Bindi-Bindi butterflies and the coastal daisies
Day 50, Sunday 13 December 2020, a plant a day, Lowlands Reserve , Senecio
Although I sometimes find it difficult to identify the scientific names for our Lowlands Reserve daisies, our Senecios are distinctive enough to put names to. The Australian Painted lady butterflies seem attracted to them too.
I like using language names though, so Yoont is Noongar for yellow and Mirda-Wooyan is Noongar for purple, or rather red-blue and djet is Noongar for flowers. We have both Yoont Djet ( yellow Senecios pinnatifolious )and Mirda-wooyan Djet (fluoro purple Senecio elegans) still flowering in Lowlands Reserve just now. Bindi-Bindi is Noongar for butterflies.
If you would like to learn about Noongar language and culture, there is a 6 week online course at Curtin which is free, or $184 for a Verified Certificate https://www.edx.org/course/noongar-language-and-culture
The yellow Senecios are native, Noongar elders gave the name Yoont Djet, ‘yellow flowers” for Senecio pinnatifolious for the City of Joondalup Yellagonga project.
Whereas the coastal fluoro purple Senecios elegans at Lowlands and beachside locations elsewhere are thought to have been in WA for at least 150 years.
However, the lighter pink Senecio glastifolius have an invasive habit in Albany having first appeared there in the 1980s, I haven’t seen these lighter pink senecios at Lowlands.
Interestingly, Greenskills advice is don’t remove the annual fluoro purple naturalised Senecio elegans, but to concentrate on eradicating the perennial paler pink invasive Senecio glastifolius. However, Florabase lists Senecio elegans as “alien” to Western Australia, so you won’t get into to trouble if you pick these.
The annual fluoro purple Senecio only occurs close to the ocean in Lowlands Reserve, it doesn’t seem to thrive any further from the coast.
As an immigrant, I arrived at Lowlands in 1988, I love it when plants previously thought to be “naturalised and not native” get exonerated and are found to be actual natives. This happened with the Yunjeedie Typha bullrushes* . So there is hope for the Lowlands fluoro purple Senecio elegans yet.
Whether or not a species is naturalised or native is a complex topic, and expert opinions do change and sometimes there is disagreement , for example the status of Cotula coronopifolia is uncertain see https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/Journals/080559/080559-08.014.pdf
Interesting read on weeds at this link https://butterflyconservationsa.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/BCSA-number-52-July-2014-v2.pdf
Its especially difficult to determine whether, or when, the more long established cosmopolitan coastal plants were introduced. I happily pull out recently introduced Sydney Golden Wattles , Arum Lilies and Watsonia though!
We have a lot of Australian Painted Lady butterflies at the moment which seemed to be attracted to both species of Senecio and other daisies. Our native Australian Painted Lady Butterflies breed and feed on senecio plants.
Reading up on the connection between Australian Painted Lady butterflies and Senecios, this is what I found “The combination of Senecio and butterflies is a well-studied example of co-evolution. Senecio plants contain highly toxic alkaloids which may cause damage to the liver of birds and mammals (and humans if you ate too many!). The caterpillars are not harmed by these alkaloids. The caterpillars accumulate the toxins, which even end up in the mature butterfly. Both the caterpillar and the butterfly are poisonous to birds. The toxic nature of the butterflies coincides with black and orange warning coloration (visual advertisement). In addition to caterpillars, there are some other animals that cope with the toxic alkaloids in Senecio [e.g., some beetles).” So the clever Australia Painted Lady butterflies (Vanessa kershawi) protect themselves and their young by making themselves unpalatable due to their Senecio diet. They are also happy to feed on the naturalised capeweed and the native everlasting daisies. See also ‘Coastal plants : a guide to the identification and restoration of plants of the Perth region / Kingsley Dixon’
I find it very hard to take photos of butterflies as they fold their wings when at rest. However, male Painted Lady butterflies are said to rest with their wings open, so maybe I’ve only been trying to photograph the shyer females! Moths are easier they tend to rest with wings open at Lowlands. I have been watching the butterflies for several years, as its fascinating that the butterflies only live for a matter of weeks once they emerge from the cocoon
Edit: — Trying my luck on 16 December 2020:- both the Australian painted lady and the common brown bindi-bindi were around, but only the common brown posed for me. The common brown seem to prefer grasses to daisies.
