Dasypogon and Pollinators on Rainy Days
Day 16, a plant a day, Lowlands Reserve, 9 November 2020 Dasypogon bromeliifolius
Very rainy today, big cold front came in this morning. Even so , I spotted a very wet and busy bee on the Dasypogon bromeliifolius. This week is Oz pollinator week, a citizen science project encouraging you to spend 10 minutes in nature watching a flower. You can sign up here: https://wildpollinatorcount.com/#:~:text=So%20far%2C%20we%20know%20that,of%20which%20are%20documented%20pollinators.
It’s also NAIDOC week, support your local Aboriginal owned businesses this week. If you’re in Albany you can pop into Kurrah Mia on Middleton Loop and book a tour, buy a beautiful piece of artwork, or even just buy a greeting card.
Lowlands 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.
Drumsticks, (or Pineapple bush, Dasypogon bromeliifolius), are in the same family as Kingia, and the pom pom flowers are superficially similar. The family Dasypogonaceae only has 16 species and is of ancient Gondwanan lineage, but seems an odd grab bag of species, as it also includes the delicate tinsel lily. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257776624_Systematic_Placement_of_Dasypogonaceae_Among_Commelinid_Monocots_Evidence_from_Flowers_and_Fruits
In comparison, the banksias I featured yesterday are in the Proteaceae family, with about 1,660 known species. The Dasypogonaceae family is wholly Aussie and our very own Drumsticks (Dasypogon bromeliifolius) are endemic to the SW. Like so many of our other unique plants, they do not occur anywhere else in the world!
Walking home in the rain , I noticed that there are far more Isotomas in the east end of Lowlands Reserve, and even in the rain, this one had a Jewel beetle (possibly castiarina decemguttata) clinging on for dear life. I featured Isotomas on Day 5 of this blog, you can go to that day’s entry and have a look, if you like!
My fundraising for Bush Heritage #groundworkchallenge is going well . To join my team or donate go to https://www.groundworkchallenge.org.au/fundraisers/sheilamurray/2020?fbclid=IwAR2HbNn0YsCCc3tiSK-_lbF5xLsssaD8wjGHaUwVYrRqYxM-kdJkijoj2N0
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Lowlands Reserve is managed by the community and City of Albany. Bush Heritage manage lots of other wonderful reserves
