Local Plants for Local Butterflies

Most of us would like to have more butterflies in our gardens.


 Orchard butterflies

Now is the peak time of year for it. Have you been out to have a look, on a good sunny day, to see what is about?

Occasionally we have a big year (as two years ago) when the weather is just right, and masses of butterflies can be seen all around the district. Those years mask the general trend, which is one of decline. Some butterflies can fly a very long way, especially if they have a tailwind. Australian butterflies turn up in New Zealand every summer!
The greatest decline is in our more closely settled areas, and the reason is one that Blind Freddie can see. We are depriving them of the food their babies need. No baby food, no caterpillars. No caterpillars, no butterflies.

Some keen nature-lovers are taking affirmative action. They plant HOST PLANTS - and sure enough, the butterflies come!


 Capparis arborea with Caper White butterfly eggs

NOTE: Butterfly Host Plants are not the same thing as "butterfly attracting plants". Host plants are those special plants that caterpillars can eat. They attract a permanent population of butterflies to settle down and raise their families. Some plants sold as "butterfly attracting plants" may be FIFO jobs. Adult butterflies fly in, sip some nectar, and fly out. As our suburbs spread, they may not even do that. If our gardens are too far from the host plants, we will only get the butterflies of the strongest-flying species - and may even not get that, most years.

Which host plants are the best? There is a great deal of advice to be found, in books and on the internet, but it can be difficult to sort out the relevant from the other kind. No amount of host-planting will attract butterflies that do not occur in your area.

Choosing local native plant species.
I recommend it. There are some non-Australian plants which host local butterflies, as well as some Australian plants from other regions. However, people with an interest in our local wildlife may prefer to put in plants that are native to our local area. A butterfly garden might as well be an effective multi-purpose wildlife garden!

Some Local Native Butterfly Hosts,
and Some Local Butterflies
These plants are attractive, and suitable for gardens:
SMALL PLANTS AND GROUND COVERS
Chrysocephalum apiculatum    YELLOW BUTTONS    Painted Lady
Crotalaria mitchellii    CROTALARIA    Tailed pea-blue
Einadia species    SALTBUSHES    Saltbush blue
Plumbago zeylanica    GROUNDCOVER PLUMBAGO    Plumbago blue
Pseuderanthemum variabile    LOVE FLOWER   Varied eggfly
Scaevola species    FAN FLOWERS   Meadow Argus
Swainsona queenslandica, Swainsona brachycarpa    DARLING PEAS    Large grass yellow 
Urtica incisa NATIVE NETTLES. The only host for the Yellow Admiral. An exception to the "suitable for gardens" criterion, perhaps - but a carefully conserved nettle patch is possible on acreages and farms.
Xerochrysum bracteatum    STRAW DAISY    Painted lady


Female eggfly, photographed in a butterfly house, where there are so many butterflies they will land on your hands.

 
 Yellow admiral. This one was dead, but still beautiful. This butterfly species needs nettles, for its survival.

SHRUBS
Alchornea ilicifolia    HOLLY DOVEWOOD    Yellow albatross
Apophyllum anomalum    WARRIOR BUSH    Caper white, Caper gull
Breynia oblongifolia    BREYNIA    Large grass yellow
Carissa ovata    KUNKERBERRY    Common crow
Dodonaea triquetra  (and probably other Dodonaeas)  HOPBUSH    Fiery jewel
Indigofera australis    NATIVE INDIGO    Large grass yellow
Melodorum leichhardtii ZIGZAG VINE (grown in sun as a shrub) Fourbar swordtail,  pale green triangle.
Rhagodia species  SALTBUSHES  Saltbush blue
Senna species    NATIVE CASSIAS    Yellow migrant, Grass yellows
Swainsona galegifolia    DARLING PEA BUSH    Large grass yellow
(Note that the zigzag vine can be grown as a vine, if given trellis or higher plants to climb on, but grows as a shrub if it is out in the open with nothing to climb. It attracts butterflies best if it is grown in full sun.)

 Small grass yellow.


Yellow migrant


A pair of tailed emperors - and yes, they were kissing!

