Battle Royale, Tough Combatant

Day 37 Scaevola striata, Royal Robe, Lowlands Coastal Reserve, a plant a day , 30 November 2020

Royal Robe, Scaevola striata, Lowlands Coastal Reserve 28 November 2020

Wild weather today, but Royal Robe in its majesty still appears as a glorious ground cover plant, vibrantly highlighting the Bibbulmun track.

It is thriving despite the parasitic plant Cassytha sinking its claws in, and the caterpillar munching it, and the well trodden ways of its habitat. It even grows in the heavily compacted ground under our Hills Hoist where nothing else has survived, because that’s where Pauly drives his ride-on mower and where our feet trample while hanging up our clothes!

Royal Robe surviviing the well trodden ways of the Bibbulmun track, caterpillar munchies, and the suckers of the parasitic plant Cassytha

I think of all the combatants in the Battle Royale, Royal Robe, will still win out over the very hungry caterpillars, the parasitic Cassytha, the boots of walkers, Pauly’s ride on mower and me hanging up clothes.

Having a closer look at what the pollinators access when they land on the lower petals, the upper petals part, and pollen lands on its head and back as it burrows in to get nectar. Photos under our Hills Hoist 30 November 2020

I used to think Royal Robe was Goodenia something or other. But when I looked it up, I found that it’s scientific binomial name is actually Scaevola striata. I associate the name Scaevola with the Fan flowers, Scaevola nitida and Scaevola crassifolia , which I featured on Day 29. These are large shrubs up to 3 metres tall, whereas Royal Robe is only a ground cover, so I hadn’t twigged before they all had the same scientific genus.

Shining Fan flower Scaevola nitida shrubs with flowers going to seed above Healing Beach and Lowlands Beach

Shining Fan flower Scaevola nitida shrub, multiple flowers on stems

Royal Robe , Scaevola striata groundcover, with and without moth, one flower per stem

The best way to learn something is to get it wrong and then realise, as then its completely memorable — probably through embarrassment . Making mistakes is a good memory technique, easy to do when, like me, you often guess. Checking the genus Goodenia, I see they are mainly yellow, whereas plants in the Scaevola genus are mainly blue/purple. The 5 petalled Royal Robe, is indeed in the Goodeniaceae family, as are all Scaevolas (also featured on Day 29), Lechenaultias (featured on Day 27) and yellow Velleias (featured on Day 8, now sadly renamed Goodenias) . I think I get more easily misled when the name with the same root is used for both genus (Goodenia) and family (Goodeniaceae). Bacon and Egg peas are even more confusing though, and they’re all in different genera, more about bacon and egg peas tomorrow.

Writing this daily blog featuring a plant a day and walking daily is my fundraising effort for Bush Heritage #groundworkchallenge . To join my team or donate go to https://www.groundworkchallenge.org.au/fundraisers/sheilamurray/2020?fbclid=IwAR2HbNn0YsCCc3tiSK-_lbF5xLsssaD8wjGHaUwVYrRqYxM-kdJkijoj2N0

Lowlands Coastal Reserve is on Menang Boodja — country. I celebrate the strength, resilience and capacity of the Menang Noongar people who are the traditional owners of the land.

Lowlands Coastal Reserve is managed by the local community and the City of Albany. Bush Heritage Australia manage many other wonderful reserves.

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