Cairns Regional Council - Parks & Leisure
Issue 10 - March 2016
Volunteers Voice
Become involved with your local park, reserve, trail or botanic garden
Green Space Our Place
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Volunteers Voice
In this issue: • From the Editor - Page 2 • Green Space Our Place - Page 3
• Volunteer Comments Laura LePape - Page 4 • Meet your volunteer program leaders - Page 4 • Parks & Leisure Volunteer Strategic Plan 2016-2019 - Page 5 • Friends News - Pages 6-7 • Down ‘n’ Dirty Numbers increase - Pages 8-9 • Farewell to Donn Corcoran - Page 10 • New Stratford Nursery group - Page 10 • Volunteer Profile, Pat MacConnacher - Page 11 • Rubiaceae - Page 12 • Volunteers recognised - Page 13 • Fruit morphology - Page 14 • Jabiru News - Page 15 • What’s On - Back Page
This newsletter is published quarterly, showcasing articles and photographs on volunteer activities throughout Council’s Parks & Leisure branch.
From the Editor Welcome to the first Volunteers Voice newsletter for 2016 featuring a ‘new look’! We have hit the ground running this year! First of all, let me introduce you to our new team member Sarah Gosling (Page 4) appointed as Volunteers Support Officer to assist with the volunteer programs. Sarah and I will be working on the new enhanced volunteer program we have underway called Green Space Our Place (Page 3). This exciting program has been developed to expand on what we already have in place and to encompass the growing interest from Cairns’ residents who want to volunteer in their local park, reserve and trails. To ensure this program is most effective we have a strategic plan in place (Page 5). We have also begun a new Nursery Volunteer Group at the Stratford Natural Areas Management Nursery (Page 10) and our volunteers’ numbers continue to grow - see the Down ‘n’ Dirty (Pages 8-9) and Jabiru ‘newbies’ (Page 15). Pat MacConnacher, who has wonderful community spirit, is featured in the Volunteer Profile (Page 11), and there is is some great feedback from volunteers who have left Cairns (Pages 4 and 10). The Friends have some exciting news on Page 6 and 7 and you can read about how volunteers were rewarded at the end of 2015 on Page 11. Hort. Notes features Fruit Morphology, and Rubiaceae is the plant family chosen for this issue. Enjoy reading!
Louisa
Volunteers Voice
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Green Space Our Place program launch
Are you interested in becoming involved with a local park, reserve or trail in your community?
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ouncil is enhancing its volunteer experiences with this new iniative, Green Space Our Place to support community members who would like to assist with their local parks and reserve areas. The objectives of the Green Space Our Place program are to: • enhance the general appearance of the Cairns parks and reserves; • promote and instill community pride in local parks and reserves; • educate and inform park users of local laws and initiatives, and provide feedback; • reduce anti-social behanviour and vandalism in parks and reserves; and • provide a sustainable future for one of the City’s major assets. Support from local communities enables Cairns Regional Council staff to look after these assests more effectively. Interested community members will be registered as volunteers and will be involved in beautifying parks (enhance planting, weed management, litter cleanup), reporting on issues (graffiti and vandalism, antisocial behaviour, maintenance issues) and building community participation (networking activities). Overall, volunteers help deliver services, products and opportunities that otherwise would have been provided at a higher cost to Council or not provided at all. This program enhances what is already in place and is not intended to replace Council’s workforce. Together with other like-minded people, residents will be playing an active role in the life of these areas. Community and visitors value clean, well maintained facilities that are cared for, attractive and safe and
engaging community support will enable Council to look after the City’s assets more effectively. PICTURED: Front page and above: The Mt Whitfield ‘Arrow’ tracks. Would you like to be a part of a volunteer group that will assist with maintaining our tracks and trails? This could involve anything from assistance in track construction and maintenance, weed removal, revegetation and reporting on issues. With regard to Green Space Our Place there will be extensive liaison with all park supervisors or supervisors of areas where an interest in volunteering is made. If anyone would like to be a part of this program in caring for their local park, waterway, reserve, tracks and trails contact Louisa Grandy 4032 6648 or Sarah Gosling 4032 6630 for further information.
