Green Space Our Place - Our Volunteers Voice - Issue 27 - June 2020

Green Space Our Place Our Volunteers Voice

Green Space Our Place

Tribute to Peter Shanahan

Before program suspension

Blowin’ in the wind ISSUE 27 JUNE 2020

Front Page: Gary and the Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers weeding the boardwalk reveg site.

Back Page: Graeme Masterman’s photo of the Amherstia nobilis, Pride of Burma, in the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

In this issue: • From the Editor - Page 2 • Pictorial - Page 3 • A tribute to Peter Shanahan Pages 4-7 • Seed Dispersal Mechanisms Blowin’ in the wind - Pages 8-9 • When animals were the stars of the Gardens - Pages 10-11 • Before program suspension pictorial - Pages 12-13 • Pocket Garden compliment Page 14 • Bamboo Connect Workshop Pages 14-15 • Fabulous photos of the Gardens - Page 16 • Volunteers bring skills to their positions - Page 17 • Tropical Fruits - Sugarworld Page 18 • Japanese students weed with Salties - Page 18 • Mangosteen mystery - Page 19 • Pigeons and doves: frugivorous or granivorous Page 20-21 • Did you know...? - Page 21 • Around the Gardens - Waiting out the virus - Page 22 • Stalk-pored fungus - Page 23 Editor - Volunteers Supervisor,

Louisa Grandy Proof readers - Michelle Walkden Volunteers Jennifer H. Muir, Sandy Long; Contributors - Volunteers: Barry Muir, Jennifer H. Muir, Dr David Rentz, Tom Collis, Val Schier, Ann Chalmers and Botanic Gardens Curator Charles Clarke.

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From the Editor Welcome, The program was growing exceptionally well this year with registrations being conducted weekly, and then... well, all I can say is, it has been very different to what we had envisaged for the year of 2020!

During the program’s 2-month suspension, our small ‘Green Team’ was kept busy with maintaining the sites and developing new ways to engage you, with weekly news updates, a Tropical Garden Challenge and the development of a virtual Little Taccas program.

With the easing of restrictions mid-May and the knowledge that some of you were keen to resume, we were pleased to be able to offer three weekly supervised programs at Cattana Wetlands, the Botanic Gardens and the Yellow Arrow trail head reveg sites. It was a joy to see you again - we missed our volunteer family!

We are always looking at ways to improve and engage our volunteers in a variety of activities and pleased to hear of any new ideas that you may have thought of during your ‘quieter’ time.

Thank you for your continued support.

Louisa

Green Team maintains site for vollies retu s rn

Sarah O.

Sarah G.

! k c a b e m o c l We

First job was to clear the path at Cattana Wetlands.

Lyn weeding at Cattana Wetlands.

Sandy clearing leaf litter in the Memoral Gardens at Cattana Wetlands.

Heavy morning rains cleared long enough for the Down ‘n’ Dirties to weed the Herb & Spice Garden in time for the top soil delivery.

‘Salties’ getting stuck into the weeds at the Yellow Arrow trail head reveg sites.

Chris

Alphonse

Bisimwa

Andre

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A tribute to

Peter Shanahan

A born teacher dedicated to passing on his knowledge The following tribute is a combination of an interview I conducted and featured in the Volunteers Voice - December 2015 issue as well as words from fellow entomologist and close friend, David Rentz.

On 13 March 2020, Peter Shanahan passed away. He had been ill for some time and was finally overtaken by cancer in the Cairns Private Hospital.

Peter is survived by a number of caring local relatives and many friends. His cousin Anthony, and Julia Mayfield were at his side and had been living with Peter in his home for more than 10 weeks, looking after his menagerie and providing care for him.

The Friends of the Cairns Botanic Gardens will host a tree planting in his honour and plant a special tree, attractive to butterflies. The date and time is still to be determined.

Peter, a biologist and entomologist, was the Cairns Botanic Gardens interpretive officer for 22 years and when he retired he was asked to continue sharing his knowledge with Cairns school groups and keep up his educational tours and school visits.

Peter’s love for the environment began at a very early age when he grew up on a third generation family coffee plantation in Papua New Guinea.

“As I was knocking down giant trees for my father’s plantation I realised they were filled with magnificent and beautiful insects and animals and this is what led me in the direction of studying the environment when I left PNG,” Peter explained.

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Louisa Grandy

“My first job after I left the plantation at 21 was as a field officer with Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, and I accompanied expeditions into the mountains and valleys of New Guinea and nearby islands to explore and collect all species of living things. I still have original insects from this collection which I show to schools.

“I worked with the museum for 15 years and I fell in love with all life, past and present, and evolution in all its glory.”

At another stage in his life Peter was also involved in a program financed by the US Army to collect parasites to study and assist against possible disease carriers during the war.

Peter was also nominated by the New Guinea government to collect for interested zoos. One of his main collections was the Birds of Paradise, which were highly sought after due to their magnificent displays.

“There were very few books on how to care for these birds and through trials I was able to breed them and also pass this knowledge on to others.”

