Category Archives: Plants

Beard Lichen

Fungus, Plants, , , ,

Usnea

Another epiphyte observed on the morning dog walk. Beard Lichen looks so similar to Spanish Moss that the scientific name for Spanish moss is derived from it’s name. Biologically it would hard to be any more different. Spanish Moss is a plant, Beard Lichen, like all lichen, is a symbiosis of a fungus and an algae.

Beard Lichen grows off the ground, often on tree branches. It appears as a scraggly hair like growth up to 20cm long, it’s also known as “woman’s long hair” and “old mans beard” all good visual descriptions. It’s soft and flexible to touch and is light green in colour. Beard Lichen needs light to grow, it’s often found on sick or dead trees due to the the light permitted by the reduced canopy, but the  lichen itself does not damage the tree.

Beard Lichen has antibiotic properties, it’s been used for 100’s of years to treat wounds.

Beard Lichen. Spotted on the morning dog walk, it’s not hard to see how it got it’s name
Beard Lichen growing up the trunk of Bottle Brush tree

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Spanish Moss

Plants,

Tillandsia usneoides

Since getting our new dog “Louie” Jess and I have been taking him for a walk around the street every morning. I find it a bit of a chore to drag myself out of bed early on these winter mornings but once up it’s been really good to spend time together. We’re both getting to know the early morning dog walking crew and it’s a great chance to look at the plants and houses along the way too.

There’s a section of the walk where the paperbark trees on the nature strip have growths of stringy silver hay like clumps of growth hanging from the branches. It’s clearly not part of the tree, but what is it?

I thought it looked like some kind of fungus or lichen, turns out it’s neither. It’s called Spanish Moss, an epiphyte flowering plant native to North, Central and South America.

A clump of Spanish Moss growing on a street tree on the dog walk circuit

Spanish Moss is not a parasite, it uses a host tree for shelter and support but it gathers it’s own water and nutrients.

Spanish Moss growing on a paperbark tree

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Scaly phebalium

Plants, , ,

Phebalium squamulosum

“An open slender lightly foliaged shrub” – NPOS p. 120

This plant was hard to identify, as best as I can tell it’s a Scaly Phebalium.

Scaly Phebalium – flowing in winter, they’re meant to flower in spring.

The  Scaly Phebalium is a small woody shrub growing to about 1.5m. It’s leaves are narrow, less that 10mm wide, deep green with lighter coloured dots on the top side. The undersides are lighter in colour and covered in small scales, which is where the common name comes from. It’s found in standsone landscapes and is common in the Sydney area.

NPOS describes it as aromatic, it does have a smell but it’s not nearly as strong as a tea tree, it could be that I have a bit of a blocked nose at the moment and am trouble smelling too.

Leaf underside showing the small scales. The leaf is about 8mm wide

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Juniper Grevillea

Plants, , , ,
Grevillea juniperina

“A prickly, much branched shrub 1-2m high” – NPOS p.95

This Juniper Grevillea is growing on the nature strip out the front, it’s self seeded which is interesting because although it’s a native plant it’s meant to be uncommon and mainly occurring in western Sydney.

Grevillea Juniperina flowering

The Juniper Grevillea is a hardy and adaptable species, which can be demonstrated by how well it’s doing without any care or cultivation. I’ve even recently cut it back as it’s been over growing onto the road. It’s in the form of a dense shrub which grows up to 2m tall, it has narrow stiff leaves that end with a sharp point. Flowers are red and take on the typical spidery Grevillea form. It’s meant to flower from September – November, our seems to flower year round, the picture was taken in July.

I’ve tried unsuccessfully a few times to collect seeds and grow them. Apparently you can achieve a greater chance of success by nicking the seeds to expose the embryo, or exposing the seeds to fire and smoke. They will also grow from cuttings. I’ll give these a go. It’s a beautiful plant that is extremely hardy and will not grow too tall, the rabbits and wallabies seem to leave it alone too, perfect for the garden.

Grevillea Juniperina – This one self seeded on the nature strip in front of our house

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