Cumberland Plain Woodland
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The Cumberland Plain Woodland, or Western Sydney woodland,Western Sydney woodland
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government ar ...
,
NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
is a grassy woodland community found predominantly in
Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, that comprises an open tree canopy, a groundcover with grasses and herbs, usually with layers of shrubs and/or small trees. Situated in the
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
, the community is a
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
that features dry
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...
woodlands, grasslands and/or forests, reminiscent of Mediterranean forests. According to Office of Environment and Heritage, the community falls predominantly within the ''Coastal Valley Grassy Woodlands'' region, which are part of the ''Grassy Woodlands'' formation found in the eastern corridor of New South Wales. Currently, less than 6% of the Woodlands remain in small parts distributed across the
western suburbs of Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropol ...
, totaling only around 6400 hectares. Cumberland Plain Woodland was listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under the ''Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995'' in June 1997. The greatest threats to the Cumberland Plain Woodland include
land clearing Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
for agriculture,
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
and the introduction of harmful weed species.


Geography

In 1877, ''Cumberland Plain Woodlands'' covered 107,000 hectares and filled around 30% of the Sydney Basin. At the time of European land exploration of Australia European settlement, the Cumberland Plain contained 1,070 km² of
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s and forests. The westward expansion of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
over the plain has placed enormous pressure on the woodlands and other local ecological communities, only 6% of which remain uncleared. The ecoregion contains clay soils derived from
Wianamatta Shale The Wianamatta Group is a geological feature of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia that directly overlies the older (but still Triassic in age) Hawkesbury sandstone and generally comprise fine grained sedimentary rocks such as shales an ...
to the west of
Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...
, where it receives 750–900 mm of annual rainfall. The soils of the plain are infertile by world standards, but are not so by Australian standards. The plain is made up of
eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
woodland with a grassy undergrowth and sclerophyllous (hard-leaved) shrub stratum, demarcating with the
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
and forest communities of the sandstone plateaus that surround the plain. The biotic community is mostly found on flat or hilly terrains up to about 350 m in elevation, but it may also be present on locally precipitous sites and at slightly higher elevations. Some parts of the community may have a
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
structure. The Woodland features an open tree canopy,
groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...
prevailed by grasses and herbs, sometimes with layers of shrubs and small trees.


Locations

Spanning through the cities of Fairfield,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, Campbelltown, Camden and Penrith, with the cities of
Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
,
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
and
Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollon ...
being on the peripheries, they contain approximately 2000 ha (one-fifth) of the remaining Cumberland Plain Woodland. Its range does not extend to slightly wetter
Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest The Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest (STIF) is dry sclerophyll forest community of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is typically found in the Inner West and Northern region of Sydney. It is also among the three of these plant communitie ...
, or high-rainfall ridges (such as
Blue Gum High Forest The Blue Gum High Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion is a wet sclerophyll forest found in the northern parts of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It has been classified as critically endangered, under the New South Wales government's ''Threate ...
in the upper North Shore), which are geologically on the
Hornsby Plateau The Hornsby Plateau is a dissected sandstone plateau lying to the north of Sydney Harbour that rises 200 metres. The plateau is a part of the larger Sydney Basin structure. Geography The North Shore and the Berowra Valley National Park are locat ...
. Examples of the remnants can be seen at
Scheyville National Park The Scheyville National Park () is a protected national park that is located in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of the Sydney central busi ...
,
Rosford Street Reserve Rosford Street Reserve, or Rosford Reserve, is an urban park and nature reserve situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The reserve contains an open grassland, woodlands and recreational areas surrounded by nati ...
,
Brenan Park Brenan Park is a urban park situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Primarily categorised as a sports field, the reserve contains an open grassland, bushland and recreational areas within the vicinity of native ...
,
Central Gardens Nature Reserve The Central Gardens Nature Reserve, also called Central Gardens, is a protected nature reserve located in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1976, the reserve, garden and fauna and wildlife park is situa ...
, Fairfield Park Precinct, Prospect Hill,
Prospect Nature Reserve Prospect Nature Reserve is a nature reserve and recreational area that is situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which incorporates the Prospect Reservoir, and also features picnic spots, lookouts, walking trac ...
