smells like. Would you grow this tree in your backyard? Lemon Scented Gum, Eucalyptus citriodora I am tall and graceful. Many people like my smooth bark so I am often planted in parks and large gardens. If you look around you will see a rough barked gum tree growing nearby which you can compare me to. Look on the ground for some of my long narrow leaves. Crush them and see what they smell like.

10. BUNYA PINE Find a leaf on the ground. Very carefully pick it up. What does it feel like? Bunya pine, Araucaria bidwillii I am a very famous Australian tree because I make the biggest pine cones in the world. They can weigh up to 10kg and are about the same size as a netball. When they fall it can be very dangerous here. The cones are full of seeds that taste something like potatoes. Aboriginal people in Queensland held giant picnics when the seeds were ripe. They invited people from hundreds of kilometres away to come and feast on the seeds. Bunya pine trees like me lived when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Our tough spiny leaves protected us from being eaten back then and they still protect us now. If you touch my leaves you ll know why they would be difficult to eat!

11. PAPERBARK Feel the bark. Press the bark with your fingers. What does it feel like? Paperbark, Melaleuca quinquenervia Gently touch my bark. You might be able to see the way it peels off in layers. Some people say it looks and feels like paper, which is how I got my name. What do you think my bark feels like? My name is a bit misleading because my bark is not used to make paper. Aboriginal people used it to make paintbrushes, bandages and babies blankets. A modern use for paperbark is as liners in hanging baskets. My flowers are often called bottlebrushes because of their shape. The oil from some paperbark leaves is used to make perfume.