SMALL TREES
Acacia species    WATTLES     Tailed emperor, Large grass yellow, Hairstreaks
Capparis species    NATIVE CAPER TREES    Caper white, Caper gull
Cassia species    NATIVE CASSIA TREES    Lemon migrant, Yellow migrant, Tailed emperor
Citrus australis    NATIVE ROUND LIME    Orchard swallowtail, Dainty swallowtail, chequered swallowtail
Ficus coronata    SANDPAPER FIG    Common crow
Neolitsea species    BOLLYGUMS    Blue triangle
Notelaea species    MOCK OLIVES    Bronze flat
Pararchidendron pruinosum    SNOW WOOD    Tailed Emperor

Blue triangle

MEDIUM TO LARGE TREES
Acacia species    WATTLES, BRIGALOW   Hairstreaks
Alphitonia excelsa    SOAP ASH    Small green-banded blue
Brachychiton species    BOTTLE TREE, FLAME TREE, KURRAJONG    Tailed emperor,
White-banded plane
Cryptocarya species    JACKWOOD, BROWN LAUREL    Blue triangle. Bronze flat. Macleay’s swallowtail.
Drypetes deplanchei    YELLOW TULIPWOOD    Yellow albatross,
Ficus species    NATIVE FIGS    Common crow
Flindersia species    CROWS ASH, LEOPARD ASH,  LONG JACK    Orchard swallowtail
Geijera salicifolia    WILGAS    Swallowtails, all kinds

 Caper gull

Small green-banded blue 

RUSHES, GRASSES AND SEDGES
Carex species    SEDGES    Evening brown, Skippers, Darts
MOST NATIVE GRASSES    Common brown, Evening brown, Ringlets, Skippers, Darts, Xenicas
Lomandra species    MATRUSH    Splendid ochre, Skippers, Darts

Grass dart 

CLIMBERS
Hardenbergia violacea    HARDENBERGIA    Grass Blue
Hoya australis    HOYA    Common crow
Melodorum leichhardtii    ZIG ZAG VINE    Four-barred swordtail
Parsonsia species    GARGALOO, MONKEY ROPE    Common crow, Lesser wanderer.
Passiflora species    NATIVE PASSIONFRUITS    Glasswing
Secamone elliptica    CORKY MILK VINE    Blue tiger

 Blue tiger


MISTLETOES
ALL SPECIES, Jezebels, Azures.

Black Jezebel

 

 Satin azure

Where possible, fight for the survival of trees which carry mistletoes! They are always vulnerable, because of the widespread (but wrong) belief that they kill trees. Some of our most beautiful local butterflies can't live without them.

Where to get the Plants
Local native plants for the Toowoomba Region are not widely available. Some of the better local nurseries (i.e.not the big chains) may have these plants.
Otherwise, the above plants (except mistletoes and nettles) are all stocked at the Crows Nest Community Nursery. At any given time, you would find most of them in stock.
For more on how to shop at the Crows Nest Community Nursery, type its name into the white search box at top left.


Hosting a Party, but Nobody Comes?
It is frustrating to have planted a butterfly smorgasbord, and still not have no sign of your hoped-for guests.
If you are not finding your butterfly garden as successful as you had hoped, here are some handy hints:

1. Pay attention to which butterfly species you already see within a kilometre or so of your home. Target these ones first, with your host plantings. If you see only cabbage whites, you may have a lot of work to do! (Cabbage whites are not Australian natives, but are now our most common species - a sad state of affairs!)



Cabbage White. We can do better than this!

2. Butterflies can and do fly a LONG way, so you can reasonably expect to attract new butterflies to your area. Australian butterflies turn up in New Zealand with some regularity. Queensland species have spread to Victoria because of the planting of their host species down there). They are more likely to move in at your place if there is more than just one, lonely isolated host plant. Plant more if you can fit them in. Encourage your neighbours to do the same. Contribute to any going revegetion projects in your area, making sure the plant lists include butterfly hosts. Ask for suitable street and park trees.

3. Plant lots of flowers. Most adult butterflies need nectar. It's a high-sugar food, and fuels a high-energy lifestyle. It's actually the honey scent, rather than the colour, that is the big draw, so some very modest-looking white flowers are tops for butterfly-attracting. Butterflies aren't picky. Native, non-native, so long as they provide a good nectar supply, butterflies will come. And once attracted to your garden, they may stay, if they meet other butterflies and discover that there are suitable host plants nearby.

Food for the Grown-ups

 It's all about nectar, and a sweet honey scent.

