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The open seed pods from seasons past hanging in the branches. The pods of this subspecies are wider than those of the other subspecies. Another point of distinction is the short fine hairs on its branches. It also has a thicker peduncle.

Acacia terminalis ssp. terminalis

flowers in early autumn.

Sunshine WattleAcacia terminalis ssp. terminalis

We all know how special Randwick City’s bushland remnants are, and the City’s incredible diversity of ecological communities. We have coastal heath, scrub and dune systems, grasslands, wetlands and moist sandstone gully forests. There are some hidden gems tucked in among them and this article is about one of them.

This is the Sunshine Wattle. Its Latin binomial is… actually a trinomial! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce you to Acacia terminalis ssp. terminalis.

A bipinnate wattle, Acacia terminalis ssp. terminalis is a delicate shrub growing to a maximum height of around two metres. It has an open habit and so is one of those species that sends branches into the gaps between the branches of neighbouring trees and shrubs, helping to create that delightfully messy look to bushland. It occurs in scrub or open woodland forest on sandy soils or sandstone outcrops. Les Robinson declares it to be “one of the most spectacular flowering wattles in the (Sydney) area” and I tend to agree. The seed pods mature in November and like all Acacias its seed is dispersed by ants.

The ssp. in the Latin name is short for “subspecies” and there are a few subspecies of A. terminalis in and around Sydney. The only one that occurs here in the eastern suburbs is A. terminalis ssp. terminalis. It’s very important that the various subspecies remain distinct populations so that the genetic diversity represented by those differences don’t dissolve back into each other.

Keeping this particular subspecies separate from the others is especially important because it is listed as an endangered species, both in the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and in the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Its listing as an endangered species means you’ll never see one for sale at a nursery. This is to protect it from planting specimens into inappropriate locations, such as outside its natural range in the vicinity of other subspecies.

A rare flower indeedThe greatest threats to this species are urban development and clearing, as well as loss of habitat due to rubbish dumping, weed invasion and humans not keeping to established walking tracks.

Randwick City Council monitors and manages its population of Sunshine Wattle. If you see one when you’re out walking in bushland, get in touch with Matt Leary our Biodiversity Officer so its location can be noted. His contact details are listed on the back page of this newsletter.

BushlandNewsletterPAGE 2

with Dominikaon the go

what's onRandwick city council nuRseRy open day

When: 9.00am to 3.00pm on Saturday 2 June Where: 2b Barker Street Kingsford

The Nursery is open to the public from 9.00am until 3.00pm weekdays. Four times each year the Nursery also opens on a Saturday. The next Nursery Open Day will be on Saturday 2 June. Randwick City Nursery stocks a large range of indigenous and native plants perfect for our sandy soils and coastal conditions. Horticultural staff will be on hand to assist you with plant selection, provide tips on sustainable and habitat gardening practices and answer all other gardening enquiries. The Nursery also has a selection of compost bins and worm farms available to purchase.

Hi everyone! We’ve done quite a lot of revegetation over the past few months with all that rain helping to get all those young natives settled into their new homes.

Keep yourselves warm over the next few months as the season turns, take advantage of the slower growing weeds and get an advantage over them wherever you can! I’ll be sure to bring an extra thermos of hot water for that second cup of tea.

MikaRandwick City Council Bushcare Officer

national tRee day

When: 10.00am – 12 noon on Sunday 29 July Where: eastern side of Purcell Park, Matraville (between Murrabin Avenue and Partanna Avenue)

Just in case you haven’t had enough of revegetation at your Bushcare working bees during that very wet, very warm summer we have just (ahem) enjoyed, I’m encouraging you to do some more planting! Get yourselves down to the National Tree Day event organised by Bryan Bourke, Randwick City Council’s most excellent Tree Management Coordinator.

The day is a little more relaxed than the pace I set at Bushcare working bees, so take some time to meet new people, eat a snag, and put one or two of the four thousand plants into the ground.

If you have had your fill of planting, get in touch with Don Kerr on (02) 9311 2665 for the location of their working bee on Malabar Headland, and spend the morning pulling weeds out of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub in great company.

whale watching!

Every year several species of whales can be seen on their annual migration along the east coast of Australia. The two species you’re most likely to spot are the Humpback and Southern Right Whales. They can be seen moving north to warmer waters in June and early July, and returning to Antarctica through the months of September, October and November.

