Wattle Gum Forest Farm

20/04/2026

Banksia marginata Silver Banksia is also a Victorian species...

𝑺𝙞𝒔𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒔 𝑭𝙧𝒐𝙢 𝘼𝒏𝙤𝒕𝙝𝒆𝙧 𝙈𝒐𝙩𝒉𝙚𝒓 # 19

𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝!

There are only 2 native Banksia species in SA. There are about 170 native species in Australia. So, no excuse for not being able to recognise 𝘼𝙇𝙇 of our SA species….

Our two species of Banksia have to do a awful lot of heavy lifting. Their importance to wildlife is greater in SA than this number would suggest. Banksias provide copious essential nectar to honeyeaters, ants, many other insects, and numerous other birds for months each year, as the flowers open up sequentially.

In our higher rainfall areas Silver Banksias provide an important food resource for wildlife, particularly woodland birds! But Silver Banksias are now rare. Fewer Silver Banksias = fewer birds. Banksia numbers are declining as they grow on better soil which has been cleared.

And seedlings (which must taste like the wildlife equivalent of chocolate pudding) are eaten off by kangaroos, goats, and deer year after year.

𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗶𝗮
Tallish shrubs to small trees, mostly smooth edged dark green leaves on top and narrow flower heads and cones, on good soils.

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗶𝗮
Squat shrubs, saw-tooth edged light green leaves, broad stumpy flower heads and cones. Found overwhelmingly on sand (nutrient deserts). Desert Banksia is almost all our own, with a leakage over the border into western Victoria.

𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢
A. Desert Banksia 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑎 𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑎 IBW5P 2nd Ed. p98-9
B. Silver Banksia 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑎 IBW5P 2nd Ed. p98-9

𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘
IBW5P thought there were about 70 Banksia spp. in Australia, but AVH lists 173 species! WA has gone from 60 to 150 Banksia spp as about 90 Dryandra spp have been placed in the Banksia genus. NSW has 17, Victoria 9, but still only 2 in SA.

𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘

𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑎
Is Silver Banksia in your revegetation mix? Other species, such as Acacia pycnantha, Olearia ramulosa, and Dodonaea viscosa, get way more action that they deserve in planting projects....
Banksia marginata can be grown from viable seed (up to 80% germination with good seed). Trade Secrets: MUST be planted in cold weather late July to early August and MUST only use a low phosphorus fertiliser, if any, or they will be cactus. And who wants cactus. Thanks to Yvonne Gravier, Manager of the Kersbrook Landcare Group Nursery

𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃
'Interrelationships'
Plants and animals work together to meet their needs” - in this case, flower fertilisation in return for nectar.

“𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩” 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

Based on Steve Van Matre (1979) Sunship Earth: An Earth Education program for getting to know your place in space, American Camping Association.

𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: Posts are made on Sunday evenings. I run no ads and do not pay Facebook to send the blog to more (random) people. The Facebook ‘algal rhythms’ are set up to keep me small. Come looking on Sunday evenings, share, or even (shock, horror) push the Follow button to keep Its Blue online.

12/04/2026

𝑩𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚: 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒙𝒚𝒈𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑.

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐭
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞

Biodiversity is the sum total of all living species and all their variations and all their interactions. This complex of dynamic living things created the thin thin film of life —the biosphere — clinging to the surface of the earth and the oceans. Their interactions unite the world. The ‘machinery’ of their living creates the air we breathe, the fertile soil in which we grow things, the oceans from which we feed, the fresh water we drink.

Tiny decorations on the eggs of a butterfly, the fine threads of fungi that wind through the soil for many meters, the petite leaves of mosses that swell and turn green with the first winter rains, the bulbs that push up from underground in autumn after conserving energy all summer long to allow this to happen, millions of microscopic bacteria breaking down the fallen leaves, the ants that are security guards for tiny caterpillars while they feed on native sorrel, the call of a blue wren or a magpie, the bandicoot turning over the soil, eagle that soars over 1000s of hectares daily.