 Caper White, Blue tiger, Common crow, and Lesser wanderer, on a Callistemon flower
 
Here are some good nectar plants. These are all local native species, so help to support other native wildlife as well.
Senna species NATIVE SENNAS (The yellow flowers attract yellow butterflies. For some, these are host plants as well.)
PEA FLOWERS. (Are also host plants)
Melaleucas and Callistemons. BOTTLEBRUSHES (Try Melaleuca quercina, an endangered local native species which is outstandingly attractive to butterflies.)
DAISIES - all kinds, including the ones with bright yellow centres, but no petals. (Are also host plants)
Bursaria spinosa SWEET BURSARIA Fabulously successful at attracting a multitude of insects.
Flindersia species CROWS ASH ETC.(Are also host plants)
Pavetta australiensis.BUTTERFLY BUSH
Morinda jasminoides SWEET MORINDA
Parsonsia species GARGALOO, MONKEY ROPE, ETC. (Are also host plants)
Hoya australis HOYA (Also a host plant).
Xanthorrhoea species. GRASSTREES.

 
 Painted lady on grasstree spike in spring.

Worried about Caterpillars?
 

 Laying eggfly, and caterpillar 

Some people just can't bear the thought of caterpillars  eating their precious plants, and even avoid butterfly host plants for that reason.

Do any of these thoughts help:
1. Actually, most butterfly caterpillars don't make themselves conspicuous. A casual glance won't notice any damage at all, even when a plant is actually producing plenty of beautiful butterflies. If you have an ugly caterpillar infestation, it's probably a moth, or even a non-caterpillar like a sawfly.
Two exceptions are:

• Caper butterflies, which do make a mess of native caper plants. It doesn't seem to worry the plants, which bounce back refreshed from being pruned. Like any pruned plant, however, they are temporarily ugly. 
• Orchard butterflies. Even these are not usually conspicuous, especially on their native hosts, but they have large caterpillars and sometimes do make a mess of some vulnerable, introduced citrus species.

 
 Orchard butterfly caterpillar

2.  Butterflies are beautiful, and having host plants means that you spend a lot of time noticing them, and less time noticing infinitesimal variations from perfect, in your plants.

3. Do you want a garden with soul? Some gardens are nothing but a pretty face, but most of us would like something more that that.   Gardens with soul are vibrant living communities. They can provide far greater pleasure, if you will only notice the beauty of all the garden's residents, not just the plants.
 
See also my post, “Planting for Butterflies”, December 2, 2010

Pretty Peperomias

Peperomia blanda var. floribunda
Peperomia tetraphylla
 FAMILY: PIPERACEAE
We are not famous, in this region, for shade.

There is some in our rainforests and gullies, though, and it provides us with some very good plants for growing in those difficult shady places in the garden.

Our two local Peperomia species fit the bill nicely.

This one is hairy peperomia,  Peperomia blanda var. floribunda.

Peperomia blanda is a very widespread species, with its two varieties growing naturally in a belt all around the warmer parts of the world.

The name “floribunda” implies that it gets lots of flowers, but don’t get excited – this is it!


The fruits are no more exciting. They are tiny and green. Their little black seeds are said to taste peppery, but this is really not a good way to get yourself a usable quantity of pepper.

I usually trim the flowers off, to let the plant get on with making its new season’s shoots.


Despite its lack of interesting features in the way of flowers and fruits, hairy peperomia is a quietly elegant plant, making a good filler in shady spots of the garden, and useful as a pot plant as well.
It is quite drought hardy.

A slightly more delicate plant, both in its looks and in its need for water, is the little four-leafed peperomia, Peperomia tetraphylla, which has its shiny leaves in whorls of four.


We usually notice it in the rainforests of our region, but it can also be found in damp gullies close to Toowoomba, on the eastern side of the Range. It will cling to little crevices in rocks, provided there is enough water for it, but it is also happy in a pot or in well-mulched and well-drained soil.

It is one of the little surprises of the plant world, that these little plants are in the same family as our giant pepper vine Piper hederacea (see my blog of January 24, 2016) and the pepper of commerce, Piper nigrum. At first glance there is little resemblance between these shy little fleshy-leafed plants and the enormous, shiny-leafed pepper vines.

A closer look at the leaves, however, lets us see the family resemblance.

Giant Pepper vine, Piper hederaceum

 Hairy peperomia, Peperomia blanda var. floribunda.






 

Green Pearls

Jasminum simplicifolium
Family: OLEACEAE
If pearls came in green, I think this is what they would look like.


My stiff jasmine Jasminum simplicifolium  is laden with them at the moment.
When they ripen, they will look like this:


 and will be very appealing to fruit-eating birds.

