Tag: Flora
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THE SAFARI LESS TAKEN
My neighbour from Aleppo, Syria and mate for 35 years, Scott Christiansen, and I were in Tanzania last month for a consultancy. It was a Sunday, and we had Bambara groundnut and sweetpotato leaves growing out of our ears. So we decided to get out of Dodge. When in Tanzania the thing to do is to go on a safari. But the Swahili word ‘safari’ simply means going on a journey. Scott and I decided to take a safari in Tanzania … but just not the type you’re thinking of. I’m…
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A SUNDAY STROLL IN HARARE
Jet lag got the best of me so instead of sleeping in on my first day in Zimbabwe, I woke up at dawn. It looked like a beautiful spring day in Harare so I put on my walking shoes to explore. There’s always one destination I aim for when I arrive to a new place: the botanic garden. Google Maps said it was a 30-minute walk from my hotel so despite the advice from the hotel reception who said you can’t walk there, I set out regardless. Google Maps was right.…
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JOSHUA TREES AND FAN PALMS
In a good year, the Mojave Desert will get 100 mm of precipitation. So, plants need to fiercely compete for limited resources or develop mechanisms to survive by living on next to nothing in terms of precipitation. The Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) is one of those species which has mastered desert living. Its broad root system can extend up to 11 metres in its search for any moisture. If it can get settled in, a Joshua Tree can live for several hundred years in the higher elevations of the Mojave. Legend…
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IT’S FLOWER TIME
When Padma and I planned our two-month Northern Hemisphere Friends and Family tour, I made sure we’d be back in time for the Western Australia wildflower show. As I discovered last season, Western Australia is a biodiversity hotspot for its flora. The first wildflowers start blooming in July and reach a climax in September … but in a state the size of Western Europe the flowering dates vary greatly. Regrettably, I’ve been chained to my desk since we returned four weeks ago and I just haven’t been able to get out…
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FITZGERALD RIVER NATIONAL PARK
Fitzgerald River National Park is one of Western Australia’s largest parks but only comprises 0.13% of the State’s total area. Yet 20% of the State’s flora can be found in the park. It’s a ridiculously diverse region of the State where you can find 1800 species of flowering plants. About 60 of those species are found nowhere else in the world. I’m still trying to learn why Western Australia has so much biodiversity but I think I understand the basic formula. You’ve got an ancient land which has been isolated for…
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A JOURNEY TO THE SOUTHWEST
DAYS 1-3: SOUTHERN FORESTS AND VALLEYS Padma and I started getting itchy feet again and wanted to get some camping in before the heat and bugs of summer made it less fun. We plotted an itinerary to the Great Southern Region of Western Australia but soon discovered many of the national park campgrounds do not allow campfires. Padma and I just couldn’t see the point of camping if we didn’t have the ‘Bush Telly’ to watch at night and keep us warm. So we re-routed via the Southern Forests and Valleys…
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ELLIS BROOK VALLEY RESERVE
Our local motoring club posted an blog entitled ‘10 of Perth’s most vibrant wildflower hotspots’. The first hotspot on the list was 40 minutes from home. Padma and I were keen to enjoy the Spring weather so we took an afternoon jaunt to Ellis Brook Valley Reserve. The blog post said the Reserve was one of ‘Perth’s most plentiful locations for wildflower’ and was packed with 500 species of wildflowers. The blog was pretty much spot on. It was indeed an impressive reserve. It was a Monday afternoon and very quiet…
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BRAIN FOG
Photo: Drosera porrecta. A species of sundew without a common name. Endemic to Western Australia. Carnivorous. Has traps consisting of sticky-glandular, flypaper-like leaves. Hard to find. Will have a white flower later in the year. Once upon a time I was a naturalist in the state and national parks of the United States. I would spend my summers taking park visitors on guided walks and help them appreciate the joys of nature. If a visitor would ask me about a plant – any plant – I’d rattle off the common name,…
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THE LARGEST TEMPERATE FOREST ON EARTH
On the last hour of the last day of our double crossing of the Nullarbor Plain, Padma and I drove real slowly. We had no hurry to reach the dumpy motel room in Norseman that awaited us. The sun was getting low in the sky when we encountered a significant change in landscape. The scrubby, treeless Nullarbor Plain was transitioning into the Great Western Woodlands. In a country of superlatives, the Great Western Woodlands stands out as it is the largest intact temperate (that is, Mediterranean climate) woodland remaining on Earth.…
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