The Rotterdam Zoo in Holland became a world leader in breeding endangered species through Peter’s support.

After 15 years experience, and with New Guinea beginning to close down to the old ways as independence approached, Peter decided to attend university.

“At 36 years of age I enrolled in the Humboldt State University, Northern California in the US. “I loved studying. The professor used to say, ‘Another light comes on in Shanahan’s head’ because I had the background knowledge but so many unanswered questions.”

Peter graduated with a BA Biology, minor in Botany and Zoology, Marine Sciences and Oceanography.

“After uni I sent word to my Australian friends that I was returning (ages 9-19 were spent in a Sydney boarding school) and was employed with the Forestry Department in Brisbane as the Extension Officer assisting with public enquiries - tree inspections, pest management and the like.

“After eight months I received a call from Marine Parks who said I’d received a job (applied for 12 months previously) as a Marine Parks Management Officer of the Great Barrier Reef with the first team to set up the Capricornia section based in Rockhampton.

“I spent three years in this job and loved every minute of it. I designed and operated the aerial surveillance system and visited and dived on all the reefs.”

In 1985 Peter transferred to Cairns and was part of the first team to set up the Cairns and Far Northern section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

“Back then it was great budgets and no bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy came later and it changed everything.”

In 1990 Peter quit the Marine Parks section and took up employment at the Cairns Botanic Gardens as the Interpretive Officer.

In this capacity he became known to thousands of Australian and overseas visitors to the Gardens.

Peter was known to hundreds of local people. The display of his insect collection annually at Carnival on Collins and other public events was viewed and appreciated by thousands.

Peter also visited many schools each year to display his collection and relate to the children the importance of insects to their lives and the world in general.

He took along his microscope because he felt that many children might never have the chance to see an insect or a bird’s feather under high magnification.

Hundreds of children looked through the microscope and voiced their amazement at what they saw.

Peter always received positive feedback from the schools. One example of this is from a Redlynch State School teacher,“Thank-you very much for coming to our school and presenting such an interesting talk to our Year 3 students. The kids were very interested in all you had to say and were fascinated by the insects you brought along in the display boxes.

“We discussed what they had learnt when we were

Children loved to learn about Peter’s insect collection.

Peter with his nephew Tony and a Rainbow Lorikeet many years ago.

back in class and every student could remember lots of information from your talk. One parent told me that her daughter couldn’t stop talking about your presentation and followed her around all evening talking to her about what she had learnt!”

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“Seeing the children’s eyes light up is one of most magical things I’ve seen in this life. The most important thing to me is to share my knowledge with the next generation.”

Peter voluntarliy continued to deliver the popular Botanic Garden’s Education Program when he retired.

Peter’s insect collection displayed at the annual Carnival on Collins was viewed and appreciated by thousands.

In addition, Peter led many groups of visitors around the Cairns Botanic Gardens relating the interactions of plants and animals and their importance to the balance of nature.

Part of his role was to develop an education program utilising support from other Botanic Gardens and creating it specifically for the tropics.

Peter continued to deliver this education program as a volunteer education officer.

“Seeing the children’s eyes light up is one of most magical things I’ve seen in this life. The most important thing to me now is to share my knowledge with the next generation.”

Close friend Dr David Rentz said “Peter was a good friend and colleague. I first met him more than 50 years ago when he was in California. He was married to the daughter of a colleague in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and attended Humboldt State University where he received a Master of Science Degree. He was very keen on insects and added many Californian species to his collection.

“Peter was a member of several local natural history societies.

Peter with David Rentz at the Friends of the Botanic Gardens Moth Night.

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“He was an avid aquarist and was President of the Cairns Aquarium Society a few years ago. He maintained a single very attractive aquarium at home and looked after several tanks while he was at the Botanic Gardens. Owing to his interest in reptiles, Peter was a member of the Cape York Herpetological Society.

“He was also a ‘snake removalist’. Whether it be 3pm or 3am, Peter would respond to a phone call, travelling to the home of a concerned Kuranda resident, usually to find a python or Brown Tree Snake that was happily sleeping in a corner. He would collect the reptile and release it well beyond the point of capture. He never collected a fee for this service.

“Everyone knew that Peter was from Wau, Papua New Guinea. The number plate on his car was a clue as it streaked by.

“His many years in New Guinea fostered an interest in birds, especially Birds of Paradise and parrots.

He had a large collection of parrots over the years.

He was a ‘carer’ and often looked after orphaned rainforest birds that could not be re-released into the habitat. He was an excellent photographer.

“In all these activities, Peter will be sorely missed.

We have lost a dear friend.”

Hosting Aboriginal Plant Use tours at the Botanic Gardens Open Day.

The Reef Rescue Education students didn’t think there were any insects around on the Insect Safari at Cattana Wetlands until Peter said to wave their nets through the air. What a surprise!

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Seeds encased in a capsule of Yellow Kapok Tree, Cochlospermum gillivraei.

Tiny plumed seeds of Milky Pine, Alstonia scholaris.

Winged seed of Gyrocarpus americanus.

Seed pod of Silk Cotton Tree, Bombax ceiba.

Seeds being released from Milky Pine, Alstonia scholaris.

Open capsule (seeds released) of Flindersia ifflaiana.

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Seed Dispersal Mechanisms Tom Collis

Blowin’ in the Wind Through their study of plants and plant behaviour, botanists have developed specialist terms to aid in description and analysis, so here is one for your next trivia night: Anemochory - the dispersal of seeds by wind.

Seed capsules (open and unopened) of Silver Ash, Flindersia bourjotiana.

winged seeds into the wind. The mass flowering of different Flindersia species occurs late in the dry season so the seeds are ready for dispersal just prior to the wet season.

The Silk-cotton Tree, Bombax ceiba, produces pods loaded with seeds packed into silky material that is easily blown far and wide. The Yellow Kapok tree, Cochlospermum gillivraei, common near the Rex Lookout To enable dispersal by wind, seeds need to be light north of Cairns, also produces seeds encased in a light and are often tiny with wings, plumes or encased in woolly material. wool-like material. The dry fruits and seeds of wind- In dry rainforests and open forest the Helicopter Tree, dispersed plants tend to be brown or grey, resembling Gyrocarpus americanus, produces an intriguing seed with dead plant material. This may be to discourage the two wings. When the seed matures it drops from the attention of birds and mammals as wind-dispersed plant and spirals down, landing some distance from the fruit have no edible material as a reward for animal parent tree. On the coast, the Beach Sheoak, Casuarina dispersers. equitifolia, releases tiny winged seeds from the woody The Milky Pine, Alstonia scholaris (which is not actually cones on its branches.

While grasses are well known for the light seed heads that ‘blow around in the wind’ and spread widely, wind dispersal is not restricted to grasses. Many large trees, vines and shrubs also use wind to disperse seeds.

a pine), produces hundreds of long pods that release light feathery seeds. These seeds are so small and light they are easily blown hundreds of metres, and possibly kilometres from the parent plant.

Another rainforest tree, Hickory Ash, Flindersia, produces large numbers of woody capsules containing winged seeds. The dry capsules are produced high on the tree and as they dry they split open, casting their

Many introduced plants also use wind dispersal to spread seed and many have become serious environmental weeds. The African Tulip, Spathodea campanulata, from tropical Africa, has invaded many areas of rainforest in the Cairns area and its bright orange flowers betray its presence at flowering time. Like the native trees, this tree’s pods of light seeds disperse widely, making control of this invasive species extremely difficult.

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When animals were the stars of the Gardens A colourful chapter in the history of the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Janice Pichon

Once upon a time, there was a zoo at the Cairns Botanic prohibited immigrant. Often the necessary husbandry Gardens. Come Sundays, a large crowd of visitors would was unknown, while getting wild animals to feed was an arduous task, as was the case for a mother striped possum make their way to Edge Hill to see the animals. and her two young, or a 25cm crocodile hatched in a Private menagerie shop window in Babinda. Other difficulties arose from The zoo owes its origin to a pet collection belonging to the limited space in a caged environment, for example the James Moss. As well as being an animal lover, James was cassowaries often laid eggs but there was no opportunity curator of the City Baths built on the Cairns Esplanade for the birds to hatch them. in the early 1930s. The “Baths Zoo” was progressively established as a collection of cages at the entrance to the After a decade, the rising number of residents posed Baths. On display were beautiful Gouldian finches, a King increasing problems for housing, both in terms of space Parrot, a cassowary, wallabies, a Cape York spotted cuscus, and compatibility between occupants, on top of aging and a tame but timid dingo which roamed the grounds enclosures. Snakes escaped through holes in wire netting, and ibis were able to torment a tortoise in the same cage. avoiding visitors.

In 1949, the Council decided that crocodiles and snakes Within a few years, acquisitions and exchanges had were no longer suitable exhibits and the existing holdings expanded the collection and it became very popular with were shipped to a southern zoo.

Baths patrons and southern visitors. However, the zoo was becoming overcrowded and attracted complaints Croc stars to The Cairns Post that the animals needed better The zoo almost always had one or more saltwater accommodation, including the wallabies that did not have crocodiles on show, and they were the principal attraction.

The most famous was Popeye, which was captured in enough space to hop around.

Trinity Inlet and took up residence in early 1943. At that Rehoming time, the 4m reptile was reportedly one of the largest In 1936, the Cairns City Council deemed that this crocodiles in captivity. miniature zoo had to close, and James reluctantly agreed to donate his animal collection to the Council to establish Upon its arrival, Popeye’s roaring caused some panic a zoological garden. At that time, embryonic botanic among the zoo residents, with the curator reporting that gardens were being created at Edge Hill around the site they were shaking and huddled in the farthest corner of a pre-existing municipal nursery, in what is now the of their enclosure from the crocodile pen. Eventually it Flecker Gardens. Mayor Bill Collins envisaged that a settled in after a few months and was eating a couple of combined garden and zoo would be an additional tourist bullock hearts per week.

Crocodile feeding became a major drawcard for the zoo. attraction for North Queensland visitors.

The zoo was erected on the western side of Flecker Every Sunday afternoon, Popeye was hand fed by the Gardens, near the already existing council nursery and curator. A crowd of up to 400 people assembled to watch nurseryman’s residence, so that the inhabitants could be the zookeeper enter the crocodile den and feed Popeye. well tended. The £90 budget provided for a modest 36 The crocodile died after two and a half years in captivity by 9m enclosure, partially roofed and subdivided into and was buried in the zoo grounds.

Animal exchanges Exchanges with southern zoos boosted the Cairns City Council Zoo’s collection with more exotic species. North Queensland native wildlife, such as the cassowary and tree climbing kangaroo, was in strong demand and the Cairns Heydays City Council received numerous requests to procure such The original holdings of the zoo were regularly bolstered specimens. by new exhibits donated by local citizens. Early arrivals were turtles, crocodiles, emus and a 4.5m carpet snake Most collaboration occurred with the Melbourne Zoo, the which was fed rats and nuisance pigeons from the oldest zoo in Australia. The zoo shipped two cassowaries, courthouse building. Large snakes were regularly donated, two striped possums and a large amethystine python to often caught after ingesting a large meal. They were a Melbourne Zoo in exchange for two wombats. Successive favourite with young children who marvelled at their fat shipments of taipans to Melbourne were unsuccessful as the snakes were dead on arrival, thought to be the result bellies. of the colder temperatures.

Acquisitions did not always go according to plan, with a New Guinea cassowary refused entry to the zoo because Tourist drawcard it did not have an import permit and it was declared a The animals on display at the zoo enhanced the appeal of cages, one of which was enclosed as an aviary. In October 1936 the animals moved into their new home which was referred to either as the Cairns City Council Zoo or Edge Hill Zoo.

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The front entrance to the zoo, and left, wallabies were among the star attractions.

Photos courtesy of the Cairns Historical Society

the Cairns Botanic Gardens and attracted both tourists and locals. Entry was free, and the zoo was open seven days a week. Many patrons, particularly the southerners, had never seen a cassowary or cuscus. Coastal steamers brought tourists during the winter months and they were delighted with the zoo.

upkeep was largely insufficient and some councillors felt that such spending made the remaining inmates very expensive guests at the ratepayers’ expense. Why, indeed, pay to display caged ibis when they freely roamed the suburban streets!

With this lack of interest, the zoo little by little became rundown. Its decline was further driven by increasing concerns for animal welfare. Discontented contributors to The Cairns Post in 1948 drew attention to the confined and unnatural conditions, and also visitor cruelty to During World War II, the zoo was a welcome distraction inhabitants by prodding them with sticks. Inevitably, from wartime worries, and scores of people would visit economic factors forced the zoo to close in 1953. on a Sunday to be shown around and witness feeding. On Two decades later in the 1970s, when the Flecker Gardens the busiest days, the curator conducted informal tours was already well developed, animals were once again from 2.30pm to dusk, and removed snakes from their on display in aviaries constructed to house pheasants, cages up to six times in an afternoon to be inspected and peacocks and brush turkeys. Today, brush turkeys and orange-footed scrubfowl roam freely in the Gardens photographed.

It was also much appreciated by Australian and American Precinct, just as much to the delight of visitors as it was troops stationed in the region. The local Red Cross in earlier decades.

In those days, Cairns city itself only stretched to the hospital, and Edge Hill was a township apart. Parents would bring their children for a regular weekend outing to the Zoo, followed by a picnic and play.

For 15 years, the Cairns City Council Zoo was welcome in an era when native animal collections were kept caged for public display and amusement. It was modest, both in size and budget, and without lofty ambitions. As times changed and zoo practices evolved, this zoo came to an end.

Today, a number of private animal parks in the region provide opportunities for visitors to get up close to native fauna, now displayed and interpreted in more natural Waning interest After the war, only male wallabies and female kangaroos settings. What’s more, crocodile feeding still generates remained and the zoo needed restocking and maintenance. the same sense of excitement as it did for the Sunday At that time, the Council’s focus was on plantings for afternoon feeding shows! the botanic gardens, which had suffered from wartime While no traces of the facility remain today, the Cairns City quarrying, and there was little interest in the zoo’s Council zoo is testament to the will of earlier community leaders to foster a tourism identity for the city. While the development.

By 1949, there were about 50 birds left, along with one memories of the zoo have faded, it was undoubtedly a kangaroo, cassowary, dingo and wombat. The zoo’s colourful chapter in the history of the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Victorettes organised weekend bike trips for servicemen on leave, and the first stop was the zoo to meet native Australian animals such as wallabies and emus. One keen soldier frightened his hostesses by climbing a tree above the crocodile enclosure to get a better shot. In fact, the only known images of the zoo are from a small number of photos taken by American servicemen belonging to the 411th Engineers.

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Before program suspension

Stefan and Pat

Andre

Saltie

planting t

y t r i D ’ n ‘ n w Dwoeeding Rainforest veg

e Boardwalk r

Christopher and Michael

Joan Trevor and Jenny

Erica and Jenny

One of the last morning tea gatherings before social distancing.

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Sandra

Jeff

Jabidr

wee Cattana W

John

Odin and Lugus

Hassan, Bertha and Andre.

es

trees

rus

ding Wetlands

Herb & Spice Garden project

Rob

Malie

Chris

Tony

Tracks ‘n ’ Dawn

drainworTrails ks 13

Pocket Garden compliment The Active Living Program supported by the Council builds health and resilience in the community.

The support for community gardens is outstanding.

In this time of worldwide turmoil these Council initiatives are highly valuable.

Thank you!

Anthony guides a young participant.

Wendy Crathern Close resident.

Crathern Close Pocket Garden

Culm splitting at the Bamboo Connect workshop.

Down ‘n’ Dirty’s volunteer Clancy preparing bamboo for the workshop.

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Bamboo Connect workshop It was a triumph of teamwork at Co-Lab’s first workshop for the Bamboo Connect Building Bridges project held early in March at the Tanks Arts Centre.

This year’s participants not only explored structural and environmental relationships, but also prepared the bamboo themselves!

Prior to the event, volunteers from both the Down ‘n’ Dirty and Tracks ‘n’ Trails groups worked with Co-Lab to harvest the bamboo from Mt Whitfield and the Botanic Gardens’ bamboo collection as a part of their annual maintenance program. One of the species chosen was the South American giant, Guadua angustifolia.

Interesting fact: did you know that all bamboo species grow to their full height (up to 30m) in just three months, and are ready to harvest in ffour years!

Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers harvesting bamboo for the workshp.

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Orchid display

Photo: Colyn Huber.

Fabulous photos of the Gardens Val Schier - Friends’ President

Calathea roseopicta Photo: Val Schier.

Visitors admiring the Heliconia pogonantha x mariae cv Bushmaster Photo: Colyn Huber.

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During the Covid-19 lockdown, we have been posting regular images on the Friends of the Cairns Botanic Gardens Facebook page and receiving lots of positive feedback.

People have been sharing the images with their friends and other Botanic Gardens Friends’ groups have been sharing them with their members.

Most of the photos have been taken by Colyn Huber of Lovegreen Photography, who has been photographing the Gardens for more than a decade.

The Friends have contracted Colyn to make a slide show which will be shown at our monthly talks and in the shop when we resume business.

Pictured here are the most popular images.

Tillandsia cyanea Photo: Val Schier.

Rosemarie Andrews with Visitor Centre bird display.

Volunteers bring skills to their positions Ann Chalmers

Earlier this month we were excited when management Sunbird, Spangled Drongo, Helmeted Friarbird, asked us to create an interpretive display in the Botanic Yellow Honeyeater, Mistletoebird and Welcome Swallow. Each nest has an informative label written Gardens Visitor Centre.

Visitor Enhancement Volunteer Rosemarie Andrews by Rosemarie.

and I decided on a bird theme, as birdwatching is Some of our interesting feathers include the Southern such a popular activity in the Gardens. Our aim for Cassowary and Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. the display was to promote birdwatching and to offer Our final additions to the display were temporarily an educational and interesting display. thwarted by the closure of the centre. When it reAfter a call out for assistance to the Wet Tropics opens, Rosemarie has also designed a colouring in Management Authority, John Seale and his birding sheet for children featuring the Rainbow Lorikeet fraternity, and ‘Friends’ and Council staff, the offers (with information on the reverse). Additionally, flooded in! We received nests, eggs, feathers, posters, we will have an iPad next to the display accessing photos and props.

Australian bird identification, sounds, calls and songs.

The display advertises John’s free birdwatching tours in the Gardens, as well as giving out free Cairns bird We’d particularly like to thank the following people for their contribution: Friend’s Bird Tours, John posters.

Seale; volunteers Jenn Muir and Stefan Geisler; Ellen On the display floor we have an Orange-footed Weber, Wet Tropics Management Authority; Lynette Scrubfowl egg in a (miniature) mound, a Bush Stone Kay Ensor Photography; Frog Hospital, Deborah -curlew egg sitting on gravel, and an imitation Satin Pergolotti; bird enthusiasts, Brian Lee, Ronnie Gallo; Bowerbird bower (complete with blue trinkets). and council staff, Louisa Grandy, Lou Derry, Robert The nests of several birds are on display: Olive-backed Obah (Crowie), Dave Breeze and Ulys Poirer.

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Tropical Fruits Sugarworld Averrhoa bilimbi Pickle Fruit

Japanese students weed with ‘Salties’ Looking for a quiet walk with a friend, then why not visit Sugarworld Botanic Gardens.

Only the playground and barbecue area is closed but the sealed pathways are great for walking and / or using a walker or pram.

As you walk through a grove of trees you will notice they are the Carambola (Star Fruit), Averrhoa carambola: locals will remember them from their childhood called ‘Five Corners’. The fruit is quite high and usually the white cockatoos will have beaten you to it. Unlike most tropical plants, the Carambola needs little sunlight and it can do well in a container.

At the start of the grove you will notice about six trees of the Bilimbi (Pickle Fruit) Averrhoa bilimbi, a close relation of the Carambola.

This fruit does not attract the birds but is quite refreshing to eat, although very tart. It is native to Indonesia but is now cultivated in many other parts of the tropics. Dark red flowers are produced from the trunk and older branches. The mature fruit resemble small cucumbers and usually are 5-8cm in length. The fruit is usually candied or cooked with sugar as a preserve. The pulp can also be used to make a refreshing drink. A stall at the Port Douglas Markets used to sell a pickle for use with seafood.

FRAN LINDSAY President, Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Garden Inc. 18

Tohoku Institute of Technology from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in Japan is no stranger to Cairns. Students have been visiting the tropical city since 2008 for their love of the reef and rainforest.

This year a cohort of students participated in the Institute’s Challenge Abroad Program. Students from Management and Communication, Graphic Design and Environmental Studies took part in the program. A big part of their short stay was volunteering and meeting Cairns locals.

Students spent a morning weeding and planting native trees at the Yellow Arrow Trail Head, Aeroglen with the Green Space Our Place ‘Salties’ volunteer group.

The program was organised by a local business – One World Academic Adventures.

Pictured, TOP: back - from left, Salties volunteers David, Ann, Kai Yamauchi; volunteers support officer, Sarah Gosling; Wakana Suzuki; Shiori Terui; front - from left, Kantaro Ikeda; Sota Mito; Joan (Salties); and Hayate Inomata.

BELOW: Salties’ volunteers revegetating an area near the Yellow Arrow car park: 1000+ trees have been planted in this area. From left, David, Andre, Rob, Joan and Raphael.

Mangosteen mystery Dr David Rentz AM

About 15 years ago I planted a small Mangosteen on our property in Kuranda. It is now taller than the house but has had fruit only once. Each year the leaves are severely damaged by something. I’ve made a couple of feeble efforts to find the culprit but to no avail.

It turns out I was looking at the wrong time. The damage is done when the leaves are young (and tender). As the damaged leaves grow, they reveal the feeding damage, and this has prompted me to determine who is doing the chewing.

Last year I discovered one caterpillar that I thought might be the culprit. It was on some new leaves but when I touched the branch it was on, the caterpillar fell to the ground. The ground was about 5m from the leaves with the caterpillar. I could not locate the caterpillar on the ground. If this is typical behaviour for this caterpillar, one wonders how it finds its way back to the host plant after abandoning it like this. Perhaps, it has alternative host plants that it can eat.

This year is a bit different thanks to the coronavirus. Time spent at home has contributed to a closer association with plants and animals in the garden. This year I think I have discovered the reason the leaves are being eaten. I discovered a couple of caterpillars on new leaves. They seem to have the habitus typical of cutworms in the family Noctuidae.

I sent a photo of the caterpillar to Don HerbisonEvans, a caterpillar expert. He maintains a website that deals with Australian caterpillars, http://

lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cats.html

Don said he did not recognise the caterpillar and encouraged me to raise it and see what it becomes.

I have been able to find three caterpillars. The one photographed seems to have a problem. Note the small white spot. It is the egg of a parasite, probably a fly in the family Tachinidae. So this caterpillar might meet an untimely end that will not result in a moth but a fly.

Parasite egg

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of these caterpillars and the moth that they will become.

Once the quarantine is over, I’ll check both the native mangosteen and the commercial ones in the Botanic Gardens to see if the moth is decimating them as well.

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Pigeons and doves: frugivorous or NT’s Top End. We are incredibly fortunate in the tropics to have White-headed Pigeon; Emerald Dove; Topknot Pigeon; Brown Cuckoo-Dove; Torresian Imperial-Pigeon; Wompoo Fruit-Dove (the largest of the fruit-doves); Superb Fruit-Dove; and Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.

Of our seven frugivorous pigeons/doves, here are three.

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves are tree-dwellers. Yet, despite their bright colours, these beautiful birds are surprisingly hard to see amongst the foliage as they blend in so well.

Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves are nomadic, following the ripening of the various fruits on which they depend.

Some, however, are seasonally migratory increasing in numbers in north Queensland in summer. In FNQ they are found in rainforest, palms, and mangroves with fruitbearing trees within, or nearby.

They sometimes form large feeding flocks, but usually live in pairs or small groups of five or six.

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove

These birds have many alternative names including: Rose-crowned Fruit-Pigeon, Rose-crowned Pigeon, Red-crowned Pigeon, Red-crowned Fruit-Dove, Pinkcap, Pink-capped Fruit-Dove, and more, which rather illustrates the point above that many common names can be confusing.

Pigeons and doves belong to the Family Columbidae, often referred to as Columbids. Some eat fruit (frugivores), but Australia has two races of Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove: a western race in WA’s Kimberley and NT’s Top End; and most Columbids eat seeds (granivores). the eastern race from Cape York Peninsula down the Species size varies. Generally, pigeons are considered to Queensland coast to northern NSW. Other races occur in be the larger Columbids, and doves the smaller, though Timor and nearby islands. not always. The names ‘pigeon’ and ‘dove’ are often interchanged depending on who is using them. Many Emerald Dove common names for one species can also be confusing (see Emerald Doves are also frugivorous Columbids, though Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove).

