Last year the big cycad in the front yard sprouted a bowling ball sized sphere from it’s center. It was bizarre looking, almost as if it was giving birth! The sphere eventually spread out and turned into a new generation of coralloid roots. It was quite amazing seeing it emerge so quickly, especially because apart from that there’s been no visible growth in over 2 years. This year I noticed the spear heads of a new generation of leaves sprouting from the center and decided to try and take a photo every day. Amazing to see it grow so fast. I wonder where all the matter to build those huge leaves was coming from so quickly, could it be taken from the soil and air on the fly or has the plant been building up some sort of reservoir over 2 years that can quickly be converted into rapid new growth?

Opodiphthera helena

Jess spotted this huge moth on the rock ledge out the back one evening. It was just sitting there slowly beating it’s wings. It didn’t look injured, I wondered if it had recently emerged from it cocoon and was drying or stretching it’s wings.

Check out the match stick for some scale, it’s body was just monstrous.

I’ve been trying to work out what species this is. CSIRO’s what bug it that site looks comprehensive, but it is soooo slooow it’s excruciating. I’d usually click about quickly and explore but it takes over a full minute for a page to load, the site is unusable.

Stylidium productum

“A tufted herb with grass like leaves, found in moist forest situations.” – NPOS p.219

The trigger plant has developed the fascinating ability for movement fast enough to outdo animal reflexes. The trigger plant’s pollen producing anthers are located at the end of a stalk emanating from the center of the flower. The stalk is cocked back behind the flower like the hammer of a gun. When an insect lands it triggers the hammer which crashes onto the insect, showering it with pollen. The insect then flies away to fertilize the next trigger flower it lands upon. The flower resets itself in 20 minutes, ready for it’s next customer.

Ever wondered about the soil in your area? Where did it come from, what will grow in it, how does it respond to flooding or drought? Apart from being of gereneral interest these questions are pretty important depending on what you want to use the land for.

Any construction requires knowledge of the soil’s physical and chemical properties such its stability, will it deform when wet, how far down to bedrock, is the soil corrosive? And if you want to grow anything: Is the soil fertile, is it acidic or basic, clayey, sandy, are there any salinity problems?

Epidendrum ibaguense

The crucifix Orchid is popular among the houses in our area. It must have been fashionable at some time in past, or possibly have spread itself from a single stating point. It’s a hardy plant that has taken over large areas of the garden without any special care. It grows as dense stands to about 1.5m high. Individual plants consist of a thin bamboo like central stem with thick oval shaped leaves sprouting directly off it in an alternating pattern.

Crassula ovata

Another Crassula, this one sits right next to Crassula “Gollum” in the garden. Looking at them side by side it’s clear they are very closely related, I can imagine a single mutation caused the leaves of the Jade Plant to curl back upon themselves, and there we have the “gollum”. Evolution in action.

Succulent leaves of the Jade Plant

Jade Plant, doing well in shallow sandy soil

Crassula ovata “Gollum”

Crassula Gollum is a South African native that is popular in nurseries. It is a small shrub growing to only 1m tall with thick spongy branches. The leaves are tube-shaped succulent terminating with a red-tipped suction cup like structure at the tips.

The name “Gollum” is in reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s character from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I’ve also seen them referred to as “Shrek’s ears”; it’s a pretty good description.

Leptospermum trinervium

“A tall shrub usually to 3m, with a stout trunk and papery flaky bark” – NPOS p.55

Jess and I took a trip down the back to inspect the sewer on the weekend, all looking good, there is no smell now. This Tea Tree was growing on the large flat sandstone outcrop near to the Broadleaf Grass tree. With it’s distinctive flowers and scented leaves I’m certain it’s a tea tree but I’m not so sure about the species. My guess is it’s a Paperbark Tea Tree, it’s flowers, leaves and habitat are consistent. The scientific name “trinervium” is in reference to the 3 prominent veins in each leaf, you can see them in the photo. At the time I took the picture I didn’t take note of it’s distinguishing feature though, it’s bark, I’ll have to go back to check it out.

These ants have turned up at a few different places around the garden, they seem to occupy a nest for a few months and then move on. They are semi-aggressive and will swarm on you if you stand on their nest or get in their path. They don’t seem to bite though.

The photos are from the 3rd location I’ve seen them, and the first time I’ve seen them swarm in such a dense cluster. There was a lot of movement going on but it seemed ordered, like they were going about a task, some of the ants were carrying white sacks around. I dropped a matchstick next to them to give a bit of scale in the photos and all hell broke loose. The ants swarmed so aggressively that it made a sound, like a soft crunching. The matchstick was swamped. With all the new movement I got a better look deeper into the mound and could see many more white sacks underneath.