Download Ocean Shores Public School Wetland Twenty five plants you will find

References
Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney Australia (2009). New South Wales Flora online, National Herbarium of
New South Wales. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/,accessed: 27/10/2009.
Brisbane Rainforest Action and Information Network – Brisbane Rainforest Plants
www.brisrain.webcentral.com.au
Noosa’s Native Plants www.noosanativeplants.com.au
For further information contact:
WetlandCare Australia
PO Box 114 Ballina NSW 2478
T: (02) 6681 6169
E: [email protected]
W: www.wetlandcare.com.au
WetlandCare Australia: Working to protect, promote and restore wetlands since 1991
www.wetlandcare.com.au
Ocean Shores Public
School Wetland
Twenty five plants you will
find along your nature
trail
Index
Common Name
Snake Vine
Austral
sarsaparilla or
Barbed wire vine
Cockspur Thorn
Whip Vine
Spike Rush
Common Reed
Soft Tree Fern
Tall Saw-Sedge
Tussock Sedge
Swamp Water
Fern
Cunjevoi
Native Violet
Swamp
Mahogany
Macaranga
Brown Kurrajong
Tuckeroo
Weeping
Bottlebrush
Swamp Oak
Hoop Pine
Bangalow Palm
Weeping Lilly
Pilly
Cabbage Palm
Broad-leaved
Paperbark
Sandpaper Fig
Bird’s Nest fern
Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium australasicum)
Page
3
Scientific name
Stephania japonica
Plant Type
Vine
Smilax australis
Maclura cochinchinensis
Flagellaria indica
Lepironia articulata
Phragmites australis
Dicksonia antarctica
Gahnia clarkei
Carex appressa
Vine
Vine
Vine
Rush
Grass
Fern
Sedge
Sedge
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Blechnum indicum
Alocasia brisbanensis
Viola hederacea
Fern
Herb
Herb
12
13
14
Eucalyptus robusta
Macaranga tanarius
Commersonia bartramia
Cupaniopsis
anacardioides
Tree
Shrub
Shrub
15
16
17
Tree
18
Callistemon viminalis
Casuarina glauca
Araucaria cunninghamii
Archontophoenix
cunninghamiana
Tree
Tree
Tree
19
20
21
Palm
22
Waterhousea floribunda
Livistona australis
Shrub
Palm
23
24
Melaleuca quinquenervia
Ficus coronata
Asplenium australasicum
Tree
Tree
Epiphyte
25
26
27
 This plant is called a Bird’s Nest Fern because it resembles a bird’s
nest. It doesn’t have seeds in pods, but produces spores under its
leaves. Can grow in trees (as an epiphyte) or on the ground.
 Collects water and plant matter in the centre of the “nest” to feed itself
and provide a growing medium for the root system of the fern. Its
fronds can reach 2 m long.
Look for me: attached to the trunk of larger trees along the nature trail.
p.27
Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata)
Snake Vine (Stephania japonica)
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The Sandpaper Fig is a tree 6–12 m tall.
The new growth is hairy. The succulent oval fruit is around 1.5 cm
long and covered in dense hairs.
The fruit is edible.
Feel its leaves, they actually feel like sandpaper.
Grows along river banks and gullies.
Ficus coronata serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the
Queensland butterfly the Common or Purple Moonbeam (Philiris
innotatus).
Other animals which use this plant for food include the Australasian
Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti), Green Catbird (Ailuroedus
crassirostris), Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus), Grey-headed
Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus).
A popular story is that the fig's leaves were used as sandpaper for
polishing wood or turtle shells by indigenous people.
A climber with slender stems without prickles.
Flowers from September through summer.
Leaves and berries were crushed to poison fish.
Fruit is an orange berry.
Look for me: entwining up through the forest canopy.
Look for me: my rough leaves feel like my common name “Sandpaper”.
p.26
p.3
Austral sarsaparilla (Smilax australis)
Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
 Smilax australis is a robust thorny climber.
 It has prickly climbing stems that are up to 8 m long with coiled
tendrils up to 20 cm long.
 When ripe the fruits are black berries with hard shiny seeds.
 This is sometimes called Wait-A-While Vine because if you get caught
up in its spikes, it is difficult to get out!
 Flowers are greenish-white.
 Leaves make medicinal tea and the fruits are edible.
 Melaleuca stems from two Greek words relating to the trees’
appearance: melas, meaning black and leucon, meaning white.
 Paperbarks like wet feet (they can tolerate wet, swampy conditions).
 If you hold a leaf up to the light you can see its shiny oil glands. You
can then crush it to smell the aromatic oils.
 The flower spikes are made up of creamy, sometimes greenish
flowers which appear in autumn and winter. The woody fruits are 4-5
mm in diameter and contain many tiny seeds that are easy to collect
and grow.
 Paperbarks are known for making productive soil called peat.
 The bark peels off in strips and has many uses ranging from wrapping
food for cooking and water storage, to making bandages and
compostable raincoats.
 The nectar-rich blossoms can be soaked in water making a sweet
drink or tea.