This Toby. He was possibly the youngest participant

at last year’s National Tree Day. Many thanks to his

kind parents for giving us permission to reprint this

photo of their gorgeous little garden elf.

HOT TIP fOR BuSH RegeneRATORS: dOn’T

WAlK On WeedS In Seed

It seems counter intuitive to avoid walking over all those lowly weeds, but if they’re in

seed, trampling them will help them release all that seed into the ground around them,

meaning more follow up work for us.

Find a better way around to the area you wish to work. The extra few steps

will save you hours of follow up work long term.

Randwick city council PAGE 3

weed watch

Just like Buckwheat, Rhubarb and Vietnamese Mint (the secret ingredient in a good Laksa) this invasive weed belongs to the Polygonaceae family. Acetosa sagittata is a perennial herb native to southern Africa. It’s a vine with arrow shaped leaves, hence its name sagittata. Flowering in summer, the fruit then develops and sets seed in autumn.

It has a tuberous root that looks much like a beetroot but I don’t encourage you to eat it! The stems and fruit of the plant, however, have been incorporated into many nutritious meals by the good people of Java. I don’t encourage you to eat those parts either, because, as you’ll see, an effective method of removing this plant from a site involves the application of herbicide.

The fruit develops into a seed with three winged sections. These paper thin seed capsules can go a long way in a sea breeze, and they also float on water. Worth mentioning is the striking colours that these seed capsules take on. Some seed clusters are the palest creamy pink. Others have pale green hearts and edges of the hottest purple-pink or brightest red. They all ripen to light brown.

Rambling dockAcetosa sagittata

WHy IS THIS Weed A PROBleM?

In Australia A. sagittata is a smothering vine usually found on disturbed sites. There’s an infestation in Maroubra Dunes, which was sand mined in the 1960s, and at Lake Malabar, which was excavated around 1940. The disturbances that support its presence also leave the community less able to fend for itself against invasion.

It can resprout from its tuberous root, and often develops multiple stems branching out from that tuber, usually developing more of these tubers at intervals.

MeTHOdS Of ReMOvAl

Your first priority is to contain the spread. Remove any seed material carefully. Use secateurs to cut seed clusters and carefully bag or bin the material.

Your next priority is to trace the vine back to its tuberous origins and dig it out.

It is preferable to remove the root rather than treat the vine with herbicide using the scrape and paint method. This is because it can take several months for the herbicide to take effect, and the plant may set seed before it breathes its final breath. Some tubers get quite large, and represent a large amount of stored energy. When herbicide is applied to their stems, often only a part of the tuber dies back, and the remaining portions continue to develop more stem material. We are blessed with sandy soils here in Randwick City making it relatively easy to remove weeds such as A. sagittata from a site by digging them out.

Never pile seed or root material on site. Raft cut stem material rather than piling it directly on the ground, or leave in the canopy where you found it.

Somewhere under this mass of Acetosa sagittata

is a Gymea Lilly, or Doryanthes excelsa. This is a

good example of its habit – Acetosa sagittata is a

smothering vine, slowly reducing access to sunlight.

The ripe papery seeds

ready to catch in the wind.

The root system of a mature specimen. That’s quite

a lot of energy stored in each tuber, and it can take

quite a lot of herbicide to knock it out.

BushlandNewsletterPAGE 4

when is a native not a native

How do we ensure a diversity of plant communities? What’s the difference between a native and indigenous species? What is it about some natives that makes them inappropriate species for bushland anywhere in Australia? All these questions and more are addressed in a quick look at different kinds of “native weeds”.

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The term mesic describes moist ecologies such as those found in a rainforest. Take a walk through the deep shade of a rainforest gully such as Fred Hollows Reserve and notice the drop in temperature, the increase in moisture levels, and the abundance of lush green vegetation. It’s a lovely microclimate in there, and we have the assemblage of species present on such sites to thank for that.

Mesic ecologies naturally exist deep in creek lines and gullies where bushfires never reach. When fire regimes are altered so that fires occur less frequently or not at all, the mesic assemblage tends to slowly creep up and out of these gullies and increasingly into the neighbouring ecologies. This process is called mesic shift.

