March 17th, 2008 david
Today’s plant photo is of Hemigenia purpurea growing and flowering on the woodcourt road firetrail in Berowra Valley Regional Park. This lamiaceous plant is common around Sydney and one of the few species in flower in early summer.
Somewhat strangely, Sydney’s bushland seems dormant over the summer period and there is little to be seen in the summer heat. That said, its a time of great insect diversity so the bush is full of spiders and insectivorous birds.
Hemigenia purpurea is a short (to ~ 40 cm) herbaceous plant with terete (needle-shaped) leaves. Despite the needle-like shape of the leaves, the leaf-ends are soft and not sharp. The species is part of the small genus Hemigenia which includes ~ 40 species, all of which are native to Australia. New South Wales hosts just two Hemigenia species, H. purpurea and Hemigenia cuneifolia. The genus is part of the mint family: Lamiaceae.
Posted in Berowra Valley Regional Park, Lamiaceae, blog | 1 Comment »
February 20th, 2008 david
It’s Nicole’s birthday today and Connor rewarded her with a largely sleepless night last night. A friend of ours, Richard, is visiting and we’ll probably head out to a pub for some birthday lunchage.
Today’s photo (I know I’ve been slack this month!) is of Prostanthera lasianthos, a relatively uncommon Prostanthera species, at least in Sydney. In some situations this Prostanthera can reach 10 metres in height, making it the largest “mint bush” (the common name for this group of plants). Prostanthera lasianthos occurs south from Brisbane along the NSW coastline, through Victoria and to the eastern coast of Tasmania. I’ve only seen one individual in Berowra Valley, but presumably there are more in the moister gullies where I do less walking.
The species is an excellent garden plant and is amenable to pruning to achieve a shorter, denser growth habit. It is one of the parents of the relatively well known Prostanthera “Poorinda Ballerina”, a prolificly flowering hybrid that grows to 1-2 metres in height. Prostanthera is part of family Lamiaceae.
Posted in Berowra Valley Regional Park, Lamiaceae, blog | 2 Comments »
January 10th, 2008 david
Today’s plant photo is of Prostanthera striatiflora, growing and flowering in the Mt Annan Botanic Garden in Sydney’s south west. The species is known as the Jockey’s Cap or Striped Mint and is a perrenial shrub with an open erect habit. This species grows to 2 metres in height, though plants of 1 metre are more common in the arid natural habitat. In NSW, P. striatiflora is widespread in the more arid areas in the west of the state (west from Round Hill Nature Reserve). This species also occurs in arid regions of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
In gardens in coastal areas the species is relatively hardy, though good drainage is critical. Grafted plants, when available, are better choices in areas of high rainfall. The species responds well to pruning in Autumn in order to maintain a more compact habit.
The genus Prostanthera contains ~90 species, known collectively as mintbushes. The genus is endemic to Australia and is part of family Lamiaceae.
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December 16th, 2007 david
It has been a very busy weekend. We spent much of it away from home. On Saturday we attended a rolling lunch at my parents house to enable some of my extended family to meet Connor. We had a Xmas party to attend in Petersham on Sunday, so we spent Saturday night in Summer Hill. Nik and I managed to slip out for lunch at Plunge Cafe in Summer Hill. This place had great food and I recommend it. Surprisingly, given the broken nature of our weekend, Connor slept reasonably (but not perfectly) on both days. Here’s me hoping he slips back into his normal routine.
Today’s plant photo is of Westringia eremicola growing in the sparse woodland at Abercrombie caves. This species is not common close to the coast, but makes up a significant part of the understorey at Abercrombie Caves. Known as the Slender Westringia, or Slender native rosemary the species resembles a sparsely leaved rosemary in shape and height. The flowers of this species closely resemble the more common, and widely cultivated, W. fruticosa (coastal rosemary). W. eremicola occurs in NSW, Qld, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. The species is sometimes available in nurseries — particularly specialist native nurseries — and is a drought hardy garden plant with few problems.
The genus Westringea contains ~25 species all of which are endemic to Australia. The genus is part of the mint family, Lamiaceae.
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July 11th, 2007 david
I caught the train into work today and walked from and to the station. The walking takes ~40 minutes while the travel and waiting for the train takes an hour or so. All up it’s considerably longer than the 35 minute drive to work, but it is something different I could manage a few days a week.
This photo was taken in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney in January 2006. It’s an unknown (to me) Salvia species from the family Lamiaceae (mint) family. The flowers in question have strangely hairy upper lips and a beautiful deep purple colour in real life that the camera failed to capture. The flowers were frequently visited by insects including a number of blue-banded bees (Amegilla spp.) that I failed (despite my best efforts) to photograph.
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