Last Christmas a amethystine python dubbed “Monty” with a very large lump was seen on the rainforest track. Well his assumed penchant for Christmas turkey seems to be confirmed with a recent sighting of a very similar python with a very similar turkey-sized lump opposite the High Ropes course.
Carla Oliver and friends were heading down the mountain on the afternoon of New Year’s eve when they saw Monty crossing the road.
It would be great if this were indeed the same python as last year, especially since these large slow moving reptiles (especially after a big meal) can be very vulnerable to being run over when crossing the road. Let’s hope this becomes an annual sighting!
It seems appropriate that during this month of Christmas we feature an evergreen conifer as our tree of the month. The Black Pine (Prumnopitys amara). This species is widely distributed in north-east Queensland as well as New Guinea and Indonesia. It can grow to 60m and has a frequently dark to blackish trunk with scattered cracks. Mature leaves are long and narrow with a distinct groove along the mid-vein on the upper surface. The species name “amara” is from the latin word for bitter and refers to the fact that the leaves, if chewed, are initially sweet tasting but then turn bitter.
Prumnopitys amara leaves (Botanic Gardens, Sydney) Photo by Peter Woodard; Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
None of these features are easy to distinguish in the field, but luckily the fruit are very easily recognised scattered on the ground along walking tracks. They are bright red and globular (20-25mm wide) with a shallow flesh around a hard gloubular seed. Fruit can be found on the forest floor from December to February. They are eaten by Cassowaries, and several species of rainforest rat.
Prumnopitys amara fruit collected behand Paluma Dam, February 2016
Black Pine nuts are one of about four species of rainforest seeds regularly that were used (and relied on) on by rainforest aborigines as a source of carbohydrates. While some of the seeds required lengthy preparation to leach out toxins and bitter chemicals, Black Pine seeds, could simply be collected and cooked for thiry minutes in a grond oven and then cracked open to reveal the tasty kernels which were then pulverised between two stones.
The timber from the Black Pine is used in New Guinea and Indonesia for general building purposes as well as funiture including butter churns.
Other conifers around Paluma
Conifers belong to a group of seed-bearing plants (including Cycads and Ginkos) in which the seed is not enclosed in and ovary (Gymnosperms – meaning naked seed). The seeds of conifers (Pines and relatives) are borne within cones. Australia has several conifers that are endemic (found only in Australia) and one which is considered to be a “living fossil” (Wollemi Pine).
The Black Pine is one of only a few naturally occurring rainforest conifers in the Paluma region. Two others that can be potentially (but not commonly) seen are “Plum Pines” or Podocarps (Podocarpus grayae and Podocarpus elatus). Both are called Brown Pine and both are endemic to Australia. While not strictly a rainforest pine the Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghami) can also be seen naturally on the slopes down to the coast along the range road, and there are several large specimens that have been planted out around the village. It is not restricted to rainforests, and is common around the rocky coast of Magnetic Island.
There are other species of native pine that don’t naturally occur in Paluma but that have been planted out around the village. These include a small Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwilli) around the first corner of Smith Crescent and a Kauri pine (probably Agathis microstachya*) behind the Paluma Environmental Education Centre. Two small potted native “Christmas trees” adjacent to the the Community hall include one conifer naturally found only in the mountains west of Mossman (Mt Spurgeon pine, Prumnopitys ladei) and a variety of casuarina (not a conifer) called the Daintree Pine (Gymnostroma australianum).
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver
*Note: the Kauri pine behind PEEC is, on closer inspection, most likely to be Agathis robusta. It is distinguised by its smooth bark with thin flakes. – Jamie
The washing-board tree (Cryptocarya corrugata) belongs to the Laurel family (Lauracea). There are over 300 species in the genus Cryptocarya, most of which inhabit cloud covered rainforests. This particular species is endemic to central and northern Queensland upland rainforests.
On close inspection the tree has distinctive red flakey bark and conspicuous fist to saucer-sized dimples along its trunk where the bark has flaked off. The sap-wood has a corrugataed surface, but this is largely masked by the outer bark.
Cryptocarya corrugata (Washingboard Tree) on the H-track. This is one of the recently retagged trees that are part of the upcooming revised Guide to Trees of the H-Track (Photo by Will Cairns)
The washing-board tree can grow up to 35m tall and occasionally has a butressed trunk. The cut bark and outer wood (a blaze) smells like sugar cane, but with alternative common names such as Bull’s Breath and Acid Wood this smell be a matter of personal perception.
The twigs and new leaves are covered in twisted brown hairs, while the older leaves become hairless (glabrous) with age
The fruit of the Washing-board tree are also distinctive. They are large ( 15-22mm high x 22-34mm wide) and broad or bilobed with a smooth to shiny purple-black outer surface. Flowering occurs in December, with mature fruit developing the following September. The fruit are eaten by cassowaries and fruit doves.
The wood of the washing board tree is infrequently used for general purpose timber under the name “Corduory Laurel.
You can find a tagged specimen (#4) of this species near the beginning of the H-Track (starting at Whalley Cr) on the right hand side of the track. This tree is part of a Guide to the Trees of the H-Track which is currently being revised with new text and new white tags.
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.