 Used to treat symptoms of colds, flu and sinusitis by chewing the
leaves or inhaling the steam from boiling or burning the leaves.
Look for me: climbing up through the trees but
be careful as I am really prickly.
Look for me: my whitish papery bark is like many fine sheets of tissue
paper stuck together.
p.4
p.25
Cabbage Tree Palm (Livistona australis)
Cockspur Thorn (Maclura cochinchinensis)
 A beautiful native palm species with fan-shaped leaves that can grow
into a large tree up to 30 m high.
 The fruits are small hard black berries. They take a long time to ripen,
and take a long time to germinate.
 The growing tip, known as a ‘cabbage’, was eaten either uncooked or
roasted by Aborigines and early settlers. However, harvesting of this
tip kills the plant because it cannot regrow from another point.
 Used by Aborigines for making baskets and shelter. The fibrous bark
was used to make fishing lines.
 Flower spikes are cream-white in colour and it flowers between
December and February.
 A woody shrub which can form a thicket with fierce thorny spines and
oval small leaves.
 The orange fruits are produced generously, on the female plants, in
February.
 The fruit are delicious to people and birds.
 An excellent, dense bird shelter.
 Broken leaves and twigs ooze milky sap.
Look for me: climbing over other plants with my long spines.
Look for me: high in the canopy with my fan-shaped leaves.
p.24
p.5
Whip Vine (Flagellaria indica)
Weeping Lilly Pilly (Waterhousea floribunda)
 Robust perennial climber with stems which flower from spring to
autumn.
 Used by Aborigines to make fish traps and other strong baskets.
 Used as bush medicine: young shoots and buds crushed and mixed
with water to relieve sore throats, toothache and chest complaints.
 Aborigines used the roots as a source of water.
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Look for me: climbing with long leaves up towards
the canopy.
A medium to large tree growing to approximately 15 m in height.
Shiny green leaves with dense canopy.
The new growth leaves are often a pink/purple colour.
Clusters of small, perfumed white flowers appear from August to
October.
 The fruit, when ripened is pink and edible – yum!
Look for me: I’m the tree with wavy, shiny dark green leaves.
p.6
p.23
Grey Rush/Spike Rush (Lepironia articulata)
Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana)
 This palm has a violet flower and red fruits which are attractive to
birds. It flowers in mid-summer and has evergreen foliage.
 It is ‘self-cleaning’ - it sheds its old leaves and flowers regularly.
 Bangalow palms can grow up to and over 20 m tall and can grow
quickly, up to 1 m per year.
 It has become a weed overseas where it has been used as an
ornamental plant.
 They like more water than most palms which is why they are found in
our wetland.
 A large, rush-like, grey-green coloured plant.
 Habitat for the endangered fish, the Oxleyan Pygmy Perch.
Look for me: around the edge of the deeper ponds.
Look for me: along the edge of the nature trail.
p.22
p.7
Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii)
Common Reed (Phragmites australis)
 Phragmites: from the Greek phragma (a hedge) and -ites (resembling)
 Can live in a lot of water and has a funny flower head that looks like a
sausage on a stick.
 Grows in wet places especially at the edge of ponds and streams, and
in tidal waters.
 Can be grazed by livestock.
 Binds river banks and prevents erosion.
 Stems used by Aborigines for making bags, baskets, thatching and
mats.
 Butterfly host plant and habitat for wildlife.
 Bark is rough and circular with “hoop” markings. The leaves cluster at
the end of the branches. It produces cones which take about 18
months to mature and then release nut-like edible seeds.
 This tree can grow to 50 m high and live up to 450 years!
 Brisbane city was once a dense hoop pine rainforest. The wood is a
high quality timber and is now found mainly in plantations.
 The resin was used by Aborigines as cement.
Look for me: before you enter the trail on the right hand side.
Look for me: in the deeper ponds.
p.8
p.21
Swamp Oak (Casuarina glauca)
Soft Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica)
 A large tree with distinctive needle-like foliage which is in fact its
branches. The leaves are minute teeth located at various intervals
along the branches.
 There are male and female trees; female trees have small tuft-like red
flowers and male trees have small rusty coloured flowers at the ends
of the branches. The fruit is a round, knobbly woody capsule, and its
seeds are pale brown with a broad papery tail.
 It drops the leaves into a dense mat beneath itself so that nothing can
grow there and steal its food and water.
 Canoes were made from the thick fibrous bark of several species,
carefully cut away in whole sheets.
 Tree ferns are some of the most ancient trees on the planet, they
have been around for millions of years (365 million apparently).
 These ferns can grow to 15 m in height, but more typically grow to
about 4.5-5 m, and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk.
 The large, dark green, roughly textured fronds spread in a canopy of
2-6 m in diameter.
 The very hairy "trunk" of this fern is the decaying remains of earlier
growth of the plant. It forms a medium through which the roots grow
and it can also be host for a range of epiphytic plants including other
ferns and mosses.
 The fern grows 3.5 to 5 cm per year and produces spores at the age
of about 20 years.
Look for me: larger swamp oaks are throughout the trail.
