Botanicals
Blackwood or Acacia Melanoxylonis also known as hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The seeds pods mature in summer to autumn. At high elevations pods may be retained in the tree into late autumn and winter. Boiling the seeds in water for a minute at 100°C is required to induce germination. The seeds start to germinate in about 5 days. The wood of this species is prized as a premium furniture timber, including cabinet making and panelling, inlays, bent work, staves and it has good acoustic qualities making it suitable for stringed instruments.
Eucalyptus macrocarpaor Mottlecahis a mallee Eucalyptus that is native to the southwest of Western Australia and noted for its large, spectacular flowers. It is sprawling in habit and grows to between 0.8 and 5 metres in height. The silver-grey leaves are ovate-elliptic, sessile and are up to 12 cm long and 8 cm wide. The red, pink or cream flowers are up to 100 mm in diameter and occur in early spring to summer and from late autumn to early winter. They are followed by large bowl-shaped "gumnuts" which give rise to the Greek-derived specific name macrocarpa – "makros" (large) and "karpos" (fruit). They are covered in a whitish bloom. The flowers form a striking display, contrasting with the white powdery appearance of the leaves and branches.
Swainsona Formosa, Sturt’s Desert Peais an Australian native in the genus Swainsona named after English botanist Isaac Swainson. It is famous for his distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers each with a bulbous black centre or ‘boss’. It is native to the arid regions of central and north-western Australia, and its range extends into all mainland Australian states with the exception of Victoria. The common name honours Charles Sturt who recorded seeing large quantities of the flowers while exploring central Australia in 1844. It is a member of the Fabaceae family. It has pinnate, grey-green leaves which are arranged spirally on the main axis of the plant, and in two opposite rows. The flowers are about 9 centimetres in length and grow in clusters of around half a dozen on thick vertical stalks, which spring up every 10-15 centimetres along the prostrate stems in a bright red, which may be up to 2 metres in length.
Erythrina vespertiliois a tree native to north and northeast Australia. Its common names are Grey Corwood, Bat’s Wing Coral Tree and the ‘bean tree’. In the Western Desert language is is also known as ininti. Aboriginal Australians in Central Australia traditionally used for making ‘ woomeras’ and ‘coolamons’. The Walpiri people, among others used the wood to make shields for either warfare or ceremonial purposes. The shields could be used to make fire by the friction method. The bark is considered to have traditional medical uses. The fruit contains alkaloids and the stem contains isoflavonoids. Phaseollidin (a flavonoid) indicates cytoxic activities in vitro against prostate cancer cell lines at high doses. The seeds are used to make decorations.
Banksia integrifoliais commonly known, as coastal banksia. It is grows along the east coast of Australia. Its leaves have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides. Unlike most Banksia species it does not require bushfire to trigger the release of its seeds. The wood is pink to red and it is sometimes used for cabinet panelling and in ornamental turnery. It is useful firewood. Banksia integrifolia produces a dark amber-coloured honey and the species is highly valued by beekeepers because it produces large amounts of pollen and nectar during autumn and winter, thus helping support hives at a time when little else is flowering. Historically, indigenous Australians obtained nectar from the tree by stroking the flower spikes then licking their hands, or by steeping flower spikes in a ‘Coolamon’ overnight. They also used the flower spikes as hairbrushes. Early settlers used the nectar as syrup for sore throats and colds and Bushmen would impregnate barren "cones" with fat to make a slow-burning candle.
Acacia Mearnsii Black wattleoccurs in South Eastern Australia from New South Wales to Tasmania. It is a fast growing and invasive tree and is in fact now known as one of the worst invasive species in the world. It does howeverplay an important role in the ecosystem. As a pioneer plant it quickly binds the erosion-prone soil following the bushfires that are common in its Australian habitats. It fixes the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. Other woodland species can rapidly use these increased nitrogen levels provided by the nodules of bacteria present in their expansive root systems. Hence they play a critical part in the natural regeneration of Australian bushland after fires.The pods are fairly straight but have indentations between the seeds. The flowers provide very nitrogen rich pollen with no nectar but attract pollen-feeding birds such as wattlebirds, yellow-throated honeyeaters and New Holland honeyeaters. . Ants harvest the seeds and the tree produces copious numbers of small seeds that are not dispersed actively.
Acacia dealbata or silver wattleas it is commonly called is a fast growing evergreen tree up to thirty meters. It is native to Australia and widely cultivated and has been classified as a weed. The leaves are blue-green to silvery. The trees live between thirty to forty years and the seeds when cooked are edible with low-toxicity. Its seeds germinate readily after fire and it can form dense thickets. The fruit is an elongated and flattened pod (20-115 mm long). The honey coloured timber is useful for furniture.
Leptospermum is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle or Myrtaceae family commonly known as tea trees. Bees harvest the nectar from the flowers which is used to make honey. Most Leptospermum species are endemic to Australia where most are found in southern areas of the country. The fruit is a woody capsule, with small depression in the ovary, which has from three to five sections in most species, which open at the top to release the seeds.
