A special shout-out to Earthwatch Australia for organising Bioblitz events this month at various saltmarsh and mangrove areas near Townsville, where participants encountered a fascinating range of lesser-known fauna and flora.

Thanks to Beth for spotting an unusual plant amidst a swathe of low-growing saltmarsh species (photo above) and identifying it as Limonium solanderi. This Queensland endemic was a personal “new species” for most of us.

Limonium solanderi (Plumbaginaceae) has branching inflorescences with small creamy-yellow flowers (photo above) seen in more detail in the first photo at the top of this page.

The angular stems of Limonium solanderi arise from a basal rosette of leaves (photo above). The plant is evidently well-adapted to the harsh saltmarsh environment and might be a nice addition to a coastal garden but it remains to be tested whether it would thrive in a non-saline environment.

Caution: Please don’t let anyone persuade you to grow non-native Limonium species often called “sea lavender” although not botanically related to true lavendar (Lavendula sp). Some introduced European Limonium species have become invasive weeds that are already threatening native coastal habitat in parts of South and Western Australia.

Sesuvium portulacastrum (Aizoaceae) was an unexpected find during our September visit to the Bushland Beach Channel Naturalisation Project. It is the first saltmarsh species in our Plant of the Month series.

Sesuvium portulacastrum is a sprawling perennial plant, green and succulent (above) during the wet season, turning reddish (below) during extended dry periods.

Sesuvium portulacastrum is commonly called Sea Purslane, although the same name is also used for several separate species.

Sesuvium portulacastrum produces small pink or mauve flowers for much of the year. They can be easily missed as they open for only a few hours each day. The flowers are followed by small round seed capsules containing tiny black seeds.

Fast growing Sesuvium portulacastrum forms a dense mat, providing natural erosion resistance near the shoreline. For the same reason it can be useful for coastal revegetation programs.

In some countries, Sesuvium portulacastrum is harvested from the wild and used as a vegetable or condiment, appreciated for its salty flavour and crunchy texture.

In cultivation Sesuvium portulacastrum could serve as a hardy ground cover in full sun and well-drained sandy soil. It can be easily propagated from seed or rooted stem cuttings.

Drosera finlaysoniana (Droseraceae) was just one of many species we found in flower during our recent outing to White Mountains National Park, but it was a bonus for the Editor who is a long-term Drosera enthusiast.

Unlike compact Drosera species with their leaves arranged in a rosette close to the ground, Drosera finlaysoniana is a slender upright plant with long narrow leaves reaching out like octopus arms.

Drosera finlaysoniana leaves are covered in glistening sticky tentacles that reflect sunlight beautifully, inspiring the common name ‘Sundew’ for these and other Drosera species. More importantly for the plants, their sticky tentacles trap unwary insects (photo above). Then the leaves secrete enzymes to digest the insect bodies, providing extra nutrients that allow these so-called ‘carnivorous’ plants to thrive in very low fertility soil.

Drosera finlaysoniana is “tall” compared to compact rosette Drosera species but still a small plant with a central stem typically less than 50 cm. It tends to sprawl sideways among other herbs and grasses (photo above) so it can be quite difficult to spot.

There’s further difficulty, because Drosera finlaysoniana can easily be confused with some other octopus-arm Drosera species (section Arachnopus in botanical taxonomy).

In the photo above, Drosera finlaysoniana and Drosera serpens are growing side-by-side, but who noticed?

Their flowers look similar and can be pink or white in both species, so flowers don’t help with identification. Instead, look at the base of the leaves, marked with red arrows in the photo above. This is where botanists would look for the petiole. The leaves of Drosera finlaysoniana (A) have tentacles extending all the way to the junction with the main stem. In contrast, Drosera serpens (B) has distinct tentacle-free petioles.

Melhania oblongifolia (Malvaceae) got the Editor’s vote as the prettiest small flowering plant spotted on our recent outing to the Mingela Range. From late morning onward its brilliant flowers were displayed to full advantage (photo above) after unfurling very slowly earlier in the day.

Melhania oblongifolia is a small understorey plant adapted to open woodland, monsoon forest and vine thickets. Its natural range extends from east to west across most of northern Australia. In our region it can be seen near the coast (photo above Cape Pallarenda) and in dryer inland areas (photo below Mingela Range).

Melhania oblongifolia is not well known in cultivation but some of our members have grown it and found it a very attractive and hardy addition to their gardens (photo below) provided it has good drainage.

In the wild, we usually see Melhania oblongifolia growing fully exposed to the sun. Nevertheless, in gardens of our members, it has grown well and flowered well in light shade as well as in full sun. Occasional light pruning has been helpful to encourage bushier growth and more flowers (photo above).

Individual flowers are short-lived but each stem produces multiple buds (photo above) and conveniently, Melhania oblongifolia tends to flower intermittently almost all year round in favourable growing conditions. When the seed cases split open (photo below), it is easy to collect seed and propagate new plants.

Many native plant enthusiasts will readily identify the tall trees in the above photo as Paperbarks, but can you say exactly which species? If you’re unsure, you are with the majority.

On a recent outing, we learned from expert botanist Russell Cumming that these trees are Melaleuca aff. viridiflora (Myrtaceae), actually a new species hiding in plain sight!

As indicated by “aff.” in the botanical name, these trees are similar to, but distinct from the well established species Melaleauca viridiflora. Russell pointed out, recognition as a separate species is justified by consistent points of difference including smaller, greener leaves and whiter flowers (photo above) and a different flowering time.

In comparison to M. viridiflora, Melaleuca aff. viridiflora grows into a larger tree and prefers swampier habitats (photo above). Surprisingly, it has not yet been formally described although it is widespread and abundant, occuring from central QLD to Kakadu.

To fully appreciate all the differences between the two species, you need to see live specimens. However, flower differences are apparent in the following photos. The whiter flowers of Melaleuca aff. viridiflora are shown above, and below are the creamy-green flowers of Melaleuca viridiflora

There is also a very attractive but less common form of Melaleuca viridiflora that bears reddish flowers, photo below.

In Australia, Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae) grows naturally as a large shrub or small tree near the coast from Central Queensland to the Top End and across to the northern Kimberley.

Morinda citrifolia usually occurs just behind the beach, sometimes fully exposed as we’ve seen at Magnetic Island (first photo above) and also in dense beach forest (directly above) as saw on our outing to Balgal last year.

In diverse growing conditions, Morinda citrifolia maintains its vibrant shiny foliage all year (photo above) and it can be an attractive addition to a spacious garden.

Morinda citrifolia flowers (photo above) are pleasantly perfumed and emerge from the surface of the developing fruit in a visually intriguing arrangement. They will be followed by a short period of potential inconvenience if planted without due consideration.

Ripening fruits of Morinda citrifolia (above) unfortunately have a strong aroma that many people dislike. If you plant this species in your garden, it’s best to place it away from bedroom windows and patios.

Alternatively, you can simply remove the Morinda citrifolia fruits while they are still green, and add them to your compost pile. This is also a good strategy to avoid messy ripe fruits dropping inconveniently onto pathways.

Morinda citrifolia fruits (above) were occasionally eaten during periods of food-shortage but their smell and assumed matching flavour is off-putting. Nevertheless the species has had many traditional therapeutic uses in some parts of Asia and the Pacific islands.

In current times, commercial producers of “noni juice” claim many health benefits from their product that is based on Morinda citrifolia extracts with the original flavour neutralised and other fruit flavours added.