A deliciously sweet fragrance at the approach the Loop Road, and the humming of bees, draw attention to a stand of Brown Gardenias (Attractocarpus fitzalanii,) which are covered in small white, five-petalled star-shaped flowers. This is an unusually heavy flowering and the trees look spectacular.
Brown Gardenia (Attractocarpus fitzalanii)
In the nearby cutting and in several other roadside tangles, the Hibbertia scandens vines scramble to the tops of trees, scattering their bright yellow flowers over the foliage.
Hibbertia scandens (Golden Guinea Flower) (photo by J. Oliver)
Glochidion hylandii trees are laden with pin-cushion-like fruits nestling in the leaf axils along almost every branch. Recently, an unusually abundant flowering of Sloanea australis took place in the stand of trees outside PEEC. The spiny-covered fruits should soon be found ripening on the trees.
Glochidion hylandii (Hyland’s buttonwood)
On the forest floor among the dropped seeds and fruits are the dark red to black drupes of Bollywood, (Litsea connorsii) and the glossy, black 30 mm long drupes of the Ivory Walnut (Bielschmiedia recurva).
Bielschmiedia recruva (Ivory Boxwood). Photo on the right shows slightly fresher specimens from the Bluewater Track with glossy surface and ivory coloured inner seed flesh (photo J. Oliver)
Sarsaparillas (Alphitonia petriei), herald the approaching festive season, looking splendid with their tiered branches covered in white to cream flowers suggestive of snow-clad Christmas trees.
Literally, here today and gone tomorrow, are the various fungi which have popped up in response to recent rain. Notable was a brilliant red, star-like fungus: the anemone stinkhorn, (Aseroe rubra).
Some early fungi in the gardens include the Plantpot Dapperling (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) obediently growing in a pot (above), and the much rarer and quite spectacular Anemone Stinkhorn (aseroe rubra) looking very much like its namesake.
There are many more little treasures to be found on your walks – just keep a wary eye out for snakes though!
Text and photos (unless indicated otherwise) by Colwyn Campbell
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Last Saturday (Oct 31) Len and Tania, with fingers crossed in anticipation, entered the still warm belly of the Anagama kiln to find out how successful this year’s wood firing had been. I think the photo below shows the general reaction: a smile on Len’s face as he surveys the assembled pots.
To recap the events leading up to this, the process was quite simple in the telling:
1. Insert unfired pots
2. Add a few tonnes of wood
3. Burn (m-f) Burn for 100 hrs
Voila! Beautifull smoke/ash glazed pots!
As Len tells it, the secret to this year’s success was getting sufficiently high temperatures in both the front and back of the kiln. While Len and Tania carefully monitored the digital temperature display throught the process, the final indicator that the heat was right was verified by the appearance of the “kiln cones”. Six cones were set up in the front and back of the kiln and the hope was that at least 5 of these would melt or soften enough to droop. The photo below shows the array of front cones from this year’s firing with the same front cones from a previous firing behind them. Clearly this year went better than previously with even the last cone drooping noticeably.
There was a huge range of pots that emerged from the kiln and each one had a unique glaze with rich colurs ranging from brown, to red, gold, green, cream and even swirls of black from carbon soot trapped beneath the glaze.
Some of the favourites individual pots of those who helped in the unpacking are shown below, but you will need to inspect them once they have been sorted and presented in Len’s studio to decide on your own personal favourite.
JLP
Congratulation to Len and Tania on the success of the Anagama firing for 2020 (Photo JLP)
Text by Jamie Oliver Photos by Juanita Poletto (JLP) & Jamie Oliver
Over the last month or so the rainforest seems to have been awakening in anticipation of the coming wet, with an number of trees and plants bursting into flower along the road as well as deeper into the forest.
Two trees that have been putting on a great show are the blush alder (Sloanea australis) and brown silky oak (Darlingia darlingiana). Both of these have been featured in Colwyn’s Rainforest Tree of the Month series and for me its great to not only appreciate the displays of creamy flowers around the village roads and tracks, but also to now know the names and key characteristics of the trees.
