Redcliffe Environmental Forum
  • News and Events
  • Plant of the Week
  • Special Features
  • About
  • Contact

Native Sarsaparilla

6/25/2015

0 Comments

 
Scientific name: Hardenbergia violacea

This is a vine or a scrambling plant with tough wiry stems and is also known as the Purple Coral Pea. Up to 2 metres in length it grows on shrubs and even the base of trees. It can be seen around Hays Inlet in the open woodland areas including Eucalypt forest. It is a widespread species found along the coast from central Queensland all the way around to South Australia and Tasmania.

It has bright violet flowers with a yellow spot on each petal. The leaves are green and leathery and the vine produces seed pods around 5 cm in length (you can see these pods on the photo above). These pods contain 6 to 8 seeds and go brown when mature. Native Sarsaparilla is a legume and is good at fixing nitrogen in soils. The plant copes with fire by regrowing from the root system under the soil. The roots and leaves used to be made up into a tea by early European settlers.

The flowers attract nectar eating insects which are then targeted by insect eating birds including the local Grey Fantail, Noisy Minor and the Willie Wagtail. It is also a host species for a number of butterflies. The Native Sarsaparilla has also been propagated by a number of commercial nurseries for use in local gardens.
0 Comments

Swamp Mahogany

6/15/2015

1 Comment

 
Scientific name: Eucalyptus robusta

This Eucalypt is big and robust (hence it’s scientific name) tree with thick red bark that often peels away from the trunk in long strips. It is a Eucalypt and favours coastal areas including the fringes of the Hays Inlet wetlands. It is an important tree for coastal koalas as it can tolerate some levels of inundation and so is often found around the border between Melaleuca swamp and Eucalypt forest.

The tree can grow to a height of 30 meters with a straight trunk which can up to a meter in diameter. The wood from this tree is highly resistant to marine borers making it a valuable commodity for boat builders. The tree has been exported and is now grown in Argentina, China, Mozambique and the USA.

It has large leathery green leaves which form a major part of koala’s diet. The tree flowers in autumn through to spring providing a valuable source of nectar for grey-headed flying foxes and a number of species of bird including honeyeaters and lorikeets. The tree provides a significant habitat for a numerous insects which also attract the attention of insectivores including birds.

1 Comment

Sea Purslane

6/8/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Scientific name: Sesuvium portulacastrum

Sea Purslane it is distributed throughout the world and is native to Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and South America and is well established in Europe. It is distributed along the entire Queensland coastline including the Gulf of Carpentaria. Locally, this spreading creeper forms mats, especially along the drains and waterways adjacent to the saltmarsh areas of Hays Inlet. Sea Purslane is also found on the coastal dune areas of the sand islands of Moreton Bay.

The leaves are succulent and the stems can range from green to a distinctive red colour. It has small pink flowers with 5 petals which can be seen all year round. It can be eaten. The stems and leaves are edible. They are characterised by a salty taste, which can be reduced by lightly boiling. It is mainly used as an extra in salads although in the Philippines the plant is pickled and eaten as a condiment and is called “Atchara - Atsarang dampalit” (pickled sea purslane).

The plant is an important stabiliser of sediments, especially in coastal dune areas where its roots and rhizomes act as nets trapping wind borne sand and helping to build the base of the dune.
1 Comment

    Authors

    Bob Crudgington and Chris Joyce

    Redcliffe Environmental Forum Inc

    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015


    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.