Day in the Mountains

Field Trip, ,

We took a day trip up to the mountains to visit the Mt Tomar Botanic Gardens and the Zig Zag Railway.

We took the Bells line of road to the Gardens, it was wet and cold but we got the raincoats on and still managed to have a good time. The kids apriciated the run around after being in the car for so long.

The Zig Zag railway was a bit of an adventure. We rode on the steam train, it’s a beautiful engine and the volunteers running it seemed pretty proud. Not long after we departed the train went into a tunnel, it was pitch black in the carriage for a good minute or two. Will was on my lap not not making a peep. When we came back into the light he looked a bit traumatized. It was a leisurely trip to the bottom of the hill with one stop to change direction on the zig. I took Will off between showers to see the steam engine but it was too late for him. I think the dark tunnel, sitting cramped in the carriage and the lack of day sleep took it’s toll and he lost it. He was wailing for mummy, and then when I got him back he kept saying “no moor, no moor, back car”. Then we found out that the steam engine had broken down and we would have to wait for the diesel rail motor to come down and rescue us. Will was really making a scene, we bought the cafe dry of milk, that satisfied him a bit.

It was a quick trip up once the diesel arrived then back into the car for the long trip home.

Mt Tomar Boardwalk
Jess and Will having fun in the rain
Jess at Mt Tomar
Jess at the mt Tomar Gardens
Family at Mt Tomar
Posed picture in the rain
The trip back
Rescue and relief. The trip back up the hill in the rail motor

Unknown Bugs

Animals, ,

[update Nov-2015] Finally worked out that these are Gum Tree Shield Bugs

These bugs were on a tree in the wildflower gardens. I’ve been trying to work out what they are. What bug is that looks comprehensive and has a good bug identification tool but I’ve been unsuccessful so far.

They’re quite distinctive looking, part of my problem is describing it in a way that someone who knows this bug would write about it. I found out entomology is very specialized and has a whole language of it’s own!

Tree bug
What is this?
Tree bugs
Whatever they are they like to hang out in packs. Check out the crusty one just below my thumb nail.

Gymea Lily

Plants, , , ,

Doryanthus excelsa

“A colossal leafy herb with stiff flowering stem 3-4m tall bearing a dense cluster of large red flowers” – NPOS p.226

The Gymea lily is exotic looking with it’s huge sword like leaves radiating from it’s base and the towering stem with large flower on top. It’s a popular garden plant, and impressive that it’s naturally occurring in the area. I can’t remember every having seen one outside of peoples gardens though.

Compare the NSW excelsa with the Queensland palmeri, so similar, yet having the flowers grow all the up the stem really sets them apart.

The stems and roots of the Gymea Lily are edible and were consumed by Aborigines.

Gymea Lily
Gymea Lily in the gardens outside the office
Gymea Lily Flower Head
The flower head of another Gymea Lily outside the office

Giant Spear Lily ( Gymea Lily )

Plants, , , , ,

Doryanthes palmeri

“[The] Giant Spear Lily is a large, succulent herb which grows as a rosette. It’s hairless leaves are sword–shaped, and up to 3 m long and 20 cm wide” – Atlas of Living Australia

Gymea Lilies are spectacular, especially when they are in flower. The plant is on a colossal scale, sword shaped leaved up to 2m long radiate from a point in the ground. When flowering they grow a thick spear up to 4m long from the center of the leaves with large vivid red flowers perched at the top.

This one had me sratching my head a bit, Gymea lillies are native to the Sydney area and are a common plant in residential gardens. But this individual growing just outside the office has a very different arangement of flowers on the spear from other Gymea Lillies in the area. Instead of one neat cluster at the very top of the spear, the flowers were sprouting form the sides starting about 2/3 of the way up all the way to the top.

After a bit of research it looks like this one is a Doryanthes palmeri, a native of Queensland and far north NSW, not the local variety which is Doryanthes excelsa. I’ll do a follow up post on the local Gymea Lily.

Giant Spear Lily
Giant Spear Lily near my office. It's about 4m high, see my camera case at the base for scale
Flowers on Giant Spear Lily
Flowers growing from the spear on the Giant Spear Lily
Giant Spear Lily Flowers
Giant Spear Lily Flowers Detail

 

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