ANPS has an Urban Adventure

This Wednesday the ANPS Wednesday Walkers took ourselves to Mt Jerrabombera which is now almost surrounded by beautiful Downtown Queanbeyan.  That deals with the urban part of it (I took the suggestion of 'urbane' to be an attempt at humour).

Here is view of the Mount, with the town on the Northern side of it.
The adventure part was using, for the first time the Edwin Land Parkway which is the initial stage of the Queanbeyan by-pass.
This road is a good idea for getting traffic out of the shopping area of the town.  It does seem a bit strange however to have built this bit first as it doesn't really go anywhere.  The useful bit is a tad dependent on a large bridge over the Queanbeyan River.  When that is done an excellent objective will be achieved of the town being passable in a flood.  (It might also allow some funny-munny developers to open up new areas for "development", but I am sure the Council wouldn't be thinking like that at all.  No sir, not us, there's no-one here but us chickens!)

Moving along to the nicer topic of Nature.  The day was pleasantly warm getting up to the forecast maximum of 19 degrees.  It really felt like Spring and with the birds being raucous in the background, it sounded like Spring.

The plants also co-operated with much blossom around.  I have separated out the Acacias which were very evident.  5 species follow.
A. genistifolia  - note very prominent spiny phyllodes
A. pycnantha
 A. dealbata
 A. gunnii - many of these were at their use-by date.  Note the 'ploughshare' leaves.
 A. ulicifolia - also spiky, but not as blatantly so as A genistifolia.
I didn't take a photograph of the Cootamundra Wattles (A baileyana) near the summit, since that might inflame arguments about weeds and 'botanical purity'.

Let us get back to the neutral, and very attractive, territory of Pimelea linifolia
This was the only overtly flowering yellow bean which I found (or rather Frances found and I then saw).  It is Pultenaea microphylla.
 In the purple end of the Fabaceae, Hovea heterophylla was everywhere in profusion.
 Needless to say Hardenbergia violacea was also arround, but I have put so many photos of that on the blog I will not bore you with another.

Heaths were not that evident.  This Leucopogon fletcheri was the only one I photographed.
 Stypandra glauca 
 The target plant of the day was Grevillea ramosissima.  After my finding a single plant close to the entrance a veritable forest of the species was around the spot chosen for morning tea.  Most had flower spikes ...
 ... and a few were pretty much open.
 A  number of specimens of Phyllanthus hirtellus were seen, but in most cases were not really in flower. The species is dioecious and in this sample the three styles make it a fair guess it is a female!
 Veronica perfoliata  was a nuisance to snap, as it kept waving around in the breeze.  The position was awkward so when I tried to hold it still, we both waved a round.
Hakea decurrens with bonus ant!
 This was only Wahlenbergia brave enough to poke its petals out.  Not big, not tiny (= sp.)
 Dichelachne sp: sufficiently attractive to overcome my prejudice against Poaceae!
 An early butterfly.  To my surprise it turns out to be an Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi)!
This returns us to the 'urban' part of the title, looking past Eucalyptus macrorhyncha to the McMansions of Karabar!

Comments

Denis Wilson said…
Do you realise that Mt Jerrabombera is the site from which Acacia pycnantha was named (type locality).
So you are right there, on the spot, where Australia's floral emblem was identified and subsequently "proclaimed" our National Floral Emblem.
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/aust.emblem.html
22 August 2012 at 23:46:00 GMT+10
Flabmeister said…
Denis

No, I didn't realise that. So, many thanks for the information.

I'll let the rest of the ANPS group know as well.

Martin
23 August 2012 at 06:38:00 GMT+10
Flabmeister said…
To increase the local connection, a member of ANPSWW - not with us yesterday - is a distant descendant of George Bentham who first described A. pycnantha collected by Mitchell on one of his expeditions to Southern NSW.
23 August 2012 at 13:47:00 GMT+10
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