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Volunteers Voice
Meet your volunteer program leaders Volunteer Comments Volunteers Supervisor, Louisa Grandy
Thank you very much Louisa for having me as a volunteer. It was a really nice experience and I met great people thanks to the Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteer program. Unfortunately, I won't be present this year for I intend to enrol in a nursing school in France. One never knows! I might come back for holidays or to work as a nurse, and I will be sure to let you know :) Thank you again for your support in the volunteer program and also for providing me a reference which helped me gain employment in Cairns! Laura LePape
(right) was appointed the role of managing existing volunteer programs in Cairns Botanic Gardens and creating new groups within the community in 2013. Previously, Louisa worked at the Cairns Botanic Gardens as the Horticultural Supervisor for 16 years where she gained her Diplomas in Management and Horticulture. Prior to coming to Cairns she worked as a journalist. In 2007 Louisa visited the Gold Coast Botanic Gardens and, inspired by their outdoor volunteer groups, thought Cairns would greatly benefit from similar programs. Since Louisa was appointed to this role (gaining a Cert.IV in Volunteer Program Coordination) existing programs such as Down ‘n’ Dirty have grown and new groups have formed: Jabirus at Cattana Wetlands, the Little Taccas children’s nature activities program which is very popular for pre-schoolers; and a new program, the Stratford Nursery Group, formed this year. Strategy plans and governance are now in place to ensure all volunteer programs and volunteers are managed under the Volunteering Australian Standards. This includes the resident volunteers who work on Council land, on property adjacent to their own homes or near-by parkland. Due to the growth in these volunteer groups and also with plans to enhance the community volunteer programs, a new position has been created. Volunteers Support Officer, Sarah Gosling (below) was appointed in December last year and will be working with Louisa on the community volunteer program, Green Space Our Place (see Page 3 for further details). Sarah’s previous role was Council’s Active Travel Officer, working with primary schools and the wider community to encourage people to walk and cycle more often for recreation and commuting to work and school. Sarah assisted schools to set up Bike Buses and Walking Buses, and implement Bicycle Education programs to ensure children learn about riding safely. When Sarah came to Australia in 1987 she had her own gardening business in Melbourne for 16 years, doing design, landscaping and maintenance. For the past 10 years she has been working in Community Development roles running various healthy lifestyle programs with the community in Alice Springs and Cairns. “I am very excited about this new role as Volunteers Support Officer, as it brings my interest in gardening and working with the community together,” says Sarah.
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Parks & Leisure Volunteer Strategic Plan 2016-2019 ‘Building collaborative partnerships between Council and community through volunteering programs to promote and develop our region while connecting and creating opportunities and enriching lives.’ The Volunteer Strategic Plan 2016-2019 outlines the with best practice management and administration. Cairns Regional Council’s vision for volunteers for • recognise, retain and attract volunteers through a the next three years. This plan provides a framework professionally promoted coordinated, supportive, for the promotion, management, recruitment/ satisfying, safe and rewarding environment. retention, support, recognition and celebration of the • increase community awareness of the benefits of volunteers, by encouraging a responsive and supportive volunteering. environment for all volunteers in the Cairns region. This will be achieved with five key directions: The Parks & Leisure Branch recognises that where 1. Promotion - raise the profile of volunteering across there is a vibrant culture of volunteering, communities the Cairns city and district. are stronger due to the inclusiveness volunteering 2. Management - lead and manage a positive culture promotes in the community. towards volunteering and implement effective As Council moves forward we want to be confident that management systems. our contribution to the volunteer sector serves them 3. Recruitment and retention - provide a consistent well. Volunteers are a resource that should be nurtured, approach to recruitment of volunteers. supported and celebrated. 4. Support - work towards ensuring Council’s volunteers Through effective collaboration the achievements are managed and supported with standards of best of the strategic plan will continue to be reviewed, practice and consistency, providing opportunities to new opportunities evaluated and resource availability share information. monitored, to ensure work continues to be carried out 5. Celebrate and Recognise: acknowledge the valued contributions of volunteering in Council volunteer effectively. programs. Vision Statement ‘Building collaborative partnerships between Council This plan also outlines the eight National Standards for and community through volunteering programs to Volunteer Programs: 1. Leadership and Management, promote and develop our region while connecting and 2. Commitment to Volunteer Involvement, 3. creating opportunities and enriching lives.’ Recruitment, Selection and Orientation, 4. Work and Commitment the Workplace, 5. Training and Development, 6. Service This strategy will demonstrate the Council’s commitment Delivery, 7. Volunteer Recognition and 8. Continuous to volunteering and will: Improvement. These can be read in more detail on • manage and administer volunteers in accordance Volunteering Australia’s website.
