SCRUB IRONWOOD Gossia bidwillii
The Scrub Ironwood is a member of the Myrtaceae family; Genus – Gossia, Species – bidwillii.
Schoolchildren often call this tree the Refrigerator Tree because its trunk, when compared with other surrounding trees, is very cold to touch. It is also known as the Python Tree, perhaps because its mottled green and tan colouring and slightly twisting trunk resemble the marking and sinuous form of a large python.
The Scrub Ironwood is an attractive, slender tree growing to a height of about 25 metres. Its bark is smooth with blotchy patterning in green, tan, brown and orange colours but its most distinguishing feature is its coldness to the touch when compared with surrounding trees. On a cold morning the dense wood remains cold and water will condense and run off the trunk while surrounding trees remain dry. Sometimes a tree will form buttress roots. Branchlets on this tree are smooth and brown. The opposite, simple leaves are about 80 to 105 mm in length and elliptical or ovate in shape. When crushed they have a slightly eucalyptus smell.
Flowering occurs between August and March: small 2 to 5 mm sweetly scented white flowers with 4 but mostly 5 petals. They are often high in the tree and difficult to see. The fruit usually appears between October and May. It is a purple/black berry, about 4 to 10 mm in size, containing cream to brown coloured seeds. Many birds, including the lovely Rose-crowned Fruit Doves, feast on the fruit of this tree.
There are several Scrub Ironwood trees to be seen along the Paluma Rainforest Track – some of them quite close to the entrance of the track. See if you can spot them, growing among trees similar in appearance. The smooth, cold bark is the distinctive feature.
Text and Photo by Colwyn Campbell
The black bat plant (Tacca chantrieri) is an unusual exotic plant that is native to tropical Asia. It grows well at Paluma, most often as a pot plant in a protected shaded position away from direct sunlight. The large flowers are striking and resemble a bat in flight. The flowers are black to deep purple with ruffled edges and long, hanging filaments. Large bright green leaves surround the bloom. Several gardeners at Paluma have spectacular specimens of the black bat plant. It flowers all year round, but seems to produce most flowers during the summer months.
The White Bat Plant (Tacca integrifolia) is a member of the yam family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to hilly regions of tropical and subtropical Asia where it thrives in the in the shady and humid understorey of the rainforest. The long, flowing ‘whiskers’ of this flower can grow to 30 cm long.
If you take a stroll through the village of Paluma between April to May you are likely to see several beautiful specimens of the Gordonia plant in full bloom. Gordonia axillaris is an exotic shrub or small tree which is a close relative to the camellia. Although Gordonia’s are slow-growing they are well suited to the cool mountain climate at Paluma. You will recognise the Gordonia from its spectacular large white blooms with bright yellow stamens. The flowers tend to fall from the tree with their egg-yolk yellow stamens facing upwards. At first glance this has the appearance of fried eggs lying around the base of the plant. For this reason, the Gordonia is often referred to by its common name, the “fried egg plant”. Gordonia’s are a great attractant for both native bees and exotic bees. Keep an eye out for the “fried egg plant” in several gardens as you walk along Mt Spec Road.