More Edits, 17 December 2020: — It’s a lovely seasonal synchronicity that the wonderful photographer Len van der Waag, and the talented farmer and ecologist Sylvia Leighton are both posting about Australian Painted Lady butterflies on facebook just now
Butterfly info here https://sabutterflies.org.au/nymp/kershawi.html?fbclid=IwAR2Lz2vDSic1af11kF2P297P78Rt3AiqCcAm9Bn6mDaUuw4ads-3GSkrito
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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Graveyard of Lost Words
*Both species of typha now recognised as native to WA by DBCA .”We can find no evidence of why Typha orientalis became, or is currently considered introduced to Western Australia’ (Keighery and McCabe 2015: 34)”. See interesting article on Noongar use of yunjeedie and controversy over which species are native .Although DBCA now recognises typha as native, they still have heaps of info on how to poison typha on their website-I think traditional Aboriginal burning would be a better control of typha. Anyway, from DBCA Florabase:-
‘Notes. Both Typha orientalis (previously classified as naturalised in Western Australia) and T. domingensis are native to Western Australia” “Management of Typha may impact on waterbird roosting sites and habitat.” “Suggested method of management and control. Please note: A clearing permit or exemption will be required to manage this species within its natural range.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283352847_STATUS_OF_TYPHA_ORIENTALIS_IN_WESTERN_AUSTRALIA?fbclid=IwAR1vm4NbKR32eAFQwC6m1ylDYR1woRK2YM7FmIIdkY_J7K2QlaYP2bXNbxA
Cotula coronopifolia L. There has been considerable discussion about the status of this species (e.g., see Romanowski 1994, 1995 and Heyligers 1995). Currently, Bean (2007) and Thompson (2007) regard the species as introduced from South Africa; however, distinct fresh and brackish ecotypes occur in Western Australia, suggesting the situation is more complex. Romanowski (2011) also noted that there is a Holocene pollen record for this species that indicates its long-term presence in Australia.
Climate change will alter distribution patterns, migratory birds can distribute plants.
If a plant which is thought to be naturalised, is similar to and does not displace and performs the same ecological function as a native plant, its probably not a priority to remove it. Pollen records can help determine whether a species is native.
BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER Number 52 July, 2014. WEED ALL ABOUT IT ‘TO WEED OR NOT TO WEED, THAT IS THE QUESTION’ SOIL RECOVERY AND RESTORATION OF BUSHLAND by D. Keane We are often told that weeds are ‘plants out of place’. What that means is that they are alien to a particular environment. We are also told that plants that appear on ‘weed lists’ are to be treated as ‘villains’. Yes, most are bad, if allowed to take hold and take over, especially the perennials. A ‘real weed’ is actually ‘any plant that has a detrimental effect on the long-term natural environment’ and ‘one that has no benefit to the natural order’. These are listed as ‘declared weeds’ and must be controlled or eradicated under legislation. However some plants are transitional or evanescent and may be helping to correct an imbalance due to some disturbance or lack of the indigenous competition. The ‘transitional plants’ often appear for the first time when there is soil disturbance, change or weakness in a balance of the settled environment. They are part of a natural sequence, a succession of weed stages. If an immediate reaction is to use a ‘misguided treatment’ (such as complete eradication) it can cause an immediate impact that could worsen the existing state and leave an inability to fully recover for some time or not at all. Aggressive action could alter the natural recovery sequence taking place (which is usually unknown to us), and can favour further opportunistic perennial weed species to take hold creating another period of recovery. Blanket chemical spraying for example will often begin another weed cycle that could damage soils and kill off any natural biological remains. Weeds or ‘plants in place’ can be an essential component in the recovery of natural systems, controlling erosion, stopping other invaders, providing food, nectar, habitat and more importantly sustaining the health of the soil. We need to understand what is actually happening to the ecology and what stage of recovery or decline it is in before we can intervene with a remedy. If a plant appears on a ‘list’ it does not mean it must be totally destroyed at all costs, the immediate loss of the vegetative cover may create greater problems. If we are to increase our knowledge on how ‘ecological restoration’ works, we need to be cautious and learn to read natural sequences and the consequences of inappropriate actions. Certain plants such as “black nightshade” (Solanum nigrum) and the “groundsels” (Senecio spp.), yes even ‘African daisy’ have the specialised ability to perform in a sequential phase that actually sustains and heals the soil and protects against potentially more serious circumstances. These plants die out naturally in the short term without any human intervention if left alone. Others include Fumaria and Epilobium. The chain of events might be that if a roadside had a balanced situation, say of introduced grasses, this area would be blanket sprayed and would create an immediate impact giving the opportunity for a different set of plants to infest the bare soil, killing off habitat, invertebrates which are a food source for birds and animals. Once a regime of spraying is underway it carries on ‘for ever’ with an increase of maintenance for erosion, uncontrolled chemical use and the false economy destined for a continuous negative and costly outcome. If the ‘grassed’ area was mown then the balance would be maintained as there would be no ‘loss or disturbance of the soil or solar baking’. Weeds can often be controlled by other management techniques such as planting native grasses, shrubs and understorey. Weed control is about changing from a perceived negative situation to a positive one with subtle changes, allowing nature to work for a long-term ecological outcome that is sustainable. To summarize; the moral of the story is that if you do not know your plants (both weeds and natives) or understand how an ecosystem functions, get the right advice. Managing the environment is not the same as gardening, just getting rid of weeds. At the end of the day it should be about the long term not short term ideals. https://butterflyconservationsa.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/BCSA-number-52-July-2014-v2.pdf
interesting article on weeds , this time in urban Melbourne “To destroy healthy, thriving vegetation just because it is considered a weed is questionable. To replace weed species with plastic grass is an ill-conceived act of environmental vandalism. It’s time to tell the Emperor that his new clothes are a skirt of fake grass dripping in glyphosate.” “The more rambunctious a weed is, the more value it has in hostile urban environments — as long as it can be contained within that environment. “ https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=763987531288652;res=IELAPA