Blush alder (Sloanea australis) beside Mt Spec Rd near the Paluma Environmental Education CentreBrown silky oak (Darlingia darlingiana)
Another tree that is currently flowering along the tracks, creating small patches of purple petals on the ground is the paperbark satinash (Syzygium paryraceum). Many of us would be familiar with the beautiful bright purple fruit from this species which appears on the forest floor around Christmas time, but I had not realised that the flowers were equally attractive (albeit a bit more subtly).
There are probably other equally beautiful trees in bloom that I have not seen, so feel free to add to this list using the comments section of this post. There should be a Tree Warratah in bloom somewhere in the village?
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver
Also known as Powder-puff Lilly Pilly and Wilson’s Satinash, this tree was possibly named after Dr Thomas Braidwood Wilson, (1792 – 1843), a botanical collector in the 1890’s.
It is an unremarkable-looking little tree, with its straggly growth under and among the protective foliage of neighbouring trees, but it bears beautiful, pompon flowers which make the plant worthy of recognition. Although not endemic to Paluma, there are several examples of this Lilly Pilly in Paluma gardens. Perhaps the most striking, as it is bearing blooms at present, is in the garden bed beside the office at PEEC. Another small shrub grows in the Trees of Memory grove, alongside the memorial stone.
The natural distribution for this Lilly Pilly is in the rainforest at Whyanbeel, near Mossman to Hinchinbrook Island, at altitudes up to 850 metres.
The leaves of this tree are distinctive. They are simple, alternate or opposite, hairless and can be quite large, growing from 80 – 190 mm by 22 -54 mm. with a recurved margin. New growth is spectacular with deep salmon-pink colouration.
Flowers, growing in axillary or terminal panicles, hang modestly among the foliage and can easily be missed. The individual flowers are tiny, the red trumpet shaped calyx hidden by the dense cluster of magenta to crimson stamens, about 20 mm in length. They form a dense, soft pompon about the size of a mandarin, hence the name powder-puff. An accompanying photo shows the remains of the flower panicle after the stamens have gone. Flowering season can last from June to December.
The fruit of the Powder-puff Lilly Pilly is a fleshy white or cream berry, 10-18 mm long by 10 -16 mm long. It contains one seed. Like most Syzygiums, the fruit is edible but is very sour and unpleasant to eat raw. As I do not have a photo of the fruit, a sketch will have to suffice. Note the ant which was determined to get into the picture!
Next time you stroll around the streets of Paluma, see if you can spot one of these demure little trees.
Len Cook’s famous Anagama wood kiln was fired up this Monday after a two year break, and those in the village would not have missed the smoke and fire belching from the chimney over the last four days.
As of writing, the kiln has been going for over ninety hours hours and is due to be shut down and sealed up on Friday evening. This year Len was supported by a visiting potter from down south, Tania Edwards, with occasional neighbourly assistance from Jamie.
The Anagama firing is always a visual spectacle, with a roaring firebox that consumes tonnes of wood, and side stoke holes that occasional belch fire, and a chimney that sends smoke and flame skyward for 100 hours straight. Len is reportedly pleased with the firing this year, having reached temperatures in the front and back of the kiln that should be sufficient to produce some spectacular pots. However the outcome won’t be known in until next Saturday when the kiln will have cooled sufficently to be unsealed and inspected. I’m sure the results will be pretty impressive.
Len and Tania having a break after more than 90 hours “feeding the beast”
In the mean time, here is a selection of pictures from the firing.
TMR has recently confirmed that in recognition of anticipated increased use of the range Road during the Paluma Push, no road works will be carried on on Saturday and Sunday (Oct 10 -11) nights. The road will still be closed to all traffic on Friday night (Oct 9th). Formal notification by SMS will be sent to all those who have subscribed to this notification service from TMR.
The annual Paluma Push is fast approaching. This is an iconic event for Paluma and every year the Paluma Community supports the Push by providing volunteer assistance throught the local SES and Rural Fire Service. If you have not already volunteered or been contacted about volunteering Len Cook, head of the Paluma RFS, is keen to add volunteers for several check points along the race route. Please contact Len on 0427 708 530 or anagama@activ8.net.au. As a way of thanking volunteers, RFS will be sponsoring a thankyou BBQ to Push volunteers on Sunday after the race.
