Showing posts with label U3A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U3A. Show all posts

Friday, 10 November 2023

November Plant walk

 Our November U3A Mallacoota plant walk began at the start of the Captain's Creek Fire Trail.  A full list of the plants identified - a fair number less than the plants seen - is in the page "Captains Creek Track etc" in this Google Sheet.  Over the 4 walks held thus far we have recorded 85 species, adding 13 to the list on this walk.  

23 species were recorded on this walk with 15 added to iNaturalist, and thus being noted under the Project "U3A Mallacoota Plant Walks": this Project, set up following Bryce Watts-Parker's October presentation to U3A, includes all 566 observations in iNaturalist for the Project area covering 352 species.  (Thinking of recent presentations, this walk recorded 4 orchid species covered in Gary Backhouse's November presentation.)

Platylobium formosum

Pultenaea hispidula
Scaevola ramosissima
Dillwynia glaberrima
Kennedia prostrata
Ricinocarpos pinifolius
Hypericum gramineum: this is a smaller, native, species than the invasive weed "St John's Wort" but in the same genus.
Pimelia linifolia
Billardiera scandens
Dampiera stricta
This track is usually 'home' to a many orchids from a wide range of species.  This year as a result of the very dry conditions from June to September there were hardly any orchids seen.  The exception were a few specimens of Caleana major, the Large Flying Duck, found in the centre of the track and photographed by Caroline.
Caroline reported that a few more orchids had been found by the Footmobiles on the roadside near the information board, so we went to check that area out.  We found some Viola headeracea along the way.
Burchardia umbellata
Patersonia fragilis
Calochilus campestris
Microtis sp.


Thursday, 7 September 2023

U3A Field Trip to Davis Creek Heath

 On 6 September a group of us met at the tennis courts and then visited Davis Creek Heath as a follow up to Frances presentation on Naming of Plants.  Here is the route we followed, courtesy of eBird.

Getting birds out of the way, there were few around possibly due to the wind.  The highlights were a Brown Falcon (which seem to be making a belated comeback after the fire) and Southern Emuwren (a well recognised recovery after the fire).

The plants are presented in alphabetical order of scientific name.   (Following on from the talk the meaning of the scientific names is shown in this list of all plants identified in the area, not just those in the images below.)  
Comesperma ericinum

Comesperma volubile
Coronidium scorpioides

Dillwynnia sericea
Hakea decurrens
Hybanthus vernonii
Fruit of Leptospermum continentale
Patersonia occidentale
Prasophyllum elatum - apparently it is a very poor year for orchids due to the lack of rain for the previous 3 months.

Pultenaea hispidula

Sphaerolobium minus



Tetratheca labilladierei
Tetratheca pilosa latifolia
Thysanotus patersonii