Category: Nature

The native hydrangea (Abrophyllum ornans) is a small understorey tree (up to 8m high) or shrub that is endemic to Qld and northern NSW. It can be found in rainforest gullies and streams or regrowth areas from Batemans Bay to the McIlwraith Range NE of Coen in Cape York. The Genus Abrophyllum belongs to the family Rousseaceae, which is restricted to New Guinea, Australia New Zealand and Mauritius.

The scientific name refers to its attractive leaf and is derived from the Greek habros (splendid) + phyllon (leaf) and the Latin orno (adorn).

The bark of the native hydrangea is grey or light brown. The alternating leaves are ovate with pointed tips and finely serrated edges (up to 2ocm long and .8 cm wide).

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Small perfumed whitish yellow flowers develop in branched clusters from October to December and the unopened buds can resemble true Hydrangea flower heads (although the two species are not related). Flowers develop into distinctive purple to blackish berries about .5cm in diameter.

A. ornans is cultivated as a garden ornamental, valued for its handsome clusters of berries, or as an indoor plant. It is easily propagated from cuttings or fresh seeds. It is also considered a useful plant for restoration along rainforest edges.

Text by Jamie Oliver
Photos (unless indicated) by Russell Cumming on Flickr

Although the rainforest around Paluma is extensive, covering over 42km², it forms a narrow north-south band that changes to eucalyptus dominated sclerophyll forest as one travels east down the range or west towards Hidden Valley. The border between rainforest and sclerophyll forest is not fixed, and some studies have shown that the rainforest is slowly expanding and encroaching on the ecologically important sclerophyll habitats that host a number of important species of plants and animals. Late last century there was concern that rainforest expansion might be an ecological threat to adjacent forests but more recent work shows that the rate of expansion is very low, and current climate predictions for destructive cyclones and increased bushfire severity in the region suggest that rainforests are the more threatened of the two habitats.

Some evidence of past rainforest encroachment can still be found along some walking tracks, where there are huge old Eucalyptus trees that would have germinated in open forest have survived the fierce competition for light that characterises rainforest habitats and now stand as anomalous reminders border dynamics. This series has already highlighted two sclerophyll trees that can be found near rainforest margins (Eucalyptus grandis and Syncarpia glomulifera). A third species is the Messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana).

The track down to Triple Falls from the H-track has some magnificent old messmate trees in an area just adjacent to open forest at the crest of the escarpment. This tree is endemic to eastern Queensland and in ideal conditions can grow to 55m in height. The lower trunk has rough flakey or fibrous bark, but is smooth on the upper trunk and branches. Leaves are lanceolate to ovate 0.2-1.3cm long. Flowering occurs has been recorded in December and January. The mature gum nuts are globose to hemispherical, 0.4–0.7 cm long, 0.6–1.1 cm wide.

Messmate has been logged over most of its range and is now cultivated in plantations. It has been imported to Africa and is one of the more important general purpose hardwood plantation trees in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The species name (cloeziana) was chosen in honour of Francois Cloez, a chemist who originally identified the chemical cineole as the major constituent of eucalyptus oil.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

The buff alder (Apodytes brachystylis) is a common understory tree in well-developed rainforests from sea level to 1200m. The genus (around 8 species are recognised) is distributed from Africa through Asia to the western Pacific, but A. brachystylis is endemic to (found only in) north Queensland and is most common in upland rainforests from Cooktown to Townsville.

The leaves have a wavy margin and the leaf stems (petioles) are yellowish with a grooved upper surface. The flowers are small (petals 3-4.5mm long) with hairs on the inner surface.

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None of these features make it easy to spot this species during a casual walk through the rainforest, however, once the fruit drops ) to the ground (November to February) this species is unmistakable. Usually what drops is a very handsome combination of a dark blue-black receptacle (the basal part of the flower) and a bright green carpel (the seed bearing structure that contains the ovaries, stigma and style).

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Based on my frequent encounters with the fallen fruit on the tracks around Paluma it appears to be quite common around the village. There is a tagged specimen (White Tag Number 16) of the tree about 3/4 of the way down the slope toward the main plank bridge on the H-Track (starting from Whalley Crescent.

Text and Photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

The Hickory Boxwood (Planchonella euphlebia) is endemic to north Queensland. It is a widespread and relatively common tall (~25m), often buttressed tree in established rainforests from 200m to 1200m in altitude. It is also sometimes referred to as Pouteria euphlebia, although this name is now considered to be a synonym .

Leaves are obovate (egg-shaped with the narrow end towards the stem) and 5-14cm long. The undersides of young leaves are covered in fine brown hairs. the species name euphlebia refers to the well developed (“eu”) veins (“phlebius”) on the leaves.

Although common around Paluma, these trees are not easy to distinguish from the appearance of their trunks. There is a tagged specimen (White Tag number 10) on the H-track near the bottom of the slope leading down from Whaley Crescent. However the fallen fruit are easy to identify. The fruit appear from October to December and are fairly common on the ground along many Paluma walking tracks. They are about 1.5.2cm long. globular to elongate and coloured yellowy-orange to red. The fleshy fruit contains 1 to 5 distinctively shaped brown glossy seeds with a pale grey scar along one side. The fruit is reported to be edible in some texts but as always great caution should be taken in sampling any fruit from the forest.

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Timber from this tree is suitable for general building and furniture, but it was not specifically targetted by loggers.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

Although it is neither common nor prominent among the trees along the H-track, the yellowheart (Fagraea fagraeacea) is both unmistakeble and unforgettable once it starts dropping its ripe fruit.

The yellowheart grows as a shrub to small tree (5-20m) and is endemic to higher altitude (300-1250m) rainforests in NE Queensland. As a tree it has flakey to fibrous bark with a yellowish inner bark when exposed by a blaze.

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The leaves are elliptical to ovate and 5-10cm long. The flowers are cream coloured and can be highly perfumed.

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The genus Fagraea includes about 60 species in the Family Gentianaceae. Although there are no readily accessible (i.e. Googleable) details on any human use for this species, the yellowheart was once considered to be a part of a single, variable species (F. gracilipes) which occurs in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. F. gracilipes is known to produce durable, workable wood that has been used for canoes, posts and housing. The latex sap from this and several other members of the genus is used as an adhesive.

There is a solitary small tree on the H-track about 100m before the main creek crossing (walking from Lennox Cr) that, for several years, has dropped its brilliant lipstick pink fruit onto the track around August to October. It is just beginning to develop its fruit now, so be on the lookout next time you are on the Track.

Despite its striking assets (brilliantly coloured fruit and perfumed flowers and a manageable size) yellowheart is not commonly cultivated. I have twice gathered the fruit and planted them into pots to germinate so that I could add this lovely small tree to my garden but have had no success so far.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver