The Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko of my previous posts (2 December and 17 December) has been conspicuously absent from its usual home (my garage and laundry) over recent days. On Saturday, we discovered why…….
The Gecko has a second home and now resides at Colwyn’s place, two doors down from my home. We are certain it is the same specimen, given its large size of some 20cm or more. Colwyn checked its measurements just to make sure! Its statistics confirm it is very likely to be the same individual. It is now a different colour being a slightly darker shade of grey-brown, compared with the lighter-brown, coppery colour it had at my place. It appears the Gecko has moved on……!
The Gecko at Colwyn’s place with a darker shade of colour.
Have you seen the beautiful Calliandra sp. currently flowering in Linda and Bill Venn’s garden along the eastern end of Mount Spec Road? It’s hard to miss as the shrub is fully laden with pink and white blossoms. The flowers seemed to appear overnight and they opened all at once, making a superb display. The shrub is literally a hive of activity with many bees, both native and exotic species, as well as butterflies busily feeding on the nectar from the blooms. Bill and Linda tell me that the shrub is a miniature variety of Calliandra.
Calliandra, also known by the common name of ‘Powder Puff’ is a genus of tropical plants native to South America. They grow and flower best if they are in full sun. Their oblong shaped leaves fold up ‘to sleep’ at night. They thrive in moist, well-drained soil.
The Venn’s Calliandra has flowered just in time for Christmas, with its brilliant candy-coloured flowers . Who needs an ordinary Christmas tree when you can have a Christmas Calliandra!
We are deeply saddened to report the recent passing of Stafford Browne, long-time resident of Hussey Road, Paluma. Stafford, best known to his Paluma friends and family as ‘Staff’ passed away on 11 December 2019. He will be fondly remembered this week at a private ‘Celebration of Life’ in Townsville. Our loving thoughts and sincere condolences are extended to Merle and the family in their great loss.
In an addendum to his recent post on the flowering Elaeocarpus reticulatus (‘Fairy Petticoats’) at Hussey Road, Michael Drew provides an update on some other flowering tree species on the acreage blocks to the west of Paluma Village.
The photograph below shows a fine specimen of Alphitonia petrieiin full bloom. Michael Drew writes:-
“Alphitonia petriei, also known by the common names of Pink Almond, Red Ash or Sarsparilla tree is a pioneer species, often growing where rainforest has been previously felled. It is found in high altitude areas bordering regenerating rainforest. This tree is not to be confused with Alphitonia whitei found on the banks of creeks in coastal areas.
Other trees such as Commersonia bartramia (Brown Kurrajong) or Commersonia fraseri should not be confused with Alphitonia petriei. The Commersonia spp. usually flower after the Alphitonia in this neck of the woods. There is a very big congregation of Commersonia bartramia out in the ‘Republic of Hussey Road’.
PS: The ‘Fairy Petticoats’ (of the previous post on 6 December) have been shed in the last week causing a thick layer of cast-off petals on the ground and in the birds water bowls…….too hot for fairies to wear petticoats at Christmas!”.
Alphitonia petriei in bloom, resembling ‘Paluma snow’!
This is an addendum to my recent post (2 December) on the Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko (Saltuarius cornutus) and particularly the large specimen which has taken up residence in my garage. I am pleased to report that this fine gecko has been sighted three nights in a row, foraging in the garage, no doubt looking for spiders, bugs and other goodies to eat.
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take some better photos of my friend (compared with the poorer quality iPhone photos in my previous post). At high resolution this gecko is even more spectacular. Check out the features in the photos below.
Which end is which?? The head is to the left and the similarly shaped leaf-tail is on the right. A master of disguise for predators!A closer view of the broad leaf-tail.
To add to the story of this superb gecko, on Sunday morning I found that during the night it had shed the skin from its entire body and left it on the garage floor. A complete shedding, right down to the end of the toes!
The shedded skin from the Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko.
I was thinking about it and I have to admit to being slightly envious of the reptilian ability to shed one’s skin. Wouldn’t it be great if after a hard day at work you could just slip your existing skin and start afresh the next day with a brand new, revitalised exterior??!!
