Menai Wildflower Group

Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012

bunches of native flowers being very popular. Keep in mind your own garden if you want to donate any cut flowers for the next markets on 17 June. I hope to see you at our next meeting! Jason Cockayne

A/President's Report
Sadly, our president, Graeme, has had to step down owing to ill health. This year the committee has invited Oatley Flora & Fauna (over the last 55 years has been contributing to protecting the environment and keeping a keen interest on local issues) to come along to our activities to share our knowledge and experiences. The committee has agreed on the importance of broadening our horizons through other environmental stakeholders and to continue offering members the opportunity to connect with other likeminded groups, including our local APS groups. Our walk to Lime Kiln Bay in February was a successful day as we were able to meet folk from Hurstville City Council volunteers program. I hope to make this walk an annual event, so people can experience the progress of the constructed wetland. Some of our members participated in Clean Up Australia at Albert Delardes Park, Illawong. It was a very successful day. Thanks to Ron Fraser for this idea and organising the days activities. Our program this year offers MWG members various outings with 4 bush walks organised, the first being to Bardens Creek in April. All the walks will be leisurely with emphasis on finding locally flowering gems. We will also have garden visits throughout the year starting with the 21/22 April event at Silky Oaks, Oakdale. Anyone who has not experienced this fun event hosted by Margaret and Peter Olde should put this on their must do list and tell their friends. A big thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the Menai Community Markets on 18th March. This was a real success, with

Coming Local Events

(See Special Interest for others) 11 Apr Working Bee at IRFS 9a.m. start 11 Apr Menai Wildflower Group Meeting Guest Speaker Marg Bradhurst A Year of Orchids 14 Apr Bushwalk, Bardens Creek 9a.m. 9 May Working Bee at IRFS 9am start 9 May Menai Wildflower Group Meeting Guest Speaker Alison Hewitt Melaleuca deanii 12 May Bushwalk, Karloo Pools, 9a.m.

Contents
A/President's Report ......................................1 Coming Local Events .....................................1 From the Treasurer ........................................2 Special Interest ...............................................2 Lime Kiln Bay Walk .......................................3 March Guest Speaker.....................................4 Menai markets ................................................5 Clean-up Australia Sunday 4th March ..........5 What I saw in my garden!..............................6 Tip Nursery .....................................................7 Group Meetings ..............................................7

Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012 Bangor Village Shopping Centre. Members can choose a shirt from their range, or take their own along to have the MWG logo added. This can be done quite quickly if there is no backlog and will cost only $12 per shirt. Just ask for the Menai Wildflower Group logo (Gymea lily). As an interim solution to providing a uniform for stall minders, our secretary took along four high visibility jackets and had them embroidered. We are really pleased with the results and hope you will be too. Silky Oaks Autumn plant fair & open garden at Peter and Margaret Oldes country estate 140 Russell Lane, Oakdale (17 km from Picton) Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 April 2012, 9 am to 4pm Entry Fee: $7 per person. Children under 16 free. Refreshments available Renowned Guest Speakers Garden Tours Workshops Garden Advice

From the Treasurer

Your membership card shows when renewal is due. When paying your renewal fees it would be a great help if you could request a renewal form and have it filled in for me on the night. Please note there is a new membership form which requires your CCV/CSV number to be given if paying by credit card. The new membership form is available on our website. Many thanks in anticipation. Sharon Pearson

Special Interest
Deadline for contributions to next newsletter will be Wednesday 30 May 12. Any items suitable for inclusion in the newsletter may be sent to the Editor (Post to Secretary or e-mail fergsrus@ihug.com.au) before the deadline. Working Bees at IRFS start at 9am and include weeding, mulching and lunching. Nursery group held at the Tip Nursery, Lucas Heights Waste Management site most Monday mornings from 9.30am to 1pm. Please contact Cris Breitenbach if you wish to start attending. The Groups Website Home Page can be easily accessed by doing a Google search using the phrase Menai Wildflower Group and selecting what should be the first option offered. New Member: We are pleased to welcome a young local student as our 2012 MWG scholarship holder. Sarah Waldron is studying Science in Agriculture at Sydney University and is in her second year of the course. She is already involved in Bushcare and has an interest in plant identification. VP Lloyd Hedges is looking forward to her help in the IRFS garden and we will be enjoying her company at monthly meetings when her studies permit. Please look out for Sarah and make her welcome. MWG Shirts Your committee has arranged that our new logo can be embroidered on to your choice of navy polo shirt at ABC Schoolwear in the
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Native Plants for Sale! (new releases, rare plants, grafted plants, huge range, more than 20 nurseries participating)

Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012 Grevillea Park, Bulli working bee on 23 April and garden visits on 28 April and 5 May. Freshwater Creek Wetlands Join Lloyd on Saturday May 5, 2012 on this Visit, to the Freshwater Creek Wetlands, Muir Rd, Chullora at 10:00 am (which is our first activity under the Group Cooperation banner), with the St George /City Group: a rare opportunity, indeed. From our end, you turn from the Hume Highway, and the entrance is on the right after the roundabout. Myrtle Rust The dreaded myrtle rust has arrived. A Geraldton Wax at the fire station was the first to be detected but since then 3 more plants; a Callistemon sp. in Alfords Pt and 2 Austromyrtus in the Illawong/Menai area have been detected. There is no effective way to contain and eliminate a wind born pathogen like Myrtle Rust once it has entered the ecosystem. The DPI no longer requires it to be reported unless it is on a species not previously known to be affected. There is a list, ways to reduce the spread of myrtle rust and several photographs of this nuisance on the DPI website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au. We were fortunate to see fig birds (Sphecotheres vieilloti) devouring ripe fruit from the sandpaper figs (Ficus coronata). The males can be easily identified by the red patch around their eyes and their melodic call which is quite different from any other local birds you hear. The walk involves going through diverse vegetation types from freshwater ponds, mangrove swamps, saltmarsh and dry sclerophyll forest (complete with wildlife).

Photos by Erden Sizgek

If you discover Myrtle Rust in your garden refer to the website which lists the preferable courses of action.

The weather during the walk was a pleasant break from all the hot and wet weather we have been experiencing recently. There were not many flowers out this time of the year, although everything was lush and green, but we did see Epacris longiflora (Native Fuschia) in bloom. Anyone wishing to do this walk should go to the Oatley Flora & Fauna website and you will see a good description of the walk. It would take 2-3 hours of relaxed strolling depending on the stops along the way. Jason Cockayne

Lime Kiln Bay Walk

Members of Menai Wildflower Group were accompanied by Bushcare volunteers to walk the circuit at the Lime Kiln Bay wetlands on 15 Feb 2012.

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Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012

March Guest Speaker

You would think that for such an iconic plant as the Gymea Lily there would be plenty of information about it, but you would be wrong. The ecology of the Gymea Lily was first studied in 1928 but until recently little research had been done. Luckily for us Sharon Bowen from the Dept. of the Environment & Heritage did her Masters thesis on this plant in the 90s and was able to share her knowledge with us at our March meeting. The Gymea Lily is part of the Doryanthaceae family which is closely related to plants of the Agave family. Its botanical name is Doryanthes excelsa which is derived from doratos which means a spear, and excelsa which means high or far seen this refers to the tall flower spike. The Gymea Lily has a strange distribution. It naturally grows along the coast of NSW from Corindi in the north to Wollongong in the south. However, it is not common to all areas between these two places. Also there is a gap of 2 degrees latitude where no plants grow naturally (including between Port Jackson and Port Hacking). This unusual distribution led Sharon Bowen to study the niche ecology of the Gymea Lily. She found that D. excelsa has specific habitat requirements relating to substrate, topography and climate. Fire frequency and intensity are also important. Sharon observed that Gymea Lilies need moderately deep sandy, earthy soils, south to south-east facing slopes along creeks, gullies or sheltered plateau and ridges and grow in open dry sclerophyll forests which also support Angophora costata, Eucalyptus piperita, E. gummifera E. sieberi or E. punctata. They also grow where Xanthorrhoea or Telopea are present and where there are moisture-loving groundcover species. Gymea Lilies are pollinated by honeyeating birds and bees and in order to attract these pollinators they have brightly coloured pinky-red flowers on tall flower stems. To carry out her research Sharon chose two separate populations: she sampled those in the
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Dharug National Park (60km north of Sydney) and compared to samples in the Royal National Park (36km south of Sydney). She made comparisons between the two areas in terms of, 1.vegetation floristry; community structure and

