Fan Palms at Dubuji

Posted on May 29, 2013 by winderjssc

These pictures evoke for me the fantastic feeling of being in the tropical rainforest, with it’s cathedral-like atmosphere, towering columns of trees, the canopy of Fan Palm leaves way-up overhead, and late afternoon sun filtering through. The only thing missing is the sense of how hot and humid it was with the rainy season about to start. These photographs were taken from the relative safety of the Dubuji boardwalk near Cape Tribulation in Queensland, Australia.

Cairns Botanic Gardens Flowers 3

Posted on May 27, 2013 by winderjssc

One of the many beautiful and exotic ginger plants at Cairns Botanic Gardens. There are 1,300 species world-wide and many are used for medicinal and culinary purposes. I had not realised just how effective ginger was in combating sea-sickness until I visited Australia where ginger tablets are offered free on some of the boats going out to the Great Barrier Reef – trip organisers don’t want anything to spoil your day.

Rainforest Ferns 2

Posted on May 26, 2013 by winderjssc

These pictures show different aspects of the tropical rainforest fern Didymochlaena (Athyrium) truncatula as it was growing in Cairns Botanic Gardens, Queensland, Australia. There are very many different species of fern and they are distinguished from each other by such characteristics as subtle details of the shape of the fronds and pinnules, and by the specific arrangement and pattern of the spore-producing bodies on the undersides of the pinnules.

Cairns Botanic Gardens Flowers 2

Posted on May 21, 2013 by winderjssc

The brightly coloured parts of the flower are in fact leaf-like bracts around the base of the flowers rather than the petals. The pink and green bracts on the upright stems shown in these pictures are typical of Heliconia psittacornis “Sassy” and are easy to distinguish from the Heliconia mariae x pogonantha shown in the previous post which had hanging or pendant flower heads with red bracts.

In common with the bromeliad plants, heliconias often collect water in the hollows created by the bracts against the stems, These little pools become micro-habitats in which minute aquatic organisms can thrive.

Cairns Botanic Gardens

Cairns Botanic Gardens Flowers 1

Posted on May 20, 2013 by winderjssc

A fantastic array of tropical plants is on show at Cairns Botanic Gardens in Queensland, Australia, in both a formal garden setting and also wild as nature intended. The formal gardens include plants that are native to Australia and its tropical rainforest as well as including introduced exotic species. I think the spectacular red blooms in these photographs are a type of Heliconia in bud, most likely the giant pendant species Heliconia mariae x pogonantha which can grow to a height of 4 – 5 metres. Heliconias are native to Central and South America and also some South Pacific islands.

The Sausage Tree

Posted on May 16, 2013 by winderjssc

What weird fruits! The Sausage Tree [Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth.] is aptly named. Strangely, the flesh of these seemingly appetising fruits, whether ripened or not, is toxic to humans. The exception is that in real hard times the seeds can be roasted and eaten. Also, the fruits can be dried and fermented along with the bark to provide a flavour enhancer for traditional beers.

However, every other part of the tree can be used in some kind of herbal medicine for conditions such as digestive and respiratory complaints, and for treating infections and wounds. Currently, investigations are being carried out to determine the potential of the tree to provide source materials for use as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-tumour agents. Extracts from the tree are already being made up into lotions that are commercially available for treating skin disorders.

The photographs in this Post were taken at Cairns Botanical Gardens in Queensland, Australia where this is an introduced tree used for ornamental purposes. The species actually hails from tropical Africa where is grows wild in riverine rainforests, wooded grassland, savannah, and forest margins. In it’s native habitat, the Sausage Tree is considered sacred and is often protected from felling.

The tree can grow from 2.5 to 18 metres high. It has beautiful red tubular flowers with yellow veins. These have a distinct smell described as strongly unpleasant or musky. The flowers only open at night and are pollinated by blossom-feeding bats and hawk moths. The fertilised flowers develop into the sausage-shaped fruits that grow to lengths of between 30 and 90 cm long and to 7.5 to 10 cm in diameter.

By coincidence, 23thorns has also written about the Sausage Tree and it’s magical properties. Do go over and have a look – it is very entertaining.