Think of the most complex delicate machine you can imagine and multiply that complexity by many billions. That is biodiversity.

Now imagine starting to pull this machine apart one bit at a time; an aluminum cover plate, a bolt, a nut, a few more bolts, a coil, a small circuit board, a tiny weld, hair-thin copper wire, a tension spring, a tiny dial. At which point would you accidentally pull out an important part that fuses the whole machine or causes its disintegration?

That is the point at which we, the people, now find ourselves – destroying a complex universe bit by bit and we are close to the collapse of the system.

Biodiversity; the diversity of all living things.

𝑻𝙝𝒆 𝒎𝙖𝒄𝙝𝒊𝙣𝒆𝙧𝒚 𝒐𝙛 𝙤𝒖𝙧 𝙎𝒖𝙣𝒔𝙝𝒊𝙥 𝙀𝒂𝙧𝒕𝙝.

𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: Posts are made on Sunday evenings. I run no ads and do not pay Facebook to send the blog to more (random) people. The Facebook ‘algal rhythms’ are set up to keep me small. Come looking on Sunday evenings, share, or even (shock, horror) push the Follow button to keep Its Blue online.

07/03/2026

Interesting article on Sugar Gums Eucalyptus cladocalyx. Native to SA but very widely planted farm & firewood trees.

‘𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’
𝐀 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐃 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. # 𝟏𝟖

I was walking along thinking “What new thing am I going to write about?”
Dog was walking along thinking “What new tree am I going to p*e on?” (loose translation only)
Suddenly our thoughts collided. Read on…

Once upon a time in the past, Sugar Gum trees were widespread. But over many thousands of years ago, as the climate dried, the available suitable habitat for Sugar Gums slowly became smaller and smaller.

Now these trees are naturally found only in 4 very separate, very small, and very widely isolated colonies; the Flinders Ranges, 2 small places on lower and tip of Eyre Peninsula, and on Kangaroo Island. They are long surviving relics of forests of wetter climates in the past. And it must be a very long ‘past’.

These 4 ‘colonies’ have been separated from each other for so many thousands of years that the trees at the 3 main locations are now classified as subspecies – with features recognisable as unique.

Ironically, since European arrival, the species has regained ground and arguably become one of the most commonly seen gum trees seen in Adelaide, our country towns, and in our rural farming country.

The first known records of growing Sugar Gum for “their usefulness” was experimental growing at the Adelaide Botanical Garden in the late 1860s.

Soon after, the Flinders Ranges version of the species was heavily promoted and widely planted on farms across southern Australia, as quick growing windbreak or shelterbelt trees and for timber and firewood. It could also be successfully coppiced/ pollarded – like the storybook Magic Pudding. *

Often it was the tree of choice in towns and parklands, including Adelaide’s foothill Conservation Parks.

[Note to self: Probably a step too far to call these new trees far from home as dragooned.]
[Note from dog: Probably. What does dragooned mean anyway?] (loose translation only)

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝑫 𝑺𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒖𝒎𝒔.
1. Sugar Gum leaves have sides - a shiny dark green top and a muted green underside - probably another indication that it is a relic from past wetter climates. All other native SA gum trees have leaves which hang and are the same on both sides.
2. The bark usually has an orange-y tinge.
3. The fruits look like tiny urns.
4. They do not make a lignotuber.

𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦
LEFT: Sugar Gum 𝐸𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑥 (unsurprisingly in a local park)
RIGHT: Blue Gum 𝐸𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑥𝑦𝑙𝑜𝑛

Sugar Gums get most of our attention today…

I could have chosen almost any other Eucalyptus species as the sister - Sugar Gum has soooo many sisters.

𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘
* 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑃𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐵𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑑𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑢𝑛𝑦𝑖𝑝 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝐵𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑚 𝑆𝑎𝑤𝑛𝑜𝑓𝑓 by Norman Lindsay (1918).

𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘
For everything you ever wanted to know about, and to look for, in Eucalyptus ID
https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/text/intro/learn.htm

𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: Posts are made on Sunday evenings. I run no ads and do not pay Facebook to send the blog to more (random) people. The Facebook ‘algal rhythms’ are set up to keep me small. Come looking on Sunday evenings, share, or even (shock, horror) push the Follow button to keep Its Blue online.

