Tag Archives: Plant

Swamp Club-Rush

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Swamp Club-Rush

Don’t miss out on a swamp club-rush membership – all you have to do is read on!

  • Swamp club-rushes are a species of perennial, grass-like vegetation native to Australia, New Zealand, South America, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.
  • The scientific name of swamp club-rush is Isolepis inundata, previously known as Scirpus inundatus, and it is from the family Cyperaceae, the family of sedges.
  • Swamp club-rushes grow in thin blades with the plant reaching heights from 5 to 50 centimetres (2 to 20 inches) and about 40 centimetres (16 inches) in diameter.
  • The ‘flowers’ of swamp club-rushes are small and spiky in appearance, and are clustered in three to twenty spikelets.
  • Both swampy environments and gullies can house swamp club-rushes, and they prefer sunny or partly shady conditions.

Swamp Club-Rush, Vegetation, Plant, Grass, Trivia, Random Facts, Australia

  • Swamp club-rushes bloom from September to February, the spring and summer months.
  • The vegetation of swamp club-rushes is typically a vivid green colour, while the blooms are brown, to pale yellow or cream.
  • The first scientific description of swamp club-rushes was in 1810, by Robert Brown, a botanist from Scotland, who observed the plant in Australia on an expedition there.
  • Swamp club-rushes can be used for landscaping purposes, particularly those involving water, and they prefer moist soil conditions, though they are hardy and versatile.
  • Swamp club-rush plants grow from rhizomes that tend to multiply, and the plant produces tiny, triangular shaped nuts that are pale red-brown to yellow in colour.
Bibliography:
APNI – Isolepis inundata, n.d, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apniFormat/display/74358
Isolepis inundata, n.d, Prestige Plants, http://www.prestigeplants.com.au/www/content/default.aspx?cid=1860
Isolepis inundata R.Br., n.d, PlantNET, http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Isolepis~inundata
Swamp Club-Rush, 2015, Victoria Resources Online, http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/sip_swamp_club_rush

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False Bracken

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False Bracken

False bracken is truly not bracken… it is a fern.

  • False bracken is a species of common fern, native to eastern forest areas of Australia.
  • ‘False brackens’ are also known as ‘rainbow ferns’, ‘soft brackens’ and ‘common ground ferns’.
  • The scientific name of false bracken is Calochlaena dubia, though it was previously listed as Culcita dubia, and it is from the family Dicksoniaceae, a family of various ferns.
  • False bracken leaves, or ‘fronds’ as they are known, reach a length of 0.4 to 1.5 metres (1.3 to 4.9 feet), and they tend to droop at the ends.
  • The false bracken scientific genus name ‘Calochlaena’ is said to come from Ancient Greek, meaning ‘beautiful cloak’, while ‘dubia’, or ‘dubious’ in English, is a Latin term and has the meaning ‘doubtful’.

False Bracken, Fern, Green, Vegetation, Rainforest, Australia, Leaves, Museum,

  • The leaves of false bracken are lacy and range from green to yellow-green in colour, and are hairy and quite soft to touch.
  • False bracken plants do not produce flowers, and instead reproduce through the use of spores that grown on the underside of the leaves.
  • The false bracken plant grows from a rhizome, that spreads underground and can be divided to produce more plants, and the rhizomes are covered in brown hairs.
  • False brackens grow as understory plants that are easily cared for, and as such, are useful as a garden plant.
  • False bracken plants grow to heights from 50 cm to 2 metres (1.6 to 6.6 feet) and prefer well-drained soils that are moist, and partly shady conditions.
Bibliography:
Calochlaena dubia, 2010, Welcome to Yarra Ranges, http://fe.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Residents/Trees_Vegetation/Yarra_Ranges_Plant_Directory/Yarra_Ranges_Local_Plant_Directory/Lower_Storey/Ferns_and_Fern_Allies/Calochlaena_dubia
Calochlaena dubia, 2014, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calochlaena_dubia
Calochlaena dubia, 2016, Noosa’s Native Plants, http://www.noosanativeplants.com.au/plants/107/calochlaena-dubia-(was-culcita-dubia)
Calochlaena dubia (DICKSONIACEAE) False Bracken, n.d, Save Our Waterways Now, http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/01_cms/details_pop.asp?ID=116

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Australian Native Violet

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Australian Native Violet

Even Australia gets their very own Australian native violets.

