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Ecological data in tabular form are provided on 668 plant species of the families Lemnaceae to Zosteraceae, 505 native and 163 exotics, occurring in the Sydney region, defined by the Central Coast and Central Tablelands botanical subdivisions of New South Wales (approximately bounded by Lake Macquarie, Orange, Crookwell and Nowra). Relevant Local Government Areas are Auburn, Ashfield, Bankstown, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blayney, Blue Mountains, Botany, Burwood, Cabonne, Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Cessnock, Crookwell, Evans, Fairfield, Greater Lithgow, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kiama, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, Mulwaree, North Sydney, Oberon, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Rylstone, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, South Sydney, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong, Woollahra and Wyong. The study area falls within the Sydney Basin IBRA Bioregion.
Families are: Lemnaceae, Liliaceae, Lomandraceae, Luzuriagaceae, Najadaceae, Orchidaceae, Philydraceae, Phormiaceae, Poaceae, Pontederiaceae, Posidoniaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Restionaceae, Ripogonaceae, Smilacaceae, Sparganiaceae, Thismiaceae, Typhaceae, Uvulariaceae, Xanthorrhoeaceae, Xyridaceae, Zingiberaceae, Zosteraceae.
Data are derived from herbarium collections, literature and field observations. It is hoped that the many, often alarming gaps in the information available will stimulate much-needed research into the ecology of more of the species. Information is provided so far as available to us for each plant species in the following categories:
Life History: Growth form, vegetative spread, longevity, primary juvenile period (time from germination to fruiting), reproduction, flowering and fruiting times, fruit/seed type, dispersal, establishment and growth, fire response, interaction with other organisms.
Distribution: Status/origin (native/naturalised), botanical subregions, distribution in Sydney area, selected locations.
Habitat: Habitat, altitude, annual rainfall, typical local abundance, vegetation, substrate, exposure.
Conservation: Conservation status.
Ecological data in tabular form are provided on 325 plant species of the families Rutaceae to Zygophyllaceae, 236 native and 89 exotics, occurring in the Sydney region, defined by the Central Coast and Central Tablelands botanical subdivisions of New South Wales (approximately bounded by Lake Macquarie, Orange, Crookwell and Nowra). Relevant Local Government Areas are Auburn, Ashfield, Bankstown, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blayney, Blue Mountains, Botany, Burwood, Cabonne, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury, Cessnock, Concord, Crookwell, Drummoyne, Evans, Fairfield, Greater Lithgow, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kiama, Kogarah, Ku-Ring-Gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, Mulwaree, North Sydney, Oberon, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Rylstone, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, South Sydney, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong, Woollahra and Wyong. The study area falls within the Sydney Basin IBRA Bioregion.
Families are: Rutaceae, Salicaceae, Sambucaceae, Santalaceae, Sapindaceae, Sapotaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Selaginaceae, Simaroubaceae, Solanaceae, Stackhousiaceae, Sterculiaceae, Stylidiaceae, Symplocaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Tremandraceae, Tropaeolaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae, Valerianaceae, Verbenaceae, Viburnaceae, Violaceae, Viscaceae, Vitaceae, Winteraceae, Zygophyllaceae.
Data are derived from herbarium collections, literature and field observations. It is hoped that the many, often alarming gaps in the information available will stimulate much-needed research into the ecology of more of the species. Information is provided so far as available to us for each plant species in the following categories:
Life History: Growth form, vegetative spread, longevity, primary juvenile period (time from germination to fruiting), reproduction, flowering and fruiting times, fruit/seed type, dispersal, establishment and growth, fire response, interaction with other organisms.
Distribution: Status/origin (native/naturalised), botanical subregions, distribution in Sydney area, selected locations.
Habitat: Habitat, altitude, annual rainfall, typical local abundance, vegetation, substrate, exposure.
Conservation: Conservation status.
Ecological data in tabular form are provided on 246 plant species of the families Proteaceae to Rubiaceae, 216 native and 30 exotics, occurring in the Sydney region, defined by the Central Coast and Central Tablelands botanical subdivisions of New South Wales (approximately bounded by Lake Macquarie, Orange, Crookwell and Nowra). Relevant Local Government Areas are Auburn, Ashfield, Bankstown, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blayney, Blue Mountains, Botany, Burwood, Cabonne, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury, Cessnock, Concord, Crookwell, Drummoyne, Evans, Fairfield, Greater Lithgow, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kiama, Kogarah, Ku-Ring-Gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, Mulwaree, North Sydney, Oberon, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Rylstone, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, South Sydney, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong, Woollahra and Wyong. The study area falls within the Sydney Basin IBRA Bioregion.
