Wildflowers on the Central Coast

Wildflowers

ON THE CENTRAL COAST

Conospermum, also known as coneseeds or smokebush plant.

The Central Coast bushland is home to more than 850 native plant species and, more than two years after the bushfires, they’ve never looked better.

WORDS JAMES LUTWYCHE

In early December 2019, wildfire burned through Yengo National Park and McPherson State Forest, devouring almost every living thing in its path. International media coverage said ‘Australia was on fire’. Our social media feeds were flooded with images of firefighters giving koalas bottled water, and vets and wildlife carers administering first aid to badly burned wildlife.

We didn’t immediately think about the bush, about who is going out to replant millions of hectares of towering gum trees, wildflowers and tiny orchids. About who is going to put it back the way it was.

Fortunately, we don’t have to. Australian wild flora has been preparing itself for such catastrophic events over thousands of years by evolving and adapting to the ever-challenging patterns of climate change.

The Australian bush sometimes actually benefits from bushfires. It resets the balance somewhat, destroys the encroaching weed infestations, helps germinate dormant seeds and opens up the seed capsules on species such as banksias and hakeas.

Within two weeks of the fires, hope was already returning to the blackened forests. On the trunks of the burnt gumtrees, new epicormic shoots sprang out. From the charred ground, tiny seedlings started shooting up, and from the base of the burnt banksias, new growth appeared from the lignotubers.

Watching a forest recover is something of a spiritual process, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.

Two and a half years on, the bush has not only recovered but has never looked so fresh, vibrant and healthy. It is green and in full flower. El Niño finished with the fires and La Niña has brought the rain to refresh and replenish. The tall blue gums (Eucalyptus saligna) and the spotted gums (Eucalyptus maculata) are in flower. You can smell the pollen and hear the bees.

The endemic Gymea lilies (Doryanthes excelsa) stand like green swords, with towering candle-like flower stalks holding flaming red flower heads up high. »

Banksia and grasstree.

Metallic green carpenter bee with grevilleas or spider flowers.

Gymea lilies and waratah.

© JENNIFER HARTICH Fringed lily.

The grass trees (Xanthorrhoea australis) are particularly impressive with their now-blackened trunks, vibrant new growth, long spear-like flower stalks and sweetly scented creamy yellow flowers.

My favourite would have to be the vibrantly coloured waratah (Telopea speciosissima), the mighty state emblem. I have never seen so many flowers at any given time. I’ve been trying to grow them in my garden for years with dismal results, but what a difference a bushfire brings to this amazing plant species.

One final shout-out must go to the small and insignificant species, the ones you can miss or even step on while you’re gazing upwards. They are the intricate and amazing macro plants, the orchids and tiny little twiners that cover the forest floor. We have an impressive line-up of indigenous and endemic groundcovers, including the purple flowering sun orchid (Thelymitra) and dainty pink flowering trigger plants (Stylidium). These little miracles truly deserve a kneel down to admire.

Others worth looking down at are the amazing flannel flowers (Actinotus helianthi). These are plants that truly regenerate after bushfires and appear along the rugged coastlines and ridgelines of the Central Coast. Their simple daisy-like white flowers are special to view in the bush and can grow en masse a couple of years after fires. »

© STEVE PASSLOW Coast-loving flannel flowers.

© JENNIFER HARTICH Narrow-leaf drumstick.

The Central Coast bushland is classified as belonging to the greater Sydney–Hawkesbury sandstone basin and has microclimates that sustain more than 850 native plant species.

Common and botanical name Habitat on the Central Coast Flowering season

Gymea lilly (Doryanthes excelsa) Coastal sandy forest June to September

Flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) Common in dry rocky places or on sandy well-drained soil Spring

Waratah (Telopea speciosissima)

Native fuchsia (Epacris longiflora)

Pink wax flower (Eriostemon australasius) Rocky places on sandstone, in woodland

Sheltered woodland, on rocky ground

Heath and woodland, on sandstone plateaus September to October

Winter and spring

Spring

Sydney boronia (Boronia ledifolia) Sandstone heath and woodland July to September

Christmas bells (Blandfordia nobilis)

Red spider flower (Grevillea speciosa)

Broad-leaf wedge pea (Gompholobium latifolium) Moist open heath, on sandstone December to February

Heath and woodland, on sandstone June to September

Heath and woodland, on sandstone Spring

Information courtesy of The Australian Plants Society Central Coast Group austplants.com.au/Central-Coast »

THE BEST WILDFLOWER WALKS

There are so many places along the Central Coast where you can get out and explore, and a lot of the walks have been featured in previous issues of COAST magazine. I have not been on one walking trail on the Central Coast that has not featured at least one or more of the plants mentioned here. Even the roadsides in the hinterland are full of amazing specimens, but sometimes you just have to get away from the popular spots and start exploring.

Here are just a few of my favourite places:

In the hinterland, stop at the roadside growers’ markets then head for a picnic at Mangrove Creek Dam. For the more adventurous, the Hominy Creek walking trail to Emerald Pool in Popran National Park is a must, especially if you’re partial to a wilderness swim.

In the south, the quintessential Central Coast flora is found in the Bouddi National Park along the Bouddi Coastal Walk and Bullimah Spur. Kincumba Mountain is always beautiful, and the Daleys Point track can surprise. There is also stunning colour and diversity within Brisbane Water National Park, including the Patonga to Pearl Beach track with its awesome views, or even the classic Piles Creek Loop track.

In the north, there are Wybung Head and Frazer Park in the Munmorah State Conservation Area, and Catherine Hill Bay. In Wyrrabalong National Park head for the Burrawang walking track to Lilly Pilly loop and the Red Gum trail.

And please remember that even though wildflowers and plants have the capacity to recover after bushfires, they do not survive being picked. And birds and native bees depend on them to survive. Our native plants are protected, so please abide by the bushwalkers’ code to ‘take only memories, and leave only footprints’.

THIS LITTLE QUOKKA IS AMONG THE HAPPIEST ANIMALS ON EARTH — AND LOVES BEING IN SELFIES.

Her name is Coco, she’s the head honcho quokka at Australian Reptile Park and her nearest cousins are her fellow marsupials – kangaroos and wallabies. As a quokka, she is classed as vulnerable in the wild, but that doesn’t stop her species from also being known as the happiest animals on earth!

They have a permanent smile that ranges from tiny to big and fronttoothy grins. Coco and her housemates are also quite content to share their cheery outlook with the more prickly characters at the Reptile Park: their neighbours, the echidnas.

Quokkas are super cute, they eat flowers and, like their cousins, carry their young in a pouch. They have little or no fear of humans (who just tend to smile back at them and take photos). Coco’s favourite food is sweet potato (a tad less photogenic than a flower) and her mate is Baz (Basil, if you haven’t been formally introduced). They had a joey together, called Cinnamon, who has moved out of home to be with a mate of her own, leaving Coco and Baz as empty nesters for the time being.

The quokkas’ primary habitat in the wild is on Rottnest Island in WA, out of reach for foxes and feral cats, and it’s here that quokkas have become something of an internet sensation, with their friendly smiles and willingness to pose for selfies. So, when you’re at the Reptile Park, why not take a selfie with Coco and spread the happiness (you’ll find it’s contagious).

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