Pictured above: A Hakea nitida
I have just returned from my August visit and am now staying a day longer in this area than during autumn and early winter. The days in the reserve have been lovely. I managed not to get caught by that heavy downpour last week. I still seem to be running frantically around looking at different plants and hoping to find the ones that I didn’t see last year. I am making slow progress with that and am still finding new records. This time, I found a tiny perannual herb that is easily overlooked (Wurmbea) and the frog Hakea (Hakea nitida). It seems to me that there are different plants flowering then last year which could be because I am here at a different time in the month and due to a different rainfall pattern than last year.
I am always amazed at the diversity of flowering plants in the reserve and the succession of plant species in one genus over the months. For instance, I have been looking at sundews lately and 2 months ago saw the red-leaved sundew Drosera bulbosa, with flat leaves and several flowers. Currently the Bridal Rainbow, a climbing species with white flowers, is in full flower (D. macrantha) and I have seen the beginning of the red-ink sundew (D. erythrorhiza), the Pimpernel sundew (D. glanduligera), the Pearly Sundew (D. picnoblasta) and a pygmy sundew with orange flowers (D. barbigera). Of these, I didn’t see the red-ink sundew last year so that will be another new record for the reserve. The sundews are carnivorous plants who capture and digest insects through the dewy glands on their leaf surface. They also get some of their nutrients from the soil. Sundews are not the only carnivorous plants here in Australia. You might have heard of the Albany Pitcher plant, and tiny bladderworts (Utricularia) which occur in wetter areas. Over the next two months I hope to see these coming into flower.
My next visit will be 5 to 10 September. If anybody wants to come along, let me know and we can meet up on site. If you have any questions, you can reach me by email at tarinrockbook@gmail.com or by phone on 0439978550.
Article by Jolanda Keeble
I am always amazed at the diversity of flowering plants in the reserve and the succession of plant species in one genus over the months. For instance, I have been looking at sundews lately and 2 months ago saw the red-leaved sundew Drosera bulbosa, with flat leaves and several flowers. Currently the Bridal Rainbow, a climbing species with white flowers, is in full flower (D. macrantha) and I have seen the beginning of the red-ink sundew (D. erythrorhiza), the Pimpernel sundew (D. glanduligera), the Pearly Sundew (D. picnoblasta) and a pygmy sundew with orange flowers (D. barbigera). Of these, I didn’t see the red-ink sundew last year so that will be another new record for the reserve. The sundews are carnivorous plants who capture and digest insects through the dewy glands on their leaf surface. They also get some of their nutrients from the soil. Sundews are not the only carnivorous plants here in Australia. You might have heard of the Albany Pitcher plant, and tiny bladderworts (Utricularia) which occur in wetter areas. Over the next two months I hope to see these coming into flower.
My next visit will be 5 to 10 September. If anybody wants to come along, let me know and we can meet up on site. If you have any questions, you can reach me by email at tarinrockbook@gmail.com or by phone on 0439978550.
Article by Jolanda Keeble
RSS Feed