Families are: Proteaceae, Ranunculaceae, Resedaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae.
Data are derived from herbarium collections, literature and field observations. It is hoped that the many, often alarming gaps in the information available will stimulate much-needed research into the ecology of more of the species. Information is provided so far as available to us for each plant species in the following categories:
Life History: Growth form, vegetative spread, longevity, primary juvenile period (time from germination to fruiting), reproduction, flowering and fruiting times, fruit/seed type, dispersal, establishment and growth, fire response, interaction with other organisms.
Distribution: Status/origin (native/naturalised), botanical subregions, distribution in Sydney area, selected locations.
Habitat: Habitat, altitude, annual rainfall, typical local abundance, vegetation, substrate, exposure.
Conservation: Conservation status.
By the time Robert Brown visited western Sydney (1802–1805), its vegetation was already beginning to be affected by settlers' activities. The Cumberland Plain Woodland that occurred on the clay soils has now been extensively cleared and long-term management of remnants for species conservation is of high priority. Robert Brown's collections in the area, together with descriptions by Atkinson, Cunningham and other writers, provide us with valuable information on the vegetation and its floristic composition. Supported by recent site monitoring at Mount Annan Botanic Garden at Campbelltown, we interpret this information in the light of current ecological knowledge and conclude that:
• Woodland structure is variable in the short term; therefore seeking to conserve structure exactly as described in the historical literature is not necessarily appropriate.
• While the historical literature provides evidence of the broad floristic composition of the Cumberland Plain area overall, it does not provide sufficient detail on individual sites; future management of specific sites must therefore be based on current data.
• The evidence suggests relatively few species have become extinct overall, possibly because many species appear to be relatively long-lived, and have mechanisms to survive drought, fire and grazing, though not soil alteration.
• Many species, however, are now distributed patchily in localised remnants and rare species are not clustered in a predictable way; species diversity is therefore likely to be lost if further clearing of remnants occurs.
Ecological data in tabular form are provided on 361 plant species of the families Agavaceae to Juncaginaceae, 260 native and 101 exotics, occurring in the Sydney region, defined by the Central Coast and Central Tablelands botanical subdivisions of New South Wales (approximately bounded by Lake Macquarie, Orange, Crookwell and Nowra). Relevant Local Government Areas are Auburn, Ashfield, Bankstown, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blayney, Blue Mountains, Botany, Burwood, Cabonne, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury, Cessnock, Concord, Crookwell, Drummoyne, Evans, Fairfield, Greater Lithgow, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kiama, Kogarah, Ku-Ring-Gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, Mulwaree, North Sydney, Oberon, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Rylstone, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, South Sydney, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong, Woollahra and Wyong. The study area falls within the Sydney Basin IBRA Bioregion.
Families are: Agavaceae, Alismataceae, Alliaceae, Alstroemeriaceae, Amarylidaceae, Anthericaceae, Aponogetonaceae, Araceae, Arecaceae, Asparagaceae, Asphodelaceae, Asteliaceae, Blandfordiaceae, Burmanniaceae, Cannaceae, Centrolepidaceae, Colchicaceae, Commelinaceae, Cyperaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Doryanthaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Flagellariaceae, Haemodoraceae, Hyacinthaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Hypoxidaceae, Iridaceae, Juncaceae, Juncaginaceae.
Data are derived from herbarium collections, literature and field observations. It is hoped that the many, often alarming gaps in the information available will stimulate much-needed research into the ecology of more of the species. Information is provided so far as available to us for each plant species in the following categories:
Life History: Growth form, vegetative spread, longevity, primary juvenile period (time from germination to fruiting), reproduction, flowering and fruiting times, fruit/seed type, dispersal, establishment and growth, fire response, interaction with other organisms.
Distribution: Status/origin (native/naturalised), botanical subregions, distribution in Sydney area, selected locations.
Habitat: Habitat, altitude, annual rainfall, typical local abundance, vegetation, substrate, exposure.
Conservation: Conservation status.
Particular botanical sites have always been attractive to botanists, and the recording of such sites even in an ad hoc way, adds to our long-term documentation of ecological change. Here we look at records from an unusual dry rainforest site in western Sydney, first recognised in 1910, and re-recorded on several occasions more recently. Though the site has little formal conservation protection, the records indicate that many of the original species still survive at the site, while the periodic recording draws attention to the scientific value of the site, particularly at a local level, and has increased its value as an ecological reference site. Much of the vegetation of the Cumberland Plain has been subject to major clearing and disturbance over the past 200 years, and almost all vegetation is recovering in some way. Repeated visits are valuable for getting a complete picture of the flora; repeated visits by the same botanist over the shorter term (e.g. within a few years) may also be valuable, especially as the revisiting botanist may be more likely to notice changes. By documenting sites now, and continuing this over future years; we can enhance the value of many existing sites.
Observations on the longevity and ecology of Isopogon prostratus McGill. (Proteaceae) based on 1985 and 2009 field measures on Newnes Plateau, near Lithgow, and a seed germination trial are provided. Its survival strategy appears to be that of a stress-tolerator with long-term persistence at (relatively few) suitable sites, and it remains a relatively rare plant. It is conjectured that it is likely to have been a species of greater abundance in the drier, colder and generally treeless conditions of the Newnes Plateau 15–20 000 years ago, but, as conditions became warmer and wetter it has become reduced to isolated populations as taller shrubs outcompeted it for light.
The first scientific observations on the flora of eastern Australia were made at Botany Bay in April–May 1770. We discuss the landscapes of Botany Bay and particularly of the historic landing place at Kurnell (lat 34˚ 00’ S, long 151˚ 13’ E) (about 16 km south of central Sydney), as described in the journals of Lieutenant James Cook and Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage in 1770. We list 132 plant species that were collected at Botany Bay by Banks and Daniel Solander, the first scientific collections of Australian flora. The list is based on a critical assessment of unpublished lists compiled by authors who had access to the collection of the British Museum (now Natural History Museum), together with species from material at National Herbarium of New South Wales that has not been previously available. The list includes Bidens pilosa which has been previously regarded as an introduced species. In 1770 the Europeans set foot on Aboriginal land of the Dharawal people. Since that time the landscape has been altered in response to a succession of different land-uses; farming and grazing, commemorative tree planting, parkland planting, and pleasure ground and tourist visitation. We describe and reconstruct the 1770 vegetation and landscape features of the Kurnell landing place site, now within Botany Bay National Park, based on primary historical sources and surviving remnants of the landscape, and suggest ways in which the remnants can be rehabilitated and enhanced to protect and focus on the botanical, historical and cultural values of this important place.
For the successful long-term management of biodiversity in conservation reserves, science and management need to work together. In 2008 we resampled two transects in a small urban reserve in northern Sydney under longterm conservation management. The transects were established in 1976 and recorded again in 1987 and 1998 (by other workers). We looked at plant species changes by growthforms, family (Fabaceae) and conservation-significance. Over the 30-year period the structure of the understorey has changed markedly, and despite ongoing weeding programs, the frequency of species identified as significant for conservation has continued to decrease. Despite periodic recommendations for ecological burning since 1987, supported by the monitoring data, this has not been attempted. We discuss the lessons for ecology, monitoring and management evident in this long-term monitoring study.
Ecological data in tabular form are provided on 149 plant species of the families Nyctaginaceae to Primulaceae, 75 native and 74 exotics, occurring in the Sydney region, defined by the Central Coast and Central Tablelands botanical subdivisions of New South Wales (approximately bounded by Lake Macquarie, Orange, Crookwell and Nowra). Relevant Local Government Areas are Auburn, Ashfield, Bankstown, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blayney, Blue Mountains, Botany, Burwood, Cabonne, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury, Cessnock, Concord, Crookwell, Drummoyne, Evans, Fairfield, Greater Lithgow, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kiama, Kogarah, Ku-Ring-Gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, Mulwaree, North Sydney, Oberon, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Rylstone, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Singleton, South Sydney, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney City, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong, Woollahra and Wyong.
Families are: Nyctaginaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Ochnaceae, Olacaceae, Oleaceae, Onagraceae, Oxalidaceae, Papaveraceae, Passifloraceae, Peperomiaceae, Piperaceae, Pittosporaceae, Plantaginaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Polemoniaceae, Polygalaceae, Polygonaceae, Portulacaceae, Primulaceae.
