Going to the bogs

Those with the benefit of having attended school in the UK may think that this will be a post about the need to panic buying of absorbent paper products.  I may disappoint some, and relieve others, by revealing its about damp heaths.

The first bit of damp was the power lines opposite Karbeethong Road.

The track on the Southern side of the easement was just as bad.  

My aim in going there, other than a focus for a bike ride, was to check the orchid situation.  In summary non-existent so far.

On getting home I found that Frances had been chatting with a neighbour and found that Diuris pardina (Leopard Orchids) had been seen out at the airport.  So in the afternoon we took ourselves out there.  We parked the car next to the airport fence and walked along fence followed by a loop across the heath.

As we walked along the fence we found a "different" bean.  (I call this family "beans" because the scientific name is Fabaceae and "faba" is the Latin for bean,  It was OK to call them peas when the family was Leguminosae (legume = pea) but if the taxonomists are going to change stuff they must be consistent.)   We couldn't find it under heath in Joy's book but referring to a book about Sydney Sandstone flora got us to the genus Platylobium and then found P. parviflorum shown under Sclerophyll forest (with a note saying also found in heaths).

Then a very impressive red Epacris impresssa which actually photographed well.  

We noticed a lot of water standing around in the drain beside the track and more lurking in the heath.  Yes folks, another bog.   We were surprised to find a metal grid out in the heath with the sound of water running towards the Gun Club.  This must be a holdover from the set up of the airport during WWII draining from the runway into the Betka River.  

Getting back to core business there were a lot of Diuris pardina out there.  While this species is known in the vernacular as Leopard Orchid the genus is usually referred to as Donkey Orchids as the lateral sepals (seen from the right angle, after a few beers) look like a donkey's ears.

We also found a different blue bean which I have decided is Hovea heterophylla.

The specific name reflects the juvenile leaves being ovate and the mature leaves being linear, which I hope is shown in this most-of-plant image..