,
Western Sydney Regional Park Western Sydney Regional Park is a large urban park and a nature reserve situated in Western Sydney, Australia within the suburbs of Horsley Park and Abbotsbury.Wetherill Park Nature Reserve Wetherill Park Nature Reserve, also called Wetherill Park Reserve, is an urban park and a nature reserve situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The reserve contains an open woodland and bushland which feature n ...
and
Chipping Norton Lake Chipping Norton Lake is a artificial lake and regional park located in the Sydney suburb of , New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the Georges River system. Chipping Norton Lake is managed by City of Liverpool (New South Wales), Liverpool ...
, among other places.


Ecological communities

The Cumberland Plain Woodland, classed under ''Coastal Valley Grassy Woodlands'', includes these
ecological communities In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, ...
, with some overlapping and others plainly being sub-regions of the Woodland: *Cumberland Shale Hills Woodland – It is one of the widespread grassy woodland communities within Cumberland Plain Woodland and is restricted to mean annual rainfall of between 750 and 900 millimetres and elevations between 50 and 350 metres above sea level. An open woodland mainly containing grey box (''
Eucalyptus moluccana ''Eucalyptus moluccana'', commonly known as the grey box, gum-topped box or terriyergro, is a medium-sized to tall tree with rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of se ...
'' and ''
Eucalyptus microcarpa ''Eucalyptus microcarpa'', commonly known as grey box, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern continental Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk, smooth whitish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower bu ...
'') and forest red gum trees, it is mostly prevalent in Prospect near
Prospect Reservoir The Prospect Reservoir is a heritage-listed potable water supply and storage reservoir created by the Prospect Dam, across the Prospect Creek located in the Western Sydney suburb of Prospect, in New South Wales, Australia. The eastern boun ...
, and also on the western edges of Fairfield City, Campbelltown LGA and Liverpool LGA. *Cumberland Moist Shale Woodlands – Located in
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s that are intermediate between Cumberland Plain Woodland on drier areas and the Western Sydney Dry Rainforest, the community has waxy-leaved shrubs and small trees in the understorey with a ground cover of
herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
, fleshy twiners and grasses, which are usually absent in the surrounding grassy woodlands. Similar to its subgroup Western Sydney Dry Rainforest due to its moist habit, some of its species would include hairy clerodendrum (''
Clerodendrum tomentosum ''Clerodendrum tomentosum'', known as the downy chance, hairy lolly bush, hairy clairy or hairy clerodendrum is a shrub or small tree occurring in eastern and northern Australia. Distributed from Batemans Bay (35° S) in southern coastal New So ...
'') and slender grape (''
Cayratia clematidea ''Causonis clematidea'', known as the native grape or slender grape, is a common Australian vine in the grape family.
''). Although most of its habitat has been cleared for housing and urbanization, where only 604 ha remain intact, there are pockets of it in the southwest parts of the
Fairfield City Council The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the cou ...
area, northwest of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
near Green Valley, Cecil Hills and the
Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollon ...
LGA. ** Western Sydney Dry Rainforest – Predominantly cleared within the Cumberland Plain and a component of Moist Shale Woodlands, it occurs on the secured clay-rich soils of the wavy hills and ranges of western Sydney in around
Abbotsbury Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
near Calmsley Hill City Farm, and areas in the MacArthur region to the southwest, albeit in a very small isolated pocket. Grey myrtle (''
Backhousia myrtifolia ''Backhousia myrtifolia'' (commonly referred to as ''carrol, neverbreak, iron wood, grey myrtle'' or ''cinnamon myrtle'') is a small rainforest tree species which grows in subtropical rainforests of Eastern Australia. First discovered and subs ...
'') is the most prevalent species with a ground cover being sparsely made up of herbs and ferns. Other salient species include fig (''
Ficus rubiginosa ''Ficus rubiginosa'', the rusty fig or Port Jackson fig (''damun'' in the Dharug language), is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Australia in the genus ''Ficus''. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants (hemiepiphyte) or ...