Data are derived from herbarium collections, literature and field observations. It is hoped that the many, often alarming gaps in the information available will stimulate much-needed research into the ecology of more of the species. Information is provided so far as available to us for each plant species in the following categories:
Life History: Growth form, vegetative spread, longevity, primary juvenile period (time from germination to fruiting), reproduction, flowering and fruiting times, fruit/seed type, dispersal, establishment and growth, fire response, interaction with other organisms.
Distribution: Status/origin (native/naturalised), botanical subregions, distribution in Sydney area, selected locations.
Habitat: Habitat, altitude, annual rainfall, typical local abundance, vegetation, substrate, exposure.
Conservation: Conservation status.
In January 1843, curiosity for natural history led a young German naturalist, Ludwig Leichhardt, to spend about three weeks exploring Mt Royal on the north of the Hunter Valley, about 70 km north west of Newcastle, New South Wales. This was a sidetrack on his journey from Newcastle, through the Hunter Valley and inland to Moreton Bay (Brisbane) and preceded the journeys for which he was to become famous; his 1844–45 overland journey from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (in Northern Territory) and his disappearance without trace in 1848 attempting to cross Australia. Using his Diary and herbarium records this paper brings together the chronological events of the 29 year old Leichhardt’s journey, the plant and animal species recorded, the specimens collected and his landscape descriptions and compares the 1843 landscape with the area today. Most of it is now in Mount Royal National Park, and part of the Gondwana Rainforest Reserves World Heritage Area. Using Mt Royal as an example of the richness of Leichhardt’s scientific legacy, we draw attention to the existence of a considerable number of Leichhardt’s plant specimens in herbaria in Sydney and Melbourne relating to his early collecting around Sydney and the little-known journey from Newcastle to Moreton Bay. Leichhardt’s visit to Mt Royal provides an insight into a gifted young naturalist coping with some of the hardships of nineteenth century botanical exploration, in a landscape which is easily recognizable and of which much is remarkably little changed since European settlement.
Sydney Harbour National Park (lat 33° 53’S; long 151° 13’E), protects significant vegetation on the harbor foreshores close to Sydney City CBD; its floristic abundance and landscape beauty has been acknowledged since the writings of the First Fleet in 1788. Surprisingly, although historical plant collections were made as early as1802, and localised surveys have listed species for parts of the Park since the 1960s, a detailed survey of the flora of whole Park is still needed. This paper provides the first definitive list of the c.400 native flora species for Sydney Harbour National Park (total area 390 ha) showing occurrence on the seven terrestrial sub-regions or precincts (North Head, South Head, Dobroyd Head, Middle Head, Chowder Head, Bradleys Head and Nielsen Park). The list is based on historical species lists, records from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (formerly Dept of Environment, Climate Change and Water) Atlas, National Herbarium of New South Wales specimen details, and some additional fieldwork. 131 species have only been recorded from a single precinct site and many are not substantiated with a recent herbarium specimen (though there are historical specimens from the general area for many). Species reported in the sources but for which no current or historic specimen exists are listed separately as being of questionable/non-local status. About 85% of the 400 species are recorded as being from North Head, the largest precinct, though the smallest Chowder Head does not have the fewest species. As well as size, differences indicate the different flora of inner harbour sites; inner harbour Bradleys Head and Nielsen Park include 24% of the single record species. Rare and threatened species, and regionally important species are discussed in relation to current threats which include weed invasion, fire frequency, Phytophthora, Black rats and tourism pressures. Given the threats to the flora it is an appropriate time to take stock of the flora as a basic structural component of the biodiversity. What is now needed is a systematic survey (with quadrat-based methodology) to provide baseline data against which to compare state of Park trends with future resurvey. In the absence of such a survey this list at least will provide a reasonably definitive list of the species occurring in the Park regions at the beginning of the 21st Century. If only we had done this at the beginning of the 20th Century! Key words: Sydney Harbour, native plant species lists, First Fleet observations, conservation monitoring.
Mires or peat swamps have a restricted distribution in Australia and are limited to areas where hydrological inputs exceed evapotranspiration. In NSW, mires are restricted to the coast, adjacent ranges or tablelands, and along the Great Dividing Range; most are listed as threatened ecological communities under State or Commonwealth legislation. Due primarily to the relatively high rainfall and suitable geology, the Blue Mountains region includes a number of such threatened mire ecological communities. Most of these mire types are largely included within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, although there are notable exceptions, such as the endangered Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps.
