Next Meeting

Date: Thursday August 14, 2008
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Horticultural Building at Morwell TAFE adjacent to Kernot Hall.

Leaders Report

Around the Garden

Banksia spinulosa

The beauty and variety of our native plants never ceases to amaze. Susan and I spent a very pleasant two weeks on the south coast of New South Wales. On a number of occasions we visited the bush and several of the many National Parks where the colours were superb – the rust colour of abundant Casuarinas in some locations, the yellow of assorted Acacias blended with the various foliage greens of many other plants. Around Bateman’s Bay the forests appear to be drier and more open than here in Gippsland. There is a distinctly different appearance to the bush with literally millions of Cycads dominating some areas. Many of these Cycads (Macrozamia spiralis) were displaying their distinctive orange fruit often scattered on the ground, probably by native birds. Also in the Bateman’s Bay hinterland the many Banksia spinulosa were flowering beautifully and added to the overall beauty of the forest, particularly in the upper reaches of the Clyde estuary. We spent an afternoon in the Monga National Park at the top of the escarpment south on the highway to Braidwood. The forest here was very lush and with gullies full of Dicksonia antarctica more resembled our own Strezlecki Ranges. Amazingly most of the fantastic parks we visited, many with excellent facilities such as free gas barbecues, were free or relatively so of visitors.

For a few days we were based in Eden and enjoyed the forest areas of the very southern part of the coast. In the upper reaches of the Wallagaraugh River, which finds its way to the sea in Victoria at Mallacoota, we found Grevillea victoriae var. leptoneura flowering brilliantly in its natural habitat. This shrub is related closely to the Deua Grevillea from the Deua National Park just west of Moruya. This plant which is frequently seen in nurseries has a broader leaf, but is otherwise the same. I believe there are also other relatives of both in not too distant places. In the same area as the Gr. victoriae, at a marvellous camp site of Newton’s Crossing, on the same river, silky Hakea (sericea or nodosa) was also flowering, adding to the overall beauty of the area.

We were able to enjoy a full day at the Bateman’s Bay Botanic Gardens. I know I have raved about this fantastic place previously. There are kilometres of walks through the remnant forest and the established garden area, many of which we wandered. Almost all of the plants are from the southern coastal area of NSW and many are mass plantings. We had a nibble in the restaurant and of course had to purchase some locally propagated plants from their shop. Members of the Australian Plant Society have been closely involved and I was informed that there are about one hundred and fifty local people from a variety of organisations regularly volunteer their time and expertise. What could be achieved with that sort of expert assistance? I know my garden would benefit and so would I!!

We enjoyed what we considered fantastic weather. It was on occasions windy and the locals were frequently complaining of the bitterly cold conditions! Admittedly there was a lot of snow falling on the Southern highlands, however we were very happy to bask in the eighteen to twenty degree sunshine each day while poor Victorians literally froze and were rained on with monotonous regularity. The rain gauge, the debris and fallen branches told the sad story on our return home however despite this the garden was looking quite splendid.

Our holiday really was a very pleasant and relaxing time apart from major car problems which still have to be resolved. It appears our 4WD has a cracked head which will cost thousands to repair! Anyway the “old beast” did not really let us down as it managed to tow the van home without too much effort despite its problem. There are a number of new Grevilleas flowering at present. I am looking forward to my Grevillea chrysophaea flowering however it appears I am going to have to be patient. A recent ride up into the wildflower reserve did not reveal any of the wild plants flowering as yet however I discovered that many of the plants growing close to the sides of the tracks have unfortunately been slashed. I believe that some areas of the reserve are going to be subject to controlled burns in the future and I hope it will not impact too much on these plants.

See you all at the AGM.

John Stephens.

Plants in My Garden

By Mike Beamish

Acacia
boormanii

Species: Acacia boormanii
Family:Mimosaceae
Derivation:

Acacia: From the Greek, akazo, to sharpen, or akis, a sharp point, referring to the sharp spines on many African species, where the genus was defined back in the 18th century.

boormanii: Named after J.L. Boorman (1864?-1938), a botanical collector who accompanied Maiden, who described the species.

Common Name: Snowy River Wattle
Distribution: Found in Victoria and NSW along the upper reaches of the Snowy River and its tributaries. Common in low, open forest on rocky slopes and sandy stream banks, in dry or well-drained moist soils.
Description:An open, slender or bushy, suckering shrub to 4m tall with a 3m spread. Foliage consists of blue-green (silver when young), soft, straight, narrow-linear phyllodes to 8cm long and 3mm wide, with a short oblique point and a small gland near the base. Flowers are perfumed, bright lemon-yellow balls to 8mm in diameter, with up to 10 along a 3cm long axillary raceme, appearing in July to October. Pods are buff-coloured when mature, curved and up to 9cm long and 6mm wide.
Opinion: Although there are plenty of other plants flowering at this time of year, none of them stand out as much as this one. It just glows! My plant is growing on the western boundary fence where it gets plenty of light and is visible to anyone passing by on the main road. Right now it is hard to miss, with its brilliant yellow flowers catching the eye, even from some distance away and even at night, with the nearby streetlight bouncing off it. It is not the original plant, which died some years ago, but a sucker which has sprung up from a remnant root. A closer look a couple of days ago revealed some more young suckers starting to appear a couple of metres away from the currently flowering stem. The flowers provide more than a visual display, too, readily apparent as you wander around the garden nearby. The perfume is quite aromatic, that typically Australian bush scent, pleasant to some, not so to others. For example, I quite like it, but Cathy and Nicole keep complaining about the cats that keep weeing all over the place.