The annual Paluma Garden Competition was held in late November this year and the results were announced at the last social of the year (Tropical BBQ on 7th December). Lynn Hyland reports that the event was most successful and she has provided the following feedback:-
“We had four Bunnings staff as the judging panel this year. On Tuesday 26th November the judges walked their little feet off for nearly five hours. I escorted them around the Acreage Gardens and Jamie Oliver did likewise around the Village Gardens. We provided lunch at the Community Hall“.
The Bunnings judging panel for the 2019 Paluma Garden Competition.
“Even though the gardens and lawns were very dry at this time, the judges were most impressed with the gardens of Paluma. They stated that they will be back next year and will stay longer on the job without being so rushed. They took a lot of photos of the gardens and interesting plants. I even got introduced to some new plant names. It was great to have a horticulturist to refer to for information about species. There really are a lot of ‘hidden treasures’ in our Paluma gardens. The ladies really enjoyed the experience and would like to see the gardens of Paluma at an earlier time of the year when the camellias and azaleas are in bloom – maybe after Easter next year“.
“I also had the Memorial Trophy refitted with new ornaments as it was looking a little sad about the gilt work. It now looks smashing. The trophy is now in the custody of the winners”.
The Alison Evans Memorial Trophy for the Paluma Garden Competition.
The Trophy with names of the previous winners of the Paluma Garden Competition.
The overall winner this year and the trophy holder for the 2019 Paluma Garden Competition goes to Glenda and Nick Van Rynswoud. These are truly award winning gardeners having won the competition a total of four times.
Hearty congratulations to all the winners and for contributing to the ongoing success of this Paluma event. Sincere thanks to Bunnings for their ongoing support for our competition, the judging panel from Bunnings and to Lynn and Jamie for volunteering their time to escort the judges around the village and acreage blocks.
The Winners of the 2019 Paluma Garden Competition are:-
Best Residential Garden in the Village: Glenda and Nick Van Rynswoud Memorial Trophy winner. $50
Highly Commended Residential Garden in the Village: Graham and Judith Malpass. $30
Best Commercial Property Garden in the Village: ‘Manali’ Bill and Linda Venn. $50
Best Acreage Garden on the Blocks: Anne Bruyeres. $50
Best Novelty/Unusual Garden: Rainforest Novelty Trail and Garden, Don Battersby. $20
Glenda and Nick’s award winning garden.
Text by Lynn Hyland and Michele Bird. Photos by Michele Bird and Jamie Oliver.
On Saturday we had very good attendance at our Tropical BBQ including a couple from Townsville who happened to be up for the weekend. There was a variety of salad, and deserts and plenty of meat to go round. Les the barman made sure there was plenty of social lubricant available to add to the enjoyment of the evening. Photographic evidence of the event is unfortunately scarce. Yours truly was too busy catching up with people and providing his usual inept services as a relief barman and totally forgot to take pictures. We did manage to get a shot of the last of the crowd at the end of the evening.
This year, for the first time, the exterior of the hall and the gazebo were decorated with Christmas lights that definitely provided a festive look to the area that could be seen from the Mt Spec Rd as well as Smith Crescent. Many thanks to the Townsville City Council’s “Christmas Together ” initiative which provided funds for the purchase of the external lights as well as eskies to ensure we could keep our meat and drinks cool.
New Christmas lights provided a festive look to the Community Hall courtesy of the Townsville City Council.
Michele recently documented some plants that are flowering around Paluma late in the dry Season. One would normally not think of looking out for mushrooms at this time of year, with the forest floor about as dry as it ever gets, and most fungi either totally absent or, in the case of bracket fungi, persisting as dried-out colourless husks clinging to logs and tree trunks. However there is one group of fungi whose fruiting body (what we call a mushroom) make a regular occurrence at this time of year and they are really quite spectacular in their shape. They are called coral fungi (most of them in the genus Ramaria), and as a coral biologist I can attest that they bear a striking resemblance to true corals.