This paper reports on a little-known group of diverse, relatively isolated and largely unprotected mires, in a relatively low rainfall area in the upper Cudgegong River catchment, east of Rylstone in the NSW Central Tablelands, and of their floristic, hydrogeomorphic and typological relationship with other mires of the Blue Mountains. They can be broadly divided into montane bogs, montane fens and hanging swamps. Particular attention is focussed on the largest and most diverse one, Rollen Creek swamp, which contains all three types. It is hoped that highlighting this hitherto unrecognised group of high conservation-value mires will contribute to their improved conservation and encourage further research into mires of eastern NSW.
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), a natural area of about one million hectares immediately west of Sydney, Australia, is significant for its biodiversity, and particularly for its richness of eucalypt species (species of Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia in the family Myrtaceae), numbered at 96 species in 2010. This paper describes the finding of a previously unlisted Angophora species in the GBMWHA, and makes a conservation assessment of the population. A population of the Broad-leaved Apple Angophora subvelutina F. Muell. occurs at Euroka Clearing south of Glenbrook just within the eastern edge of Blue Mountains National Park, one of the eight conservation reserves that make up the GBMWHA. The population numbers over 200 plants and there is evidence that the species has been present at the site since before European settlement. The population includes a mixture of age classes and is considered viable, although substantial intergradation is occurring with the closely related species Angophora floribunda. Elsewhere in the Sydney area, the species is relatively uncommon and has been extensively cleared from its relatively fertile habitats. The population in the GBMWHA noted here has conservation significance for its size and long history at the site, and for the unusual ecological conditions of the Euroka diatreme, which is an atypical habitat for the species.
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), immediately west of Sydney (33° 53’S; 151° 13’E), on the east coast of Australia was listed as World Heritage for its outstanding natural values, a major component of which is the high number of eucalypt species and eucalypt-dominated communities present, some 13 per cent of all eucalypt species in the world. They grow in a great variety of plant communities, from tall closed forests, through open forests and woodlands, to stunted mallee shrublands. This paper provides a definitive list of the 96 eucalypts (species of the genera Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia in the family Myrtaceae), that have been recorded there (55 widespread, 41 restricted), together with the distribution of the eucalypts in the eight reserves that make up the GBMWHA, and information on the classification and habitat of the different species. The information is based on records held at the National Herbarium of New South Wales and the results of surveys by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) over the past 20 years. The majority of species have components of both stress-tolerator and competitor ecological strategies and this has probably been a main contributor to their success. However details of the ecology of the majority of taxa are poorly-known and more research is needed to provide guidance for conservation management in the face of changing climate conditions.
Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps are a series of low nutrient temperate montane peat swamps around 1100 m elevation in the upper Blue Mountains, west of Sydney (lat 33° 23’ S; long 150° 13’E). Transect-based vegetation studies show a closely related group of swamps with expanses of permanently moist, gently sloping peatlands. Vegetation patterns are related to surface hydrology and subsurface topography, which determine local peat depth. While there is evidence that a group of the highest elevation swamps on the western side of the Plateau are more dependent on rainwater, the majority of swamps, particularly those in the Carne Creek catchment, and east and south of it, may beconsidered primarily groundwater dependent with a permanently high watertable maintained by groundwater aquifers. An integral part of the swamps are a number of threatened groundwater dependent biota (plants–Boronia deanei subsp. deanei, Dillwynia stipulifera, dragonfly– Petalura gigantea, lizard– Eulamprus leuraensis), which are obligate swamp dwellers. This association of dependence leaves the entire swamp ecosystem highly susceptible to threats from any loss of groundwater, the current major one being the impact of damage to the confining aquicludes, aquitards, aquifers and peat substrates as a result of subsidence associated with longwall mining. Impacts on the swamps may also result from changes to hydrology through damming of creeks, mine waste water discharge, increased moisture competition from pine plantations, recreational motorbike and off-road vehicle tracks and climate change. If these groundwater dependent ecosystems do not receive protection from activities such as longwall mining subsidence, significant ecological damage is unlikely to be avoided or able to be mitigated even where provisions of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation and NSW Threatened Species Conservation Acts apply to groundwater dependent swamps and biota. The importance of the highest elevation part of the Plateau for a number of restricted (some endemic) plant species is also discussed.