Gargaloo - something to add

 Parsonsia eucalyptophylla 

 

I love it when a reader tells me something I didn't know.

 Jane Pye of Walgett read my original blog about this pretty, drought-hardy vine, and wrote to ask me about its tuber. Could I could confirm that it was poisonous? She added "There is a lot of it here around the old kamilaroi camps so seems odd they encouraged a poisonous vine - why not the bush banana instead? "

 Having had no idea that it even had a tuber, I was no help to her. I have never thought to dig up the roots of one and examine them. I couldn't find any botanical descriptions which mention a tuber, so perhaps no botanist has ever dug one up, either. I did find a reference that said that cattle and sheep "eat it" apparently without ill effect. Sheep are known to dig up some tubers, but perhaps this comment refers only to the above-ground parts of the plant. Could the gargaloo tubers be too deep for the sheep to find? Or perhaps the first nibble tells them that it tastes bad, so it gets left alone. 

Presumably a gargaloo which has been eaten to the ground can then regrow from the tuber.

My original blog about the Gargaloo can be found at https://toowoombaplants2008.blogspot.com/search?q=gargaloo

An article about the  poisonous tuber can be found here: https://archive.lls.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/495749/archive-vines.pdf 

Jane has an excellent blogsite of her own, which I recommend to you. You can find it at https://scartrees.com.au/

 

A gargaloo seed capsule (below).  The ripe seeds have little silky "parachutes" which help spread the seeds. Just a few of these seeds may have been lucky enough to land in a suitable spot to create a new plant.

  Gargaloo flowers have a lovely honey scent. The plants west of Toowoomba seem to me to have a more appealing fragrance than those on plants further east. They appeal strongly to butterflies.

 And finally, a photo which shows the distinctive flower shape of Parsonsia flowers - but will also appeal to the readers of a certain very popular children's book by Richard Scarry. 

 Here's Goldbug!  

(Double click on the photo to enlarge it, and you will see him.)

Gargaloo

Parsonsia eucalyptophylla
Family: APOCYNACEAE



Climbers are rainforest plants, really.






When our local climate really behaves as badly as it can- by which I mean that it gives us many years of tedious drought - there are not too many climbers that will tolerate it. This one does, though. A descendant of rainforest ancestors, it has adapted so well to life west of the Great Dividing Range, that it can be relied on in the toughest, most exposed positions. It takes drought, frost, and searing sunshine in its stride.



Gargaloos are a common sight in some of our ex-scrub areas, growing on fence-posts and isolated trees.






This roadside specimen was gloriously in flower last weekend. No prizes for guessing what its pollinating insects must be!
The flowers have a strong sweet perfume, which some people love, though it reminds me a little too much of rotting fruit. They can’t be relied upon to flower with this much enthusiasm every year, but do it very well when the rain comes at the right time.

This is a plant which could be used in gardens. It grows very densely, making a good job of disguising old tree stumps, and would do well on a sturdy trellis or pergola. We tend to think of it as a plant of the blacksoil, but it grows well also on the red.
(See the Article on Irongate Reserve, June 13 2008, for more photos of gargaloo plants, including one of a lovely trunk of a very old plant.)

Update 26 August 2021 

A reader, Jane Pye of Walgett, has drawn my attention to an article which says that gargaloo has a tuber which is poisonous. I was unaware of the tuber, having never dug up the root of one of these plants, but it would certainly explain the extreme drought hardiness of the plant.

The full article can be found at: https://archive.lls.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/495749/archive-vines.pdf

Jane has a fascinating blog, which I recommend to you, at https://scartrees.com.au/

Monkey Rope in Flower
Parsonsia straminea

This relative of gargaloo rarely flowers with this kind of vigour, so I was delighted to find it on this front fence at Blackbutt last weekend.




As you see, it is attracting beetles with even more success that its country cousin. Its flowers are as strongly perfumed as those of the gargaloo, but the fragrance is a little different - more musty.
I wondered whether special garden care was responsible for this glorious show of flowers, but apparently not. It was not planted by the homeowners, but found its own way there, and has never received a jot of special attention.
(For more on the monkey rope vine, see article, Aug 2009)

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

What is this Butterfly Doing?

I was puzzled by the behaviour of this, and several other blue tigers, which were hovering around a Gargaloo Parsonsia eucalyptophylla vine. They were landing on the leaves and young stems, and poking out their little proboscises, apparently tasting the plant. They pumped their wings rhythmically, from fully open to fully shut, while they were doing it, and were so busy concentrating on this obviously important activity, that this one let me come withing a foot of it to take his photo. You can see that he is interested in the leaf’s central vein. (It is a “he”. You can clearly see a raised black patch on his hindwings, that marks him as male.)
Not knowing what he was doing, I asked a question on the “Bring Back Our Butterflies” website, and found that he is getting perfumed up, before going out to meet girls.
Apparently he is extracting a chemical (possible a pyrolizidine alkaloid). This is the butterfly equivalent of Aerogard - it keeps the birds away - so replenishing the store, already in their bodies as a result of their infant diet, helps keep them safe while they go out courting.
However the reason that males spend more time at this activity than females do is that the chemical is used to make a pheromone which is excreted by “hairpencil” glands on their abdomens. In the courting process they apply it to the antennae of females, thus attracting their attention to the availability of an eligible bachelor.
I find it interesting that blue tigers use Parsonsia eucalyptophylla for this purpose, even though they are only known to breed on Secamone elliptica in our area. I’ll have to keep watch for caterpillars, to see whether the vine is actually a breeding site as well.
The website I mentioned above is managed by Frank Jordan, and is a great place of find information and ask questions about butterflies.
http://bringbackourbutterflies.ning.com