''), wild quince ('' Alectryon subcinereus'') and whalebone tree ('' Streblus brunonianus''). The rainforest canopy may include spotted gums, wattles and
paperbark ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size f ...
s. Shrubs such as hairy clerodendrum (''
Clerodendrum tomentosum ''Clerodendrum tomentosum'', known as the downy chance, hairy lolly bush, hairy clairy or hairy clerodendrum is a shrub or small tree occurring in eastern and northern Australia. Distributed from Batemans Bay (35° S) in southern coastal New So ...
'') and large mock olive (''
Notelaea longifolia ''Notelaea longifolia'' is a very common shrub or small tree in eastern Australia. Occurring in or adjacent to rainforest from Mimosa Rocks National Park (37° S) to Bamaga (11° S) in far north Queensland. Common names include large mock-oliv ...
'') are also present. Rainfall is usually below 900 millimeters per annum in the rainforests within Cumberland Plain. *Cumberland Shale Plains Woodland and Shale-Gravel Transition Forest – Featuring a soft topography, it is an open grassy woodland mainly containing grey boxes,
forest red gum ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...
s, spotted gums and
ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...
s. It features shale-influenced, nutrient-poor sandy soils that support a constituents of
ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...
gravels. It ranges from a woodland to a forest with an understorey that may deviate between dense shrubs and a low thin shrub with an abundant ground cover of
tussock grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...
es, shrubs and
forbs A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...
. It was once was the most common variety of native vegetation in what is now western Sydney where it occurred on flat to undulating or craggy landscape at elevations reaching approximately 350 m above sea level. Only 10% of it remaining, the community is mostly found in Prospect,
Wetherill Park Wetherill Park is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. ...
, Prospect and
Greystanes Greystanes is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Greystanes is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Cumberland Council. Founded in the late 1790s, Grey ...
, Cecils Hills, Liverpool LGA,
Marsden Park Marsden Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marsden Park is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney ...
,
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
and near
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, albeit in small fragments of less than 5 hectares. The ''Shale-Gravel Transition Forest'' is grouped with the ''Shale Plains Woodlands'' by the
EPBC Act The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...
, although the two have been differentiated. * Cumberland Shale-Sandstone Ironbark Forest – Lying at the edges of the Cumberland Plain, in an area with relatively low rainfall (800mm-900mm), it is a moderately tall eucalyptus forest that is linked with the subtle transition between clay-rich shale soil and the rough sandy matter of the sandstone plateau. It is present on the western bounds of the
Woronora Plateau The Woronora Plateau is a plateau located in New South Wales, Australia. The area is adjacent to the Sydney Plains and is slightly higher in altitude. It is capped with Hawkesbury Sandstone. It is often hotter in summer and colder in winter than ...
and above the
Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...
and
Georges river The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
s near
Appin Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies north ...
, through Ingleburn to the west of the
Woronora Plateau The Woronora Plateau is a plateau located in New South Wales, Australia. The area is adjacent to the Sydney Plains and is slightly higher in altitude. It is capped with Hawkesbury Sandstone. It is often hotter in summer and colder in winter than ...
and the
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
defence area. It is a modestly tall eucalyptus forest with a mixed understorey of sclerophyll shrubs and grasses with some sparse blanket of tall
casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...
s (''
Allocasuarina littoralis ''Allocasuarina littoralis'', commonly known as black sheoak, black she-oak, or river black-oak, is an endemic medium-sized Australian tree (usually up to 8 metres, but sometimes to 15 metres - coarse shrub in exposed maritime areas). A. littoral ...
'' and ''
Allocasuarina torulosa ''Allocasuarina torulosa'', the rose she-oak or forest oak, is a tree which grows in sub-rainforest (just outside the main forest area) of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. There, it is typically found on coastal footslopes, hills, and ...
''). Its ground cover contains varies species of shrubs that are common on shale substrates such as blackthorn ('' Bursaria spinosa'') and those linked with sandstone soils such as geebungs (''
Persoonia ''Persoonia'', commonly known as geebungs or snottygobbles, is a genus of about one hundred species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Persoonia'' are shrubs or small trees usually with smooth bark, simple leav ...
'').


