Central Coast Spring Flowers

We on the east coast of Australia are willing to fly right over the other side of the country to ooh and aah over the West Australian wild flowers during their spring season. I did this myself a couple of years ago and, of course, they were worth the visit. But this year on the Central Coast of New South Wales we are having a stupendous wild flower season of our own. If you head north from Sydney and take the old Pacific Highway instead of the freeway you will see pink, dark pink, yellow and white in great profusion. It really is a stunning year for flowers.

Along the F4 freeway the various Acacias have been blooming for a month or more now now, ranging from pale lemon right through to dark yellow. All of them stunning and all of them attractive to native birds and butterflies.
If your colour is pink – as mine is, you can’t go past Eriostemon australasius. There is an absolute profusion of pink flowers on this shrub which grows to about 1 ½ metres, and this year all of that 1 1/2 metres is covered in flowers. The buds are pale pink as well and look like tiny wrapped up parcels. This shrub can easily be seen from your car as your head north from about Hornsby. Stop the car and have a look.




The darker pink which grows in the same conditions, and sets off the pale pink so nicely, is Boronia. There are almost 20 varieties of Boronia in the Sydney district and almost all of them have pink flowers. The pink is a particularly attractive colour, several shades darker than the Eriostemon, and stunning where the two are growing in close proximity, as they often are. The Boronia I noticed in the last few weeks is the Sydney Boronia, Boronia ledifolia. The name is misleading as it is widespread in sandstone coast communities right the way down to Victoria. The flowers only have four petals whereas the Eriostemons have 5. Some have attractive dark pink buds, quite a contrast with the paler pink flowers.






All that pink looks just gorgeous next to the pale lemon blooms of Acacia ulicifolia. All the shrubs I saw were a mass of pale lemon.




Also flowering was Acacia oxycedrus, again pale lemon and a profusion of bloom, this time with long rods instead of fluffy little balls.




Along side the lemons and pinks was the stronger yellow of little Dillwynia sericea. A tiny little pea flower, yellow with a red throat. Very pretty indeed.




In the same Fabaceae family was this little gem. A small plant, less than ½ metre with interesting long shoots tipped with tiny yellow pea flowers. Very attractive and mixing well with all the pinks.



For even more yellow see Gompholobium latifolum. This flower is quite large, at least four times the time of the previous little pea flower, and such a lovely clear yellow




If you prefer your spider flowers in red then look at Grevillea diffusa ssp filipendula ore even Grevillea sericea ssp sericea if pink remains your colour of choice.









Lower down underneath the more showy pinks and yellows was this funny little plant, commonly called Rusty Petals. I’m unsure if it is Lasiopetalum parviflorum or L. joyceae.




The tiny little sun orchids were out as well. Pale lavender, and just perfect. Thelmitra ixioides
Thelmitra nuda and
Thelmitra pauciflora.




Thelmitra ixioides



Thelmitra pauciflora



Thelmitra nuda


All the pink, yellow and blue needs to be leavened with white, and Hakea sericea did that job just fine. The plants are covered in flowers and soon will be covered in the equally attractive large seed pods.



Whilst Hakea sericea has very tiny white flowers there are others in the family with flowers as big as your fist. To see truly beautiful specimens you have to leave the highway and take yourself off on a coastal walk. If you are lucky you will see Hakea bakeriana which has beautiful large pink flowers and equally gigantic seed pods .



Sydney wild flowers – worth a walk.

Astrotricha latifolia (Broad leafed Star hair)

The name Astrotricha comes from Astro meaning star and tricha meaning hair - from the dense woolly star-shaped hairs covering the stems and underside of the leaves of this plant.







You can clearly see the dense mass of white hairs covering the leaf stalks, stems and branches of the shrub. The new leaf shoots and tiny new leaves are also covered in hairs.




Notice the long leaf stalks, (often as long as the leaf is wide). The length of the stalks is one of the major differences between A. latifolia and its close relative A. floccosa (Woolly Star-hair). This is a useful aid in identification when the shrubs are not in flower as there are many similarities between the shrubs.

Astrotricha latifolia is a mid to large shrub, 1 to 3 metres high, with lax spreading branches. Leaves are about 15 cm long and 2 – 8 cm wide, broadly oval to lanceolate in shape with a slightly drawn out tip, dark green above, sometimes glossy, and woolly beneath with a leaf stalk roughly 4 - 8 cm long. The leaves are held horizontally radiating around the woolly (floccose) stems. The leaves are heavily veined with an obvious indented mid vein and clearly defined lateral veins.