Gargaloo at Ironbark

Parsonsia eucalyptophylla
Family: APOCYNACEAE
These vines are flowering madly at Irongate Reserve at the moment, and I am intrigued to contrast them with the flowers I photographed in January, on the road south of Blackbutt. (See article January 14, 2010) At that time, there were plenty of Gargaloos in flower along the range, but the Irongate plants were only just beginning to put out a few buds.
The perfume of these Irongate flowers is much sweeter - more honey, and hardly a hint of the rotting fruit undertones - and the insects attracted by them consist largely of bees and butterflies. There were none of the beetles which swarmed to the Blackbutt flowers.
I wonder whether this is something governed by variable factors like the season, the soil, and the rainfall, or whether these Irongate plants are just genetically a bit different. If so, (and considering where they grow), they are probably tougher, and more resistant to drought and frost.

Some of the Irongate gargaloos are producing their seeds already.
The green pods (which resemble this pod on another species of Parsonsia at Irongate) ripen to brown...








and split into two parts, spilling out hundreds of flyaway seeds.

Butterfly Battle

To us, life, for butterflies, seems rather stress-free and idyllic, especially for those species which are bird-proof by virtue of their nasty taste. In reality it’s nothing of the sort.
Yesterday I watched these two having a territorial dispute, at Lake Broadwater (near Dalby).
The upper one, a native wanderer (Danaus chrysippus) had a good piece of territory, on a gargaloo Parsonsia eucalyptophylla high in the treetops. Gargaloos are host plants of very high value to a number of species of butterfly in the danaid group, so the possession of one puts a male butterfly in a prestigious position. It’s a good move, when it comes to meeting girls, to be able to offer them a creche of such high status.
Then along came the crow butterfly (Euploea core) and tried his level best to take over and drive the wanderer out.
He wasn’t having any success at all. The wanderer refused to budge, despite prolonged and determined campaign harassment by the interloper.
It does remind us that butterflies, like every other animal in the wild, have to cope with competition and aggression from members of their own and other species.

Irongate Environmental Reserve

I visited this reserve, which is between Pittsworth and Mt Tyson, last week and was delighted with the mee-meei (Pittosporum angustifolium/phylliraeoides) which were heavily in fruit.
The mee-meei at this site are the best of any I’ve seen, with large brilliantly coloured capsules, the colour of a really good ripe apricot, both inside and out. They were just beginning to open and reveal the deep red, sticky seeds inside. Do click on the photo for a really good look at its lovely details.
Irongate reserve is a good example of the dry rainforest / vine scrub vegetation typical of the black soil slopes west of the dividing range. Many of the plants are labelled, and they include the native ebony, (Diospyros humilis).

There was also a good population of the heavy vine called gargaloo (Parsonsia eucalyptophylla), which would make the reserve well worth a visit in summer when this plant is in flower. It is the showiest of the Parsonsias, having masses of highly perfumed white flowers. The insects which they attract - and the birds which THEY attract - are something else to attract us to this valuable reserve.
I love the beautiful trunks on old specimens. (Photo below)



Here it is growing on the stump of an old, dead bumble tree (Capparis mitchellii).
Mature bumble trees with their large edible fruits that smell like rotten oranges when ripe, are also common in the reserve and attract clouds of butterflies in spring and summer.

Also worth seeing are the Hovea longipes, which are common there. This species is a much more substantial woody shrub than we usually expect a Hovea to be. It produces its deep purple pea-flowers sometime between August and October, and is a good ornamental species to grow in blacksoil gardens.

Irongate Reserve is remarkably weed-free.
We need to protect our relatively uninvaded bits of bush - not just because they are the areas that give our native plants the best chance, but because they are reasonably easy to restore to their pristine state. Far better to begin caring for these areas when infestation is sparse, than to wait until they get to a state where a “friends” group has to spend enormous long hours on what, in many of our local “bushland” areas, may well be a hopeless task.
I was sorry to see a few plants of the horrible introduced blackthorn there. It’s such a nasty weed.
There was also a small amount of mother-of-millions. Our little group weeded out the bits we saw, which was an easy, one-plastic-bag sized task. No doubt more will come up from seed, though. If you go there, could you carry a plastic bag with you and spend five minutes doing the same?
TO GET TO IRONGATE CONSERVATION RESERVE:
Go to Mt Tyson, and head west out the main street. Near the property called Adora Downs the road makes a right-angled turn to the left (south). Follow this until it hits a T-intersection. Turn left, and in about 200 metres you see the Irongate Hall on the left. Turn right (south) almost immediately after that, and follow the road )which makes a bend to the left) for something like 3.5k until you come across the reserve on your right. Keep your eye out for the iron gate that marks the place.