Reference

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens Website

Rainforest Fruit Bats

Posted on May 15, 2013 by winderjssc

Images 1-3 show Fruit Bats (Flying Foxes, Pteropus spp.) right in the town centre at Cairns, Queensland, Australia, roosting in trees with traffic and people all around. Images 3-6 show Spectacled Flying Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus) in the actual rainforest, the Daintree, at Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland. Both colonies might be conspicillatus but shadows obscure the features of the Cairns bats so it is not possible to say with certainty they are Spectacled.

The short videos below show the colonies of bats. The first clip shows bats in Cairns making a hullabaloo as they squabble and jostle for space with the sound of traffic all around. The movie was taken around the middle of the day. I was not only very surprised to find a colony above the busy streets but amazed at the noise they made.

The second and third clips show bats roosting in the Daintree at Cape Tribulation. They are waking up, preening, yawning, and stretching, getting ready for flying out en masse at dusk. Here the setting was more peaceful. However, both colonies of bats made a spectacular cacophonous show as they flew out to forage for food when the sun set. A fantastic show for diners sitting out every evening. [Apologies for the wrong orientation of the clips but you can see the action regardless].

Rainforest Ferns 1

Posted on May 13, 2013 by winderjssc

These pictures show one of many varieties of fern in the tropical rainforest known as The Daintree, in Far North Queensland, Australia. I don’t know the specific name of it but I know it is possible to tell one species from another by (partly) looking at the distribution pattern of the spore-producing bodies (sporangia) on the undersides of the pinnules (leaflets) on the fronds (the equivalent of leaves in seed-producing plants). Ferns don’t have seeds or fruits. Instead, they propagate by releasing microscopic spores from the sporangia which are themselves arranged in groups called sori. The ripening sori are easy to see as rust coloured dots, circles or horse-shoe shapes against the bright green of the pinnule.

Ferns love the moist conditions of the rainforest undergrowth. In The Daintree, which is in the area of Australia receiving the most rainfall, there are over 250 species of fern – 20 percent of which grow exclusively in that region. They range in size from tiny to huge – and include towering ancient tree ferns with the fronds growing from a tall trunk.

Reference

Ramsey, Damon (2008) Ecosystem Guides: Rainforest of Tropical Australia, 2nd Edition, Yes Printing, Sydney, Australia, ISBN 978-0-9757470-4-9.

Nerite Shells at Port Douglas

Posted on April 25, 2013 by winderjssc

Nerite Shells are very common inhabitants of rocky shores on the Queensland coast in Australia; and they generally have a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. There are several species but the specimens shown here are Nerita costata Gmelin and were photographed at Port Douglas.

They have a characteristic appearance with thick black rounded ridges spiralling around the shell whorls, with lighter coloured furrows between them. The spire is blunt. The aperture opening is roughly semicircular with a specific arrangement of protruberances or ‘teeth’. The odd-shell-out in pictures 1 and 2 is a Mulberry Shell or Granulated Drupe (Morula granulata Duclos) which has an odd look with spirals of dark rounded bumps vaguely resembling a bunch of grapes or similar.

Queensland Seaweed – Tricleocarpa cylindrica

Posted on April 24, 2013 by winderjssc

At least, that’s what I think this is! If I’m wrong, I am sure someone will let me know (please?). There are several calcareous red seaweeds growing along the Queensland coast. I found two kinds. Tricleocarpa cylindrica is pink when it is growing and still attached – but it fades and bleaches out to white once it is detached and washed ashore.

It forms a clump of repeatedly forked cylindrical branches (Cribb 1996). Some of the branches are slightly corrugate (with ridges) and you can see this if you click and enlarge on the first two photographs of this Post. There is a light calcification giving the plant a degree of stiffness but not so rigid that it cannot be easily crushed. This species was also known as Galaxaura cylindrica and G. oblongata at one time. It lives attached by a disc-like structure subtidally on sheltered and semi-exposed shores. The specimens shown here were found on Normanby Island and Cape Tribulation beaches.

Cribb, A. B. (1996) Seaweeds of Queensland – A Naturalist’s Guide, The Queensland Naturalists’ Club: Handbook No. 2, published by The Queensland Naturalists’ Club Inc., Brisbane, ISBN 0 9595607 1 8.

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