  • Australian native violets are small, perennial flowering plants, native to mostly eastern areas of Australia.
  • ‘Australian native violets’ are also known as ‘native violets’, ‘ivy-leaved violets’ and ‘Australian tufted violets’.
  • The scientific name of an Australian native violet is Viola hederacea, from the Violaceae family, the family of pansies and violets.
  • The flower of Australian native violets is a combination of purple and white in colour, and it generally sits above the plant on a thin stalk.
  • Australian native violet plants reach a height of 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) and grow approximately 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter.

Australian Native Violet, Plant, Vegetation, Flower, Violet

  • The blooms of Australian native violets are roughly 1 to 2 centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 inches) in diameter, while the leaves are 0.5 to 3 centimetres (0.2 to 1.2 inches) across, and are shaped as a semi-circle or like a kidney.
  • Australian native violets bloom mostly during summer and spring months, and the flowers are edible and are sometimes used in salads.
  • Australian native violets can be grown in gardens or in pots, and they grow in shade, partial shade or sunny areas, and prefer moist soil.
  • Australian native violets are commonly used ornamentally, in hanging baskets, as a ground cover, and can also be used as an alternative lawn, although it is less popular plant than some other violet species, as the flowers are somewhat pale in colour compared to others.
  • Australian native violets grow in clumps that can be readily divided, and they tend to spread via runners, that new plants are formed from.
Bibliography:
Australian Native Violet – Plant of the Week, n.d, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/australian-native-violet-plant-of-the-week
Viola Hederacea, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_hederacea
Viola Hederacea, 2016, Gardens Online, http://www.gardensonline.com.au/GardenShed/PlantFinder/Show_1052.aspx
Viola Hederacea, n.d, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Viola_hederacea.htm
Viola hederacea Labill., n.d, PlantNET, http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Viola~hederacea

 

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Flying Duck Orchid

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Flying Duck Orchid

The flying duck orchid is a bit of an impersonator.

  • Flying duck orchids are perennial plants of small size, native to areas in the south and east of Australia.
  • The scientific name of flying duck orchids is Caleana major and it is from the family Orchidaceae, the family of orchids.
  • Flying duck orchids typically bloom between September and January and the flowers range in length from 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres (0.6 to 1 inch).
  • The flowers of flying duck orchids are usually coloured a deep red to purple, with some parts green, and have the appearance of a duck in flight, and compared to most other orchid flowers, sit on the plant upside down.
  • One of the first specimens of a flying duck orchid obtained by Europeans was from where the Sydney Opera House of Australia sits, located at Bennelong Point in Sydney, retrieved in 1803.
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Flying Duck Orchid
Image courtesy of Doug Ford/Flickr
  • Flying duck orchids are pollinated by insects such as sawflies, that are attracted to the flower and are temporarily trapped to collect and transfer pollen.
  • Flying duck orchids are extremely difficult to grow or propagate, thus they are virtually exclusive to woody forests or shrubby habitats.
  • The height of flying duck orchid plants can reach 50 centimetres (20 inches), and they grow from a tuber and have long narrow leaves.
  • The flying duck orchid was pictured on a 90 cent Australian postage stamp, released in 1986, as one of a set of four stamps featuring Australian orchids.
  • Due to what seems to be a lack of pollinating insects, as well as habitat destruction, the flying duck orchid plant is listed as vulnerable in the state of South Australia.
Bibliography:
Australia’s Most Popular Orchid, n.d, NOSSA, http://nossa.org.au/tag/flying-duck-orchid/
Caleana major, 2014, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleana_major
Flying Duck Orchid, 2015, AuseMade, http://www.ausemade.com.au/fauna-flora/flora/magnoliophyta/liliopsida/asparagales/orchidaceae/caleana-major/caleana-major.htm
Large Duck Orchid, 2008, Adelaide Department of Environment and Heritage, pa-fact-pafactcaleanamajor.pdf

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Corpse Flower

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Corpse Flower

You get more than you bargained for with the corpse flower.

