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Wanted: Nati local with good native plant ID skill

Pat

9-Oct-2013
7:25:54 PM

Noticed an interesting plant on a recent trip to Araps. Wanted to chat with a local who was pretty good at native plant ID.

Superstu

9-Oct-2013
8:03:29 PM

post pic?

IdratherbeclimbingM9

9-Oct-2013
9:42:49 PM

Not this?
(kieranl's find)...

... or Eduardo's dreaded Caltrop?
(sorry, no picture.)

ajfclark

9-Oct-2013
9:45:33 PM

Keith Lockwood and Louise Shephard seemed pretty excited about some of the flowers out there one day recently.

Pat

10-Oct-2013
7:37:20 AM

No picture unfortunately. I know most of the main natives that you see up there, but there was a single very unusual plant that I had absolutely no idea what family it was let alone a genus or species. Got a contact for Keith or Louise?

ajfclark

10-Oct-2013
7:39:42 AM

I've dropped Keith an email for you.

Pat

10-Oct-2013
7:52:05 AM

Ta

kuu

10-Oct-2013
7:58:43 AM

One plant I've seen at Arapiles that (I feel) meets your description of "Unusual" is Psilotum nudum, or Skeleton Fork Fern. There's a sizeable patch near the left end of Bushranger Bluff Back Wall and smallish clumps on other cliffs at the Mount.

In the drier environment of Arapiles the plant is often yellow / orange in colour but in more temperate Sydney, places like Cherrybrook, it can be an attractive bright greenish colour.

Link to Wikipedia item: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilotum_nudum

Pat

10-Oct-2013
8:44:05 AM

Yep I've seen that in places. This is a large (2m high) biennial looking thing that I cant place in any of the main family or genus groups that I know. In a former life I was a horticulturist and have a reasonably good working native knowledge.

Its possible that its a weed, but again - I've seen plenty of weeds in bush and never seen anything like this - the thing with plants, there is always something new to learn.

ajfclark

10-Oct-2013
6:26:57 PM

PMed you Pat.

Capt_mulch

10-Oct-2013
6:28:26 PM

It looks like a fern to me, but I can't find any Australian genera that look like it. It's hard to find any species lists for Western Victoria either. Could be a garden escape. Skeleton Fork Fern is found all over the Pacific. This one could be a drifter too.

Pat

10-Oct-2013
9:37:11 PM

Thanks Mulchy, but the pic is from Rod not me.

kieranl

10-Oct-2013
10:03:11 PM

On 10/10/2013 Pat wrote:
>Thanks Mulchy, but the pic is from Rod not me.
That pic's Dicksonia Antarctica which is not at all rare, but it's survival in a couple of small pockets at Arapiles is quite remarkable. The locations I've seen it in are Dreadnought gully and the exit gully from Eagle Cleft. There's possibly also some more in one or two other spots on left side central gully.

Capt_mulch

11-Oct-2013
6:32:10 AM

Good one. We needed a photo of the trunk too. The pith at the top of the trunk is edible if you get really stuck...

grangrump

11-Oct-2013
11:30:39 PM

On 11/10/2013 Capt_mulch wrote:
> The pith at the top of the trunk is edible if you get really stuck...
killing the plant obviously...

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