The flowers that produced them looked like this:


Note the variation in the number of "petals". These jasmines can have anywhere between five and eight.

As with many white flowers, they would have been pollinated by moths attracted by the perfume. For those who are curious to find out whether moths are indeed the pollinators, a quick check of the perfume at night, after the day’s heat has worn off, will tell you. If the perfume is stronger (and Jasmines all have a lovely perfume), then you know that the plant has evolved to attract moths. You may even see the culprits while you are investigating.

A likely pollinator, is this big hawk moth.
 

Pollinators don't necessarily breed on the plant that produced the flowers they feed on, but this Psilogramma menephron does breed on native jasmines. (It is known as the “privet hawk moth”, because it also breeds on the introduced privet, as well as a number of other native and introduced  host plants).

Hawk moths have long tongues, and the long tube of the jasmine flower may have evolved to attract them while preventing other less effective pollinators from reaching the nectar at the base of the tube.

You need to be quick to catch a hawk moth feeding/pollinating, because these fast-flying night feeders dart in to a flower, hover (like a hummingbird) for just a split second, then dart off again.

We saw this Psilogramma menephron caterpillar on our Jasminum didymum subsp. racemosum last month.

Isn’t it a lovely thing? It was being attacked by ants at the time, and it was wriggling about catching them and biting them.

It looks almost ready to pupate. When quite ready, it would have dropped off and burrowed into the ground.

Buying Local Native Plants

My favourite source for the kinds of plants which interest me is the 

 Crows Nest Community Nursery. 

It specialises in the native plants of the broader Toowoomba region.

It is open every Thursday, 8.30am - 1.00pm.  

Plants sell for  $2.00 and $3.00. 

The nursery is Toowoomba Regional Council's environmental nursery and is staffed by one professional nurseryperson and a team of volunteers.

If you are looking to buy plants, you can go out there on a Thursday morning, or make enquiries to the nursery manager:
Email: Lisa.Churchward@toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au
Phone:  Toowoomba Regional Council on 131 872. Ask for the manager of the Crows Nest Community Nursery.

To find the Nursery:Approaching Crows Nest from the south (i.e. from the Toowoomba direction), slow down at the 80 sign and take the first turn right into Industrial Avenue.
Follow the green street signs (which say NURSERY).  

Volunteering at the Nursery
 Much of the work that keeps the Crows Nest Community Nursery going is done by volunteers. 
If you want to do something worthwhile for the local environment, or just to learn more about plants and make new friends, you might consider becoming one of them.
The jobs done include:

• Planting seed
• Potting on the little seedlings, into nursery tubes.
• Putting plants out on the shelves. 
• Weeding and tidying them as required.

 No expertise is needed. Other volunteers help you to learn on the job. Just bring along a pair of willing hands and a smile.
To join, you can simply turn up on a Thursday and introduce yourself. Alternatively, you can make enquiries by email or phone to the nursery manager, as above.
 

Blotched Hyacinth Orchid

Dipodium variegatum
FAMILY: ORCHIDACEAE
 Most of our local orchids flower in spring, but there are a few exceptions. Hyacinth orchids do it in high summer, usually after rain, as with this one which I saw yesterday.

The common name of this plant seems a misnomer to people who know other hyacinth orchid species as well. They are all blotched!

This one is more blotched than the others, though. Notice that the blotches extend to the flower stem (the pedicel and ovary) which doesn’t happen with the others.

It’s always a pleasure to find a hyacinth orchid, as they can’t be grown. They occur only where they’ve planted themselves, and I’ve never heard of one choosing to come up in a garden.
This plant was living in the typical habitat of the species, which is open eucalypt forest with a light grassy understorey. Most of its life is spent completely underground. It only puts up flowering stems once a year, when it’s time to try for babies. A flourishing plant might put up three or four stems.




This flower has its "tongue" hanging out, hoping for a native bee or wasp to be tricked by its bright colours into thinking it will find nectar here so it can be roped into the job of pollination. Like most orchids, it's a cheat. It has evolved to look like a nectar-producing flower, but doesn't make any. It takes a lot of energy to make nectar, and this plant is a miser where energy is concerned. As for which nectar-bearing plant it is imitating - your guess is as good as mine. You do just need to keep in mind that the bees and/or wasps that pollinate this species can't see red.They can, however, see ultra-violet very well, and to them it would look like another colour - something we humans don't have the equipment to imagine. So if we are pondering which look-alike flower the orchids are imitating, the flower shape is probably a better guide. Orchids also often seem to out-compete the flower in question by being larger.  Bluebells, perhaps?