As important as the mesic assemblages are in the right place, they tend to be made up of fewer species, which germinate more easily, grow very densely and rapidly, and many species end up much much taller. As these species creep up and out of their natural range the ecological diversity drops. The numerous species that occur beyond the natural range of a mesic community are shaded out, crowded out, and eventually no longer represented.

Pittosporum undulatum (Mock Orange or Native Laurel) is a species that belongs in the rainforest ecologies of Sydney. Like most rainforest species, it does not contribute seed to a seed bank in the rich moist soils on the forest floor. In such

This is Poa labillardierei. It’s a grass named after a French naturalist Jacques-Julien Houton de La Billardiére. Poa labillardierei makes for an attractive rockery plant, and is used extensively as an ornamental species by landscapers. It is native to parts of south-east Australia, yes. However, this grass does not naturally occur here in Randwick City. Another way to say this is it is not indigenous to this region.

Its lovely seed heads nodding in the breeze are a fertile wonderland ready to unleash upon unsuspecting bits of nearby ground. The seedlings are quite small and don’t need much space, but as the tussock develops into a glorious mass of blades up to 1m in diameter, it will crowd other species out from amongst it.

In the open woodland and grasslands where Poa labillardierei is from, this is not a problem, since the other species that have coevolved with it can compete with this sort of behaviour. Here in Randwick City, which is beyond its natural range, the slower growing indigenous species don’t stand a chance.

Many native species have been crossed by horticulturalists to create specimens with larger and brighter flowers. These showy “natives” are favoured by gardeners for their spectacular floral displays, often over an extended flowering period.

A good example of this can be seen just beyond the boundary of Randwick City Council’s Nursery. Once upon a time, a row of hybrid Callistemons were established along the back fence. These hybrids regularly shower fertile seed material directly into the tube stock located on the other side of the fence line.

The Callistemon seedlings shouldn’t be understood as a bonus plant in the tube stock. They do not occur naturally, and are inappropriate species to use to revegetate our Bushcare sites. Being much larger than the flowers of the Callistemon species that occur naturally in Randwick, they are a food source for a different range of bird species – larger, territorial ones that push smaller bird species out of their range, thus reducing biodiversity in those areas, and become so numerous that they themselves could be considered weedy.

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Randwick city council PAGE 5

Frank Gasparre leading the class

around Randwick Environment Park

(that’s him on the right).

As you know, a lot of your learning occurs in the field at our Bushcare working bees. We cover things like plant identification, weed removal techniques, and safety. I love to answer all your questions, even and especially the curly ones with no straight answers, because I know it means you’re engaging with the task at hand on another level.

We rarely have a chance to talk about the bigger picture though – why we’re doing what we’re doing, and how we go about doing that work. These topics tend to take a lot more time to explain, and each one builds upon another. Attempting to explain these things might leave you with more question marks than you started with – not a bad thing either, but would we ever get any work done?!

With all that in mind, it was a real pleasure to offer another round of Bushcare Boosters training. Once again it was a fantastic day in fantastic company. I know from your feedback that you learnt a lot over the course of the day. Hopefully you’ll share some of that with your fellow Bushcare volunteers.

Thanks again to Frank Gasparre for his training skills on the day, and to Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority for developing the course content.

The class takes a moment to reflect on the various weedy wattles in

Randwick Environment Park, including Acacia saligna in the foreground,

and Acacia decurrens behind. Both A. decurrens and A. parramattensis

are present at Randwick Environment Park. These two species are native

to Sydney, but do not belong in Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub.

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conditions, a seed would decompose quickly. Instead, many rainforest species store their “seeds” as small seedlings, which patiently wait for a gap in the canopy to present and then shoot up quickly to close that gap. Another strategy rainforest species such as P. undulatum employ is to enclose their seed inside tasty fruit, and then bear lots of it.

When the seed of P. undulatum is deposited into our coastal heath communities (usually in the faeces of a large bird such as a Currawong, who feeds on the fruit), it will quickly outcompete the more appropriate species and eventually shade them out. This is why it is so often referred to as a weed.

4This familiar creature is Banksia integrifolia. Many of you were asking excellent questions about this species after reading that little caption on page five of the summer edition.

Banksia integrifolia is a strictly maritime species, that is, it should only occur right along the coast, and definitely not among heath communities or in Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub. Being a maritime species, B. integrifolia germinates much more readily than other species in that genus, which usually require a good fire to trigger a germination event.

