Flora
Plants of Special Interest
Pepper Tree Macropiper excelsum
Widespread on the floor of forests, Pepper Tree is a shrub which grows to 3m. Fruits are elongated, conical, fleshy and orange when ripe. They are edible with the small seeds hot to taste. Early settlers described it as an "excellent preserve, and if "gathered green it is equally good pickled".
Norfolk Island Abutilon Abutilon julianae
Last seen on the slopes of Mt Bates in 1913 this small herb was considered extinct until rediscovered on Phillip Island in 1985. It apparently survived on isolated cliff ledges away from the ravages of the introduced goats, pigs and rabbits which destroyed most of the island's vegetation. When the last of these animals were removed the Abutilon started recolonising Phillip Island.
Phillip Island Hibiscus.
Phillip Island Hibiscus Hibiscus insularis
The entire wild population of this plant is confined to just two patches on Phillip Island, although more have been planted there in recent times. Fortunately these have survived despite the grazing pigs, goats and rabbits which destroyed most of the island's vegetation. With all of these introduced animals now removed from Phillip Island, seedlings are surviving near the original bushes. There is a marked difference between the juvenile and adult foliage shapes, with tiny round leaves gradually changing over ten years or more to the large leaf commonly recognised as a hibiscus. Flowers are cream to light green coloured when they first open, with a dark magenta center, but turn reddish as they age.
Devils Guts Capparis nobilis
The woody climber Devils Guts earns its rather colourful name from the sharp recurved thorns on the stem which can easily tear one's flesh. For such an unpleasantly named plant, it has a most large white flower in the Spring and Summer made conspicuous by the tuft of large white stamens which are 2-3 cm long.
Samson's Sinew, Wisteria Millettia australis
A woody climber in the forests, Samson's Sinew is commonly encountered as large woody coils hanging from the tops of trees where its leaves and flowers are found. It also sometimes grows on the edge of a clearing. Early references to the "entangled state of the Woods which are an almost impenetrable thickness" may have been due in part to this climber and Devils Guts. The Springtime flowers are cream coloured, sometimes with a bluish tinge, resembling a pea flower and are followed by thick, rounded, bean like velvety pods.
Bloodwood Baloghia inophylla
A blood-red sap oozes from cuts in the bark of Bloodwood. Early settlers used the sap for staining furniture, marking convicts' clothing and thought it a good tonic and astringent. The tree grows to about 9m and is widespread on the island as well as being found on Lord Howe Island, eastern Australia and New Caledonia. The trees bear either male or female flowers. Older trees sometimes have hollows that are suitable nesting places for the endangered Green Parrot.
Broad leaf Meryta.
Broad-Leafed Meryta Meryta latifolia
One of Norfolk's rare endemic species, the Meryta has the added disadvantage of being dioecious, which means it has separate male and female plants. When numbers become low this can be a critical factor, if trees of both sexes are not growing close enough for the female flowers to be pollinated by the male. This woody plant grows with a single stem or very few branches, up to 3 or 4m and bears its leaves in a clump at the end. It is endemic to Norfolk Island, as is its relative Meryta angustifolia, which has much narrower leaves. Convicts are recorded as having used the large leaves of Meryta to wrap up dough to bake in the ashes.
Ironwood Nestegis apetala
The common name for this tree alludes to its hard timber which was used for fence posts and other jobs where durability was important. It was also used for shafts of carriages, a testimony to its strength. Ironwood grows to 10 m high. Fruits are most often yellow, sometimes red or rarely purple, and look like small olives (a close relative). Birds like the fruit and this helps its prolific regeneration in the native forest. Unfortunately, old specimens are rare due to past logging. Older trees sometimes have hollows which are favoured by the endangered Green Parrot for nesting. Outside Norfolk Island, the species is only known as a rare plant in the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand.
Norfolk Island Palm, Niau Rhopalostylis baueri
The Norfolk Island Palm is prominent along gullies in or near the National Park, but rare elsewhere on the island. It reaches 10 m in height. Fruits are an attractive bright red when ripe and are a favoured food of the Green Parrot. The growing tip of the Norfolk Island Palm was used by early settlers as a vegetable and is reported to have tasted like a nut when raw and like an artichoke bottom, when boiled. It didn't agree with everybody - there is a report of a convict dying from overeating this palm "cabbage". Removal of the tip kills the palm. Ribs from the palm fronds were used for making brooms, and the fronds woven into baskets.
Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla
Norfolk's majestic pine is perhaps the island's most prominent and best known symbol. Pines as tall as 57m with an 11m circumference have been recorded. One of the largest remaining trees can be seen at Hollow Pine in the National Park. Captain Cook thought the pine would provide "Masts for the largest Ships" but it was found later to be unsuitable for masts. It proved a useful timber for other purposes however, and Lt. King exported pine to Port Jackson in October 1788. Young trees have an almost symmetrical form for the first 40 years or so. Female cones are produced on trees older than 15 years and male cones on trees older than 40 years. Prolific seed fall occurs every 4-5 and the seeds are a popular food source for the Green Parrot and introduced rats.
Two-frond fern.
Two-Frond Fern, Lace Fern Asplenium dimorphum
This fern has two fascinatingly different fronds on the same plant. The first fronds are broad, like a "normal" fern, but later fertile fronds (those with spores underneath) arc deeply divided into numerous narrow segments and have a distinctly lacy, appearance.
Smooth Treefern Cyathea brownii
This attractive treefern is common in the gullies of the National Park and is occasionally seen elsewhere on the island. The trunk is usually up to 5m but heights of 20m have been recorded in the past and it is in the Guiness Book of Records as the tallest treefern species in the world. It is distinguished from the Rough Treefern by the smoother trunk. For the early settlers, the center of the treefern stems provided "good food for hogs, sheep and goats".
Latest News
Quick Links
See also
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window