The 6-mile TSR puts on a show
This post starts with some environmental politics, moves through a little local geography and ends with some pictures of interesting (to me) plants.
One of the features of NSW rural activity used to be the provision of reserves in which stock being driven (on hoof) could be spelled en route. Since trucking came in these reserves are not used much for that purpose - to prove this most of the (many) beer bottles found in them date from the 1960s or earlier. However as the agricultural areas have been cleared these reserves have become islands of remnant indigenous flora.
This Reserve is obviously 6 miles from somewhere but I am unsure where! It is about 5 miles from Bungendore and about 8 miles from Hoskinstown. However, delving into history, it might be 6 miles from the crossing of the Molonglo River, which was an important site back in the day.
Whatever: we saw some great plants there today.
Frances nailed our first-for-the-season Diuris pardina (Leopard Orchid) within about 5m of parking the car!
We then noted a lotta Craspedia variabilis (?sp)
Getting away from yellow things we came across some heaths. The first appears to be Lissanthe striga (Peach heath) which starts off peach-coloured but turns white.
This is far more advanced than the Lissanthe on our property about 12km away, but about the same elevation.
The second heath was Cryptandra amara floribunda (we think). Very delicate and pretty (and white).
There were heaps and heaps of daisies around. While they all appeared to be Leucochrysum albicans albicans var tricolore some were the white form and others the yellow. Here is a shot of them both together.
We finally spotted some peas. These were Bossiaea prostrata and earn 2 images due to the difficulty of getting the light correct!
One of the features of NSW rural activity used to be the provision of reserves in which stock being driven (on hoof) could be spelled en route. Since trucking came in these reserves are not used much for that purpose - to prove this most of the (many) beer bottles found in them date from the 1960s or earlier. However as the agricultural areas have been cleared these reserves have become islands of remnant indigenous flora.
This Reserve is obviously 6 miles from somewhere but I am unsure where! It is about 5 miles from Bungendore and about 8 miles from Hoskinstown. However, delving into history, it might be 6 miles from the crossing of the Molonglo River, which was an important site back in the day.
Whatever: we saw some great plants there today.
Frances nailed our first-for-the-season Diuris pardina (Leopard Orchid) within about 5m of parking the car!
The second heath was Cryptandra amara floribunda (we think). Very delicate and pretty (and white).
Comments
The TSRs are now highly political in northern NSW ass the Coal Seam Gas companies want to run pipes to the coast, and some farmers are recommending they go along the TSRs. That would mean bulldozong a 20 metre wide easement.
In otherwords, no more TSR, if that goes ahead.
The Nature Conservation Council is lobbying to protect the TSRs.
Back to your post.
I have seen Diuris pardina on Governors Hill at Goulburn - on yellow rocky hillside. That was in mid October, several years ago. It seems not to come this far east, or I haven't seen it.
Diuris chryseopsis just starting here. Nice.
Cheers
Denis
In this area the Reserves are not linear (the stock were driven on the roads) and wouldn't provide a high proportion of the pipeline route. The reserves are under threat from being sold off, probably to the local landholders (who currently lease many of them). This would in many cases mean continual stocking so goodbye understorey, goodbye young trees, hello weed infestation.
Martin