Flowers are typical of the Araliacae, individually tiny but clustered in branched umbels at the ends of stems.





Although each individual flower is small when grouped in large umbels on the ends of the branches they are very noticeable.


Each tiny flower consists of five strongly reflexed petals with 5 stamens attached to a disc which surmounts the ovary. They are yellowish green in colour.


Even the buds are covered in white hairs


They flower late spring to summer (October to January). Note the longicorn beetle visiting the flowers.




Astrotricha latifolia are an understory shrub of wet schlerophyll forest or rainforest margins along the east coast of Australia from about Bega in the south right up the Queensland coast. They are not fussy about soil types being found on shale, quartzite, sandstone, basalt and clay based soils.

Personal Observations

The leaves of Astrotricha latifolia are always chewed. At any time of the year you will find leaves with holes in them and generally an abundance of visiting insects, particularly spring and summer.


Note turned down leaf sheltering a caterpillar

It is not only the leaves that are popular, the flowers too have their share of visitors. Spiders lurk waiting for flying insects to visit and beetles fly in, from longicorns to little round ladybird like creatures.

Early in the flowering season a little iridescent green beetle visits.





Here a tiny yellow flower spider waits amongst chomped leaves for its dinner to fly in.




A robber fly is doing the same thing and there is another brown beetle top left corner.




I have noticed other plants with many insect visitors but this is one of the few which had sustained visits of many different insects for months on end.




One of my most exciting finds was to photograph a caterpillar on a leaf of Astrotricha latifolia. To my naked eye it looked like a bit of twig on the leaf as it is very tiny indeed, it would be lucky to make 10mm in length. It looked just like a tiny dark skinny elongated blob, not a caterpillar at all, but I had my suspicions.



Only blown up on the screen can you see that it is a caterpillar. I believe it belongs to Imbophorus aptalis
which I also photographed on the same shrub and flying nearby.









And my best photograph for last.



Imbophorus aptalis is very tiny, about 1-2 cm wing tip to wing tip. Photographing it was made easier by the fact that it kept quite still and allowed me to approach very closely. Perhaps it was willing itself invisible.

This little moth is so delicate and beautiful, with its feathery wings and tiny form, that were a little girl again I would think it a fairy and would spend my days searching for its fellows and my nights dreaming of their adventures.


My favourite book for attempting to name the plants on my 10 hectares of rainforest and dry schlerophyll forest is Native Plants of the Sydney District An Identification Guide by Alan Fairley and Philip Moore, published by Kangaroo Press and readily available. It is a great book because almost every plant has a photograph, particularly of the flowers, which is what I always notice first in any plant.

Smilax australis family Smilacaceae

(commonly called Lawyer Vine, Barbed Wire Vine or Austral Sarsaparilla)
Wikipedia
has an interesting article on Smilax in general. In Australia we have three Australian species of Smilax and five of Ripogonum and on the Central Coast of New South Wales we have two of each species.

If something long, thin and vine-like clutches at your clothes, arms or legs on a bush walk and won’t easily release you, chances are Smilax australis has grabbed your attention. It is a very common, tough, wiry climber that scrambles through dry rain forests and nearby shady gullies in the Australian bush; growing in all states in a wide variety of habitats. It has long tough stems, up to 8m or so, and the whole length of stem is covered in small, very sharp, prickles.





Those sharp thorns, with the aid of paired tendrils growing from the leaf nodes, enables S. australis to thread through bushes and scramble over shrubs and trees, sometimes making impenetrable thickets in the bush.






Thicket in flower


The leaves are simple, alternate, tough and leathery; broader at the base than the tip with a short tapering point, which can sometimes be shallowly notched, particularly when young. They are green on both surfaces with five prominent veins running the length of the leaf, and smaller veins radiating from those. Tiny superficial veins cover the surface of older leaves. They are somewhere between 5 and 10 cm long. The base of the leaves houses a pair of coiled tendrils which also aids in the climbing and clinging process.



New leaves are a lovely soft pink when they first appear, aging to a pretty soft green and maturing to a leathery dark green.