2. physical and chemical characteristics of the soil; 3. seed germinability and early seedling growth rate; 4. morphogenetic measurements number of leaves, leaf dimensions, plant dimensions etc. She considered that there may be a genetic difference between these two populations. Sharon found that Gymea Lilies have a transient seed bank (ie, once released the seeds are short-lived), but the seeds are viable and easily germinate. However, the seedlings are slow to grow, as is the adult plant. The Gymea Lily also requires low nutrient soil with a low pH of 4.1. In her research, Sharon found that growth rate of seedlings was retarded at higher levels of NPK. Sharon found that in response to fire the Gymea Lily is able to re-sprout if the top is damaged. However, due to its slow growth and production of flowers, if fires are too frequent it is unable to reproduce as often and this would reduce the genetic diversity of the population. Sharon concluded that the environmental niche of the Gymea lily is defined by a narrow range of environmental parameters; it persists in the environment by the longevity of individuals; it is an ancient and relict species from a wetter climate but has evolved to cope with drought rather than frequent fire and so the populations are confined to the areas of less fire. Sharon found no differences in the phenotype (observable hereditary characteristics arising from the interaction with their environment) between the two populations. Since her research the genetic material from Gymea Lilies in both areas has been tested by another researcher who confirmed that the two populations have the same DNA and so are the same species.

Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012 Sharons very informative talk gave us a better understanding of the Gymea Lily and why it is important to preserve this spectacular plant from threats such as urbanisation, frequent fire regimes, illegal harvesting of blooms for the floristry trade, and reduction in its genetic diversity. Sharon Pearson

Menai Markets

Clean-up crew at Albert Delardes Reserve

That morning the sunrise was weak and cloudy; the forecast was lousy and followed days of rain; but, at 8:30am Ron, Pam, Mary and I were setting up the new gazebo in Albert Delardes Reserve in Illawong.

Debut of new hi-vis vests with logo at Menai Markets

Eucalyptus creba

Delighted customer

Clean-up Australia Sunday 4 March

It was all Ron Frasers fault that on Sunday 4 March we did not get to put up our feet and read the Sunday papers. Ron had come up with the idea of Menai Wildflower Group adopting a Clean-Up Australia site and he followed through to become site coordinator.

We had donated $130 to Clean Up Australia to sponsor the site, enlisted the help of Illawong Progress Association who had letterboxed the area, as we had ourselves, and as 15 people had registered online we were hopeful of a good roll up - if the rain stayed away. At 9:30 there were 11 of us including Robbie, a weed control officer who had been sent out as support by SSC. I had been hoping for more but we split up into teams of three and started to comb the site. Over the next hour or so more volunteers surfaced. Every time you turned around there was another one. The final number must have been about 25 and included Rob and Lorraine Curley. With this amount of people the job was soon done. There must have been nearly a tonne of rubbish,
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Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012 At 11:30 Greg Jackson, the husband of our newer Pam, led an historical site tour. The features included Sutherland Shires first road which is also NSWs last convict built road the very modest product of just 11 convicts rather than the 3000 that worked on the Great North Road. There were also survey marks put in by Thomas Mitchell to triangulate the width of the river with an eye to putting in a bridge and the remains of ferry landing points and various jetties. Who thought that so much history resided in this modest park? Gregs talk was the highlight of the day for many. pleasure ground but there is supporting evidence for their being endemic. Back from the waters edge the other dominant tree is the Rough-barked Apple (Angophora floribunda) another tree more at home further west. The understorey contains other species typical of the Cumberland plain such as the Sickle or Hickory Wattle (Acacia falcata), Blackthorn (Bursaria spinosa) and Native Flax (Linum marginale). Linen and linseed oil are sourced from the Eurasian (Linum usitatissimum). The local linum was used by Aboriginals for fishing lines but this is the first time Ive seen it in Sutherland Shire. So this reserve is not your average piece of bush. Lloyd Hedges

What I saw in my garden!