Strangler figs are one of the distinctive features of rainforests. They start life as epiphytes half-way up the forest canopy, germinating from seeds in bird or bat droppings that have landed on a suitable tree branch. The young seedling sends roots sinuously down the trunk of the host tree while growing its branches up towards the forest canopy. As light severely limits the growth rates of tree seedlings on the forest floor, strangler figs gain a huge advantage by starting off life near the canopy courtesy of its host tree. Once the fig’s roots reach the ground they penetrate the soil where the added supply of nutrients and water spurs rapid growth of both the branches and aerial (above-ground) roots, which progessively envelop the host tree.
Typical pattern of root growth over host tree in younger strangler figs
Seedlings can also occasionally germinate on large boulders, cliff faces and even old ruins (e.g. the ruins around Anchor Wat in Cambodia). The height at which the seedling germinates, as well as the orientation of the host dictates how the roots will grow. If a tree with a strangler on it is knocked over into a diagonal growth position, the roots will start to grow vertically directly down to the ground. An impressive example of this diagonal growth with vertical roots can be found on the famous Curtain Fig Tree outside Yungaburra in the Tablelands.
Mature figs often either kill or out-live their host, leaving a hollow core in the network of thick roots that make up the trunk of many mature stranger figs. The cause of host death is not certain and while the name suggests that the roots eventually strangle the host trunk, hosts will also have to compete with the fig for canopy space and nutrients and water in the surrounding soil and this could severly weaken the host tree. However a recent recent study of trees that survived Cyclone Yasi suggests that stranglers may actual help their hosts survive these extreme storms, perhaps by adding structural support to their host in the face of cyclonic winds.
Mature stranger figs reach enourmous size and can dominate the canopy. There are several huge figs at the bottom of Bambaroo track (unknown species) which can be seen on the satellite view of Google Earth and have canopies exceeding 50m in diameter. The largest tree in the world (in terms of area covered) is a Banyan fig (also a strangler) that covers a massive 4 acres.
Ficus watkinsiana on the Paluma Rainforest Track
Figs belong the Family Morace, and the group known as stranglers (starting off as epiphytes on a host tree or rock) belong to the subsection Urostigma. There are around 1,000 species of Ficus worldwide and Australian rainforests host about 40 species. Of these, 18 are stranglers.
Ficus watkinsiana is one of several species of strangler figs that occur around Paluma. A good example can be found on the Paluma “Rainforest Track” opposite Smith Crescent. This specimen has a dedicated platform in front of it, including an extension that allow photographers to step back so that they can get most of the tree in a photo.
Leaves and Fruit from Ficus watkinsiana on the Rainforest Track
Ficus obliqua fruit
Identification of figs is not easy and professional taxonomists may even resort to electron microscope imagery to detect minute differences in the strucuture of the fruit to confirm identification. However, based on distribution records, leaf size and fruit shape/size I am pretty confident that this one is indeed F. watkinsiana. Other species of strangler that have been identified on the H-track are F. destruens and F. obliqua. F. destruens has similar leaves but the fruit, while similar in shape are significantly smaller than F. watkinsiana. Along the H-track, starting from the JCU house, there are two specimens of F. destruens labelled with white tags (numbers 2 and 7). F. obliqua can be identified from its small globular organge coloured fruit. There is a specimen about 20m from the first right hand bend of the H-track starting from Lennox Crescent on the left side of the track.
Old stranger figs are enormous! Their canopies extend over huge areas, and their aerial roots can be over a metre wide. Top left: Curtain Fig Tree Ficus virens) at Yungaburra. Top right: a huge Ficus species at the bottom of Bambaroo track whose canopy (~52m diam) is easily seen on Google Earth satellite view (photo by Sam Stedman). Bottom: the aptly named Ficus religiosa at Ta Prohm ruin near Anchor Wat, Cambodia.
While strangler figs have a fascinating growth habit, all figs also exhibit amazing and bizarre reproductive characteristics that would require a separate post to describe in full. One fact worth noting is that almost every species of fig is dependent on a single species of tiny wasp for pollination! A scary fact since all it would take is the extinction of one species of insect to wipe out an entire species of majestic fig trees! We usually think of insects as ubiquitous and prolific, but a recent scientific global survey found that 40% of all insect species are declining and that a third are endangered.
For our local Ficus watkinsiana the polinating wasp is Pleistodontes nigriventris. You may never see one ( I couldn’t find a picture of it on the web) but you would certainly know if it went extinct!
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver
