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Rainforest Tree of the Month, April 2021 – Fuzzy Lemon Aspen

The Fuzzy Lemon Aspen (Acronychia vestita) is endemic to northeast Queensland occurring in upland wet sclerophyll forests and rainforest margins or disturbed areas from Kuranda to Paluma. It is generally a shrub to small tree but can grow up to 20m. The ovoid deep green leaves are simple with obvious lateral veins running at an angle from the mid-vein and then looping up before reaching the leaf margin.

Flowering occurs from February-March and the fruit develop as globular fruit with a lumpy wrinked surface that turns from green to white or yellow when ripe.

photo (c) kerrycoleman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

This is not a particularly common tree around Paluma but there is a good example on the edge of Potters Park off Lennox Crescent that is currently bearing numerous developing fruit that should turn yellow in the next month or so.

Fuzzy Lemon Aspen at Potters Park on Lennox Crescent

The fruit are eaten by Cassowaries, Wompoo Fruit Doves and the Musky Rat-kangaroo. The leaves are one of several species eaten by the larvae of the Ulysses Butterfly.

Several other species of Acronychia including the Lemon Aspen (Acronychia acidula) are edible and used as a garnish or flavouring in drinks and chutney. A. vestita is noted as being edible in the original Rainforest Fruits book by Cooper & Cooper (1994) but I could not find any other references to edibility.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

Reminder: Paluma Rural Fire Brigade – Public Meeting & BBQ this Saturday 1st May

A reminder to all Paluma residents that the Rural Fire Brigade (RFB) will be holding a Public Meeting, Lunchtime BBQ and Recruitment Drive at the Community Hall this coming Saturday 1st May at 11 am.

Please come along to support your local RFB and please consider signing up to join the Paluma RFB so that we can retain this vital service in our community.

Without your support this service may be lost from the Paluma Community.

For further information please contact local RFB representative Ross Hyne on mobile: 0427 447 415.

See you there!

Anicca exhibition opening a great success

On Friday evening the exhibition of new artwork by our local artist Colwyn Campbell was opened by Sue Tilly and Ross McLennan at the Drill Hall in Townsville.

The event was well attended and dominated by Paluma residents who not only admired the stunning pieces on display but also purchased several of them.

The Buddhist concept of Anicca (impermanence) clearly pervaded the artwork. The detailed depiction of fallen leaves and other organisms associated with decay and recycling of life, combined with the repetitive colourful patterns resulted in images that were (to me at least) both abstract and yet highly realistic.

Congratulations to Colwyn on the success of the exhibition, which will remain open until May 20th.

Text by Jamie Oliver, photos by Juanita Poletto

PALUMA AT RISK OF LOSING RURAL FIRE BRIGADE

ATTENTION PALUMA RESIDENTS

The Paluma Rural Fire Brigade (RFB) is formed of residents from the Paluma community and it cannot function without members and their involvement. With the recent resignation of several senior members of the brigade we are presented with the challenge of trying to keep the brigade functioning and to maintain its assets within the community. If the brigade is unable to recruit new members, the Rural Fire Service may need to close the Paluma brigade and move the fire truck to another community. If this occurs, the only guaranteed response if there is a fire in the Paluma area will be a Fire and Rescue (red) truck from Townsville, Ingham or the Waterfall Creek RFB – and these services are not always available.

This notice is to advise Paluma residents that we are planning to undertake a recruitment drive with a lunchtime BBQ on Saturday 1st May 2021.

You are invited to attend:

A Public Meeting/Recruitment Drive, Saturday 1st May 2021 at 11 AM.

To be held at the Paluma RFB Station (Community Hall).

Without your support this vital community service may be lost from the Paluma community. Staff from the Rural Fire Service Townsville Area Office will be in attendance to discuss the future of the brigade with the community, including explaining what it means to be a rural fire brigade member.

If you have any questions and to RSVP to attend this meeting, please contact the Rural Fire Service Area Office on (07) 4796 9082.

You can also ring the local contact person and serving Paluma RFB member Ross Hyne on 0427 447 415.

We look forward to seeing you at this meeting.

Paluma Easter Market

A misty morning and threatening rain, did not bode well for the Easter Sunday Mountain Markets, but we did get mentioned in “Townsville Eye” and seemingly people were determined to get out over Easter.  As a result, despite the mandatory wearing of masks, a steady crowd appeared in the Community Hall and the nine stallholders were kept pleasantly busy and all seemed pleased with sales.