Hyacinth orchids don’t do leaves in any very effective way, from the point of view of being equipped to photosynthetise. (Look closely - they are there, but can't be doing much.) These plants are often described as parasites or saprophytes - the latter meaning plants that get their nutrition and energy from decaying matter under the ground, rather than by photosynthesis.

Saprophytes are not the same thing as parasites. Parasites live on other living organisms. Saprophytes live on plant material which is already dead. They are usually  bacteria and fungi, and are an important part of the growth and decay cycle of their ecosystem, breaking down dead material and making it available for re-use by other plants.

Strictly speaking, hyacinth orchids are neither parasites nor saprophytes. They are myco-heterotrophs, which means that they attach their roots to a  mycorrhizal fungus which is the true saprophyte, living on dead eucalypt roots.  Most myco-heterotrophic plants live in partnership with their fungi. They take some nutriment from them, but also photosynthetise, making carbohydrate which they share with their fungus hosts. Despite their lack of leaves, hyacinth orchids do photosynthise. Those green stems are doing the job. But considering the short life of the flowers, on what is a perennial underground plant, I suspect that the fungus is the partner that does most of the work.
(A few plant species of myco-heterotroph are 100% parasitic. These are the ones that have no green on them at all, such as our local bootlace orchid,  Erythrorchis cassythoides.)

To grow hyacinth orchids, all we need is some land with an open eucalypt forest ecology (complete with its cycle of growth and decay), some relatively open grassland, and the right species of fungus. Nature does it without apparent effort, but we humans have not managed to copy it.

 We have still not invented anything as clever as a plant.

.

Tree Root Problems

Trouble with foundations, sewer and water wipes, footpaths, fences?
   I would like to know what other people’s experiences are. There must be a lot of knowledge out there about Australian native plants growing near built structures, but it’s hard to find it.
I got curious about the subject because one of my readers asked about about her kurrajong Brachychiton populneus. She has it planted 10 feet (3 metres) from a porch. Her husband wants it removed, as he is worried that it might affect the foundations. She would like to believe that it is far enough away to be of no concern.
   I would have thought 10 feet was far enough. This is a drought hardy tree which has evolved to survive by putting its roots deep, unlike Brachychitons from wetter parts of Australia, which might have shallower roots and be more of a problem.

The owners of this house at Inglewood didn't seem to have any problems with their kurrajong, and it looks as though both house and tree have been there a long time. What wonderful shade it gives, on a hot summer's afternoon.
 
   I went looking on the internet, thinking recommendations for suitable distance from structures, for planting various species, would be easy to find.
   Not so!
   I found various lists of recommendations, but the differences between them were so great as to be ludicrous.
   In the case of the kurrajong, I found that Western Water (a water authority near Melbourne, which surely cares that its users don’t wreck their pipes with careless planting), lists kurrajong as one of its "acceptable plants near sewer lines" so long at it is 2 metres away from the pipes. It is interesting that they don't list any other Brachychitons as "suitable".
    The Australian Plant Society recommends the kurrajongs should be placed 3.5 metres away (the same recommendation as it makes for some other, less drought hardy Brachychitons. Are they really all the same?) An East Gippsland site thinks they should be 4 metres away. A Western Australian water corporation recommends 6 metres. Bundaberg Regional Council doesn't think they are safe unless they are 10 metres away. One site makes a blanket recommendation that all trees should be planted a distance 1-1.5 times the potential, full-grown height of the tree away from all structures!
   What boring places our suburban gardens would be if we all took his advice.

   So what is your ordinary person to make of this? Do these people really know their stuff? If so, which ones? They can't all be right.
   Well there are some obvious clues that let us know which advice we should take with a grain of salt. Clues to the clueless are:
a. They have a blanket rule for all trees, whether or not they are species which would really be surrounded by a wide circle of shallow roots equal to the tree's height (possible with Eucalyptus trees) or more likely to have roots which plunge deep in a narrow root-zone, (like dry rainforest species).
b. They don't supply botanical names, so you can be left in doubt as to which plant they are talking about. If they do give a botanical name, it is the name of the genus only, and then we are warned against the lot as if they were all the same. No, a little Meleleuca thymifolia is NOT going to cause the same problems as a whopping Meleleuca quinquenervia. To say that "Melaleuca sp." should be kept more than 6m away from drains is not helpful!
c. They seem to be written by someone who doesn't know much about plants, but knows that he/she will suffer consequences, if the distance recommended is not big enough. Huge margins of safety probably indicate a less reliable site.
   Sadly, advice provided on these ill-informed sites must have caused the destruction of  many harmless plants. They are certainly no help to those of us who like plants in our gardens. We can't help but be very well aware that many of the plants that they warn us against are growing in gardens around us, causing no problems at all.

