DROOPING SHE-OAK

(Allocasuarina verticillata)

(Photos: C. Schultz, habit, cones, foliage; Cape Jervis)

These trees can grow 4-10m tall, on a variety of soils including the limestone coastal soils around Cape Jervis. The branches droop with needle-like foliage, and no true leaves…sounds great in the wind! The seeds from its cones are the favorite food of the Glossy Black Cockatoo; you’ll see the ‘chewings’ from these under the trees on Kangaroo Island. You won’t see the cockatoos at Cape Jervis yet; they haven’t been seen on the mainland for years. However, extensive she-oak plantings started around the Cape with Greening Australia about 17 years ago, as part of the Glossy Black Cockatoo Recovery Program. Several other groups have contributed, including COOTs, Cape Jervis & Delamere Progress Association and CJCCG. More drooping she-oaks will be going in, winter of 2016! Come along then, plant some, and be part of the recovery program.

SPINY WATTLE

(Acacia spinescens)

(Photos: E. Cousins, habitat, stems and flowers; Cape Jervis)

These shrubs were flowering spectacularly around Cape Jervis in September. The half-ball flowers are bright yellow, and cling to the branches with not much stalk visible. They contrast brilliantly with the grey-green branches. Touch the end of a branch and you will quickly learn where the name of this wattle comes from… there is a sharp tip to each branch! In fact, the whole shrub is quite rigid. You’ll notice something else about this shrub; there aren’t any ‘true’ leaves. So it really is quite an architectural plant for your garden. They will grow from shin-high at Cape Jervis to waist-high further from the coast.

MALLEE POMADERRIS

(Pomaderris paniculosa ssp. paniculosa)

(Photos: E. Cousins, habitat at Cape Jervis, a pomaderris behind hibbertia; https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6194/6123759156_85ef3c5dfd_m.jpg, close-up of leaf stem )

This waist high shrub is one of the hardy survivors around Cape Jervis. It can grow in windy coastal locations as well as woodland and mallee, and doesn’t mind rocky ground. Despite this, the shrub is now extinct in NSW, and endangered in Victoria. The dull green, oval-shaped leaves are about 1 cm long, and look furry. This is because of fine white hairs along and below the leaf edges. The hairs on raised veins, the younger stems and buds look rusty, giving a brown-green look to the shrub. Little flower buds occur in loose hanging clusters (see third photo above), and the tiny 3 mm flowers that follow the buds are yellow; look for these shortly in spring!

PALE GUINEA FLOWER

(Hibbertia pallidiflora)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit; leaves and flowers; size of flower compared to a fingertip)

Because of the strong salt winds around Cape Jervis and the dry summers, plants have to be tough to survive there. Many are consequently very tiny, such as the little hibbertia shown here. This rare little plant likes the limestone around the Fleurieu. The bush itself is small and compact, growing to only about 20cm high at Cape Jervis. The leaves are rounder than those of other hibbertias, with Because of the strong salt winds around Cape Jervis and the dry summers, plants have to be tough to survive there. Many are consequently very tiny, such as the little hibbertia shown here. This rare little plant likes the limestone around the Fleurieu. The bush itself is small and compact, growing to only about 20cm high at Cape Jervis. The leaves are rounder than those of other hibbertias, with star-shaped hairs underneath. The flowers, carried on long stalks, are cup-shaped and do not open out very much. They tend to hang down (see the middle photo). You can see how tiny the flowers are, from the photo showing the flower and a fingertip!

BLACK-ANTHER FLAX LILY

(Dianella revoluta)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit; flowers and buds)

You can see from the pictures above why this plant is commonly called the black-anther flax lily: those pretty blue flowers have black stamens, with an orangey-yellow base to them. The plant grows about shin high, with very stiff, blue-green leaves which fold together at their base. You are most likely to see the flowers in spring and early summer. The wiry flower spikes sit above the leaves, to about knee high at Cape Jervis. There are several branches per spike, and several flowers per branch, with one flower on a branch opening per day. The six flower petals bend backwards, ‘reflexed’. After the flowers, you get pretty dark-blue seed pods. Adaptable to most soil types, the plants are also hardy, and can produce quite large clumps over a period of time, making them a very useful garden plant.