Gallery

File:Cumberlain Plain Woodland.jpg, Shale Plains with
walking track A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
File:Cumberlain Plain Woodland2.jpg, Shale Hills with
offroad Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
driving path File:Cumberlain Plain Woodland3.jpg, Shale Plains with a mowed track File:Cumberlain Plain Woodland5.jpg, Shale Hills with a road traversing through it File:Western Sydney Regional Park.jpg, Shale Plains with modified landscape


Vegetation

The sclerophyll woodlands are situated on a nutrient-poor
alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
deposited by the Nepean River from sandstone and shale
bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
in the Blue Mountains. Despite this, they support a tremendous regional biodiversity. Cumberland Plain Woodland are dominated by Grey Box (''
Eucalyptus moluccana ''Eucalyptus moluccana'', commonly known as the grey box, gum-topped box or terriyergro, is a medium-sized to tall tree with rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of se ...
'') and Forest Red Gum ( E. tereticornis), with Narrow-leaved Ironbark (''
Eucalyptus crebra ''Eucalyptus crebra'', commonly known as the narrow-leaved ironbark, narrow-leaved red ironbark or simply ironbark, and as muggago in the indigenous Dharawal language, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to eastern Australia. It ha ...
''), Spotted Gum (''
Corymbia maculata ''Corymbia maculata'', commonly known as spotted gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, whit ...
'') and Thin-leaved Stringybark (''
Eucalyptus eugenioides ''Eucalyptus eugenioides'', commonly known as the thin-leaved stringybark or white stringybark, is a species of tree endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough stringy bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, Fl ...
'') occurring sporadically. The ecoregion may have an open layer of small trees that would include such species of ''
Acacia decurrens ''Acacia decurrens'', commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and south west to the Australian Cap ...
'', ''
Acacia parramattensis ''Acacia parramattensis'', commonly known as Parramatta wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to the Blue Mountains and surrounding regions of New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or tree to about in height with phyllodes (flattened ...
'', ''
Acacia implexa ''Acacia implexa'', commonly known as lightwood or hickory wattle, is a fast-growing Australian tree, the timber of which is used for furniture making. The wood is prized for its finish and strength. The foliage was used to make pulp and dye cl ...
'' and ''
Exocarpos cupressiformis ''Exocarpos cupressiformis'', with common names that include native cherry, cherry ballart, and cypress cherry, belongs to the sandalwood family of plants. It is a species endemic to Australia. Occasionally the genus name is spelt "Exocarpus" bu ...
''. The shrub layer is mainly contains '' Bursaria spinosa'', ''
indigofera australis ''Indigofera australis'', the Australian indigo or Austral indigo, is an attractive species of leguminous shrub in the genus ''Indigofera'' (family Fabaceae). The genus name ''Indigofera'' is Neo-Latin for "bearing Indigo" (Indigo is a purple d ...
'', '' Hardenbergia violacea'', '' Daviesia ulicifolia'', '' Lespedeza cuneata'', ''
Dillwynia ''Dillwynia'' is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves and yellow or red and yellow flowers similar to others in the family. Des ...
'', ''
Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa ...
'', with plenty grasses such as Kangaroo Grass (''
Themeda australis } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...
'') and Weeping Meadow Grass ('' Microlaena stipoides''). Eucalyptus species: *''
Eucalyptus amplifolia ''Eucalyptus amplifolia'', commonly known as the cabbage gum, is a tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark on its trunk and branches, lance-shaped leaves, and buds in groups of between seven and fifteen or more. The flowers ...
'' (cabbage gum) *''
Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or black ash, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk and the base of larger branches, smooth bark above, l ...
'' (Silvertop Ash) *''
Eucalyptus oblonga ''Eucalyptus globoidea'', commonly known as the white stringybark, is a tree that is endemic to near-coastal areas of south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy bark, often furrowed on the trunk, glossy, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, often cur ...
'' (stringybark) *''
Eucalyptus capitellata ''Eucalyptus capitellata'', commonly known as brown stringybark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough, stringy bark from the trunk to the thinnest branches, lance-shaped to curved ...
'' (brown stringybark) *''
Corymbia gummifera ''Corymbia gummifera'', commonly known as red bloodwood, is a species of tree, rarely a mallee, that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups o ...