Over in the gazebo, Don Battersby and Glen Parker were kept busy on the sausage sizzle, while Les was the cashier, thus no conflict in the food handling. Customers were lining up before 09.00hrs and there were only odd occasions when there was no one at the counter.  Two short light rain showers did not deter the crowd, many notably  being family groups and by 12.00 hrs the sausages had sold out. 


Altogether it was one of our most successful  Market days.  Hopefully, we will also do well on Sunday June 27th  – the day after Wattle ’n Gum have their annual Bush Dance in the Hall.

Text & Photo by Les Hyland

Rainforest Tree of the Month, March 2021 – Dalrymple Beech (Gmelina dalrympleana)

Gmelina dalyrympleana is a rainforest tree found in northeast Qld and Cape York as well as New Guinea. There are several species in this genus and most of them can be found in the wet tropics and share the common names White Beech, or Grey Teak). With its lovely pink flowers bright red fruit this species ranks as one of the more attractive in the genus.

Photo by “Paluma” CC on I-Naturalist (L) Photo copyright CSIRO (R)

This tree is currently in fruit around Paluma and the bright red, oblong cherry-sized fruit are unmistakeable at several spots along the H-Track. The fruit might be mistaken for a Satin Ash at first glance but its seed capsule, which is bound tightly to the flesh of the fruit, is small and woody. The small pink flowers are occasional seen scattered on the ground on or next to the H-Track.

The fruit is eaten by fruit pigeons. The tree can grow to 40m yields a course, but durable timber used for planks and floors. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree in Queensland and NSW.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

St. Patrick’s Celebrations at Paluma

A small but enthusiastic crowd of revellers met at the Community Hall on Saturday night (20 March) to belatedly mark the occasion of St. Patricks Day which falls on 17 March. Crowd numbers were down at this Social with several villagers away working or attending the Cowboys home game in Townsville.

Despite the small crowd of only 13 people, Les was kept busy at the bar which did very well with takings. With the mix of local villagers, was a couple who were staying in the village who dropped in for some drinks and helped boost the bar takings and the camaraderie. The Guinness was a hit, given the Irish theme of the night.

Lynn ran the usual Irish quiz which was won by Colwyn who took home a bottle of pink champagne in reward for her Irish knowledge. The quiz illustrated the distinct lack of knowledge of all things Irish at Paluma Village! The Lucky Shamrock Competition didn’t afford any fortunes amongst the“scratchies”. Obviously the Leprechaun had given away all his  good fortune.

Lynda and Lynn decorated the hall in a sea of green and shamrocks. As always, the gourmet delights meant everyone had plenty to eat, this time with a distinctive Irish theme.

Text & Photos by Les Hyland

Mighty Hercules from Mt Spec Road

Came out on the verandah in downtown Paluma this morning to find a giant of the jungle sitting quietly on the deck furniture. 

Male (we think) Hercules moth (Coscinocera hercules) 240mm wingtip to wingtip, 180mm overall length. … that’s very big for a male as Wildlife of Tropical Northern Queensland lists maximum size for the larger female as 225mm. 

Wildlife of Tropical Northern Queensland  and Guide to Australian Moths say range is Cape York south to Ingham — so the southerly extent of the range is a bit understated in both books.

The females have the largest wing area of any moth in the world. 

The leaves of the medium sized rainforest tree Bleeding Heart (Homalanthus novoguineensis) is said to be the favorite food of the Hercules caterpillars. 

We have a Bleeding Heart which is trying to climb onto our deck.

The leaves are being well munched and we did find a caterpillar there after we spotted the moth. However, it didn’t look like the Hercules caterpillars from the books. 

Jamie Oliver has come across this caterpillar before and was able to provide an ID —  Iscadia inexacta (Walker). Iscadia and Hercules share a preference for Bleeding Heart. 

According to the Butterfly House website Iscadia has a great party trick — “The caterpillar pupates in a papery cocoon covered in bits of chewed leaf. The pupa is famous for being able to produce sounds when disturbed, by rubbing projections on the abdominal skin against the hind surface of the cocoon.”

Hercules also has a surprising twist of biology — the adult moths don’t eat, they survive on food stores from when they were caterpillars, says the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary website. The adults live for only 10-14 days which they devote to finding a mate. The mating game is initiated by the female which emits a pheromone that can attract male suitors from over 2km away. 

The caterpillars grow up to 12cm in length and are dotted with yellow spikes. Such a huge caterpillar makes sense when we consider how large the moth itself is.

The largest ever Hercules Moth had a wingspan of 36cm, says the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary website. 

Text and photos by Peter Cooke