It happens every year around this time, this year it was yesterday ( August 13th, Jessie’s birthday! ) They were in the Banksia out the back but had gone by the time I got the camera. They’re usually just here for a just one day per year, I’ve not been able to find any information on their migration habits, or even if they migrate at all. But where do they go for the rest of the year!
Pink Wax Flower
Eriostemon australasius
“Easily recognized by it’s large pink flowers and thick grey green foliage” NPOS p.118
After having come home from the boys soccer to an empty house without keys there was only one thing to do, get the boys on their bikes and head down the bush! The weather was warm with the first hints of spring, a number of flowers had started to come out too.
I didn’t have my camera with me so I took these photos with my phone, I’m still so impressed at how clearly they come out with such a small lense and sensor.
This plant took me a while to identify, in NPOS it looks similar to Crowea saligna or Crowea exalata, but the flowers are not quite as depicted in the book. In the end I’m pretty sure it’s a Eriostemon australasius also known as the Pink Wax Flower.
Pink Wax Flowers are common in heath and woodlands on sandstone plateaus. They are a small shrub growing to about 1.5m They have leathery leaves that are narrow, 1cm, and long, 8cm or so. The flowers are numerous and striking, large and pink with 5 petals.
Resources and references
Bushy Clubmoss
Lycopodium deuterodensum
“A small erect plant, resembling a miniature pine tree” – NPOS p. 304
Clubmosses are ancient plants, the oldest fossils dating from the Devonian period 395 Million years ago, 150 Million years before the dinosaurs! I came across this grove of bushy clubmoss at the flat bottom of the small gully behind our house while searching for the dog that had got away again. Bushy clubmoss is supposedly fairly common in wet sandy soil, but this is the first time I recall seeing them. NPOS lists the common name of Lycopodium deuterodensum as “Mountain Clubmoss”, but searching online “Bushy clubmoss” seems to be used more often.
Bushy Clubmoss is small, usually 20-30cm tall, although they are known to grow larger. They often have a straight central stem where branchlets covered by small scaly leaves sprout from, somewhat resembling miniature pine trees. They are thought to be structurally similar to the earliest vascular plants. They really do look like they are from another time.
Resources and references
Heathy Parrot Pea
Dillwynia retorta
“A small, spreading shrub to 1m high”. – NPOS p.78
While revisiting the Prickly Moses I was reminded of a plant that I’d been unable to identify at the time. After some searching I think it’s a Heathy Parrot Pea, Dillwynia retorta.
I wish I’d kept notes on exactly where it was found but It’s clear it’s a pea of some sort from the non symmetrical yellow flowers. The short prickly leaves narrow it down, but it’s the twist in the leaves that is observable is some parts of the photo that make me think it’s the Heathy Parrot Pea.
The Heathy Parrot Pea is one of the commonest pea shrubs in the Sydney area. It’s found in heath or woodland growing on sandstone. It’s leaves are about 10mm long, prickly and with a twist in them. Flowers are non symmetrical, yellow with some red parts ( hard to see in my photo )
This one was growing next to and intertwined with a Prickly Moses, it was only that they had different flowers that made me realise they were 2 different plants.
Resources and references