Magnificent Mallee #2: some plants of the mallee

Last time, I offered something of a blogging ode to one of my favourite habitats, the wonderful mallee lands of inland semi-arid Australia. If you missed it you might want to look at it for some background before reading this addendum to it, but if you don't feel like doing that then this post can stand alone - it's really just a photo homage to a range of plants other than the mallee eucalypts themselves that I've encountered and enjoyed over the years across the country. I do notice now that plants from Western and South Australia dominate here, but those states do have a lot of the mallee too! To avoid appearing to be showing favouritism (or actually doing so!), I'm going to offer the poster plants below alphabetically in order of Family (though even that's not simple these days). 

The current trend among plant taxonomists is to lump previous Families into sometimes vast 'super-families'. It's not a matter of right of wrong - the actual relationships don't change - but the question of where to draw the lines between related Families is ultimately a human conceit. But enough of that, the important thing is the plant themselves. The plants I've selected were photographed in mallee habitat, and many of them are mallee specialists. In each family there are other - sometimes many other - mallee species I could have chosen.

It's really pretty much just a photo essay to celebrate some rather lovely plants that you may not be familiar with unless you're another mallee meanderer, in which case I hope it brings some good memories.

ANTHERICACAE

One of several families of Australian lilies; I talked more about them in a series beginning here. I see though that that was a decade ago, so things might have changed again, but I don't think very significantly.

Mangles' Fringe Lily Thysanotus manglesianus, Kalbarri NP, near Geraldton, Western Australia.
It grows widely in the south-west, but especially in the mallee.

ASTERACEAE

The familiar daisy family, which no-one has tried to redefine as far as I know!

Invisible Plant (or Wiry Podolepis) Podolepis capillaris Pinkawillinie Conservation Park,
Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. I love this name and, though it's not
terribly invisible here, the threadlike stems and pale flowers can be hard to
see in some lights. I do have another photo that illustrates this, but then you
wouldn't be able to see much! It does have a wide distribution in sandy
soils in southern and central Australia, but I've mostly seen it in mallee.

Poached Egg Daisy Polycalymma (fomerly Myriocephalus) stuartii,
Hattah-Kulkyne NP, north-western Victoria. Another sand-lover, found
widely in the mallee and beyond.

FABACEAE

The peas, one of the most familiar and largest plant families in the world, at least until the recent conglomerations of families.

Cockies' Tongues Templetonia retusa, Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park,
Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. This has always been a favourite of mine, partly
because it really is a striking shrub, and partly because it was one of the first
native plant names I learned. It grows in coastal limestone (and in the Flinders
Ranges), much of which is among mallee.

Granny Bonnets Isotropis cuneifolia, Badgingarra National Park,
south-western Australia. Again the species grows in a variety of sandy
and gravelly habitats (especially soon after fires), but this one was in mallee.

Common Eutaxia or Mallee Bush-Pea Eutaxia microphylla, Wyperfeld NP,
north-western Victoria. Mostly found in the mallee

GOODENIACEAE

The goodenia family in eastern Australia is probably best-known for yellow-flowered herbs and shrubs of Goodenia, and the purple-flowered Dampiera. In Western Australia however the various Lechanaultia species are truly dramatic. It's worth noting that in honouring the splendidly named chief botanist on the mighty Baudin scientific expedition to Australia in 1801, Jean-Baptiste Louis-Claude-Theodore Leschenault de la Tour, the great Scottish botanist Robert Brown, normally so meticulous, misspelt his name. Too late though, once it was published.

Blue Lechenaultia L. biloba, Yandin Hill Lookout, north of Perth.
Here it was growing near another WA special, the amazing
Mottlecah mallee E. macrocarpa. See the previous posting for photos of it.

Red Lechenaultia L. formosa, Stirling Ranges NP, south-western WA.

Sandhill Goodenia G. Goodenia willisiana is a much more modest member of
the family, found in mallee in north-western Victoria and adjacent South Australia
and NSW. Here it is in Wyperfeld NP.

Velvet Dampiera V. marifolia, also in Wyperfeld NP.
This striking plant, abundant on a recent spring trip to the area,
has a similar mallee lands distribution to the previous species.

HALORAGACEAE

A relatively small family, mostly in Australia but also has species spread across much of the world, ranging from aquatic herbs to small trees. No species is likely to be familiar to non-specialists, and this lovely mallee herb is the only one I could readily name.

Golden Pennants Glischrocaryon behrii, Pinkawillinie NP, Eyre Peninsula,
South Australia. It is found in mallee from here east to western Victoria
and south-western NSW. It can grow in extensive golden colonies, and
always brings a smile to my face.

 LAMIACEAE

A much more familiar family, including many garden culinary herbs and well-known native shrubs such as Prostanthera and Westringia.

West Coast Mintbush Prostanthera calycina, High Cliffs, at the southern tip
of Eyre Peninsula. A true mallee specialist, it is endemic to Eyre Peninsula,
growing on limestone outcrops.