As with many animals, some birds include different races (eg Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove). This means that within a species, a population differs from other populations in one or more inherited characteristics, though not sufficiently to rate as a separate species or variety. However with today’s DNA studies, the ‘rules’ on such differentiation are changing.

Some of the frugivorous Columbids also eat seeds and insects. A diverse diet is an advantage: animals feed opportunistically, thereby increasing their chances of survival. Those with very specific diets are more at risk as their food source may be limited to particular climate, soil, vegetation, or other conditions.

Australia has eight frugivorous and 14 granivorous Columbids. Of the granivorous Columbids, three are introduced to Australia. The other 11 are native to this country, as are all of our frugivorous Columbids.

Emerald Dove

they do eat some seeds. They prefer rainforest too, though they will sometimes visit wet eucalypt forest and mangroves.

Although they tend to feed walking rapidly and erratically In Far North Queensland we have all but one of Australia’s on the ground, they also sometimes walk along thick tree frugivorous Columbids: Banded Fruit-Doves occur in the branches, taking fruit within reach. However they don’t 20

granivorous

Jennifer H. Muir

cling to the foliage as do other fruit-pigeons/doves, such as the Topknot Pigeon (pictured).

DID YOU KNOW...?

Emerald Doves are usually solitary, occasionally gathering in small groups in clearings. Their flight is fast and agile as they easily manoeuvre between rainforest trees, their wings beating continuously as they go from cover to cover.

Australia has two races of Emerald Dove. One race occurs in WA’s Kimberley and NT’s Top End. The other race occurs down Australia’s east coast from the tip of Cape York Peninsula to southern NSW. The same species (Chalcophaps indica) also occurs in India, hence the species name ‘indica’, a Latin word meaning ‘after India’. It is also quite widespread through South-east Asia where it is known as the Green-winged Pigeon.

Topknot Pigeon Mostly seen in flocks, often skimming with swooping glides over the canopy, Topknot Pigeons are tree-dwellers, like most other fruit-pigeons/ doves.

They prefer rainforest, or adjacent woodland or forest, and will fly across farmland to remnant rainforest and isolated fruit trees.

Highly nomadic, they move from place to place following the ripening of the various fruits on which they depend.

Australia has over 840 species of reptiles, which is incredibly rich - and more are regularly being discovered.

This is thanks to Australia’s prolonged geographic isolation, vastness, and topographic and climatic diversity.

We have crocodiles, turtles, lots of lizard groups, and several groups of snakes, among which are Pythons, Colubrids and Elapids. Australia is a herpetologist’s dream!

Pythons are powerful, non-venomous snakes that relentlessly tighten their coils around their prey until it suffocates or dies of shock. Colubrids are rear-fanged and considered nondangerous to humans; but all Elapids are venomous, some dangerously so.

Topknot Pigeon

Feeding in forest canopy and lower storeys, they hang upside down in clumps of foliage, clinging to thin branches while noisily flapping their wings for balance, and accidentally dislodging showers of fruit (an opportunistic advantage to ground-feeding animals).

They avoid the ground by drinking water from leaves, but in dry weather, they perch on rocks or cling to low-hanging branches to drink from streams.

With the crest on their foreheads and rust-red crest of their hind crown, their plumage is unique among pigeons. Also unique among pigeons is the Topknot’s courtship behaviour, such as the male’s distinctive bow to the female. Pairs also entwine their necks with their crests fully erect.

Topknot Pigeons were in immense numbers on Australia’s east coast during the early years of European settlement, and they were eaten by pioneers. Flocks of several thousand were common.

Unfortunately, as more and more east coast forest has been removed, Topknot Pigeons have declined with it. Today, flocks of 50 birds are uncommon. The survivors apply that safety in numbers rule I’ve mentioned previously.

Pythons include the world’s largest snakes: the longest, South-east Asia’s Reticulated Python; and the thickest, South America’s Anaconda.

Australia’s longest python, North Queensland’s Scrub (aka Amethystine) Python, is one of the world’s ‘big five’ snakes.

Colubrids comprise the largest family of snakes on earth, and in Australia include the tree snakes, such as the Green Tree Snake of northern and eastern Australia.

Elapids are Australia’s most represented and widespread snake group. Their fangs are at the front of their upper jaws enabling a rapid injection of venom. Far-western Queensland’s Western Taipan is considered the world’s deadliest snake, despite its docile nature.

It usually only attacks humans if provoked.

Jennifer H. Muir 21

Around the Gardens Curator Charles Clarke

Waiting out the virus Not surprisingly, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Cairns Botanic Gardens has been significant! The Friends of the Botanic Gardens and the Gardeneers have had to suspend their activities, visitor numbers are a fraction of their normal levels, and social distancing measures have meant that the gardens’ staff teams have had to take staggered breaks and isolate from one another.

It has certainly been a stressful time, with almost all of us experiencing some sort of dislocation in the workplace.