Ramaria sp
I have seen two fine specimens of coral fungi in the last few weeks. One on the track to Witt’s lookout (above), and the other at the cutting outside the gate to 28 Mt Spec Road. They are probably gone now but there should be others coming up over the month around the village and adjacent tracks.
Ramaria sp
Coral fungi, despite there impressive appearance have not been well documented in Australia. According to the Qld Mycological Society, there are only 19 described species of Ramaria in Australia, but “… it is quite possible that the total number of species of Ramaria found to occur in Australia will be over 100.” None of the 18 recognised species in Queensland looks similar to the ones in the photos here so it is quite possible that these specimens are are an undescribed species (or tw0)!
The latest news on ‘Leonard the Lizard’ from Lennox Crescent……
Len Cook has provided a new photograph of Leonard the Lizard, aka the Lace Monitor as it continues to frequent and forage in the gardens at the western end of Lennox Crescent.
Our post last week (02/12/19) prompted several other residents to respond with reports on Leonard’s whereabouts and activities, with some reports suggesting Leonard might have some Lace Monitor friends about the place!
Jamie Oliver notes that Leonard makes a regular appearance at his place (next door to Len Cook) and has made the garden and driveway its home. Lynda Radbone reports that she has seen a Lace Monitor at least three times over the past few weeks in Colwyn Campbell’s garden (watch out Flossy!!). Lynda thinks that this Lace Monitor might be a different individual to the one frequenting Lennox Crescent, as it is appears smaller and with more distinct markings. Lynda has also seen Lace Monitors at her place (last year) at the western end of the village. Lynda said that she regularly watched her Lace Monitor snacking on skinks in the back garden.
Are there any other sightings of Lace Monitors at Paluma? Let us know!
Text by Michele Bird & Photo by Len Cook.
Editors note: (May 1, 2020) Recent correspondence from a herpetologist at James Cook University indicates that Leonard is in fact a different species (Varanus panoptes – Yellow-spotted Monitor)
Two contributions have been received from some keen Paluma gardeners wanting to share photographs of some impressive plants currently in flower at the end of the dry season.
A fine specimen of Elaeocarpus reticulatus is in flower at Michael and Donna Drew’s cottage at Hussey Road. Michael notes that this small tree/bush is known by several common names such as Blueberry Ash and ‘Fairy Petticoats’.
Michael Drew writes:
“I think ‘Fairy Petticoats’ is a better description leaving aside the question of whether fairies actually wear petticoats!? (Maybe when they attend Fairy Debutante Balls….?).
I suspect this bush was planted next to a fine example of a Symplocus stawellii (Native Hazelnut Tree) by the original owner of Bud Cottage. Bud Jones, who lived here for over 60 years was a great scrounger of all things botanical and mechanical.
The ‘Fairy Petticoats’ bush seems to be outside its normal habitat, described as open Eucalypt/Casuarina forests, sometimes on rocky slopes (Reference: Native Plants of Queensland, Volume 1). I have not seen this bush flower in the past, over 10 years. I suspect the very dry weather has caused the bush to flower (as with many other species presently blooming up here).
The ‘Fairy Petticoats’ produces purple berries….. probably eaten by cassowaries”.
‘Fairy Petticoats’.
Peter and Dorothy Klumpp have discovered a Red Passion Flower or Red Passion Vine (Passiflora sp.) growing along the edge of the rainforest in their back garden. It is a vigorous climber, growing at ground level and also reaching high into the canopy, with hanging clusters of brilliant red flowers.
Red Passion Flower is native to Brazil, but grows well in tropical and subtropical climates. It can be potentially invasive in a garden and adjacent bushland if not controlled and regularly pruned. The bright red flowers are a great attractant for butterflies and bees.
Red Passion Flower.
Flowers and climbing tendrils of the Red Passion Flower.
If you have an extraordinary or special plant currently in flower at Paluma and you would like to share it (or even brag about it!), please get in touch.
Text by Michele Bird and Michael Drew. Photos by Michael Drew and Dorothy and Peter Klumpp.