B. integrifolia will outcompete other species in heath or scrub communities, take up lots of real estate, and shade out the more appropriate species. In other words, should be considered a weed where it occurs in heath and scrub communities.

bushcare boostersBushcARE And thE BIg PIctuRE

Old hand and enthusiastic beginner sat side by side. Each had as much to learn as the other. Alan sits on the left and has been involved in Bushcare for decades. He is currently working on Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub remnants around the edges of Boonie Doon Golf Club. On the right is Alan, who has just begun his journey into bushland restoration work. He currently volunteers at Grant Reserve in Coogee and Fred Hollows Reserve in Randwick.

BushlandNewsletterPAGE 6

working bee calendar

bushcare

GROUP LOCATIONWORKING BEE TIME JUNE JULY AUGUST

Bundock Park Car park on Donnellan Circuit, Clovelly

9.00am – 1.00pm Saturday 09 Saturday 14 Saturday 11

fred Hollows Reserve Alison Rd entrance (July), Bligh Pl entrance (June & August), Randwick

9.00am – 1.00pm Wednesday 06 Wednesday 04 Wednesday 01

gordon’s Bay South west corner of Victory Street car park, Clovelly

9.00am – 1.00pm Sunday 10 Sunday 08 Sunday 12

grant Reserve Outside the entrance ot Wylies Baths, Neptune Street, Coogee

9.30am – 11.30pm Tuesday 12 & 26 Tuesday 10 & 24 Tuesday 14 & 28

ladies’ Pool McIvers Rock Baths, Grant Reserve, Coogee

9.00am – 11.30pm Sunday 03 & Thursday 28

Sunday 01 & Thursday 26

Sunday 05 & Thursday 23

lake Malabar End of Manwaring Avenue, Maroubra

1.00pm – 4.00pm Monday 18 Monday 16 Monday 20

long Bay foreshore Corner of Howe Street and Bay Parade, Malabar

9.00am – 1.00pm Saturday 02 Saturday 07 Saturday 04

Maroubra dunes South Maroubra SLSC car park 9.00am – 1.00pm Thursday 07 Thursday 05 Thursday 02

Randwick environmental Park

Corner of Dooligah Avenue and Burragulung Street, Randwick

9.00am – 12 noon Wednesday 13 & Saturday 16

Wednesday 11 & Saturday 21

Wednesday 08 & Saturday 18

little Bay landcare Between 119 and 121 Bilga Cresent, Malabar.

Contact Kerry Gordon on (02) 9311 7647 for more information.

8.00am – 12 noon Saturday 09 Saturday 14 Saturday 11

Magic Point (Malabar Headland)

Contact Claire Bettington on (02) 9344 8589 for the meeting place.

9.00am – 1.00pm Thursday 14, 21 & 28

Thursday 12, 19 & 26

Thursday 9, 16, 23 & 30

Malabar Headland West

Contact Don Kerr on (02) 9311 2665 for the meeting place.

9.00am – 1.00pm Sunday 3, 10, 17 & 24

Sunday 01, 08, 15, 22 & 29

Sunday 05, 12, 19 & 26

community parks

GROUP LOCATIONWORKING BEE TIME JUNE JULY AUGUST

Alison Rd Corner of Alison Road and Beach Street, Coogee

7.30am – 9.00am Tuesday 12 Tuesday 10 Tuesday 14

Clyde Street Clyde Street Reserve, Randwick 1.00pm – 3.00pm Saturday 16 Saturday 21 Saturday 18

grant Reserve Vehicular entry to Coogee Surf Life Saving Club

8.00am – 10.00am Tuesday 19 Tuesday 17 Tuesday 21

Old Tramline Dudley Street entrance, Randwick 7.30am – 9.30am Tuesday 12 Tuesday 10 Tuesday 14

Old Tramway Carrington Road entrance, Randwick 7.30am – 9.30am Tuesday 12 Tuesday 10 Tuesday 14

Randwick city council

M: do you have a favourite native plant?

S: Kangaroo Paws.

M: I’ve noticed you are very enthusiastic about the primary removal of woody weeds like lantana camara. Would you say that’s your favourite weed to pick on?

S: Yes, I would say Lantana is my favourite weed. It’s relatively easy to work with as most of it can be done standing up, and the bush is really quite pretty with colourful flowers … too bad it’s a weed!