I did find some sites which looked as though they had been written by people who knew their stuff.
   The best of them seemed to me to be East Gippsland Water, at www.egwater.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PlantThoughtfully2013.pdf  , and the Australian Plants Society’s Drain Cloggers page, at http://www.australianplants.org/fsjten.htm.
   However, even the best sites suffered from plant lists which were too small to be broadly helpful. Better to be silent than to spread misinformation, of course, but we could do with more, and more reliable, information on the performance of a wider range of Australian native species near built structures.

Can you help? 
   I would love to hear from experienced gardeners who live with gardens containing Australian native trees and shrubs, and are prepared to share the knowledge they have gained from practical experience.
  I feel sure there would be readers who  would like to hear it, too.
   I don’t just want to know about the problems, though that certainly helps. I also want to know what plants can tentatively be classified as not too risky. What grows close to your house / footpath / drive / water-carrying pipes, and seems to be problem-free? 
   Please see my email address in the white column at right. I’d love to hear from you!
Or write a comment, but be warned that when you publish it, it won't appear at once.  I screen all comments first, and don't do it every day.


Thank you to  Lindsay Sutherland who wrote me a thoughtful email in response to this blog.
To quote from it:
Thanks for your blog about planting distances. I too think that safe planting distances from homes and other structures are hard to estimate. For example I planted a mango very close to our house. People don’t recommend this. I wouldn’t either if I was living in a hospitable climate for mangoes. Mangoes are very marginal and may not survive in our climate. The tree grows very slowly down here and will never be as big or as vigorous as mangoes grown in Cairns or Townsville. So climate is another factor to consider when recommending safe planting distances.Another consideration is soil type. I live in a heavy clay area. Poor drainage can deprive plant roots of oxygen. Clay can prevent or slow root development. So trees growing in high clay soils may possibly be planted closer to a home. Some native trees I am growing under a huge oak tree from next door are:-
Hymenosporum flavum, 4-5m tall, 6m from house
Backhousia citriodora, 3-4m tall, 5m from house
Capparis arborea, under 0.5m tall, 6m from house, very slow growing
Clausena smyrelliana, under 0.5m tall, 5m from house
Ficus coronata, 3-4m tall, 3m from house, adjacent to driveway
If trees are pruned and clipped some of the roots may also be reduced or at least their growth rate is reduced. The focus of much science of plants is on the easy to access leaves, flowers and fruits of a tree. Very little description of roots is made simply because it is much harder to do so and likely will destroy the tree. Science of root development is at an earlier stage and understanding than science of leaves and other above ground plant parts."

And a reply from the blog author: All good stuff, especially the comment that trees which grow large in one climate might be smaller somewhere else. We on the Darling Downs are very familiar with this phenomenon, as specimens of trees which are larger in the better rainfall of the coastal strip are always smaller here
I am not too sure about Lindsay's theory that heavy clay makes it safer to plant close to a house. Some plants respond to moisture-retaining soil by spreading their large roots out on the surface, instead of diving deep looking for moisture (as we see in wetter rainforests). The cracking clay of the Darling Downs is very fierce in its effect on surface roots every dry season, but if the clay spends more time being damp right up to the surface, it might be another matter.
As Lindsay said "Safe distances are hard to estimate". But like him, I think we can have take a few informed and cautious risks, for the sake of a lifestyle with beautiful trees. 

