JULIE MCENERNY

Melaleucas and Mangroves

I live in an area with lots of trees, particularly paperbarks and mangroves, which host epiphytes and mistletoe common to the local wetland ecosystem. This is where I discovered the intrigue of epiphytes.

Epiphytes are plants that need a host species for support. Mistletoe is a parasite, which relies on a host for nutrients and will invade the plant tissue to obtain them. Both play important roles in the cycles of biodiversity and as a consequence, there is a lot going on behind the scenes; nature’s relentless rhythms concealed in the quietude.

Most of the works in this exhibition are painted from actual plants that I’ve found, still attached to a branch or small stick, having fallen after heavy rain or strong winds.

JULIE MCENERNY

Mistletoe on Melaleuca

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm $550 (unframed)

The brightly coloured flowers of this Mistletoe (there are around 90 species in Australia) are quite easy to spot in paperbark trees. So is the bright red chest of the Mistletoe Bird when it is feeding on the fruit or depositing the sticky seeds on other branches. Some of those seeds will attach well and go on to penetrate the host tree stems or branches in search of nutrients. The entry points of the mistletoe can be seen in this work, showing the parasitic development. Research is changing the attitude to Mistletoe by looking closely at its roles in biodiversity. The simplest example is that at times it may be the only plant that is producing flowers, in a given area, supplying food for insects and small birds. Mistletoe is actually a hemiparasite as it does produce some of its nutritional requirements through photosynthesis.

Native Orchid (Cymbidium madidum)

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm $550 (unframed)

Numerous scented flowers and vivid green leaves characterise this widespread endemic orchid. Found only in Australia from Cape York to the NSW North coast, it grows in areas of high rainfall in rainforest areas, coastal woodland and swamps. It can form very large clumps in a variety of situations and particularly favours the thick, fibrous bark of Melaleucas (paperbarks).

Dischidia nummularia

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm $550 (unframed)

A pretty and popular epiphyte commonly known in Australia as Button Orchid but this is a misnomer. It is not actually an orchid, but is related to the Hoya. Dischidia nummularia is very often found growing with the ant plant, Myrmecodia beccarii. JCU research indicates a possible relationship between the two.

Ant Plant on Mangrove

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm $550 (unframed)

North Queensland's endemic ant plant, Myrmecodia beccarii, can be found in coastal woodland and mangroves between Cooktown and Ingham. It has a fascinating mutualistic relationship with Golden Ants that take up residence in the hollow chambers of the tuber, their waste supplying nutrients to the plant. The ants also have a relationship with the Apollo Jewel butterfly, which lays its eggs on the outside of the plant. The Golden Ants carry the butterfly eggs into the chambers where the chrysalis safely develops. In return for this protection the ants later feed on sweet secretions from the new caterpillars before the butterflies emerge and the cycle continues. Myrmecodia beccarii and the Apollo Jewel butterfly are both listed as vulnerable and are continually threatened by coastal land clearing and collectors.

Fallen Branch #1

2023, watercolour on paper , 56 x 38 cm

Native Orchid (Cymbidium canaliculatum)

2023, watercolour on paper , 56 x 38 cm

$550 (unframed) | $880 (framed)

Cymbidium canaliculatum, tends to establish in tree hollows or depressions, using extensive roots and rhizomes to penetrate deep into decaying heartwood, sometimes emerging metres from the original clump. It can be found across northern Australia from the Kimberley to Cape York and south to the Hunter region of NSW. The small scented flowers are profuse and extremely varied in colour from pale green through to brown, purple, dull red and deep reddish black.

Cadetia taylori

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm

NFS

This particular plant was growing on a large fallen branch high on Mt Lewis. However, it is quite common and widespread in North Queensland from Iron Range to Townsville at sea level and up to 1600m altitude. An adaptable small plant that grows in rainforests, mangroves, sheltered forests, on rocks and in trees. The tiny flowers are insectpollinated and long-lived, with each flower lasting many weeks.

Wasp Nest

2023, watercolour on paper, 56 x 38 cm

$550 (unframed)

A small example I found of the wonderfully complex structure made by a melaleuca pollinator, commonly known as the paper wasp. Each wasp is adept at papermaking, using chewed bark and plant fibre mixed with water to assist in building the colony's nest.