M: What would you say to someone thinking about getting involved in Bushcare?

S: Give it a try. There are so many different types of work required on any site, and one can work at one’s own capacity ranging from sit down fine weeding tasks to sweaty primary work that one can really get one’s teeth into. You can choose the site you work at depending on what is easy to get to and runs at a time that fits into your schedule.

Susan Lundyspotlight on

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Mika: How did you get involved in Bushcare?

Susan: One year I had put up a sign at the Coogee Ladies’ Pool inviting people to participate in Clean Up Australia Day. Tina Digby (Supervisor, Bushland) contacted me to ask whether the Ladies’ Pool would be interested in starting a Bushcare group, which was great because I had wanted to start something like it but did not know where to begin.

M: What surprised you when you got started?

S: All the support that has been offered by Randwick City Council. Council provide a Bushcare Officer, plants, equipment, morning tea, workshops and the lovely annual End of Year Lunch where we meet up with fellow Bushcarers from all the other groups.

M: That’s very sweet of you to acknowledge Susan – thank you! How long have you been a Bushcarer now?

S: Six or seven years?

M: And you’re still going strong! What motivates you to keep going?

S: It’s so nice to see the improvements over the years and the wonderful friendships made during the course. There is such a large variety of people interested in bush regeneration. Also it’s great to be part of a community, and to know that you have contributed to making your community a nicer place to live.

Susan Lundy fresh and ready for a morning of Bushcare.

Susan Lundy volunteers at the Ladies’ Pool Bushcare. The group meets for two short bees every month. If you’d like to join in, meet at the Ladies’ Pool (Grant Reserve, Coogee) at 9.00am on the first Sunday and fourth Thursday of each month.

Susan hard at work pushing the line of Lantana further back. On the right is a neat

pile of woody weed material (mostly Lantana branches) which has been left on site.

The pile traps moisture and absorbs some of the heat from the metal fence, keeping

the surrounding area more hospitable for the young seedlings that have been

planted there. In the foreground you can see terracing logs installed to stabilise the

newly cleared area, and young natives happily establishing on that section.

Susan’s favourite native is an arid species from the central and western parts of Australia. Anigozanthos, or Kangaroo Paws are often chosen as features in ornamental gardens for their clean lines, fascinating flower structure, and sophisticated beauty. They are available in many colours and sizes, and you’ll be sure to find a variety or two to choose from at Randwick Council Nursery each spring.

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Postage

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bushlandNewsletter

Bushland Management Unit192 Storey StreetMaroubra NSW 2035

Bettina Digby Supervisor-Bushland 9399 0686

Matt leary Biodiversity Officer 9399 0683

leanne Bunn Bushland Officer 9399 0687

Dominika Grossy Bushcare Officer 9399 0708

randwick City Council Community Nursery2B Barker StKingsford NSW 2031Phone: 9399 0933

Opening hours:Monday to Friday 9:00am -3:00pm

RANDWICK CITY COUNCIL30 Frances StreetRandwick NSW 2031Phone 9399 0708Email bushcare@randwick.nsw.gov.au

BOOK REVIEWThe Lost Language of Plants: The ecological importance of plant medicines to life on Earth

by Stephen Harrod Buhner

For me, winter tends to be a little more reflective. I put the dry reference texts down and read fiction. I pull warm layers on, I day dream more than usual, and I take the opportunity to broaden my perspective. If you’re the same, you might also enjoy reading The Lost Language of Plants this winter.

It’s not a work of fiction, but there is plenty of story telling in this book. The book opens with the author’s recollections of his grandfather, and weaves a beautiful tale of how he developed a strong relationship with plants, becoming a highly skilled herbalist just like his grandfather.

This book is epic in its scope. It describes how languages shape thought and perception. It explains the importance of TV in western culture (and points out its shortcomings). It is a fantastic introduction to the importance of bacteria and how it supports all life on this planet, the intelligence inherent to these life forms, and the implications this has on approaches to healthcare. It compares pharmaceutical medicine with the natural remedies they were modelled on (and how both kinds of medicine negatively affect the environment).

That’s quite a lot of dry ground to cover, and the author does this with care and attention to you the reader. You’ll come away feeling like you’ve had a great conversation with a great communicator of both information and passion for these subjects. If you read it, you’ll also understand why I don’t like to leave weed material piled on site.