Dillwynia retorta

“A small, spreading shrub to 1m high”. – NPOS p.78 While revisiting the Prickly Moses I was reminded of a plant that I’d been unable to identify at the time. After some searching I think it’s a Healthy Parrot Pea, Dillwynia retorta. I wish I’d kept notes on exactly where it was found but It’s clear it’s a pea of some sort from the non symmetrical yellow flowers. The short prickly leaves narrow it down, but it’s the twist in the leaves that is observable is some parts of the photo that make me think it’s the Healthy Parrot Pea.

I’ve already done a post on the Prickly Moses, but wanted to post a picture of one that I came across today while looking at clubmosses.

A baby Prickly Moses

Leucopogon amplexicaulis

“A small weak shrub to 1m tall with distinctive leaves” - NPOS p.108

Will had “B.O.B” the classroom mascot for the weekend so we decided to take him down to the river to throw some stones! It had been raining for pretty much the whole previous week and the ground was soggy, and being the winter solstice it was dim and cold. I spotted this small plant growing on a damp sandstone ledge near where of Allan Small creek meets Middle Harbour river. As usual I couldn’t identify it but figured the distinctive hairy leaves would give me a good chance of being able to look it up. I’m pretty confident it’s a Leucopogon amplexicaulis, commonly known as Beard-heath. Beard heath is a small plant, up to 1m in height, made up of sparse scrambling stems with leaves attached directly. The leaves are 30 – 90mm long, heart shaped and have a distinctive “beard” of white hairs around their margins. Flowing time is spring and winter, the specimen pictured was just beginning to flower. Fruiting is September to December and apparently it’s edible, I’ll be sampling some when it’s ready!

Usnea

Another epiphyte observed on the morning dog walk. Beard Lichen looks so similar to Spanish Moss that the scientific name for Spanish moss is derived from it’s name. Biologically it would hard to be any more different. Spanish Moss is a plant, Beard Lichen, like all lichen, is a symbiosis of a fungus and an algae. Beard Lichen grows off the ground, often on tree branches. It appears as a scraggly hair like growth up to 20cm long, it’s also known as “woman’s long hair” and “old mans beard” all good visual descriptions. It’s soft and flexible to touch and is light green in colour. Beard Lichen needs light to grow, it’s often found on sick or dead trees due to the the light permitted by the reduced canopy, but the  lichen itself does not damage the tree. Beard Lichen has antibiotic properties, it’s been used for 100’s of years to treat wounds.

Tillandsia usneoides

Since getting our new dog “Louie” Jess and I have been taking him for a walk around the street every morning. I find it a bit of a chore to drag myself out of bed early on these winter mornings but once up it’s been really good to spend time together. We’re both getting to know the early morning dog walking crew and it’s a great chance to look at the plants and houses along the way too. There’s a section of the walk where the paperbark trees on the nature strip have growths of stringy silver hay like clumps of growth hanging from the branches. It’s clearly not part of the tree, but what is it? I thought it looked like some kind of fungus or lichen, turns out it’s neither. It’s called Spanish Moss, an epiphyte flowering plant native to North, Central and South America.

Phebalium squamulosum

“An open slender lightly foliaged shrub” – NPOS p. 120 This plant was hard to identify, as best as I can tell it’s a Scaly Phebalium.

Scaly Phebalium – flowing in winter, they’re meant to flower in spring.

The  Scaly Phebalium is a small woody shrub growing to about 1.5m. It’s leaves are narrow, less that 10mm wide, deep green with lighter coloured dots on the top side. The undersides are lighter in colour and covered in small scales, which is where the common name comes from. It’s found in standsone landscapes and is common in the Sydney area. NPOS describes it as aromatic, it does have a smell but it’s not nearly as strong as a tea tree, it could be that I have a bit of a blocked nose at the moment and am trouble smelling too.

Grevillea juniperina

“A prickly, much branched shrub 1-2m high” – NPOS p.95

This Juniper Grevillea is growing on the nature strip out the front, it’s self seeded which is interesting because although it’s a native plant it’s meant to be uncommon and mainly occurring in western Sydney.

Grevillea Juniperina flowering

The Juniper Grevillea is a hardy and adaptable species, which can be demonstrated by how well it’s doing without any care or cultivation. I’ve even recently cut it back as it’s been over growing onto the road. It’s in the form of a dense shrub which grows up to 2m tall, it has narrow stiff leaves that end with a sharp point. Flowers are red and take on the typical spidery Grevillea form. It’s meant to flower from September – November, our seems to flower year round, the picture was taken in July. I’ve tried unsuccessfully a few times to collect seeds and grow them. Apparently you can achieve a greater chance of success by nicking the seeds to expose the embryo, or exposing the seeds to fire and smoke. They will also grow from cuttings. I’ll give these a go. It’s a beautiful plant that is extremely hardy and will not grow too tall, the rabbits and wallabies seem to leave it alone too, perfect for the garden.

Sarcocornia quinqueflora

“A small, erect, leafless herb with succulent stems” - NPOS p. 396

I came across this field of samphire in the salt flats of Moores Creek. I was there looking for remains of a footbridge from an old photo that was supposedly built during WWI as part of a military training exercise. There was no evidence of a bridge, and the creek looked different enough from the photo that it made me doubt I was in the right place.

Drosera peltata

“stalked semicircular leaves on a slim stem to about 20cm high” - NPOS p. 163

Funny how you can pass something a hundred times and never notice it. A few of these pale sundews were growing in exactly the same spot as a bunch of common sundews I’d known about and been passing for months. Just like the common sundew the pale sundew grows on damp clay or sandy soil and makes up for poor nutrients by capturing small insects with sticky fluid excreted from it’s leaves. You can see by the 10c coin that they are small, and there’s not much bulk to them so easy to miss I suppose.