With the cold, dry conditions followed by a few days of extreme heat, the wildflowers around Anglesea have taken a battering this year but nevertheless we managed to find a great place for our wildflower walk on Saturday, October 17.
It was a short walk at the back of Anglesea on land that belongs to the Anglesea Golf Course but is leased to Alcoa. Unfortunately there are a number of environmental weeds flourishing in the area, but the masses of indigenous flowers, some quite rare species are very spectacular. We managed a plant list of approximately 60 indigenous species and 13 environmental weed species.
The weather was very pleasant and the 11 people who joined in the activity seemed to enjoy the experience. It is just so great to have these remnant patches of heathlands on our doorstep. We hope they can be preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Some of the highlights of the flowers:-
The eye-catching purple Heath Milkwort
Kaye and Rod admire the Aotus that is quite rare in the Anglesea District
The Victorian Smoke-bush that was scattered through the heathland was in full bloom
The Smooth Parrot-pea with its golden flowers with a central reddish blotch was very prevalent
We would love a native garden like this – flowers massed together Showy Parrot-pea, Silky Tea-tree, Slender Sheoak and many others!
The Shining Peppermint (named Eucalyptus falciformis in 2008) cascaded down the hillside
Hidden treasures – Mantis orchids hiding in the grasses in front of the Silky Tea-tree
The small flowers of the Short Purple-flag were opening as we walked along the track
The delicate mauve flowers of the Twining Fringe-lily certainly captured our attention
The group captured on camera by Russell at the end of the walk amongst the trigger plants and daisies
Margaret MacDonald