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Garawarra State Conservation Area
The Garawarra State Conservation Area is a protected conservation area that is located on the southern suburban fringe of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve abuts the Royal National Park and is situated south of the Sydney central business district, near . Garawarra was gazetted as a park in 1987, and added, together with the Royal National Park, to the Australian National Heritage List on 15 September 2006. Garawarra features heathland, eucalyptus forest, rainforest and wildflowers in late winter and early spring. Commonly seen wildlife include the Lyrebird and Echidna. The soils are based on Hawkesbury Sandstone and the Narrabeen group of sedimentary rocks. The climate is humid and temperate, with warm summers and mild winters. Rainfall is spread throughout the year, being in excess of . Features Flora Dry heathland on the ridges is dominated by typical Sydney sandstone plants, such as Banksia, Boronia, Leptospermum, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doryphora Sassafras
''Doryphora sassafras'', commonly known as sassafras, yellow-, canary- or golden sassafras, or golden deal, is a species of evergreen tree of the family Atherospermataceae native to the subtropical and temperate rainforests of eastern New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. It is a tall tree with green foliage and contrasting white flowers which occur in Autumn and Winter. Taxonomy ''Doryphora sassafras'' was first described by Austrian naturalist Stephan Endlicher in 1837. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''dory-'' "spear" and ''pherein'' "to carry", and refers to the anthers in the flower, while its specific epithet is taken from its similar odour to the North American Laurel (''Sassafras albidum''). It is a member of the small family Atherospermataceae along with several other Australian rainforest trees including southern sassafras (''Atherosperma moschatum''). Common names include Canary Sassafras, Yellow Sassafras, Golden Sassafras, Golden Deal or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyrebird
A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral-coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds. Taxonomy and systematics The classification of lyrebirds was the subject of much debate after the first specimens reached European scientists after 1798. The superb lyrebird was first illustrated and described scientifically as ''Menura superba'' by Major-General Thomas Davies in 1800 to the Linnean Society of London. He based his work on specimens sent from New South Wales to England. Lyrebirds were thought to be Galliformes like the broadly similar looking partridge, junglefowl, and pheasants familiar to Europeans, reflect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Article 18.5 states: "The following names, of long usage, are treated as validly published: ....Leguminosae (nom. alt.: Fabaceae; type: Faba Mill. Vicia L.; ... When the Papilionaceae are regarded as a family distinct from the remainder of the Leguminosae, the name Papilionaceae is conserved against Leguminosae." English pronunciations are as follows: , and . commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and agriculturally important of |
Blandfordia
''Blandfordia'', commonly known as Christmas bells, is a genus of four species of flowering plants native to eastern Australia. Christmas bells are tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and up to twenty large, drooping, cylindrical or bell-shaped flowers. Description Plants in the genus ''Blandfordia'' are tufted, perennial herbaceous monocots with fleshy, fibrous or tuber-like roots from a corm. The leaves are narrow linear, usually crowded in two ranks from the base of the flowering stem. Up to twenty flowers are arranged near the top of the flowering stem that has small, leaf-like bracts. The flowers are usually red with yellow lobes. The sepals and petals are fused to form a tube-shaped, cylindrical or bell-shaped flower with six lobes about one-fifth the length of the tube. There are six stamens fused to the inside wall of the flower tube and the style is linear. Flowering occurs in spring or summer and is followed by the fruit which is a capsule, tapered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actinotus
''Actinotus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Mackinlayoideae, with about 18 species. It is native to Australasia. Its best known member is the flannel flower, a common sight in Sydney bushland in the spring. The generic name, meaning "furnished with rays" is derived from the Greek stem ''aktin-''/ακτιν- "ray" or "sunbeam". Most species are endemic to Australia with one from New Zealand. Other notable species are '' A. schwarzii'' from the Macdonnell Ranges in Central Australia, which closely resembles ''A. helianthi'' in appearance, and the rare pink-flowering '' A. forsythii'' from the Blue Mountains. The genus was established by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière with his description of ''A. helianthi'' on page 67 of the first volume of his ''Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen''. However the habitat statement is anomalous and according to historian Edward Duyker Labillardière could not have collected the type specimen persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the Greek (), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type of the genus. In his ''Pinax'' (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. In the early 2000s it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained ''A. nilotica''—the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineage (by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epacris
''Epacris'' is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It was formerly treated in a closely related but separate family Epacridaceae, but the various genera within Epacridaceae including ''Epacris'' have been revised in their relationships to each other and brought under the common umbrella of the Ericaceae. The genus ''Epacris'' is native to eastern and southeastern Australia (southeast Queensland south to Tasmania and west to southeast South Australia), New Caledonia and New Zealand. The species are known as heaths or Australian heaths. Description Plants in the genus ''Epacris'' are shrubs with simple leaves that are a similar colour on both surfaces and with flowers arranged singly in leaf axils near the ends of the branches, sometimes extending along the branches. Each flower is surrounded by many bracts and five, usually glabrous sepals. The petals are joined to produce a cylindrical or bell-like tube with five lobes on the end. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptospermum
''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greatest diversity in the south of the continent, but some are native to other parts of the world, including New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Leptospermums all have five conspicuous petals and five groups of stamens which alternate with the petals. There is a single style in the centre of the flower and the fruit is a woody capsule. The first formal description of a leptospermum was published in 1776 by the German botanists Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Johann Georg Adam Forster, but an unambiguous definition of individual species in the genus was not achieved until 1979. Leptospermums grow in a wide range of habitats but are most commonly found in moist, low-nutrient soils. They have important uses in horticulture, in the production of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boronia
''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Australian states but the genus is under review and a number of species are yet to be described or have the description published. Boronias are similar to familiar plants in the genera ''Zieria'', ''Eriostemon'' and '' Correa'' but can be distinguished from them by the number of petals or stamens. Some species have a distinctive fragrance and are popular garden plants. Description Plants in the genus ''Boronia'' are nearly always shrubs although a very small number occur as herbs or as small trees. The leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs and may be simple leaves or compound leaves with up to nineteen or more leaflets, in either a pinnate or bipinnate arrangement. The flowers are arranged in groups in the leaf axils or on the ends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range in size from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres (100 ft) tall. They are found in a wide variety of landscapes: sclerophyll forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts. Heavy producers of nectar, ''banksias'' are a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for nectarivorous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates. Further, they are of economic importance to Australia's nursery and cut flower industries. However, these plants are threatened by a number of processes including land clearing, frequent burning and disease, and a number of species are rare and endangered. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Sandstone
Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, one variety of which is historically known as Yellowblock, and also as "yellow gold" a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common. It forms the bedrock for much of the region of Sydney, Australia. Well known for its durable quality, it is the reason many Aboriginal rock carvings and drawings in the area still exist. As a highly favoured building material, especially preferred during the city's early years—from the late 1790s to the 1890s—its use, particularly in public buildings, gives the city its distinctive appearance. The stone is notable for its geological characteristics; its relationship to Sydney's vegetation and topography; the history of the quarries that worked it; and the quality of the buildings and sculptures constructed from it. This bedrock gives the city some of its "personality" by dint of its meteorologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snail Camp Gully Creek
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called '' slugs'', and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called ''semi-slugs''. Snails have considerable human relevance, including as food items, as pests, and as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewelry. The snail has also had some cultural significance, tending to be associated with lethargy. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