02/03/2026

For those locals who may be interested..

Imagine 3,000 ha of wetlands linking Merri Creek and the southern Mitchell Shire — a regional park for people and nature. Listen in this week to EarthChat on the wallan-wallan Regional Park and why it’s a win for everyone, Tuesday 12noon 3 March, SeymourFM. https://wix.to/ZWg6XIe

Share if you love healthy waterways and green space for future generations.

18/02/2026

Introducing wallan wallan Regional Parkland
6:30pm - 7:30pm, Wednesday 4th March, online

Join the Wallan wallan Regional Parkland Alliance to hear about a new parkland proposed for the Upper Merri.

The wallan wallan Regional Parkland Alliance (made up of Wallan Environment Group, Merri Creek Management Committee, Friends of Merri Creek, and BEAM Mitchell Environment Group), has launched a campaign to establish the wallan wallan Regional Parkland in Melbourne's north.

The parkland, at 3,000 hectares in the upper reaches of the Merri Creek will:
🌼 showcase the unique landscape of the wallan wallan region
🌋 combine extensive wetlands and ancient volcanic cone
🐦 provide habitat for waterbirds and wildlife
🌱 create a much needed space for the local community to explore nature, stay healthy and active

The Alliance is asking the State Government to commit to establishing the wallan wallan Regional Parkland as a priority.

This online event will feature Rob Eldridge, local campaigner, former Mitchell Shire Councillor and key member of the Alliance. Rob has been advocating for the park’s establishment since 2010. Through his work with the Wallan Environment Group, and long-term commitment to the local region he has contributed to a vision for the parkland aiming to balance conservation, recreation, and cultural heritage. The Friends of Merri Creek will also outline the importance of the new parkland for residents all along the Merri Creek.

Come along to find out more about this exciting new proposed Parkland, essential to safeguard the upper-Merri. You will hear about the region and its values; where exactly the proposed parkland is; and why it's so important that the State Government commit to it now.

Registration essential here: https://events.humanitix.com/introducing-the-wallan-wallan-regional-parkland-online-event

Please note: this is an online event, you'll receive the meeting link once you register.

31/12/2025

Happy New Year! 🎊🎊
May 2026 be an excellent year filled with success, kindness & all the good things in life.

24/12/2025

Wishing one & all a joyous, safe & peaceful Christmas. May your festivities be merry & filled with love. 🎄✨️🎄✨️💞♥️💞

02/09/2025

The countdown is on! 4 days until the Mitchell Australian Plants Society Annual Expo and Plant Sale. There’ll be lots of locally grown native plants, all labelled, and local plant sellers who are experts in Australian native plants. We are looking forward to seeing you next Saturday, anytime between 9am and 3pm.

12/08/2025

Coming up on Saturday September 6th, the annual APS Mitchell Spring Plant Expo & Sale. All Welcome! FREE ENTRY!!!

It's starting to feel a lot like Spring! Can you believe it that the annual APS Mitchell Plant Expo and Sale is only a month away! Mark your calendars and see you in Wallan. It's always a fabulous display of plants, lots to learn, lots to see and lots to buy. Support your local plant society and get your gardens ready for spring!

APS Mitchell Annual Plant Expo and Sale

27/06/2025

Intact native forests protect us from bushfires. 🔥

A new article from Prof. David Lindenmayer, 'Intact Native Forests Reduce Climate Change Impact' focuses on the importance of protecting intact native forests. Published by , he speaks to the importance of these protected areas for carbon storage, bushfire prevention, and biodiversity conservation.

There is so much reasearch showing the importance of old, mature forests for slowing down and preventing bushfires. Logging and planned burning can both drastically increase the risk and severity of bushfires. It's about time our forest managers payed attention to this data.

Read the article:
➡ https://www.rsv.org.au/articles/intact-native-forest-reduce-climate-change-impact