'' (red bloodwood) *''
Eucalyptus racemosa ''Eucalyptus racemosa'', commonly known as snappy gum or narrow-leaved scribbly gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped adult leaves, ...
'' (scribbly gum) *''
Eucalyptus baueriana ''Eucalyptus baueriana'', commonly known as blue box or round-leaved box, is a tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk and branches, egg-shaped adult leaves, oval to diamond-shaped flower ...
'' (blue box) *''
Eucalyptus longifolia ''Eucalyptus longifolia'', commonly known as woollybutt, is a species of medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has thick, fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...
'' (woollybutt) *''
Eucalyptus paniculata ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gro ...
'' (grey ironbark) *''
Eucalyptus punctata ''Eucalyptus punctata'', commonly known as grey gum, is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth grey bark that is shed in patches, lance-shaped, curved or egg-shaped adult leaves flower buds in groups of ...
'' (grey gum) *''
Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...
'' (yellow box) Non-eucalyptus trees: *''
Acacia parramattensis ''Acacia parramattensis'', commonly known as Parramatta wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to the Blue Mountains and surrounding regions of New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or tree to about in height with phyllodes (flattened ...
'' (Parramatta wattle) *'' Acacia longifolia'' (Sydney golden wattle) *''
Melaleuca alternifolia ''Melaleuca alternifolia'', commonly known as tea tree, is a species of tree or tall shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to Australia, it occurs in southeast Queensland and the north coast and adjacent ranges of New South Wales wher ...
'' (snow-in-summer) *'' Melaleuca decora'' (white feather honeymyrtle) *''
Melaleuca styphelioides ''Melaleuca styphelioides'', known as the prickly-leaved paperbark or prickly paperbark, is a plant native to eastern Australia. It is a tree with spongy bark, prickly leaves and spikes of creamy-white flowers. Description It is a small to medi ...
'' (prickly-leaved paperbark) *'' Alectryon subcinereus'' (native quince) *''
Allocasuarina torulosa ''Allocasuarina torulosa'', the rose she-oak or forest oak, is a tree which grows in sub-rainforest (just outside the main forest area) of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. There, it is typically found on coastal footslopes, hills, and ...
'' (forest oak) *'' Tristaniopsis laurina'' (water gum) *''
Melia azedarach ''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native ...
'' (chinaberry tree) *''
Backhousia myrtifolia ''Backhousia myrtifolia'' (commonly referred to as ''carrol, neverbreak, iron wood, grey myrtle'' or ''cinnamon myrtle'') is a small rainforest tree species which grows in subtropical rainforests of Eastern Australia. First discovered and subs ...
'' (carrol ironwood) *''
Notelaea longifolia ''Notelaea longifolia'' is a very common shrub or small tree in eastern Australia. Occurring in or adjacent to rainforest from Mimosa Rocks National Park (37° S) to Bamaga (11° S) in far north Queensland. Common names include large mock-oliv ...
'' (large mock-olive) *'' Casuarina cunninghamiana'' *''
Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...
'' (turpentine tree) *''
Clerodendrum tomentosum ''Clerodendrum tomentosum'', known as the downy chance, hairy lolly bush, hairy clairy or hairy clerodendrum is a shrub or small tree occurring in eastern and northern Australia. Distributed from Batemans Bay (35° S) in southern coastal New So ...
'' (hairy clairy) *'' Bursaria spinosa'' *''
Melicytus dentatus ''Melicytus dentatus'', the tree violet, is a shrub that is native to south-east Australia. It grows up to 4 metres high and has branchlets that are often armed with spines and have leaves that are 5 to 50 mm long and sometimes toothed. T ...
'' (tree violet) *''
Acacia floribunda ''Acacia floribunda'' is a perennial evergreen shrub or tree. It is a species of wattle native to New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, but is cultivated extensively, and has naturalised in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, an ...
'' (white sallow wattle) *''
Angophora bakeri ''Angophora bakeri'', commonly known as the narrow-leaved apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, w ...
'' (narrow-leaved) *'' Angophora subvelutina'' (broad-leaved apple) *''
Acacia decurrens ''Acacia decurrens'', commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and south west to the Australian Cap ...