However, it’s not all bad news… we have been able to keep the Gardens open, and the lack of visitors has provided an unexpected opportunity to complete some tasks that would have otherwise been difficult.

For instance, we have been able to extend and expand our reinvigoration of the plantings in the Conservatory (see previous issue of Our Volunteers Voice magazine).

Better still, we have been able to give many plants, that are normally displayed in the Conservatory, a well-earned break in the nursery, where we can provide them with more specialised environments and some TLC. The response among these plants has been dramatic and it has reminded us that no matter how well you design a conservatory, it’s impossible to satisfy all the plants you may wish to display in it!

The lack of visitors has also given us the opportunity to start overhauling parts of Flecker Gardens. A number of

It’s great to be able to work in the Conservatory without the usual time and cleanliness constraints!

beds have become a little tired in recent times, whereas others look a bit ‘samey’. For example, the herb and spice garden up by the corner of McCormack and Goodwin streets has been over-topped by large trees and is no longer suitable for growing many of the smaller culinary plants that were once cultivated there.

Rather than remove or heavily prune the lovely large trees at this site, we have decided to move the herb and spice plants closer to the café – besides, we figure it makes sense to locate food plants close to a source of food!

Several other beds throughout the Flecker Gardens will be getting a makeover in the coming months and we hope that by the end of the year, we’ll have restored some vigour to the collection, as well as building up a couple of new themes.

While the Gardens have been quieter than usual, the Red Arrow Track has remained open and has become a focal point for people who want to exercise outdoors.

Managing the crowds on this track has been something of a challenge, especially as we are trying to ensure that everyone completes the circuit in a clockwise manner!

Tillandsias relaxing in the nursery.

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The easing of restrictions in the coming weeks will present a new set of challenges and nobody is entirely sure what the “new normal” will look like at the Gardens. However, every challenge is an opportunity, so we’ll leave no stone unturned in the search for improvements, no matter what the circumstances.

Stalked-pored Fungi Barry Muir In Our Volunteers Voice (Issue 26, March 2020), readers were introduced to the stalked-gilled fungi. In this edition we touch on the stalked-pored fungi which use a similar mechanism for producing spores as discussed in the last edition, but the stalked-pored fungi have the basidia on the lining of tubes on the underside of the mushroom cap rather than attached to gills.

Pores

The spores are fired from the basidia into the tube, from where they fall down to be wafted off by breezes.

The pores may be very tiny, almost invisible in some species but obvious in others. Many are brightly coloured in shades of red or mauve and some have bright yellow pores like the one pictured right from Redden Island. They appear to be restricted in distribution in the Cairns Botanic Gardens although they appear from time to time at Cattana Wetlands, on Redden Island, along Saltwater Creek margins, in Goomboora Park and other bushland around Cairns.

A feature of many of the stalked-pored fungi is that if they are bruised or cut the damaged tissues change colour, often to pink or blue. This sometimes spectacularly fast colour change is caused by oxidation of (mostly) xerocomic acid and variegatic acids which are present in almost all parts of the fruit-body.

Some of the truffles are related to stalked-pored fungi, but the truffles now grow exclusively underground.

JOIN THE FRIENDS

Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns Membership details - phone 4032 3900 or email info@botanicfriendscairns.org.au After joining you can support the Friends in many ways: as a committee member, in the Friends Shop, as a tour guide or assisting with events.

Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens Contact Fran Lindsay frantastic10@bigpond.com

Newsletter contributions: Please submit articles (must be volunteer or nature based) by the first week of August for the next quarterly publication in September.

Email: l.grandy@cairns.qld.gov.au Please note articles are subject to editing.

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all events or visit our websites: - Green Space Our Place - Cairns Botanic Gardens - Friends of the Botanic Gardens

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Green Space Our Place

Tuesdays - Cattana Wetlands Jabirus 9am-noon Tuesdays - Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ 9am-noon Wednesdays - Botanic Gardens Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers 9am-noon Thursdays - Stratford Nursery 9am-noon Thursdays - ‘Weedbusters’ 9am-noon Thursday (once a month) - Sugarworld Gardeners & Friends Fridays - Saltwater Creek ‘Salties’ 9am-noon Wednesdays and Fridays - Tracks ‘n’ Trails 9am-noon Children’s Nature Activities Program - Little Taccas - Botanic Gardens and Sugarworld Parklands • Visitor Enhancement Volunteers - rostered hours to suit individual • History Tour Guides - Tuesday and Thursday 10am • Plant Collection Database volunteers - hours to suit individual Interested in becoming involved with your local park, reserve or tracks in your community? Contact us to register as a Council volunteer and be involved in beautifying your park (enhance planting, weed management, litter clean-up), reporting on issues (graffiti and vandalism, anti-social behaviour, maintenance issues) and building community participation (networking activities) with Council support.

If you are interested in supporting any of our weekly groups or volunteering in your local area contact Volunteers Supervisor Louisa Grandy on 4032 6648 or email greenspaceourplace@cairns.qld.gov.au

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Zingiber neglectum

Green Space Our Place