Look for me: in the first straight stretch of the trail on the right hand
side.
p.20
p.9
Tall Saw-sedge (Gahnia clarkei)
 This plant is commonly called Razor Grass! Be careful if you run
your fingers up a saw sedge leaf edge; it will cut you, that is why it is
called saw-sedge.
 Can grow up to 2 m high and is easily recognised by its large seed
head and orange to red nuts.
 It is a popular plant for small birds which use it for nesting or to hide
from predators. It is also commonly a food plant for caterpillars
which then become butterflies.
 Aborigines used to make flour from the seeds.
Weeping Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)
 This bottlebrush is widely planted in backyards. Do you have one in
yours?
 Look for its bright red flower spikes between September and
December.
 Bottlebrush flowers are like lollies for birds such as parrots and honey
eaters – they are very rich in nectar.
 Weeping Bottlebrush grows 5 to 7 m tall and is common along
watercourses.
Look for me: dotted along the edge of the wetland.
Look for me: on the first sharp bend of the trail on the right hand side,
and through our wetland.
p.10
Photo: Adam Gosling
p.19
Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis anacardioides)
Tussock Sedge (Carex appressa)
 A common medium-sized tree with large oblong leaflets that have a
notch at the tip and cream flowers in winter.
 The fruit capsule is brownish-yellow and three-lobed with a large
black seed in each lobe. When ripe, the capsule opens up to reveal
the seed enclosed in a bright red covering.
 Yellow-orange berries are edible.
 Fruit ripens from October to December, attracting many birds
including Australasian Figbirds, Olive-backed Orioles and Pied
Currawongs.
 A fire retardant tree, it does not burn easily, so prevents hot,
damaging bushfires. It is called a Tuckeroo because it provided bush
tucker to the Aborigines.
 This sedge looks a bit like grass and loves to have “wet feet”. It is very
hardy and has fine serrations along the edges of the leaf blades that
can cut your finger.
 Mini-habitat for frogs to hide in.
 Important habitat for the endangered Grass Owl, who nest
underneath them.
 Flowers in spring to summer.
Look for me: on the left hand side of the first straight stretch of the trail,
low down on the ground.
Look for me: throughout the wetland and on the edge of the wetland. I
am a common plant of the area.
p.18
p.11
Swamp Water Fern (Blechnum indicum)
Brown Kurrajong (Commersonia bartramia)
 One of the only ferns in Australia that likes water.
 The endangered Wallum Sedge Frog (Litoria olongburensis) lives in
these ferns.
 Rhizomes roasted and used by Aborigines as a staple food.
 A small tree or shrub, with twigs that have numerous white, small
corky pores.
 The fruit is a brown, hairy capsule covered with soft bristles splitting
into five segments.
 Aborigines made a fibre from the bark of this plant for use in fish and
kangaroo netting.
 It is sometimes called scrub christmas tree due to the masses of white
flowers which appear around late December and make the plant look
like it has snow-covered branches.
 Food for the Peacock Jewel butterfly.
Look for me: in amongst the undergrowth throughout the wetland.
Look for me: on the edge of the wetland.
p.17
p.12
Macaranga (Macaranga tanarius)
Cunjevoi (Alocasia brisbanensis)
 This plant has large heart-shaped leaves and is sometimes called
Bullocks Heart.
 Greenish cream flowers and green capsule fruit.
 Birds eat the ripe fruit and Macaranga are a butterfly host plant.
 Aborigines used the leaves to wrap food, as wood for fishing spears
and twine was made from the bark.
 This plant has large shiny spade-shaped leaves which are soft green
in colour. It is an understorey plant and can grow to 1.5 m.
 It flowers in early summer with yellow-green flowers, which are
fragrant with a strong rose-like scent. Red fruits follow the flowering
which are juicy and sweet smelling, but contain a highly toxic alkaloid.
 The flower part of the Cunjevoi is very poisonous - it was crushed and
used by aborigines to poison fish. When well-cooked however it is
possible to eat the plant – it is related to Taro.
Look for me: on the edge of the wetland.
Look for me: there are many Cunjevoi on either side of the trail after the
crossing.
p.16
p.13
Native Violet (Viola hederacea)
Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta)
 The Australian native violet is a creeping, evergreen perennial,
growing no more than 10 cm in height with beautiful dainty little purple
flowers.
 It flowers in spring and summer and spreads widely into a dense mat.
 The leaves are bright green in colour and kidney-shaped.
 Prefers a cool and shady position. It grows best in consistently moist
soil.
 The flowers are edible and make a wonderful addition to a salad.
 Important food for koalas and also used for timber and honey
production.
 Grows to a height of between 20-35 m tall with a red-brown bark
which is rough in texture. The flowers are white.
 It is an extremely fast-growing tree which can tolerate moderate
salinity (saltiness).
 The wood is used in construction in wet areas and it is durable and
resistant to marine borers.
 Occurs in swamps and alongside estuaries in a narrow coastal strip,
usually within a few kilometres of the ocean.
Look for me: covering the ground on the left hand side of the first
stretch of the trail.
Look for me: past the water crossing on the right hand side there is a
very tall Swamp Mahogany.
p.15
p.14