Dry Rainforest Trees

Suitable for Gardens

























Auranticarpa rhombifolia

Not all “rainforest" trees are the same. As a general rule, the wetter the rainforest type, the more likely its plants are to have evolved  shallow root systems. Trees of typical rainforests are likely to be problematical if planted close to buildings, driveways, paths, and drains. Many of them are also too large to be suitable for suburban gardens.
“Dry Rainforest” plants are their drought-hardy relatives. Unlike the plants of wetter rainforests, they can’t count on getting regular rainfall. The secret of their survival in their drought-prone native habitats is their tendency to put down deep roots as fast as they can, to find water deep underground.
They tend to be smaller trees than their big rainforest relatives.
They also prune well.
These three habits make them very garden-friendly.
1. Their deep-rooting habit means that they don’t make much use of the upper layers of soil. They can be planted close together, and are happy to share the space in the upper layers of the soil where most small garden plants want their roots to be. They are also less likely to damage paths, driveways, house foundations, and to send their little roots into our pipes and sewers. (Yes, of course they will do damage if you tempt them by planting them right next to a leaky pipe, or place a large plant smack up against a brick wall. Use some commonsense here! Think low-risk, not no-risk. No-risk means a garden of concrete and plastic plants.)
2. Their smaller size means that we can grow nice shady trees which won’t outgrow our suburban-sized gardens.

Denhamia bilocularis

3. Their adaptability to shaping and pruning means that they make good hedges or dense shrubs if pruned to the size of your choice. Cutting them back hard encourages the formation of multiple trunks. They can also left (or encouraged) to grow as shady little single-trunked trees. Trim the lower branches a bit, and you have a spot for a bird bath or a garden seat.
Too many trees? No problem! Cut some off at the ankles and let them regrow as multi-trunked shrubs.


Notelaea microcarpa

4. And their drought hardiness means that once established they will live a normal lifespan, possibly hundreds of years, without ever needing more rainfall than our erratic climate gives them. Like most plants, they appreciate extra water, especially in winter or dry times when their natural habit is to drop some of their leaves to conserve water. Watering keeps them dense and shady - but those who can’t manage the water can just wait it out. When the rains start, their canopies will thicken up again.

Some of our Local Dry Rainforest Trees:

Acmena smithii (Syzygium smithii) LILLYPILLY, COMMON  
Acronychia laevis ACRYONYCHIA, GLOSSY  
Alangium villosum MUSKHEART, BLACK  
Alectryon diversifolius BOONAREE, SCRUB   
Alectryon pubescens BOONAREE, HAIRY  
Alectryon subcinereus BIRDS EYE, QUINCE LEAFED  
Alectryon subdentatus BIRDS EYE, HOLLY LEAFED   
Alectryon tomentosus BIRDS EYE, HAIRY  
Alectryon tomentosus BIRDS EYE, HAIRY  
Alectryon connatus BIRDS' EYE, COMMON  
Alectryon oleifolium ROSEWOOD, WESTERN  
Alphitonia excelsa ASH, SOAP   
Alstonia constricta BITTERBARK   
Aphananthe philippinensis  ELM, NATIVE  
Araucaria cunninghamii PINE, HOOP  
Arytera distylis COOGERA, TWIN LEAFED  
Arytera foveloata COOGERA, PITTED  
Atalaya salicifolia WHITEWOOD, BRUSH   

Atalaya salicifolia


Auranticarpa rhombifolia HOLLYWOOD, GOLDEN   
Backhousia angustfolia MYRTLE, CURRY   
Baloghia inophylla BLOODWOOD, BRUSH  
Brachychiton acerifolius FLAME TREE  
Brachychiton discolor  LACEBARK  
Brachychiton populneus KURRAJONG  
Brachychiton rupestris BOTTLE TREE  
Bridelia exaltata IRONBARK, BRUSH  
Bridelia leichhardtii IRONBARK, LEICHHARDTS  
Bursaria incana BURSARIA, FROSTY  
Capparis arborea CAPER TREE, RAINFOREST  
Capparis mitchellii CAPER TREE, MITCHELL'S  
Casearia multinervosa CASEARIA 
Castanospermum australe BEAN, BLACK   
Citronella moorei CHURNWOOD  
Citrus australis LIME, NATIVE ROUND   
Claoxylon australe BRITTLEWOOD    
Croton insularis CROTON, SILVER   
Cryptocarya bidwillii LAUREL, YELLOW
Cryptocarya glaucescens  JACKWOOD  
Cryptocarya triplinervis var. pubens LAUREL, HAIRY BROWN  
Cupaniopsis parvifolia TUCKEROO, SMALL LEAF   
Denhamia bilocularis (Maytenus bilocularis) ORANGEBARK, HEDGE   
Denhamia celastroides DENHAMIA, COMMON  
Denhamia disperma (was Maytenus disperma) BOXWOOD, ORANGE  
Denhamia pittosporoides DENHAMIA, VEINY   
Dinosperma erythrococcum TINGLETONGUE  
Diospyros australis EBONY, PLUM  
Diospyros humilis EBONY, SMALL LEAFED   