The plants are dioecious and so have male and female flowers on different plants. The plants are not self fertile and before fruit can set both male and female plants must be present. I have observed flowering occurring only in spring, with flowering lasting for just a few weeks, but other references describe it as occurring at any time of the year. The flowers are greenish white to cream, individually quite small and borne in umbels about 5 cm across, downward hanging on fine stalks. Each flower is broadly tubular with 6 spreading pointed reflexed lobes and in male flowers 6 long protruding stamens. Perfume is not noticeable to the human nose.



Staminate (male) flowers



Staminate (male) flowers

Female flowers lack the six protruding stamens but instead have an ovary awaiting fertilization before fruit can develop.



Pistillate (female) flowers



Pistillate (female) flowers

If the female flowers are fertilized a cluster of round green berries 5-8 mm across develops,




These ripen black and contain 1 or 2 seeds which are eaten by native birds, such as Satin bower bird and the Green cat bird, and then excreted and spread around the bush to grow new plants.

Butterflies are attracted to the flowers.



There is a very similar plant called Smilax glyciphylla which is not as robust, has narrower leaves, only three longitudinal veins and no prickles. Sometimes they occur in the same area, even growing together. The whole plant is much smaller; smaller leaves, smaller flowers and it is said to have sweet tasting berries and leaves which can be eaten when young and tender.

Autumn colours

Here it is May and autumn for us Australians. My garden is looking stupendous. We have had quite a lot of rain and after years and years of drought all the trees have put out massive amounts of growth, and my colourful autumn trees have rewarded me with masses of oranges and yellows. I am pleased with all my compositions.

There are masses of flowers too, not just the firey autumn trees.

My last entry was the 3rd January. I fell and broke my wrist on the 5th January so have been unable to do much gardening - well none for six weeks - and then slowly. The garden is huge but much of it can take care of itself to a large extent.

I'll say no more just show off the photographs.

Passiflora herbertiana syn Passiflora verruculosa, Passiflora distephana, Passiflora biglandulosa

2008 has been the most fantastic summer for rainforest vines. I have noticed plants growing and flowering which I have never seen before and Passiflora herbertiana is one of those. I was so excited when I first saw its blunt little leaves last year and have waited patiently for it to grow and reveal itself to be a native passionfruit.

Australia is home to only three endemic species of passionfruit compared to tropical South America which has 400 species – and one of ours is Passiflora herbertiana.

Passiflora herbertiana is a rainforest climbing plant which uses curly tendrils growing at the base of leaf stalks to hold itself in place and to make its way up and through rainforest trees into the sunlight.





The leaves are quite unusual in shape when the plant is young; an elongated oval with a middle bump to one side.

The stems, leaf stalks and the under surface of the leaves are finely hairy though you will need a hand lens to clearly see them.




As the plant matures the leaves change shape and become up to 12cm wide, with 3 broad, almost acute lobes. If you see a newly emerging seedling of a Passiflora herbertiana you could be forgiven for believing it to be a different plant altogether.




One distinguishing characteristic of Passiflora herbertiana is the presence of two raised glands at the top of the leaf stalk. The purpose of this gland is not clear though ants have been seen apparently feeding there.



Passiaflora herbertiana prefers the sunlight available at the rainforest edge or in partly cleared areas in preference the shade in the centre of a rainforest.

The plant occurs from north eastern NSW to north eastern Queensland in Australia. It is quite hardy and will grow happily in many different soils, from sand to heavy clay, but it thrives best in very wet springs/summers, so it enjoys lots of moisture. The plant is often not seen during droughts at all, only to reappear when the rain comes. It is not clear whether the root remains underground waiting for the right conditions or whether it re-grows from seeds lying dormant in the soil.


The flowers occur singly in the leaf axils but as all the axils have a bud, the flowering season is quite long, mainly from August to December. The plant can spot flower at other times if conditions suit. The flowers are about 6 cm across and are interesting in shape and colour.

The buds begin green and then become an orange shade.





The flowers emerge from the orange bud a creamy yellow and a day or so later become pale orange before they shrivel away.










The fruit is green with white spots, and about 1/2 the size of the black passionfruit we commonly see for sale in the supermarket which is generally Passiflora edulis (round black fruit). Passiflora herbertiana is tinier but tasty.



The fruit matures over a period of a few months. Those I have been watching are very warty.




That could be because something is piercing the skin to suck out the fluids or something is growing inside and emerging through a hole from the fruit at maturity. I have seen a weevil which I think is Orthorhinus cylindrirostris on the fruit and have photographed larva inside the fruit. My net research however has not shown up any more references to this problem. Every mention of this weevil seems to be referring to the stems of grapevines and the damage their larvae cause there. However as both the weevil and the passionfruit are native to Australia it seems appropriate that they exist together in this way.




