#1263-1268 - Cue Plants, and Idiot Drhoz
#1263 - Eucalyptus striaticalyx - Cue-York Gum
An interesting species of eucalypt, that grows almost exclusively on the calcrete and gypsum-rich kopi ridges around salt lakes, and surrounds itself with mulch made from its own bark. On satellite images of the area (Lake Austin near Cue) each tree is surrounded by a neat circle of mulch.
Lake Austin nr Cue
#1264 - Marselia sp. - Nardoo
aka ‘Water Clover’
A remarkably dense growth of Nardoo around the old railway dam near Cue - our host had never seen so much of it there before.
Marsilea is a genus of approximately 65 species of aquatic fern, named after Italian naturalist Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1656-1730). They hardly resemble ferns at all, The long-stalked leaves have four clover-like lobes and are either held above water or submerged.
The sporocarps of some Australian species are very drought-resistant, surviving up to a century in dry conditions. When wet, the gelatinous interior of the sporocarp swells, splitting it and releasing a worm-like mass that carries sori, eventually leading to germination of spores and fertilization.
Some species are edible - the leaves of Marsilea crenata are part of the East Javanese cuisine of Indonesia, and called Pecel Semanggi. It’s served with spicy peanut and sweet potato sauce. In Australia, the sporocarps of species including Marsilea drummondii are eaten by Aborigines and early white settlers. However, the sporocarps contain an enzyme which destroys thiamine (vitamin B1), leading to brain damage in sheep and horses. During floods in the Gwydir River basin 2,200 sheep died after eating nardoo. Three-quarters of the sheep that were affected did however respond to thiamine injections.Thiamine deficiency from incorrectly prepared nardoo likely resulted in the starvation and death of Burke and Wills.
They also make interesting aquarium plants.
#1265 - Lawrencia helmsii - Dunna-dunna
By far the strangest native plant I’ve ever seen - and to make it even stranger, it’s in the Hibiscus family. Dunna Dunna grows on dry, rocky gypsum and calcrete soils in the midwest regions of Western Australia. These tend to be mineral-enriched, clayey, saline, basic soils (pH abouts 8.0), often on or around rocky rises and saline and gypsum flats. Unsurprising, there was a LOT of it just down the slope from the Cue-York Gums, along the shore of Lake Austin.
The woody stems are covered in a densely packed rosettes of tiny leaves, and hundreds of tiny flowers in season.
There’s 12 other species in the genus - some of them are nearly as odd.
#1266 - Eremophila fraseri - Burra or Jilarnu
A member of the Scrophulariaceae, endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with all above-ground parts of the plant, apart from the petals, sticky and shiny due to the presence of a large amount of resin. The petals are coloured white, cream, pink and brown.
The branches are black because of extensive growth of sooty mould.
This one was fairly common around the campsite at Dairy Wells, and the only species that had any younger plants coming up - whatever had gnawed the rest of the area down to bare red mud apparently didn’t like this Poverty Bush.
#1267 - Pittosporum angustifolium - Weeping Pittosporum
AKA Butterbush, Cattle Bush, Native Apricot, Gumbi Gumbi, Cumby Cumby, Meemeei and Berrigan. A resilient desert tree, occasionally up to 10m high, and living up to a century. The bright orange fruit can stay on the trees for years, too.
Extracts of the plant have been used in the treatment of eczema, pruritus, internal pains, skin irritations, sprained limbs, and colds. A compress of warmed leaves is said to induce milk flow in new mothers. Of course, they say that sort of thing about a lot of plants. It also produces a chewable gum.
#1268 - Solanum lasiophyllum - Flannel Bush
One of Australia’s wide variety of tomato, potato and nightshade relatives, found across much of the drier parts of WA, and into South Australia. It’s managed to expand its range too, probably along the sides of roads. That’s where I found this one, on the long drive up to Cue, and also where I discovered that the fucking thing is covered in long needle-sharp spines. Which admittedly explains how a plant with such soft-looking foliage survives, in a country where the kangaroos will eat anything.
There may be some 1500 species of Solanum worldwide, and the genus contains more species than any other in the Solanaceae family, and is one of the largest genera among the angiosperms. Since the genus includes the tomato, the potato, eggplants, the tamarillo and the naranjilla, among other important vegetables, it shouldn’t be surprising that Australia has edible ‘bush tomatoes’ as well. That said, most species (including the vegetables) are poisonous in one way or another, especially the green parts.
Also common around Cue.