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Volunteers Voice
‘Spud’ boosts Friends sales T he flowering of ‘Spud’, the Cairns Botanic Garden’s famous Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, gave the Gardens and the ‘Friends’ a monster publicity boost! Spud exceeded all expectations and in January had the honour of having the largest flower bloom in Australia. Congratulations to the Garden’s horticulturalists for their dedication in achieving what is a difficult plant to cultivate. Spud is the 136th Titan Arum recorded world wide. The Friends took the opportunity to assist the Gardens, providing
information to the thousands of visitors who came to view this wonder.
The new conservatory was looking its stunning best and many comments were made about this new addition to the gardens. Members also sold memorabilia and information sheets during the week’s exhibit and grossed approximately $2300 along with the week’s sales. Many thanks to the Friends volunteers who suffered the heat in the conservatory to answer the myriad of questions asked by the admiring crowds.
Grant received for garden project T
he Friends announced in February they had been successful in obtaining a grant of $28,651 from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. The grant will be used to construct a Sensory Walk for disabled residents and tourists from Greenslopes Street along the edge of Saltwater Lake to a new Spice and Herb Garden that will be positioned adjacent to the existing no-dig vegetable garden. The Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteer gardening group, in conjunction with the Garden staff, will be involved with planting this new garden while the interpretative signage, explaining both the culinary and medicinal benefits of the plants, will be funded by the Friends. The Friends are interested in hearing from anyone who would like to support this project by supplying
any of the plants, listed below, that are growing in their garden, to pot them up into clean pots in new potting mix and label them clearly and bring them to the Friends House. Plant list: Grains of paradise - Afromomum melegueta All herb - Plectranthus amboinicus
Coriander (Mexican)- Eryngium foetidum Curry leaf tree - Bergera koenigii Ginger - Zingiber officinale Kaffir lime tree - Citrus hystrix Kencur (aromatic ginger) Kaempferia galanga Lemongrass - Cymbopogon citratus Lemon verbena - Aloysia citrodora Mushroom plant - Rungia klossii Mustard - Brassica nigra All spice tree - Pimenta dioica Mints - Vietnamese: Polygonium Arrowroot (True) - Maranta odoratum; Fish cheek: Houttuynia arundinacea cordata Basils - purple, sacred, lemon, African Nutmeg/Mace tree - Myristica blue, cinnamon, bush Greek, Thai fragrana Cardamon (Mysore) - Elettaria Pandan - Pandanus amarylifolius cardamomum var. mysore Patchouli - Pogostemon cablin Comfrey - Symphytum officinale Pepper - Piper nigrum Perilla/Shiso - Perilla frutescens Galangal - Alpinia galanga Stevia - Stevia rebaudiana Garlic chives - Allium tuberosum Sweetleaf - Sauropus androgynus Chia - Salvia hispanica Tarragon (Mexican) - Tagetes lucida Chillies - Capsicum frutescens Cinnamon tree- Cinnamomum verum Tumeric - Curcuma longa Vanilla - Vanilla planifolia Cloves - Syzgium aromaticum
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Awards presented at Friends AGM The Friends Annual General Meeting was well attended on Wednesday 9 March at the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre. Before proceedings began President Val Schier awarded Anne-Maree and Hank Van Rath with 25 Years of Service Certificates. Anne Maree resigned from guest speaker coordinator. Committee members were elected with Val Schier returning to the position of president and Lee Ross appointed as the new vice president. Other appointed members: secretary, Linda Rawson; treasurer, Coralie Stuart; membership coordinator, Odettee Aspinall; general committee members: shop organiser, Norma