Sources: Costermans- Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia
Simmons- Acacias of Australia, Volume 2

GARDEN VISIT

We were very lucky with the weather for the visit to our garden, Wayne and I were sooo… pleased to see so many group members turn up. The feed-back to us has been great. Though one member had wished he had come with his wife instead of freezing his but-off trying to get a birds-eye view of the country side. (Maybe you should wait for the warmer weather, Col).

As you can see we had a dilemma in the identification of one of our Grevilleas!! After much deliberation Wayne and I, both agreed it looks like Grevillea pimeleoides from the description in Marriott & Olde’s Grevillea Books, the book also states that pimeleoides can be mistaken for Grevillea drummondii. Many thanks too Cathy, Mike and Ken for identifying these plants for us.

After afternoon tea we had an impromptu-ed meeting, our main discussion was about the group’s Oct Geelong weekend trip, more details to come.

Then just to show members what our new printer is like, I printed a couple of photo’s off and passed them around, much to the surprise of one of our members (this is another reason why you should have kept two feet on the ground, Col, on such a cold winters day). Bev Hooper had emailed them to me ages ago, thanks Bev.

I’m just waiting for Wayne to give me a list of plants that were flowering at the time of the groups visit, ‘This and That’ will not do, Wayne!! Ah, here is the list of some of the plants that were flowering that day.

Alyogyne huegelli – purple (this is one of my favorite plants), Banksia Giant Candles, Banksia praemorsa – yellow, Grevillea endlicheriana, G. Billy Bonkers, G. Carpet Queen, G. jenkinsii, G. baueri, G. poorinda rondeau, G. tetragonoloba, G. lanigera Mt Tamberitha, G. Ellendale, Correa purchella Pink Mist, Correa Little Cate, Hakea Burrendong Beauty, Hypocalymma xanthoptelum, Isopogon formosus, Leptospermum scoparium, Zieria prostrata.

Anytime anyone would like to take cuttings just give us a ring and we will organize a time to do so with you.

Within a few days of the group visiting our garden, we put 4mts of eucy mulch on the small garden bed at the front of the house and part of the larger bed too. Some of the newer plants up the far bottom end below the shed bank were also mulched; it’s amazing how much better looking the garden is now, though it will all slowly be mulched. I can see that by the time we get it all done we’ll have to start again!

Wayne & I would like to thank everyone for such a great day.

Identification of this grevillea has been put under question!

Response - C & M Beamish

Can anyone else help with identifying this Grevillea?

The photo at left was taken by Cathy at Wayne and Marg’s garden visit last month, of the small unidentified Grevillea growing happily underneath the Grevillea longiflora below the water tank and clothesline. A quick search through Marriott & Olde’s Grevillea Books identified the culprit as Grevillea pimeleoides from areas east and south-east of Perth in WA.

The other Grevillea that Wayne was unsure of and tentatively referred to as G. dianella and that Mary claimed had foliage like an Isopogon, was later tracked down by Wayne as Grevillea dielsiana.

Response - Ken Harris

Marg and Wayne, thank you for a great day exploring your garden yesterday. I have managed to identify the two Grevilleas that you couldn't give names to.

The lovely yellow flower Grevilleas, beside the Grevillea longistyla is Grevillea drummondii, see my photo (attached) and this web page: http://www.grevilleapark.org/static_images/4964/index.html

The other Grevillea, one of the last plants we looked at, I found by looking for names beginning with "di", since that seemed to be what you were half remembering and I came up with Grevillea dielsiana, again see my picture of your plant (attached) and this web page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grevillea_dielsiana

Ken Harris

Australian Plant Society (Latrobe Valley)Annual General Meeting - Agenda

To be held at Morwell TAFE Horticultural Buildings Thursday, August 14, 2008, 7.30pm

Attendance:

Apologies:

Confirmation of previous AGM minutes:

Minutes of previous AGM of 9/8/07 were read.

Motion: to accept the minutes of the previous AGM. (Moved: , Sec: , carried)

Business arising from previous AGM:

1.The Newsletter now carries regular coloured sections and a colour laser printer has been purchased to allow printing of the newsletter for those members without or with limited email access. No progress on gaining more articles or reports for the newsletter.

Correspondence:

Business arising from Correspondence:

Reports:

Leader’s Report.

Treasurer’s Report.

Motion: to accept the Treasurer’s Report. (Moved: , Sec: , carried)

Leader:

Vice-Leader:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

Editor:

Librarian:

Public Officer:

1.Motion: Our regular monthly Thursday night meetings held at the Morwell TAFE Horticultural Buildings are at least attended by the Committee, regardless of whether a speaker or activity has been arranged for the evening.

2.Motion: APS LV to join Study Groups (as a group member) as nominated by and of particular interest to a majority of members, so that all members can have access to the Study Group benefits without the financial burden of individual subscription.

Meeting closed.