Spinifex or Triodais a large hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia. It is commonly known as Spinifex. Most hunting and working implements benefited from the use of spinifex gum, or resin. Spinifex resin was a crucial ingredient in spear making, as the head was often fastened onto the shaft using this resin. The traditional Aboriginal axe also made strong use of spinifex resin. The base of the woomera has a clump of resin attached to it. A man would always carry at least one spear, and normally a clump of resin. In the evenings, repairs were carried out on spears and other utensils, and the resin was re-softened using the fire and some moisture. Many species of spinifex are extremely resinous, to the extent that resin may drip down the stems and leaves on hot days, and large residual lumps of resin often may be seen at the bases of hummocks, which have burned. The resin was also used as a binder when making paint with ochre. The gum was traditionally used for mending breaks in stone and wooden implements.
Acacia dealbata or silver wattleas it is commonly called is a fast growing evergreen tree up to 30 meters. It is native to Australia and widely cultivated and has been classified as a weed. The leaves are blue-green to silvery. The trees live between 30-40 years and the seeds when cooked are edible with low-toxicity. Its seeds germinate readily after fire and it can form dense thickets. The fruit is an elongated and flattened pod (20-115 mm long). The honey coloured timber is useful for furniture.
Banksia Menziesiiis a gnarled tree up to 10 m tall, or a lower spreading 1–3 m shrub in the more northern parts of Australia. The serrated leaves are dull green with new growth a paler grey green. Flowering occurs in autumn and winter. The flower spikes take around eight months to development and are ovoid to cylindrical in shape. They are composed of numerous individual flowers with up to 700 to 1043 per flower spike. It has more flower colour variants than any other Banksia species, with flower spikes occurring in a wide range of pinks, as well as chocolate, bronze, yellow and white, and greenish variants. They are particularly striking close-up but can look indistinct from a distance.
Brachychiton populneus is a native to eastern Australia and tolerant of dry conditions. Flowers are bell-shaped and whitish in colour with the inner flower tube streaked purple-brown. Seeds are borne within woody, boat-shaped fruit 1-7 cm long and are surrounded by fine hairs that can cause skin and eye irritation.Trees are typically stout with glossy-green foliage and are widely used as street trees in Australia and overseas. Native populations on agricultural land are often retained to provide dense shade and drought fodder. Leaves lopped from branches are nutritious and desirable to stock. The deep rooting trees have minimal impacts on cropping and also support honey production.Ground-up seeds can be brewed into a coffee substitute or added to bread. The swollen, carrot-like taproot is a nutritious and agreeable vegetable and the gum exuded is edible. Kurrajong fibre taken from the stem has been used in twine and netting manufacture.Propagation is from seed or cutting. The Kurrajong has multiple uses and was used by many Australian Aboriginal clans around Australia. Water could be obtained from the tree roots by boring a hole in the trunk and squeezing the wood. There have also been records of the seedpods being turned into a rattle or toy. The soft spongy wood was used for making shields and the bark as a fibre.
Blackwood or Acacia Melanoxylonis also known as hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian Blackwood, or Blackwood acacia. The seeds pods mature in summer to autumn. At high elevations pods may be retained in the tree into late autumn and winter. Boiling the seeds in water for a minute at 100°C is required to induce germination. The seeds start to germinate in about 5 days. The wood of this species is prized as a premium furniture timber, including cabinet making and panelling, inlays, bent work, staves and it has good acoustic qualities making it suitable for stringed instruments.
Acacia tetragonophyllais commonly known as curara, kurara or dead finish, is a tree of the Fabaceae family. Endemic to Australia. it occurs on floodplains and along watercourses in arid and semi-arid areas throughout Western Australia, South Australia, southern Northern Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Kurara grows as a tall shrub or small tree up to four metres high. Like most acacia species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are slender and needle-like, up to three centimetres long. When young they are soft and pliable, but as they mature they become hard, rigid and very sharp. The flowers are yellow, and held in spherical clusters. The pods are papery, up to eight centimetres long and about five millimetres wide. Aboriginal people in Central Australia collect the seeds to make seedcakes.Its name in Pitjantjajara is Wakalpuka. Acacia tetragonophylla can be used to treat warts.
Acacia Cyclops or red-eyed wattleor western coastal wattleis a coastal shrub or small tree in the Fabaceae family. It is native to Australia and distributed along the west coast of Western Australia as far north as Jurien Bay and along the south coast into South Australia. The phyllodes range from four to eight centimetres long, and from six to twelve millimetres wide. Its flower heads are bright yellow spherical clusters. Very few flower heads are produced at a time, but flowering occurs over a long period, from early spring to late summer. This is unusual for acacia species, which normally flower in one brief but impressive display. Both the common and species names refer to the appearance of the pods when they first open in late spring with each shiny black seed encircled by a thick orange-red stalk, resembling a bloodshot eye. Red-eyed wattle can be used to help stabilise coastal sands.