Butterfly Host Plants for the Toowoomba District

A Shortlist
There are several hundred local butterfly host plant species, attracting almost a hundred butterfly species. Here are some of the most desirable for gardens, all native to the area covered by this blogsite.
LARGE TREES
Blush Walnut Beilschmiedia obtusifolia BLUE TRIANGLE BUTTERFLY
Flame Tree Brachychiton acerifolius TAILED EMPEROR, AEROPLANE, VARIOUS BLUES, JEWELS AND HAIRSTREAKS


Tailed Emperor on my window.











Mowbullan Whitewood Elaeocarpus kirtonii BRONZE FLAT, FIERY JEWEL
Crows Ash Flindersia australis ORCHARD SWALLOWTAIL
Brush Box Lophostemon confertus BRONZE FLAT, RED-EYE, JEWEL BUTTERFLIES

MEDIUM-SIZED TREES
Wattles Acacia species TAILED EMPERORS, YELLOWS, BLUES, JEWELS AND HAIRSTREAKS


Yellow Migrant















Birdseyes and Boonarees Alectryon species BRONZE FLATS, JEWELS, BLUES, AND CORNELIANS
Soap Tree Alphitonia excelsa VARIOUS BLUES, JEWELS AND HAIRSTREAKS
Piccabeen Palm Archontophoenix cunninghamii PALM DART SPECIES
Lacebark, Kurrajong, Bottle Tree: Brachychiton species TAILED EMPEROR, AEROPLANE, VARIOUS BLUE AND JEWEL BUTTERFLIES
Yellow Tulipwod Drypetes deplanchei YELLOW ALBATROSS
Silver-leafed Ironbark Eucalyptus melanophloia DAEMEL’S BLUE
LITTLE TREES
Wattles Acacia species AS ABOVE
Native Capers, Capparis species FIVE SPECIES OF CAPER BUTTERFLIES

Caper White











Velvet Cassia Cassia tomentella LEMON MIGRANT, TAILED EMPEROR
Native Round Lime Citrus australis VARIOUS SWALLOWTAILS
Bollygums Neolitsea species BRONZE FLAT, BLUE TRIANGLE
Murrogun Cryptocarya microneura (Cryptocarya glaucescens var. reticulata) MACLEAY’S SWALLOWTAIL, BRONZE FLATS, BLUE TRIANGLE ORCHARD SWALLOWTAIL
Native Cassia Cassia tomentella YELLOWS, TAILED EMPEROR.

SHRUBS
Pretty Wattle Acacia decora TAILED EMPERORS, YELLOWS, BLUES, JEWELS AND HAIRSTREAKS


Lemon Migrant












Holly Dovewood Alchornea ilicifolia YELLOW ALBATROSS
Breynia Breynia oblongifolia YELLOWS
Blueberry Ash Elaeocarpus reticulatus BRONZE FLAT
Dogwood Jacksonia scoparia BLUES AND JEWELS
Native Cassias Senna coronilloides, S. artemisioides etc YELLOWS, TAILED EMPEROR.

CLIMBERS
Cressida Butterfly Vine Aristolochia meridionalis CLEARWING


Clearwing










Zig-zag Vine Melodorum leichhardtii FOUR-BAR SWORDTAIL, RED-EYE


Four-bar Swordtail















Native Passionfruit Passiflora aurantia GLASSWING
Doubah, Marsdenia viridiflora COMMON CROW, NATIVE WANDERER
Gargaloo, Parsonsia eucalyptoides COMMON CROW.
Corky Milk Vine Secamone elliptica BLUE TIGER, COMMON CROW, NATIVE WANDERER


Blue Tiger












FLOWERS AND HERBS
Spade flower Hybanthus stellarioides GLASSWING
Native Plumbago Plumbago zeylanica PLUMBAGO BLUE
Love Flower Pseuderanthemum variabile LEAFWING, ARGUS, EGGFLY.
Fan Flowers Scaevola species MEADOW ARGUS
Native Nettles Urtica incisa AUSTRALIAN ADMIRAL

Australian Admiral










Paper daisies, Xerochrysum and other species PAINTED LADY

GRASSES, RUSHES
Matrushes Lomandra longifolia SKIPPERS
Tussock grasses Poa species BROWNS, SKIPPERS


Banks' Brown, at the Bunya Mountains










Kangaroo Grass Themeda triandra BROWNS, RINGLETS

MISTLETOES of the Loranthaceae Family.
(Plant seeds on existing trees)
Most Mistletoe species. JEZEBELS, AZURES


Scarlet Jezebel