 | Common name | Red-leg Grass |
Scientific name | Bothriochloa macra |
Family | Poaceae |
Relatives | Other grasses |
Habitat | Grassy forests, roadsides, paddocks |
Local example | Roadsides near Wyndham, Rocky Hall |
Notes | Seems to be able to withstand high grazing pressure in paddocks. Looks a lot like the comparatively rare (locally) Blue Grass, Dichanthium sericeum. |
 | Common name | Tick-trefoil |
Scientific name | Desmodium gunnii |
Family | Fabaceae |
Relatives | Peas and beans |
Habitat | Shady sites in forest |
Local example | Burragate |
Notes | Twining pea herb, with pods comprising sticky detachable segments (the 'ticks'). Recently split from D. varians, which has the stalk of the middle leaflet longer than that of the side leaflets, and is far less common. |
 | Common name | Hop Bush |
Scientific name | Dodonaea viscosa ssp angustifolia |
Family | Sapindaceae |
Relatives | Tamarind, Lychee, Tuckeroo, Rosewood |
Habitat | Forest, especially steep or rocky sites |
Local example | Burragate, under White Stringybark |
Notes | A tall shrub with shiny, 'varnished' leaves and winged papery fruit. D. viscosa is split into several subspecies; in this region we have ssp angustifolia, with narrow leaves and ssp spatulata, with broader spoon-shaped leaves. |
 | Common name | Willowherb |
Scientific name | Epilobium billardiereanum ssp cinereum |
Family | Onagraceae |
Relatives | Fuchsia, Evening Primrose (Oenothera) |
Habitat | Moist sites in grassland and forest |
Local example | Rocky Hall cemetery |
Notes | A perennial herb with small purple flowers followed by a long erect capsule which splits to release hairy seeds. One of about 5 species/sub-species of Epilobium in the region. |
 | Common name | Native Geranium |
Scientific name | Geranium solanderi |
Family | Geraniaceae |
Relatives | Other Geraniums, Pelargoniums |
Habitat | Forest, grassland, roadsides |
Local example | Rocky Hall cemetery |
Notes | Probably the most common and versatile of the local native Geraniums. Aborigines ate the roasted tubers of this species. |
 | Common name | Purple Twining Pea |
Scientific name | Glycine clandestina |
Family | Fabaceae |
Relatives | Soy bean (Glycine max), other peas/beans |
Habitat | Forest, grassland |
Local example | Burragate |
Notes | Very common in local forests, and bewilderingly variable in size and shape. The genus is currently under revision. |
 | Common name | Blue Howittia |
Scientific name | Howittia trilocularis |
Family | Malvaceae |
Relatives | Cotton, Kenaf, Mallow, Hibiscus, Abutilon |
Habitat | Forests |
Local example | Towamba River, Burragate |
Notes | A tall shrub, widespread but not common, often occurs on streambanks. It really hits its straps near Goodenia rainforest in Yurammie. Flowers are more purple than 'blue'. |
 | Common name | Slender Lagenophora, Bottle Daisy |
Scientific name | Lagenifera gracilis |
Family | Asteraceae |
Relatives | Daisies, sunflower, artichokes |
Habitat | Moist grassy forest |
Local example | Burragate, under River Peppermint |
Notes | More delicate relative of the better known Blue Bottle Daisy, Lagenifera stipitata, which has larger flowers and a hairy flower stalk. |
 | Common name | Hairy Panic |
Scientific name | Panicum effusum |
Family | Poaceae |
Relatives | Other grasses |
Habitat | Grassy forests, roadsides, paddocks |
Local example | Rocky Hall cemetery |
Notes | A native grass that persists under grazing. Characteristic broom-like sprays of new inflorescence, and very open seed heads which break off intact to be dispersed by wind. Often dominant on the windward side of fences. |
 | Common name | Slender Knotweed |
Scientific name | Persicaria decipiens |
Family | Polygonaceae |
Relatives | Docks (Rumex spp), Sorrel, Rhubarb, Buckwheat, Lignum |
Habitat | Streams and swamps |
Local example | Towamba River, Burragate |
Notes | Common riparian perennial, distinguishable from other Persicarias by the long spikes of pink flowers and dark blotch on each leaf. It is pictured with the white-flowered P. hydropiper. At Burragate it grows beside the river with the regionally uncommon Few-flowered Knotweed, P. praetermissa, with flowers that are white and, well, few in an open branched arrangement. |
 | Common name | Tiny Greenhood |
Scientific name | Pterostylis parviflora |
Family | Orchidaceae |
Relatives | Other orchids |
Habitat | Rock outcrops (locally) |
Local example | Yowaka, Towamba side |
Notes | P. parviflora is part of a species complex currently under revision. Pterostylis' are pollinated by gnats and mosquitoes, probably as they attempt to copulate with the flower. |
 | Common name | Seaberry Saltbush |
Scientific name | Rhagodia candolleana |
Family | Chenopodiaceae |
Relatives | Other saltbushes, bluebush, samphire, beetroot, silverbeet |
Habitat | Normally saline or sandy coastal sites |
Local example | Burragate, beside Towamba River |
Notes | Spreading shrub with dark green fleshy leaves, tiny flowers and little red edible berries. Normally a coastal species, there are small very unusual occurrences along the Towamba River which may have hitched a ride with migrating birds. |
 | Common name | Eastern Nightshade |
Scientific name | Solanum pungetium |
Family | Solanaceae |
Relatives | Tomato, Potato, Capsicum, Tobacco, Petunia, Cestrum |
Habitat | Eucalypt forest |
Local example | Burragate, under River Peppermint |
Notes | One of 2 common local Solanum shrubs with fierce looking spines on leaves and stems, and bearing tomato-like fruit. The other, S. prinophyllum, has glossier leaves and many more spines on the stems. |
 | Common name | Wild Sorghum |
Scientific name | Sorghum leiocladum |
Family | Poaceae |
Relatives | Other grasses, Grain Sorghum |
Habitat | Grassy woodland, forest |
Local example | Rocky Hall cemetery |
Notes | A handsome grass, with cute 'ballet skirts' of hairs around stem nodes. Often grows with Kangaroo Grass, and indicates low grazing pressure and relatively undisturbed grassy understorey. |