Stiff Westringia W. rigida, Nullarbor cliffs, South Australia.
Usually on limestone and in mallee, though it also extends to dry forests from
Western Australia to NSW.

MALVACEAE

This is one of the newly defined 'superfamilies' that I mentioned at the start of this post. Already a large family, Malvaceae (based on hibiscuses and hollyhocks) now has a mind-numbing 4200 or so species, after the 1500 or so species of the family Sterculiacae were moved into it. All four species featured here were previously included in that family.

Pink Velvet Bush Lasiopetalum behrii, Caralue Bluff Conservation Park,
Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. It is found in mallee from
Western Australia to south-western NSW.

Coast Velvet Bush Lasiopetalum discolor, Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park,
Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. It grows along much of the south coast,
in Western and South Australia, though also in the Bass Strait and northern Tasmania.
On the mainland it is found primarily in mallee, and on dunes.

Paper Flower Thomasia petalocalyx, growing in mallee in the Coorong NP, South Australia.
It is also found in other habitats along the coast and hinterlands in the
south-west and south-east.

Trailing Commersonia Androcalva (formerly Commersonia) tatei,
Heggaton CP, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
An interesting little plant which is almost endemic to the mallee of Eyre Peninsula
- disqualified only by one totally isolated population in far north-western Victoria.

MIMOSACEAE

Yes, I'm going to break my self-imposed rule by not using the official family taxonomy for this one. A little while ago the wattles (ie family Mimosaceae) were lumped in with the already huge pea family Fabaceae to form a mighty megafamily of almost 20,000 species. While wattles are certainly closely related to peas (look at the pods), they form such an obviously distinct and familiar group that I'm going to be pragmatic and look at them separately from the (other) peas. There are of course very many wattles growing in the mallee; here are just three typical species.

Grey Mulga Acacia brachybotrya, Wyperfeld NP, north-west Victoria.
I'm not sure of the significance of the 'mulga' appellation, it certainly doesn't
resemble 'real' Mulga, Acacia aneura. It is an important part of mallee
communities from the edge of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia
across to Victoria and NSW.

Wallowa Acacia calamifolia, Rudall CP, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
A distinctive wattle, it is found throughout the mallee lands of South Australia
and Victoria, and beyond into woodlands of NSW. It is said that its seeds are
important food of Mallee Fowl, but I suspect that this could be said of many
other wattles too.

Sandhill Wattle Acacia ligulata, Gawler Ranges NP, South Australia.
(I learnt it as Chainpod Wattle for its constricted seed pods but in retrospect
I think that this was a descriptive name coined by a clever teacher.)
While it is found in all the mallee lands of Australia, it is also found
far to the north, in every mainland state and the Northern Territory.

 MYRTACEAE

A very familiar family, and of course the one to which the mallee eucalypts themselves belong, but we met some of them last time. Here are three others.

Common Fringe-Myrtle Calytrix tetrogona, Dhilba Guuranda–Innes
National Park, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Another plant which,
while found in most of the mallee lands, also grows well beyond them too.
But, far too attractive to be left out!

Black Teatree Melaleuca lanceolata, growing alongside mallee in Coorong NP,
South Australia. It often grows within the mallee itself, and is especially
common near the coast and inland watercourses.

Woolly Featherflower Verticordia monodelpha, Kalbarri NP, central west coast
of Western Australia. This species isn't found far from Kalbarri. The genus is,
in my opinion at least, one of the most glorious in Australia; indeed 'verticordia'
means 'heart-turner'! It is endemic to the west.

ORCHIDACEAE

Well, anyone who knows me will know that I'm not going to miss a chance to allow some orchids to flaunt themselves, and I'm not going to disappoint you! There isn't the variety of orchids in mallee that we find in moister habitats, but here are some good ones to look for.

Long Golden Club Spider Orchid Caladenia (Arachnorchis) aurulenta,
Yeldulknie Conservation Park, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
This is a fairly rare species and limited to the northern Eyre Peninsula.
(Of course I could be wrong about this one - there are several quite similar species -
but it seems to meet all the relevant criteria.)

West Wind Spider Orchid Caladenia (Arachnorchis) zephyra, Wanilla Conservation Park,
Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Apologies for the photo, but it's the only one
I've seen. (Therefore I'm obviously not familiar with it, so again any corrections
would be welcomed.)

Zebra Orchids Caladenia cairnsiana, Stirling Ranges NP.
This is one of the orchids I most look forward to seeing when I go west (not often enough!).
These were growing in mallee but they are also found in a range of habitats.

The same comments about habitat could be made about the Ant or Clown Orchid
Caladenia roei, here in roadside mallee near Hyden, south-west WA.

Tiny Rustyhood Oligochaetochilus pusillus, here in Gawler Ranges NP in South Australia,
is scattered in mallee and open forest across semi-arid southern Austalia.