Greg Jackson giving volunteers a history lesson

We finished the day by planting the 150 tube stock indigenous to the area that Robbie had brought. One hour after we got home the rain that had been holding off returned - perfect for the plants. This event must have shown Menai Wildflower Group to be a worthwhile can- do community organisation, and that is the essential ingredient for a group such as ours to remain relevant. The Flora of Albert Delardes Reserve This is an interesting piece of bush mainly because it seems to be in the wrong place. The dominant tree along the waters edge is the Narrow-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus creba). This tree is more at home on the Cumberland plains and as far as I know this is the only place it grows in Sutherland Shire. Some knowledgeable people think these may have been planted, as this site was once a
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I spotted this large, colourful caterpillar eating the slender grape (Cayratia clematidea) in our garden. The caterpillar was about 5cm long. With the help of Liz Cameron from Oatley Flora & Fauna,it was identified as Josephs Coat Moth (Agarista agricola) which is in the Noctuidae family. This moth is unusual because it shows butterfly-like characteristics it flies during the day and is brightly coloured (hence the name). It is also fond of eating plants in the Vitaceae (Grape) family which includes the slender grape. I used to pull out the slender grape because it has a tendency to smother

Newsletter of Menai Wildflower Group April 2012 other plants, but since discovering that ringtail possums feed on its berries and a beautiful native moth loves the leaves, I am now leaving it alone! Sharon Pearson MWG Birthday Bash Plans are going well for our special week-end on 25-26 August. Mark these in your diaries now so you dont double-book! Saturday 25 August at Illawong RFS : 11 am Talk by Angus Stewart (ABC Gardening Australia TV show) on planting and propagating Australian plants, followed by a barbecue lunch with the Fire Brigade, birthday cake, displays of members hobbies, photographs and garden tours. At 2 pm Angus will talk about pruning natives and demonstrate this in the garden. He will sign copies of his latest book. On Sunday 26 August at 9 am the Sutherland APS Group will host a boating breakfast at the Woronora Boatshed Caf, then proceed up the hill to Joseph Banks Native Gardens for book signing, then at 11.30 am Angus Stewart will talk about Australian natives for pots and small gardens, and at 2 pm he will give tips for beginners on how to prune natives. There will also be guided walks in the gardens. I think Angus will then be allowed to travel home after providing two fun-filled, informative days for us! Pam Pitkeathly Mintbush that have been propagated by the hard working nursery volunteers. There are also several boxes of Flannel Flower that prove to be very popular at all the plant stalls run by the group. There are quite a few plant sale days coming up this year (check out the new program guide) so we will be keeping up as much propagation at the nursery that we can. If you do happen to have something interesting in your garden at home please let Lloyd or me know as it's always exciting to expand the range of plants we grow. Just as a side note, has everyone been noticing how fabulous all the spider webs and how big all the spiders outside are this year? I've been seeing some great garden orbs and St Andrew's Cross spiders around. They seem to be enjoying the weather and all the insect life that is out and about in gardens and the bush. Cris Breitenbach

Group Meetings
Meetings of the Menai Wildflower Group are held at 7:30pm on the second Wednesday each month (except January) at the Illawong Rural Fire Service Headquarters. New members and friends are welcome.
Please address all correspondence to the Secretary, PO Box 3104 Bangor NSW 2234 Website is www.menaiwildflower.austplants.com.au
E-mail is menaiwildflower@austplants.com.au President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Editor APS-NSW Delegate General Committee Vacant Jason Cockayne Lloyd Hedges Margaret Olde Sharon Pearson Alan Ferguson Mary Hedges Cris Breitenbach Ron Fraser Katrina Hure Marion Payne Pam Pitkeathly 9570-8559 9543 - 1216 9543-2242 9570-8559 9543-8216 9543-1216 9520-3813 9528-3141 9774-4746 9543-1040 9543-0243

Tip Nursery
Despite all the recent rain, the nursery is actually looking quite good. The plants at least seem to be enjoying the weather we have had over summer. The outdoor benches have been cleared recently with 1500 plants going out to the National Parks for planting and 2000 to the new golf course at Barden Ridge. Through SITA we have also pledged to have at least 2000 plants ready for National Tree Day this year. Inside the shade house we have a very impressive array of native orchids settling in nicely after Graeme's repotting efforts. Also in the shade house are a lot of Correas and

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