Diospyros humilis

Diploglottis australis (Diploglottis cunninghamii) TAMARIND, NATIVE   
Drypetes deplanchei TULIPWOOD, YELLOW 
Dysoxylum fraserianum ROSEWOOD  
Ehretia membranifolia KODA, THIN LEAFED  
Ehretia acuminata KODA  
Elaeocarpus obovatus QUANDONG, HARD    
Elaeodendron australe var. integrifolium 
              OLIVE PLUM, RED FRUITED  narrow-leafed
Elattostachys xylocarpa BEETROOT TREE, WHITE   
Emmenosperma alphitoniodes ASH, YELLOW   
Erythrina numerosa CORAL TREE, PINE MOUNTAIN   
Euroschinus falcatus RIBBONWOOD  
Everistia vaccinifolia EVERISTIA  
Excoecaria dallachyana POISON TREE, SCRUB  
Ficus rubiginosa FIG, SCRUB  
Flindersia collina ASH, LEOPARD   

Flindersia collina

Geijera parviflora WILGA  
Geijera salicifolia WILGA, SCRUB  
Guioa semiglauca GUIOA (Pronounced GHEE-OA)   
Linospadix monostachya WALKING STICK PALM  
Mallotus philippensis KAMALA, RED  
Melicope micrococca DOUGHWOOD, WHITE   
Myrsine variabilis (was Rapanea variabilis) MUTTONWOOD 
Neolitsea dealbata BOLLYGUM, GREY  
Notelaea microcarpa MOCK OLIVE, GORGE   
Owenia acidula APPLE, EMU  
Owenia venosa APPLE, ROSE   
Petalostigma pubescens QUIININE TREE, HAIRY  
Pittosporum angustifolium GUMBY GUMBY  
Pittosporum undulatum PITTOSPORUM, SWEET   
Planchonella cotinifolia (Pouteria cotinifolia) 
                                       CONDOO, SMALL LEAFED   
Psydrax buxifolium CANTHIUM, BOX-LEAFED  
Psydrax odoratum SWEET SUZIE 
Rhodosphaera rhodanthema YELLOWWOOD, DEEP   
 Rhodosphaera rhodanthema

Siphonodon australe IVORYWOOD  
Streblus pendulinus (Streblus brunonianus) WHALEBONE TREE 
Vitex lignum- vitae SATINWOOD  

Some of our Local Dry Rainforest shrubs 
and Small Understorey Trees.

Alchornea ilicifolia DOVEWOOD, HOLLY
Alyxia ruscifolia CHAIN FRUIT 
Bursaria spinosa BURSARIA, SWEET  (Prickly. Good bird plant)
Carissa ovata KUNKERBERRY (Prickly. Good bird plant)  
Clerodendron floribundum LOLLY BUSH  
Clerodendron tomentosum LOLLY BUSH, HAIRY  
Denhamia silvestris (Maytenus silvestris) ORANGEBARK, NARROW LEAFED      
Dodonaea sinuolata HOPBUSH, THREADY-LEAFED  
Dodonaea stenophylla HOPBUSH, STRINGY LEAFED   
Dodonaea tenuifolia HOPBUSH, FERN-LEAFED  
Dodonaea triangularis HOPBUSH, TRIANGLE LEAFED  
Dodonaea triquetra HOPBUSH, FOREST   
Dodonaea viscosa subsp angustifolia HOPBUSH, NARROW LEAFED  
Homalanthus populifolius BLEEDING HEART  
Myoporum montanum BOOBIALLA, MOUNTAIN  
Notelaea linearis MOCK OLIVE, NARROW LEAFED  
Pittosporum revolutum PITTOSPORUM, YELLOW  
Pittosporum viscidum BIRDS NEST BUSH (Prickly. Good bird plant) 
Psychotria daphnoides PSYCHOTRIA, HEDGE  
Psychotria loniceroides PSYCHOTRIA, HAIRY            
Santalum lanceolatum SANDALWOOD, NORTHERN 
Santalum obtusifolium SANDALWOOD, SHRUB
Trema tomentosa PEACH, POISON 
Turraea pubescens WITCH HAZEL, NATIVE