Wright and Andrew Smart, and patron David Rentz. The guest speaker, Dr. John Leslie Dowe who is Adjunct Research Fellow, Australian Tropical Herbarium at JCU, Cairns spoke on the early history of Cairns Botanic Gardens and the role played by Eugene Fitzalan. Eugene Fitzalan (b. 1830; d. 1911) was the first horticulturist, in 1887, to establish an ornamental garden on the site of the president day Cairns Botanical Gardens. As caretaker and later Curator of the then Botanic Reserve, he created pathways and tracks which were later to form the roads and thoroughfares of the Gardens. Fitzalan is commemorated in a number of species names including the tree Atractocarpus fitzalanii (one of the most used street plants in north Queensland) and the ‘Fuzz Orchid’, Hymeneria fitzalanii, amongst others. The talk followed his life from Ireland, emigration to Australia in 1849, his botanical collecting expeditions and his contribution to early horticulture in NQ. Pictured: Main photo: Back row, from left: David Rentz, Linda Rawson, Val Schier, Norma Wright; front: Lee Ross and Coralie Stuart. Top insert: Odette Aspinall; bottom insert: Andrew Smart.
Assistance welcome at Little Taccas
Little Taccas children’s nature activities program is once again attracting a full group. Council staff and Friends members organise the fortnightly activities with the first theme ‘Caterpillars’. Children made egg carton caterpillars and Denise Neumann (right) read ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ followed by a wonderfully interactive felt board game. Little Taccas coordinator welcomes persons who would like to assist in the program, phone 4032 6648.
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Volunteers Voice
1. 2. New Down ‘n’ Dirty members: 1. Sarah Amies, 2. Vincent Stephens, 3. Georgia Watts, 4. Christopher Davies, 5. Heather Main, 6. Jenny and Barry Muir, 7. Rhys Payne, 8. Daniel Fischer, 9. Joelma Albuquerque, 10. Chris Adams, 11. Gloria Edwards, 12. Lydia Roehrig.
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e s a e r c n i s Number
Down ‘n’ Dirty
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espite the hot weather Down ‘n’ Dirty continues to attract new volunteers. Eight new members joined the gardening group with a record 22 people coming along to mulch even though it was 37 degrees Celsius! Above: Some of the Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers after a successful morning of mulching the Gondwanan Gardens.
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Volunteers Voice
Farewell & Thank you
Above: Colin Batch planting seeds; Right, left to right: Carolyn Scott, Colin Batch, Sarah Aimes, Donna Pansino and Jeff Pretty propogating 700 seeds.
New nursery group Farewell Donn Corcoran The Cairns Botanic Gardens team thanks you for all your volunteer contributions to the Plant Database and wishes you and Judi all the best in your new endeavours.
Donn: Thanks for your support and encouragement of me and all the other volunteers over the last few years.
An enthusiastic group of volunteers began working at Cairns Regional Council’s Stratford Natural Areas Management Nursery in February.
Management (NAM) staff also plant trees from this nursery in various locations throughout the Cairns region.
