Xanthorrhoea species (Grass Trees)
125 Comments »13th June, 2006; Category: Tufted Plants
Xanthorrhoea priessii is a Western Australian species. This species was one of the plants used by the winning garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata and Xanthorrhoea semiplana are the South Australian species of Grass Tree.
At an Arboretum near here, Xanthorrhoea preissii and Xanthorrhoea semiplana have both been planted on deep sand. After four years of growth in the ground, the cluster of leaves is about 60cm tall and beginning to ‘vase’ out in a very graceful way. The width of the clump is larger than the reach of two hands joined finger tip to finger tip as if holding a large bunch of flowers.
It is certainly worth while growing these for the leaf display if this is what the growth is like after 4 years. Xanthorrhoea semiplana generally does not make a trunk although sometimes one up to a metre will appear, whereas the other does to about 3 metres tall. However to see a ‘decent’ trunk on Xanthorrhoea semiplana in one’s lifetime is probably only to be dreamed about!
Xanthorrhoea need a sunny well drained position. They look wonderful growing in a rockery and will also look great in a large pot as an impressive feature plant. Specimens have flowered after 7 years in Brisbane and 10 years at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
It has been discovered that the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos love the seed pods that form along the flower stem which can be as much as 4-5 metres tall. They have been observed eating them soon after sunrise between Tintinara and Keith on the side of the road.
Plants at Monarto Zoo
This morning we took we took my mother and niece to Monarto Zoo, about an hour east of Adelaide along the South Eastern Highway. We haven’t done the bus tour for ages. It was great although very cold today.
A highlight of the trip was seeing two brand new baby giraffe, born last Friday and Saturday. One was still wonky on its legs but got up to suckle for a while from its mother. The other was content to doze in the weak sun for a while. Giraffe are amazing creatures.
As are the African Painted Dogs. There has been a good season for them too. Heaps of 6-8 week old puppies scrambling and playing quite roughly with each other. It was quite a creche. Apparently the other adult dogs help to raise the pups and feed them. One adult was giving quite strong taps with its front paw to a pup.
There is such a lot to see at the Zoo. New developments are taking place as money becomes available. We enjoyed a concert there last year, with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. This was a fund raiser for the Zoo.
On one of the walks today there was an abundance of Lomandra effusa, Scented Mat Rush. In fact the vegetation was looking in good heart. This Lomandra was in quite dense communities. It will be good to do the walks at the end of the winter as this is an area where the wild flowers are lovely then. Prostanthera eurybioides (Monarto Mint Bush) was in flower in the Zoo plantings.
Going bananas in the desert
No Comments »10th June, 2006; Category: Bush Tucker
This interesting article by Annette Marner on the ABC caught my eye because of my interest in bush foods. (see previous blog entries).
South Australia‘s deserts, areas which have less than 250 mm of rain per year, still produce the most amazing fruits and food according to Joan Gibbs, lecturer in Ecology at the University Of South Australia Mawson Lakes. And planting these bush foods is helping to restore our damaged landscapes.
The desert banana has an interesting name given that it doesn’t taste like a banana or even look like one. It just happens to be curved!
Then there’s the wild fig (also known as pigface or Carpobrotus rossii) which, underneath it’s “bitter, salty rind”, actually tastes like strawberry. It’s a desert dessert delight, according to Joan.
Joan: “Bush tomato (Solanum spp.) has many species that can be used in conventional sauces and for eating. The most common tomato that is cultivated for business by many communities is Solanum centrale, which gives a farm-gate price of $35 per kilo, but requires specialist care and pruning in a horticultural farming system.
“The other big seller is quondong, Santalum acuminatum, which requires delicate care in planting out with its host plant, usually Acacia victoriae, an arid wattle shrub. In some soils, survival rates of young plants can be extremely low, and crops are not produced for four to six years, under irrigation.”
In the South East there is the bush fig, bush apple, wattleseed coffee and coastal currant.
Joan is passionate about restoring deserts and other landscapes damaged by grazing and agriculture. Since 1998 her Sustainable Environments Research Group “has investigated the potential for restoring cultural, Aboriginal landscapes on the Coorong, 200 km south-east of Adelaide”.
“We have planted over 4000 trees and bushfood plants to create habitat for wildlife in patterns that combine with culturally-appropriate landscapes.”
Joan says that Aboriginal people have used horticultural ecology with the desert plants for thousands of years.
“Aboriginal people cared for bushland which provided food, medicines and materials for livelihoods. Custodians of each region managed the bush according to laws and instructions passed on from previous custodians. Intricate systems of firing, cultivation and planting ensured continuous crops, albeit at a subsistence level.
“The challenge of current bushfood business for Aboriginal people is to research and develop production systems for their native bushfoods that will sustain livelihoods in the desert.
“The difficulty of achieving ecosystem restoration is many times greater than the ease with which they were destroyed. The methods of cultivating these bush plants are probably known to bush dwellers, requiring techniques very different to European-type farming.
“Bush horticulture would require the resources of current and traditional knowledge of caring for healthy landscapes if we were to produce enough food for wildlife, as well as humans.”
Endangered Boronias Found
No Comments »9th June, 2006; Category: Conservation of Plants
The rare Boronias which were feared to be lost after Cyclone Monica have been found. (See my post ). The species are Boronia viridiflora and Boronia quadrilata. Scientists from Charles Darwin University have sought permission from the traditional owners of the land to take specimens back to the university for research into propagation of the species.
The full article released by Charles Darwin University can be read here.
Growing Lomandra hystrix
No Comments »8th June, 2006; Category: Tufted Plants
Lomandra hystrix flowers in summer. The species grows naturally in Queensland and New South Wales. The plant can be used as a soil binder for banks. It will cope with being flooded occasionally and poor drainage. It will also grow in heavy shade or in full sun. The plants can be left to fend for themselves in many locations and are frost hardy.
These plants also can be planted in pots for outside cultivation or be used as indoor plants. The foiliage will arch over and be useful for concealing areas in the garden, or softening the edges of concrete.
Other species with this tufted growth habit look good growing at the base of trees. This Lomandra would look good in that situation also.