So far only one of the fruits has reached maturity without being attacked and I ate that one.

The Angophora costatas on the Central Coast of New South Wales are looking magnificent at the moment. All red flaky bark and gnarled branches contorted into the strangest shapes. They are such an interesting tree; they blend effortlessly into the background of Eucalypt forest for most of the year and then when it is their time to shine, shine they outstandingly do. At the moment (December) it is the colours of the bark rather than the small white flowers that is drawing attention..





They are sometimes called Sydney Red Gum or the Rusty Gum. The Red Gum rather obviously because of the colour of their bark at certain times of the year and Rusty gum because at other times they exude rusty tears down the sides of their trunks.


Sometimes rather a lot of rusty tears.





Angophoras are no longer in the “gum” or Eucalypt family. They are now more properly in a category of their own – the Angophoras. At the moment the Angophoras are described as having ten species on some sites, but that is rather fluid.

Even though they are no longer in the Eucalypt family they are closely related, and Angophora costata looks very similar to its close relative, Corymbia maculata, the Spotted Gum, particularly when it is shedding bark. Both have smooth deciduous bark which is shed in thin elongated patches right to the ground leaving a dimpled smooth finish that fades gradually to grey.




This tree has flexed its muscles and “popped” right out of its skin.



Angophoras are often grown in native gardens”. They grow easily from seed and are widely available, but they are a very large tree (15 to 25 metres) with the unfortunate habit of dropping limbs willy nilly, so should be considered carefully for that position.



The left over calluses from fallen limbs add to their gnarled appearance.




Where they are suitable they are a wonderful changeable tree, with bark colours varying from cream to orange with white, sweet smelling flowers.

They naturally occur on well drained sandstone soils on the Central Coast of New South Wales where there are still some wonderful mature stands.




They have been planted as city trees too. I have noticed them in Oxford Square Sydney, still very young small trees but nevertheless looking beautiful and flowering well, but I do wonder about their long term prospects given their propensity to drop limbs.


The leaves are pinkish when new weathering to dark green, typically gum shaped 6-16 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. They are carried opposite to each other along the stem.





The flowers are simply gorgeous, always white in Angophoras, and very showy as they are in terminal panicles at the tips of branches. The flowering time is listed as November to January in most reference books, but I have photographed them as early as October and as late as February so it varies considerably. Also varying is the floriferousness. Some years you will have the trees smothered in blossom, others not.




The true clincher to tell you whether you are looking at an Angophora or Eucalypt is in the buds and fruits. The buds are very distinctive with little pointy ribs, which unfold to release the stamens. There is no bud cap as there is in Eucalyptus species.



The flowers simply “unwrap” and emerge.


Compare with the obvious bud cap of Eucalyptus maculata.







And the ribbed fruits are also intriguing. Costata means ribbed and the fruit capsule has very prominent ribs. If you are looking at a smooth urn shaped fruit then your tree is not Angophora costata.



Look out for the gnarled appearance of Angophora costata in your neighbourhood

Sarcopetalum harveyanum

Sarcopetalum harveyanum (meaning of name: Fleshy petals) is common in or near rainforest and is also often found in moist eucalypt forest, chiefly in coastal areas along the eastern seaboard of Australia from Victoria, through New South Wales, right up into Queensland.

You have to be very lucky to see the tiny flowers of Sarcopetalum harveyanum as they are held on short racemes, 3 to 7cm long, and only last a day or so. The flowers are very, very tiny, with petals about 3 mm long - and they pop straight out from the trunk of the vine, generally on the old wood. The old wood of this vine is usually high in the canopy of the rainforest hence the difficulty in spotting the tiny flowers.





Fruit is a globular berry, 5 to 8mm in diameter, slightly flattened. They are brown to begin with, for all the world like a brown lentil; then as they swell and ripen they turn pinkish and then red. They are quite small, yet bigger than you would expect after catching sight of the tiny flowers.

They are odd in the way they can pop out of the ground or an old stalk where there are no leaves, or anything else to give you a clue as to the name of the vine.





The first time I saw this vine fruiting they looked like bunches of grapes hanging in the forest. It took me months of researching to find out what they were.




The leaves of this woody climber are distinctly heart- shaped and, when young, a lovely apple green.