Desley began working with Council seven years ago as Under the guidance of Natural a casual tree planter at the Areas Regenerator Desley Stratford depot. This soon Sloan, the Stratford Nursery progressed to a full time job as Volunteer Group will be a natural areas regenerator. undertaking tasks that involve Desley then moved to the most nursery operations. Gordonvale depot which This includes seed collecting, propagation, potting on, weed focuses on pest control. removal and correct hygiene “I have recently moved back procedures as well as learning to the Stratford depot where about native plants. part of my role is to guide In the 26 years of the nursery’s the volunteers through the operations of a nursery,” Desley operation hundreds of explained. thousands of trees have been propagated and planted. NAM staff are dedicated in The nursery only propagates their role of looking after this seeds that are endemic to this region’s wonderful and unique area and provides trees to natural environment. The various community groups and volunteer group will be of great conservation organisations. assistance in supporting staff in this role. Council’s Natural Areas
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Friend of the Botanic Gardens member and Down one student was ‘n’ Dirty volunteer Pat MacConnacher has a so excited that wonderful community spirit and with her training she had taken background has a view of empowering others through her driving test and now felt teaching them new skills. Originally from England, Pat was a primary school empowered in teacher and eventually became a mathematics advisory her life as a result teacher in London, however with a love for travelling of this course,” she came to visit Australia in the 70s to explore and Pat recalls. When Pat came to Cairns to live in 2003 she joined the teach. Although her first stop was Brisbane she travelled to 4WD Club to learn four-wheel driving skills with the see friends in Townsville and was offered teaching posts aim to drive to Bamaga with Kelly and his wife Norma at the West End Opportunity School and Heatley State to visit the children she had taught 40 years ago. School, both in Townsville. This was only short term as “What a wonderful experience! Not only to see these she was told she had to work ‘Out Bush’. She was then children as adults but to share my photograph collection transferred to Bamaga State School, the most Northerly of them at aged 10. As word got out about these photographs we met all their families too,” she smiles. school in Australia. “My colleagues in Townsville told me it was awful in Going back to when Pat first visited Australia, she Bamaga but I was up for a challenge and recalls; “After living in England I found loved it! I felt like I was in the movie “There is so much Australia frightening at first! The vastness diversity amongst of nothing and no-one in between town ‘Out of Africa’ because on the way we travelled in a Bush Pilot 8-seater plane with even the ‘big black spots’ indicating the Down ‘n’ and delivered mail to six other places. As towns on the map so easily missed; blink Dirty group and and I’d have driven through them, just a we landed in grassy fields to deliver mail such interesting pub and shop! And I found the single lane and food, little children came running out from nowhere waving their hands bridges on the highway so strange. A lot people.” with excitement,” Pat recalls with fond of towns didn’t have a bank compatible memories. with my NAB bank book so this made me feel a little “The school had a fantastic head teacher Kelly helpless also. However the Australians were fantastic, so Hutchings, and he made the experience very fulfilling helpful and I fell in love with Australia and the laid back for me. I taught Year 5 for that year. Kelly, a typical attitude of the people.” Australian could put his hand to anything, and did Her love for the Australian lifestyle is what encouraged so much good for the whole indigenous community her to retire early from the hustle and bustle of London teaching them mechanics for their boats and vehicles. - the traffic nightmare and the long dark hours in winter He also encouraged the parents to share their craft - and return here to live. skills in school with both the children and teachers. “I decided to live in Cairns as it has an international “I enjoy giving people confidence through learning new airport and there were places you could visit in a day skills. In England I coordinated a teacher’s aide programme like the Daintree and the Tablelands. Cairns was also big that was linked to a university and gave a qualification as enough that if I could not find it in Cairns then I didn’t a STAR, Specialist Teacher Assistant, including Maths really need it! I also decided I wanted to live near the and English and planning and teaching groups. The beach and thought Palm Cove was the place to be. I love teachers aides were generally parents who themselves this lifestyle: I get to walk along the Esplanade with my were school refusers with no paper qualification but dog each day and friends can come and visit, with easy were very able. They lacked confidence. I remember access to all the tourist venues.” Continued Page 13