  • Corpse flowers are large flowering plants native to the Sumatra rainforests of Indonesia, in Asia, and they may also be found in nearby areas.
  • The scientific name of a corpse flower is Rafflesia arnoldii and it is from the family Rafflesiaceae, a family of parasitic plants.
  • Corpse flowers have five large petals that can grow to be up to 1.05 metres (3.4 feet) in length and they are the largest known extant flower recorded.
  • The flower colour of corpse flowers ranges from red, oranges and browns, and is spotted with white.
  • Corpse flowers excrete an odour compared to that of a dead corpse, which serves as an attraction for flies to pollinate the plant.
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Corpse Flower
Image courtesy of Tamara Van Molken/Flickr
  • The buds of corpse flowers reach a length of approximately 0.3 metres (1 foot) and have an appearance similar to a cabbage.
  • There was a race between the French and the British to publish a scientific name for the genus of the corpse flower, as both countries obtained specimens at various times, however it was the British who named the genus in 1820, and in 1821 they named this particular species.
  • Tree shrews eat the fruit produced by corpse flowers, that contain numerous small seeds, which the shrews help to disperse.
  • Corpse flower plants do not have leaves or roots, and instead, they feed from a vine host plant as a parasite, and remain hidden until ready to bloom.
  • Corpse flowers will only bloom when ready for pollination, a period that may last for only a couple of days, though it can take months for the buds to mature and open.
Bibliography:
Rafflesia Arnoldii (Corpse Flower), n.d, KEW Royal Botanic Gardens, http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/rafflesia-arnoldii-corpse-flower
Rafflesia Arnoldii, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafflesia_arnoldii
World’s Largest Flower, Raffelsia Arnoldii, 2013, Facts List, http://factslist.net/2013/04/worlds-largest-flower-rafflesia-arnoldii/

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Giant Kelp

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Giant Kelp

Don’t mistake undersized kelp for young giant kelp.

  • Giant kelp is a species of large seaweed, native to the waters of the eastern Pacific, as well as southern South America, South Africa and Australia.
  • ‘Giant kelp’ is also known as ‘giant bladder kelp’ and ‘string kelp’, and the plant has large leafy blades that grow on long stems known as ‘stipes’, and to assist the plant to float or stay upright in the water, there is a ‘pneumatocyst’ (a bladder filled with gas) at the bottom of each blade.
  • The scientific name of giant kelp is Macrocystis pyrifera and it is from the family Laminariaceae, the family of brown algal seaweed.
  • Giant kelp can grow up to 40 to 65 metres (44 to 71 yards) in height, and as such, is the earth’s largest ocean plant.
  • With a potential growth rate of up to 60 centimetres (2 feet) daily, giant kelp is among the fastest growing wildlife known.
Giant Kelp, Trivia, Random Facts, Ten, California, America, Plant, Seaweed, Grown, Leaves
Giant Kelp
Image courtesy of NOAA Photo Library/Flickr
  • Young giant kelp grow from the trillions of spores released from the reproductive blades near the bottom of the mature kelp plant, and the young kelp will latch onto a sturdy base, such as a rock, using a root-like system, known as a ‘holdfast’.
  • Giant kelp is common among ecosystems in providing shelter for numerous aquatic life in the form of kelp beds and forests.
  • Giant kelp can be eaten by humans, and contains a high potassium and iodine content, and the plant has historically been used to create potash, while in modern times it is used as a fertiliser; commonly as an emulsifier; and for chemical purposes in various industries.
  • Typically, giant kelp is found at depths of 5 to 20 metres with a water temperature of 6°C to 20°C (43°F to 68°F).
  • Giant kelp is a perennial seaweed, however the blades, or ‘fronds’ as they are also known, last only for a few months or up to a year, after which they die, although the plant continues to grow new ones.
Bibliography:
Bushing W, Giant Bladder Kelp, n.d, Star Thrower, http://www.starthrower.org/research/kelpmisc/kelp_mp.htm
Edyvane K, Conservation, Monitoring & Recovery of Threatened Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) Beds in Tasmania – Final Report, 2003, Australian Government Department of Environment, https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/f250cead-de41-4b9d-9a52-91d5cb66f6b1/files/co01kelp.pdf
Macrocystis Pyrifera, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrocystis_pyrifera

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