Plant of the Month – Rainforest Pop Ups
Regular readers of “The Scoop” will be familiar with the Hunter Rainforest Revival Project and the great work that’s being done to restore some of the lower Hunter’s Rainforest. Most will also be familiar with rainforests as being moist with closed canopies and having some evolutionarily old species. But did you know there are rainforest plant species that are found in often semi-arid environments? Or that alternatively, there are plants from hot, dry climates that are growing happily in rainforests?
This month we’ll look at some plants which can be found in both rainforest communities and drier, more exposed sites.
Denhamia sylvestris Orange Bush. A shrub to about 4 metres, leaves about 4-5cm long and 0.8-1cm wide, alternately arranged with orange bell shaped fruit about 0.8-1cm long x 0.5cm wide, splitting to reveal a single blackish seed, fruiting time March, seeds should be sown fresh and germinate after about 7 weeks.
Pandorea pandorana Wonga Wonga vine. One of our more spectacular native vines, common across many vegetation communities, a vigorous vine which may require pruning in cultivation, the adult leaves have 3 to 7 leaflets and the flowers are tubular, with purple markings in the throat. Fresh seeds germinate readily, but without correct storage, viability declines rapidly.
Geijera parviflora Wilga, along with the closely related Brush Wilga (Geijera salicifolia – generally distinguished by leaf width, less than 1cm for the G. parviflora) can be found in woodlands, thickets and dry rainforest with Geijera salicifolia more often found closer to the coast. Members of the Rutaceae (citrus) family, they have white flowers with 4 petals and 4 stamens, crushed leaves have a slight peppery scent. The small green fruit split to reveal a hard black seed. Germination is tricky with the hard black seed coat needing to be removed and even then, germination rates can be poor.
Red Ash (Alphitonia excelsa). Getting to fairly spectacular sizes in coastal areas the Red Ash grows to a moderate size tree (10-15m) in the Upper Hunter where it’s generally found in sheltered sandstone areas or on hilltops where the frosts don’t affect them. A very attractive tree with soft leaves that are glossy green above and almost white underneath. A blackish fruit which cracks open to reveal 2 seeds, hot water treatment improves germination.
Photo courtesy: Paul Melehan.