maxcampbell's Identifications

Only seen in one location in traversing a fair bit of this headland grassland. The dense cover of Lomandra longifolia, Poa labillardierei and Carex longebrachiata is not very conducive to the persistence of small forbs like this one.

Budding, flowering and fruiting. The 4th photo shows a browse line about 1m above the ground, which was probably made by Swamp Wallabies, but in places I saw higher browsing, possibly from the resident naturalised emu population, or deer.

Easily mistaken for P. capitellata which has the flowers in dense terminal heads like this and also lives in highish elevation bogs (c. 880m in this case). However, this plant has the leaf margins incurved, not recurved, so has to be P. dentata. The ovary/fruit is hairy all over and lots of overlapping bracts are present which help to key it to this species.

Just one seedling of about 50cm height in Allocasuarina nana heath at 1120m elevation, burnt in 2020. No sign of flowering yet, but I am confident of the ID as the leaf shape is distinctive and matches flowering or fruiting photos I have of this species. Persoonia silvatica is common in the area in both heath and forest, P. asperula less so.

Area burnt in 2020. Seedlings generally fairly common in areas of Allocasuarina nana heath, but in this particular spot, despite the presence of big old fire-killed plants with plenty of cones, we found almost no seedlings, the small one in photo 2 being the only one, and it obviously quite young. Seedlings that came up soon after the fire are around 1/2-1 metre now. I suspect Phytophthora is to blame for the lack of surviving regen of this species, Banksia being generally a susceptible genus. There was ample indication of Phytophthora presence in this area with many dead and dying plants of a wide range of species.

This delicate little Purple Flag is the common species on skeletal gravelly soils over granite in this area, although I did also spot a few sericea sericea (non-flowering) and P. fragilis around the edge of a boggy drainage line. The 2nd photo shows the long hairs on the leaf edge which tend to point inwards, which are diagnostic. The 3rd photo shows evidence of prolific flowering in the 3rd summer post-fire.

Inflorescence about the same length as the leaves and seeds red, whole plant only about 50cm high. I'm used to seeing this species around montane bog margins, so was not expecting it in this very dry (normally) situation on skeletal soils in heath. Site burnt in 2020.

Lots present, and including the biggest plants of this species I have ever seen (photo 2), but some sick (photo 3) or dead, probably due to Phytophthora, of which there was plenty of other evidence, with many plant species appearing affected. The plant in the 1st photo has some open fruits on it, suggesting it flowered, probably for the 1st time in the previous summer, at c. 3 years after the 2020 fires.

Only found one plant with a couple of flowers out of c. 200 plants we saw in a walk of c. 4km (not all of it through suitable Allocasuarina nana heath habitat). Some plants sick or dead, probably from Phytophthora. No sign on the larger plants of any previous flowering since they would have germinated after the 2020 fires. Plants can resprout, but are most likely new recruits post-fire since the heath was extremely thick and tall pre-fire. In 2017 all we found of this species was 6 plants on a track edge.

Flowering and fruiting at c. 3 years after the 2020 fires. The flowering plant has a reddish tinge, which is probably ill health due to the presence of Phytophthora in the area. We found quite a lot of dead and dying plants in various susceptible genera such as Banksia, and the A. nana looked a bit off in spots. Some non-resprouting lignotubers present (photo 3), probably because the plants had died of old age pre-fire. This area appeared long unburnt when I first visited it in 2017. Almost no A. nana seedlings were seen despite plenty of cones on the burnt plants and lots of rain since the fires; the main fire response is resprouting.

Location is approximate. Only saw a small patch of this wattle. No buds etc available, but the phyllode is distinctive in having a single midrib and penniveins, plus the single gland near the base is faintly attached to the midrib. I also checked A. kydrensis and A. myrtifolia and neither of those have this feature (plus my photos of them were not very similar to this). The phyllode shape is very variable in penninervis, but the NSW Flora does show this broad shape as being one option for it. Growing among rock outcrops above the Tuross River.

Plants about 1.2m high in the scrub along the edge of the firebreak. The 3rd photo is a dwarfed plant in the slashed area, but still managing to flower and fruit. There has probably been much less frequent slashing since the drought broke in 2020 and the threat of fire has been minimal.