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Plant Information: Rubiaceae
Volunteers Voice
Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae is the fourth largest family of flowering plants after the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae and Fabaceae (Leguminosae, see previous newsletter, Issue 9) with a total circa of about 450 genera and 6500 species. Rubiaceae are pantropic but some genera extend into temperate regions with about 36-40 genera occuring naturally in Australia. The Rubiaceae constitute an important component of all tropical woody vegetation, especially the rainforest understory. Most Rubiaceae are shrubs or small to large trees. They are easily recognised at the family level by decussate, entire leaves, interpetiolar stipules, actinomorphic flowers and an inferior ovary. The Rubiaceae’s best-known member is undoubtedly Coffea. As a major economic crop the coffee plant is now cultivated throughout the tropics. Another economically important species is Cinchona, which yields quinine, used as a treatment for malaria. Detailed study of the large range of alkaloids the Rubiaceae possess might lead to the development of new drugs. The Rubiaceae family is also important in horticulture. Many genera, such as Gardenia, Ixora, Pentas and Mussaenda are well known ornamentals. Pictured: Left, top to bottom: Rothmania longiflora; Ixora timorensis (native to Queensland); Naucleus orientalis; Morinda citrifolia. Right, top to bottom: Coffea arabica.; Euclinia longiflora; Mussaenda sp.; Pentas var.; Atractocarpus (Randia) fitzalanii
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Volunteers recognised
Volunteers, Council staff, councillors and other groups involved with volunteer programs attended the Volunteers Recognition Christmas Morning Tea in December 2015 to celebrate the year and recognise the volunteer contributions. After morning tea Deputy Mayor Cr. Terry James (right) thanked volunteers for their service. Years of Service certificates and gifts were then presented by Volunteers Supervisor Louisa Grandy and Cr. Max O’Halloran. 5 Years of Service went to Lee Ross and Norma Wright, the original members of the Down ‘n’ Dirty gardening group, and Friends ‘Gardeneer’ Rod Garrett;
10 Years of Service to Judith Pedersen for years of dedication to the Council / Friends plant library; 15 Years of Service to Gardeneers Val Auld, Nanette Fairbairn and Wally Whitnell; and 25 Years of Service to Gardeneers Ray Church and Mary Gandini, and Friend Coralie Stuart. Congratulations! Thanks to each of you for your individual contributions for 2015; let’s have another rewarding year in 2016. Pictured: 1. Volunteers, staff and councillors at the Botanic Gardens Visitors Centre; 2. Botanic Gardens horticulturalists Jodie Smith and Matt Wilson reading the Volunteers Voice newsletter, 3. Wally Whitnell and 4. Ray Church accepting their awards from Cr. Max O’Halloran.
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From Page 11: Pat MacConnacher Pat decided to join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns in 2005 to meet other community members and learn about tropical plants. She then became involved with Down ‘n’ Dirty in 2012 to learn about gardening in the tropics. “I thought I had bananas in my garden and have since learned that they are Heliconias,” she laughs. Pat’s garden is full of tropical plants now and she loves to share plants and knowledge with other members of the group. “There is so much diversity amongst the Down ‘n’ Dirties with such interesting people. I learn so much and it’s a wonderful way to get to know the locals. I’ve also made
some lovely friendships, travelling to PNG with one of the members a couple of years ago.” Pat is also a member of the State Emergency Service (SES) Buchan Point. “This is another diverse group of people and a great way to meet locals and also people from other SES groups.” Pat says she definitely has no regrets about retiring early to live in Australia’s stress-free, beautiful environment. “Because I came here on a retirement visa I cannot become a permanent resident or citizen, however, if someone said I could be an Australian I would be happy to give up my British passport,” she declared.
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Hort. Notes
Volunteers Voice
Fruit morphology
A fruit, the ripened ovary of a flower, is an important auxiliary structure in the sexual life cycle of angiosperms (flowering plants). The purpose of fruit is to protect seeds, aid in their dispersal and may be a factor in timing their germination. Because fruit are highly consistant in structure, even when growing in different environments, they play an important role in the classification of angiosperms.
Compound Fruit: has two types, multiple or aggregate, depending on the arrangement of the carpels (ovary, style and stigma) from which the fruit develops. Aggregate Fruit: are derived from many separate ovaries of a single flower, all attached to a single receptacle, such as the strawberry. Multiple Fruit: are the enlarged ovaries of several flowers grown more or less together into a single mass such as the pineapple or fig.