    

PITTOSPORACEAE

Members of this diverse family, of a couple of hundred species of shrubs, trees and vines, are generally found in moister habitats than the mallee, but one species is very much at home there.

Berrigan or Native Apricot (and many other local names) Pittosporum angustifolium,
Mungo NP, south-western NSW. I am fascinated by its story. Nearly all Pittosporum
species live in east coast rainforest or wet eucalypt forest, but this one adapted as the country
dried out and, instead of retreating with the forests, evolved to the drying conditions.
It is an elegant small tree with weeping foliage found throughout the mallee lands,
and also well beyond to the north.

PROTEACEAE

This is one of the dominant Australian families, an old Gondwanan, found in every Australian habitat. Here is a selection of four, all from different genera (three of them very familiar), which are found in the mallee.

Gland Flower Adenanthos terminalis, Heggaton CP, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
It belongs to a genus of over 30 species, all but two of which are endemic to WA.
This species is limited to the mallee lands of South Australia and western Victoria.
Like most of the family it is bird-pollinated.

Fox Banksia B. sphaerocarpa Badgingarra NP, south-western WA.
This low shrub grows in deep sand in mallee, heath and woodlands.
Its dull colours and ground-hugging nature (to hide from birds) suggest that
this flower is one of the many pollinated by native mammals.

Candelabra Grevillea G. candelabroides Kalbarri NP, mid-west coast, WA.
A spectacular grevillea which is restricted to the mallee and heathland
of the northern sandplains in this region.

Emu Tree (I have no idea why, sorry!) Hakea francisiana, Pinkawillinie CP, South Australia.
Most hakeas have fairly small white flowers, so this one is especially impressive.
It grows in mallee and associated heathlands across southern WA and as far
east as Eyre Peninsula (where this one was).

RUTACEAE

A familiar family even if we don't realise it - eg citrus fruit, boronias, correas etc. 

Boronia (also now known as Cyanothamnus) coerulescens, Wanilla Conservation
Park,  Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. This attractive species has flowers ranging
from bright blue (very unusual in Boronias) to greenish to pink to white;
this one appears to be on the bluish end of that spectrum. It is also the only boronia
that I know of that grows in mallee, but there are probably some I don't know
about in the west. It is found in mallee from WA through South Australia
to Victoria. (It was recently determined that Boronia contains more than
one distinct group of species, and 24 of them were moved to Cyanothamnus.)

Desert Phebalium P. bullatum, Gawler Ranges NP, South Australia.
Another mallee specialist, found from the Eyre Peninsula to western Victoria.
The yellow flowers and long stamens are unmistakably Phebalium.
('Desert' in southern Australian plant names is often a codeword for mallee -
see more in the previous posting, and also the next two species.)

SANTALACEAE

The sandalwood family is a widespread one, whose members are all at least partially parasitic on other plants - photosynthesising their own sugars, but pilfering other nutrients, especially from the roots.

Quandong (or Desert or Sweet Quandong, to distinguish it from other related Australian species)
Santalum acuminatum, Nambung NP, south-west WA. Quandongs grow throughout
the mallee lands, but also in woodlands well to the north. There is now quite an
industry (especially around the Flinders Ranges in South Australia) selling jams
and chutneys from the fruit. When I was a child, my grandmother had a cheap
Chinese Checkers set using painted quandong seeds as the moving pieces.

SAPINDACEAE

This is a large world-wide family, best known elsewhere for lychees, maples and horse chestnuts, and in Australia for the native hops, Dodonaea spp. Here there are some 60 species, with another 10 elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.

Desert Hop-bush Dodonea stenozyga, near Yalata, eastern end of the Nullarbor Plain,
South Australia. The three-corner papery fruits are typical, but this one is
pretty well limited to the mallee.

SCROPHULARIACEAE

An unlovely name for this large cosmopolitan family. In this post all three members of the family I am introducing are species of (the 'desert lovers', in my Big Three of favourite Australian plant groups, along with orchids and banksias). Previously eremophilas, along with boobiallas (Myoporum) and a small WA genus, comprised the family Myoporaceae, but all have been moved into Scrophulariaceae. All Eremophila are arid-land plants, including the mallee.

Tar Bush Eremophila glabra, here at the eastern end of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia,
is found right across southern arid and semi-arid Austalia.

Weeooka Eremophila oppositofolia, Whyalla CP, South Australia.
It has a similarly wide distribution to Tar Bush, above.

Scotia Bush Eremophila scoparia, Lake Gilles CP, South Australia.
Again grows very widely across the mallee lands, and into the adjacent Mulga.

And I'm sure you'll agree that that's probably enough for today! If you're really not that interested in Australian wildflowers you'll have given up reading this long ago, so I don't really know why I'm addressing you... :-) If you are still here, thank you and I hope you've enjoyed this floral display that the mallee has produced. I'll be back once more with some more mallee delights, this time some animals. I hope you'll come back then.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER

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