WHITE FANFLOWER

(Scaevola albida)

(Photos: E. Cousins; plant amongst others, flowers)

Though this plant can grow upwards, we normally see it as a prostrate shrub around Cape Jervis, growing only to about shin high. Although the name would suggest the flowers are white, they actually vary and are normally more blue than white around Cape Jervis. And no, they haven’t all been eaten by snails, leaving just half a flower! This lopsided flower shape is what makes fanflowers easy to identify: the petals only grow on one half, like a fan or a hand. The oval leaves are bright green, and like the flower colour, can vary in look: they will be smooth or hairy. Look for the flowers in spring. It really is a pretty little plant.

RUBY SALTBUSH

(Enchylaena tomentosa)

(Photos: E. Cousins; growth habit, fruits and leaves, close-up of fruit; Cape Jervis)

OK, the fruit shown in the close-up is ‘ruby’…but simultaneously on the bush you might see green, yellow, orange and red ones! The green ones are the new fruit, but the colour changes as those fruit ripen.  These are small (about 5mm), succulent and shaped like a squished ball. Flowers and fruit occur over most of the year, making this an important food source for birds. The sprawling shrub is low-growing, often just knee-high, though the branches can reach 1m. These are covered in cylindrical, fleshy blue-green leaves, about 1-2cm long. The leaves in turn are covered in fine hairs (‘tomentose’), which are responsible for the bush’s greyish colour, but also aid in reflecting heat which might otherwise damage the plant. Ruby saltbush is found in most poor soil types across Australia, from sand to clay, but prefers those that are slightly saline and not boggy. It is hardy, being drought and frost tolerant…handy on the peninsula!

NITRE-BUSH

(Nitraria billardierei)

(Photos: E. Cousins; habit, fruit, leaves; all at Cape Jervis)

The nitre-bush is sometimes called the Native Grape. The photo of its ripe fruit was taken in early February: they are grape-shaped, and red or yellow. The ones on this particular bush were plump, and very edible! They are only about 1cm long though, so you would need a lot to make a meal of them, especially since the seed inside itself is large compared to the fruit.
Birds also like the fruit, which helps to spread those seeds. The nitre-bush grows as a dense, stiff shrub, with long, arching, tangled stems. The leaves are an olive green colour, and fairly elongated; flowers are small and white. This shrub likes over-grazed and hot, saline areas, so does well at Cape Jervis, where it helps to stabilize dunes. In Australia there is only one species in the genus Nitraria, but other species exist overseas … makes one wonder how that came about!

LEMON BEAUTY-HEADS

(Calocephalus citreus)

(Photos: E. Cousins; habit, side view, flower close-up; Cape Jervis)

The clumps of this plant that we have seen around Cape Jervis grow to about 20-30cm high. They look silvery-grey, possibly because of the small, white hairs on the leaves and stems. Stems themselves are slender, wiry and upright, growing in a tuft from the base. Narrow leaves are arranged opposite each other along the stems; they get progressively smaller the closer they get to the top. Between September and March, you’ll notice the lemon beauty heads themselves, sitting at the top of the plants: golden globe-like clusters of flowers, to 14mm long in total. Although lemon beauty heads don’t appreciate heavy disturbance such as urban development, grazing stock, or fertilizer use, they would make an excellent rockery plant: they require little watering, tolerate full sun or part shade and most soil conditions, are fast growing, long lived, and very hardy!          (See Carolyn’s Corner in Cape Jervis Courier for a story about our trip to find these locally.)

SMALL YELLOW RUSH-LILY

(Tricoryne tenella)

   (Photos: E. Cousins; habit, seed capsules, flowers; Cape Jervis)

A little tufted plant, this beauty deserves its name: tenella is from the Latin for ‘dainty’. The actual plant pictured was about 40cm high, with the stems standing almost erect. Mostly they grow to about 45cm. There are almost no leaves, and the ones there are, are just little scales. However, the stems branch into slender clusters, making for a dense little plant. The flowers appear in spring to midsummer. These are yellow and 6-petalled, with a cute little group of very upright stamens. The flowers roll into a tight twist when finished (you can see one twist clearly in the centre photo). These are followed by the seed capsules, with a conical tip and three small ribs, hence the ‘tri’ in ‘tricoryne’. The plants will grow on sand along the coast, or in the heath and mallee…quite good for us in S.A. then!