Fruit usually have seeds however fruits that develop As the ovary develops into a fruit, its wall often thickens without seeds are known as parthenocarpic fruits for and becomes differentiated into three, more or less example cultivated strains of bananas. distinct, layers. The three layers together form the Fruit may or may not include some additional flower pericarp, which surrounds the developing seed or seeds.
parts. A fruit that has these additional parts is known as The three fruit layers are: an accessory fruit. • Exocarp, the outermost layer often consisting of only Fruit either form from the gynoecium (the female part the epidermis of the flower) of a single flower, or less often, from an • Mesocarp, or middle layer, which varies in thickness • Endocarp, which shows considerable variation from inflorescence. one species to another. Fruit are generally classified as simple or compound. An example that has the three layers present is a cherry: Simple Fruit: fruit developing from one carpel or from the skin is the exocarp, the flesh the mesocarp and the several united carpels. They may be dry or fleshy; the stone that encloses the seed the endocarp. ovary composed of one or more carpels, and the fruit may be dehiscent (splits open) or indehiscent (doesn’t Below is a simple tabled example. For more information search for Key to Fruits. split open). Type Simple
Aggregate
Multiple fruit
Characteristics Example Develops from a Cucumber single ovary, formed from a single carpel or from from two or more fused carpels Develops from Strawberry fusion of many separate carpels in a single flower Develops from ovaries of many flowers grouped on same stalk
Pineapple
Flower
Fruit
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JABIRU NEWS
The Jabirus have been working in very hot conditions at Cattana Wetlands and still achieving some great results. The second week (right) was spent de-vining a newly planted area with some brush cutting work (above) to follow up. New members: 1. Jenny Parsons, 2. Trevor Parsons, 3. Brian Robinson (in his PPE), 4. Paula Morrison.
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Cairns Regional Council - Parks & Leisure
Volunteers Voice
What’s On
Botanic Gardens Open Day: Cairns Botanic Gardens will be organising events as a part of the inaugural BGANZ Botanic Gardens Open Day to be held, across Australia and New Zealand on Sunday, 29 May, 2016. Bird Walks: John Seale’s free weekly tours are held every Tuesday, leaving the Friends House at 8.30am. Friends ‘Gardeneers’ Trolley Plant Sales: every Wednesday morning from 9.30am-11.30am outside the Friends House. Garden Guided Tours: Monday to Friday leaving from the Friends House from 10am. Contact the Friends House 4032 3900 for further details. Friends Guest Speaker Evenings: the second Wednesday of the month from 6pm. April 13 - Lyn and Bob Hudson, Propagation and Care of Bromeliads, in the amenities area behind Friends House. Friends Saturday 18 June Guest Speaker: Tony Roberts, ‘Deadly Dozen’ - poisonous plants. Friends Committee meetings: the third Wednesday of the month at 5.30pm. Starry Night Cinema: Wednesday 1 June, ‘The Breakfast Club’, screened for a Thelma and Louisa Charity Nepal fundraiser, at 7pm.
Interested in Volunteering?
Cairns Regional Council PO Box 359, Cairns Q 4870 Australia. 07 4032 6650 Cairns Botanic Gardens 64 Collins Ave, Edge Hill, Cairns Q 4870, Australia 4032 6650 Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns 4032 3900
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There is something to suit everyone. If you are interested in supporting any of the following volunteer programs please contact Volunteers Supervisor Louisa Grandy on 4032 6648. Opportunities include: • Plant Collection Database • Tuesdays - Cattana Wetlands Jabirus • Wednesdays - Botanic Gardens Down ’n’ Dirty Volunteers • Children’s Nature Activities Program - Little Taccas. • Working in your local park, reserve, tracks & trails. For Friends of the Botanic Gardens membership details email fobg@bigpond.com or telephone 4032 3900. If you are interested please ask how you can offer your support such as working in the Friends Shop, becoming a Visitor Guide or assisting with one of their events. Contributions: Please submit articles (must be volunteer or plant based) by May for the next quarterly publication in June. Email: l.grandy@cairns.qld.gov.au. Please note articles are subject to editing.