More Rainforest visits

 This post will continue reporting on our recent (mid-April) series of walks to areas with some characteristics of rainforest.   I will present the material sorted by location x type of specimen: that allows inclusion of a more complete range of species with minimal repetition.  I will also give the status of the identification.

As a hint for new players, I have got behind in transferring these IDs from iNaturalist to my blog (and thence to Facebook).  As iNaturalist - being as user-friendly (not) as other social media - seems to sort by date of last action it was a 💩 trying to find the particular image.  Now I have discovered that filtering by date (of listing or observation) makes life a LOT easier 😃!

Pump station track

This is a short track which runs from the Log Cabins on Rasmus Avenue to the Mouth.  It passes the main pumping station from the town centre to the Waste Water Treatment Plant.  I usually go there looking for birds as there is a good diversity of habitats in a small area (possibly raising questions such as "What is a habitat?").

Ferns

Only one species of fern photographed: there were a few maidenhairs around but not photogenic.  This is Cyathea australis .

Flowering plants

Syzygium smithii Lilly pilly Research Grade

Smilax australis Lawyer vine Research Grade.  I like that common name much more that the official one (which was probably designed by a lawyer) of Austral Sasaparilla.

This has been identified by two folk as Pandora pandorea Wonga vine with a note "juvenile foliage" from an expert.  Thus Research Grade.  I usually identify this, in adult form, as a profusely flowering vine.

Research Grade Coastal Banksia Research Grade

Homalanthus populifolius Bleeding Heart Research Grade Flora of Victoria says "not extending naturally into Victoria" but an expert notes "Bird dispersed and I've seen it in Nadgee, so it didn't have far to go to get into Vic."  

Gynochthodes jasminoides Sweet morinda Research Grade.  Apparently 'morinda' is derived from the Latin name for Mulberry.  Taxonomists have been weaving their dark arts around this species.

Pittosporum undulatum Sweet Pittosporum Research Grade.

Solanum americanum American Black Nightshade Research Grade - some discussion of identification to species but the specialist in the genus noted "I'd go with S. americanum because the fruits and flowers all grow from the same point, calyxes are reflexed, flowers are tiny, and anthers are small and somewhat rounded."

Fungi

Oudemansiella gigaspora Research Grade:  the taxonomy of this species looks to be a mess with some authorities calling this the name of a Northern hemisphere species while others - including iNaturalist - have separated the Australian species.  It is the commonest gilled mushroom around the area at present.

Gymnopilus sp. My reference lists several species in the genus so I will stay with the only ID on iNaturalist which is to genus only

Piptoporus australiensis Curry punk Research Grade

The Narrows

This is a walk from the turning circle at Bucklands to the end of the major inlet off the Narrows.  

At times in the past we have found several species of orchids on this track, especially on the banks around the major Inlet.  Not one this year!

Ferns and Mosses

I didn't photograph any ferns on this walk but did get a few other non-flowering plants - possibly all could be called Bryophytes?

Hypnum cupressiforme Research Grade

Cladonia sp

Lichen sp. a symbiosis of an algae or cyanobacteria, living among filaments of multiple fungi species: so not a bryophyte.  Lichens are explained very well in this article from the US Forest Service (while it's about the lichen found between (roughly)San Diego and Maine the principles apply to our lichen also).

Fungus

A lot of fungus were along the Northern side of the 2nd Inlet.

Oudemansiella gigaspora Research Grade fruiting body first ...

.. and then underside.

Omphalotus nidiformis Ghost fungus Research Grade this first image required a fair scramble up the bank to get the snap.

On the way back we noticed another clump on the low side of the track that were much more accessible!  I have got advice on how to take a photo of them glowing in the dark and will have a crack at that later.

Trametes coccinea Southern Cinnabar Polypore Research Grade 

A small fungus!  Finger for scale.  

Thus far experts have been silent: this note from Kew Gardens (see p14 thereof) is relevant:

" a team of fungus specialists comprehensively assessed current knowledge on the topic. ... they calculated that there are likely to be 2–3 million species of fungi globally, with a best estimate of 2.5 million ... This means that more than 90% of fungal species remain unknown to science."

Flowering plants

Correa reflexa Research Grade.  Normally so common I don't snap it, but at the moment it is one of the very few colourful elements in the landscape.

Styphelia humifusa Research Grade Taxonomists seem to have been up to particular mischief with this species since looking at Flora of Victoria there seem to be two names: this is the formal one, but Astroloma humifusum  - which I know, is also given.  Consulting the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) the nomenclature of this species seems to be a long-term mess but in essence it appears that it is mostly Astroloma humifusum in NSW but Styphelia humifusa everywhere else!  My guess is egos rule (as usual with taxonomy).

When we first saw this we thought a Mint.  Reference via iNaturalist, supported by Flora of Victoria, have resolved to Coleus australis (Research Grade).  Here are the flowers ...

... and the leaves.

Some birds

Nankeen Night Heron in the Pittosporums near the boat shed.

A male Australasian Darter in the Inlet.

An unusually cooperative male Golden Whistler.

The point of this photograph is the row of Cattle Egrets on the jetty!

Casuarina Walk

This starts on Genoa Rd opposite MDHSS.  It has an amount of elevation change, going down and up into gullies at 1 and 2.  Image courtesy of the eBird route tracker.

Flowering Plants 

This is Notelaea venosa (Veined Mock Olive) Research Grade.  Expert commented that 'The AI suggested this one, and I guess it is, though it doesn't look quite typical, in that the leaves are not as stiff and leathery looking as they usually are."

Eustrephus latifolius Wombat Berry Research Grade.  The common name has puzzled me and a gardening site has this explanation "the tuberous roots are eaten by creatures such as wombats, hence the common name."  I suspect wombats eat all sorts of vegetative matter so have no idea why this species has been picked out!

Acacia terminalis Sunshine Wattle.  Research Grade.  Brings a little sunshine to the bush as it is the only wattle flowering at present.

Spyridium parvifolium Dusty Miller Research Grade Stands out with the duty leaves looking like flowers which (when they appear) are small and white!

Epacris impressa Research Grade.  The floral Emblem of Victoria.  Only a few samples at this time of year.

Brachyscome sp.  The only colourful "daisy" we saw.  Although small, I thought B. spathulata as the leaves are vaguely spoon-shaped (see arrows in 2nd image) but an expert disagreed. So stick to genus for the time being at least.

Ferns

The gullies at points 1 and 2 in the route image are very well endowed with ferns and experts in iNaturalist are able to identify them!

Oceaniopteris cartilaginea Gristle Fern Research Grade

Calochlaena dubia Common Ground Fern Research Grade I thought at a quick glance this was Bracken (see following species) but Frances commented that the latter was a much stiffer frond (and subtly different in colour and pattern of frondlets').

Pteridium esculentum Austral Bracken Research Grade 

Adiantum aethiopicum Common Maidenhair Fern Research Grade Quite common through the District but this was a very fine specimen beside the bridge at point 1.

Fungus

Several examples of Oudemansiella gigaspora were seen but they were all looking very used, so didn't get a photo taken.  The only fungus which made the grade was this Stereum hirsutum.  At this stage it is an MB only ID to specific level as I hadn't zoomed in enough to show the hairs visible in the second image when experts reviewed the first image.