They can be distinguished from other vines with similar shaped leaves by seeing where the stalk joins the leaf. In Sarcopetalum harveyanum the stalk joins the leaf in the bottom of the V or right at the top of the heart.

You can see it more easily in this photograph.



As well there are 7 clear veins radiating from the stalk.

A similar looking vine and often seen together in the rainforest is Stephania japonica, but there the stalk joins the leaf distinctly away from top edge and the leaves are much more rounded.




Something has eaten pieces out of the leaves in this photograph.



Larvae known to feed on

Harveyanum Sarcopetalum


My favourite book for attempting to name the plants on my 10 hectares of rainforest and dry schlerophyll forest is Native Plants of the Sydney District An Identification Guide by Alan Fairley and Philip Moore, published by Kangaroo Press and readily available. It is a great book because almost every plant has a photograph, particularly of the flowers, which is what I always notice first in any plant.
Also
Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia by AG Floyd,published by Terania Rainforest Publishing Lismore, Australia. Also a great book with a wealth of information but no photographs.

Commersonia fraseri

Looking almost like last minute spring snow fall dusting the branches (if we had such a thing in temperate Australia) - and flowering right now, September-October, is a native shrub in the Sterculiaceae family, Commersonia fraseri. If we are lucky it may even continue with the odd extra flower until January. I have noticed a long flowering season is likely if we have a wet spring and summer. When that is the case the shrubs often flower again in March. If you are travelling around the coast the shrubs are most noticeable at the moment where a bridge crosses a creek. There you will see a mass of white flowers in the gully alongside.

On the Central Coast Commersonia fraseri grows into a large shrub or small tree, 2 to 3 m tall. It is often one of the first shrubs to regenerate where clearing has taken place, particularly along river banks, in sheltered gullies, or along roadsides where it can get a little more moisture than average. It is also grows from East Gippsland, Victoria right into south eastern Queensland, wherever there is wet schlerophyll forest or creek-side rainforest.

The flowers are white and sweetly scented, reminiscent of honey. They are placed along the top of the horizontal branches in loose clusters, giving a massed bloom effect to the whole shrub.


Each individual flower is only 5-7mm in diameter but they are massed in groups, each 3-5cm across. Each flower has five sepals, triangular in shape, five long, skinny, ribbon-like petals that are generally longer than the sepals and another five staminoides; (each three lobed with one vertical and two horizontal lobes), narrow and ribbon-like, as long as the petals but more erect.



This arrangement gives a fluffy look to the flowers.


















The fruit is 15 to 25 mm across and covered with soft bristles 5 to 10mm long. They open into five cells, each with two angular, egg-shaped, dull black seeds.




The new leaf branchlets are slender, fawn and covered in a soft down, becoming hairless with age.



The leaves are alternate, simple and variable in shape. Juvenile leaves are broad, jagged and softly hairy, feeling a little like fine, soft velvet, with a fine point at the tip. They are dull on both sides, dark green above, white hairy beneath. Main lateral veins are clearly visible on both sides of the leaf. There are usually five veins, each ending in a larger tooth on mature leaves.




As they age they are more broadly lance shaped to heart shaped, with irregular teeth, two to three teeth per centimeter, often lobed or with a larger tooth at the end of each major lateral vein.

The leaves on these shrubs are always well eaten. Even when very new it is possible to find holes where something has had dinner. (See underside of new leaf above). Whether that is moth or butterfly larva or something else I have not yet been able to determine. This can give quite a straggly, moth eaten appearance to these shrubs


Commersonia fraseri can be grown from cuttings, but with their strong suckering habit care would need to be taken with placement. They would make a good background plant or could be used for screening purposes or utilized as a cover plant when attempting to establish a rainforest. They are very fast growing and quite hardy, accepting at least half shade and tolerant of frost. The sheer number of flowers and the beautiful perfume certainly makes them deserving of a place, if space can be found.

They evidently support wildlife so perhaps space could be found for that reason alone.

A complete list of butterflies and larva supported by the Sterculiaceae family.

References.

My favourite book for attempting to name the plants on my 10 hectares of rainforest and dry schlerophyll forest is Native Plants of the Sydney District An Identification Guide by Alan Fairley and Philip Moore, published by Kangaroo Press and readily available. It is a great book because almost every plant has a photograph, particularly of the flowers, which is what I always notice first in any plant.
Also
Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia by AG Floyd,published by Terania Rainforest Publishing Lismore, Australia. Also a great book with a wealth of information but no photographs