ANPS considers Leontopodium alpinum

Well, perhaps only I thought that, as we were climbing a mountain (Wanniassa of that ilk) on a cold day with a howling gale, Edelweiss was a possibility.  What ever number of us thought  of that species, we were all disappointed.

At this time of year the walk in this element of Canberra Nature does guarantee:
  • Great views over to the Brindabellas...


  •  ...and a great collection of flowering Leucopogon and Cryptandra.  This first image is of Leucopogon attenuatus.  

 Here is one of the several hillsides covered in Leucopogon and Cryptandra
This is  Cryptandra amara floribunda.  I will confess that I had hoped to get through this without giving taxonomists a serve, but here I am at species 2 sinking the wellie as usual.  On the Plantnet page for Cryptandra amara they have a key showing C.a. var floribunda but on 'clicking' that variety a message appears saying "No entry in Flora of New South Wales".    Grrrrr!
 This doesn't have a varietal component but is now the mother lode of Cryptandra amara.
This image links between the white 'heaths' - Cryptandra is Rhamnaceae rather than Epacridaceae - and many interesting yellow wattles.
 Acacia dealbata, close up.
 A. dealbata in context.
 A. pycnantha
 A. ulicifolia
 I had initially logged this next one as A. gunnii - but it has since been pointed out to me that the phyllodes look very much as though it is also A. ulicifolia.
 This one is surely A gunnii: the ploughshare shape of the leaves is clearer.
 A. implexa has well finished flowering and many of the trees showed the young fruit in the foreground.  The old brown, twisted fruits are in the background.
 I did also see A. buxifolia, but that was on;y just starting tocome into bud and was thus too boring to get into this excitement ridden post!

A pea, albeit a mauve/blue one of Hovea heterophylla.
This is a mistletoe Muellerina eucalyptoides.  The first time we had recorded this on WW was at Oakdale Reserve near Collector.  It was then located on Mt Taylor a few weeks ago and now here.
 Stypandra glauca covers a lot of the area we walked.  Only one plant was in flower.
 I had a lot of trouble identifying this flower.  Then I stooped looking in Calotis and went to Cymbonotus where finding something like it was quite simple, although going further than Cymbonotus sp. is apparently quite tricky, but the trip report will have C. lawsonianus so take your pick.
 These scratches on the bark of a Eucalyptus rossii indicate the landing zone of a Sugar Glider.  I searched a few of the nearby trees and while they were well endowed with hollows (a Good Thing all round, even though loathed by the suits of Canberra Nature Park) I couldn't locate a Glider.
 Some other animals come to visit you.  All you have to do is drop a morsel of cheese out of your sanger and they turn up for their share. Unfortunately they don't repay your generosity by slow movement.

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