By Hugh Sweatman While Australia is home to 117 species of sundew, representing about 50% of all recorded species, the centre of that diversity is southern Western Australia. Atlas of Living Australia lists 21 species in Queensland; three of these are endemic to rain forests of North Queensland and have very limited distributions. Drosera prolifera …
Continue reading “Drosera adelae – a true North Queenslander”
Our P o M for May is Drosera adelae, a “true North Queenslander” highlighted in Hugh’s presentation at our recent meeting. Like other Drosera (about 150 species worldwide, commonly known as Sundews) D. adelae has mobile glandular hairs on its leaves, used to trap tiny insects from which the plant absorbs nutrients. D. adelae is …
Thanks to Cameron for nominating Jacquemontia paniculata (Convolvulaceae) for P o M and providing his fine photos. Cam found an abundant display of Jacquemontia paniculata flowers on Castle Hill early this month, April 2021. Jacquemontia paniculata is a slender vine, potentially quite widespread locally, but it’s easily overlooked for much of the year. It twines …
Continue reading “Plant of the month 04/2021: Jacquemontia paniculata“
Heritiera littoralis (Malvaceae, previously classified as Sterculiaceae) was selected as Plant of the Month during our March outing, against some strong competition from the fascinating mix of species at the Palmetum. Although this species typically grows in low to moderate salinity conditions at the landward edge of mangrove forests, two specimens are thriving beside the …
Continue reading “Plant of the month 3/2021: Heritiera littoralis“
Fagraea fagraeacea (Gentianaceae), with beautiful perfumed flowers, was a highlight of the recent NPQ outing to Paluma. This was an unexpected new species for many of us but fortunately John had spotted it a few years ago, and then spent several days working out its ID. Very convenient now, to have a quick answer about …
Continue reading “Plant of the month 2/2021: Fagraea fagraeacea“
Good rains at the end of December sparked a tiny flowering bonanza amongst the smallest of our local native plants. Due to their size, many remain inconspicuous, even when flowering. Tricoryne anceps (Hemerocallidoideae) is a delightful exception. Without flowers, Tricoryne anceps is easily overlooked as just another low-growing grass-like plant. Currently (Jan 2021) it is …
Continue reading “Plant of the month 01/2021: Tricoryne anceps“