'' (black wattle) Shrubs: *''
Pittosporum revolutum ''Pittosporum revolutum'', the rough-fruited pittosporum, yellow pittosporum, Brisbane laurel or wild yellow jasmine, is a shrub that is endemic to Australia. The species grows up to 3 metres in height and has leaves that are 5 to 15 cm lo ...
'' (yellow pittosporum) *'' Solanum prinophyllum'' (forest nightshade) *'' Breynia oblongifolia'' (coffee bush) *''
Dichondra repens ''Dichondra repens'' is a small, prostrate, herbaceous plant native to New Zealand and many parts of Australia. It is occasionally known as kidney weed in Australia and as Mercury Bay weed in New Zealand. Most commonly called dichondra in Austr ...
'' (kidney weed) *'' Ajuga australis'' (Austral bugle) *'' Daucus glochidiatus'' (Australian carrot) *''
Centella asiatica ''Centella asiatica'', commonly known as gotu kola, kodavan, Indian pennywort and Asiatic pennywort, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islan ...
'' (Asiatic pennywort) *''
Solanum cinereum Solanum cinereum is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae, known by the common name Narrawa burr. It is native to open woodland in south eastern Australia. ''Solanum cinereum'' is a small perennial shrub, either sprawling, or erect to o ...
'' (Narrawa burr) *''
Crassula sieberiana ''Crassula sieberiana'', the Australian stonecrop is a succulent plant found in a variety of habitats in Australia, New Zealand and Lord Howe Island. Usually seen in rock crevices. It may be found in desert areas such as Sturt National Park, or ...
'' (Australian stonecrop) *'' Aphanopetalum resinosum'' (gum vine) *''
Pandorea pandorana ''Pandorea pandorana'', commonly known as the wonga wonga vine or wonga-vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is native to Australia, Malesia and the southwestern Pacific region. It is a woody scrambler or climber ...
'' (Wonga Wonga vine) *''
Cayratia clematidea ''Causonis clematidea'', known as the native grape or slender grape, is a common Australian vine in the grape family.
'' (native grape) *'' Hardenbergia violacea'' (purple coral pea) *'' Cheilanthes distans'' (bristly cloak fern) *'' Chrysocephalum apiculatum'' (yellow buttons) *'' Pratia purpurascens'' (white root) *''
Arthropodium milleflorum ''Arthropodium milleflorum'', the pale vanilla lily, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants native to Australia. It occurs in various habitats including alpine areas and grows to between 0.3 and 1.3 metres high and 0.3 metres wide. ...
'' (pale vanilla lily) *'' Chenopodium hastatum'' (berry Saltbush) *'' Schenkia spicata'' *'' Veronica plebeia'' (trailing speedwell) *'' Stackhousia viminea'' *''
Cestrum nocturnum ''Cestrum nocturnum'', the lady of the night, night-blooming jasmine, night-blooming jessamine, night-scented jessamine, night-scented cestrum or poisonberry, is a species of plant in the potato family Solanaceae. It is native to the West Indies, ...
'' (night-blooming jasmine) *''
Rubus parvifolius ''Rubus parvifolius'', called Japanese bramble, or Australian raspberry in the United States or native raspberry in Australia is a species of plant in the rose family. It is a scrambling shrub native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
'' (Australian raspberry) *'' Ozothamnus diosmifolius'' (rice flower) *'' Glycine tabacina'' (variable glycine) Grasses and sedge: *'' Cyperus gracilis'' (slender flat sedge) *''
Oplismenus hirtellus ''Oplismenus hirtellus'' (commonly known as basket grass) is a flowering perennial plant from the family Poaceae that can be found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, growing mostly in coastal tropic and subtropic regions as wel ...
'' (basket grass) *'' Bothriochloa macra'' (red-leg grass) *''
Fimbristylis dichotoma ''Fimbristylis dichotoma'', commonly known as forked fimbry or eight day grass, is a sedge of the family Cyperaceae that is native to tropical areas. Description The annual or perennial plant, 10–80 cm tall, with numerous long stems abou ...
'' (eight day grass) *''
Panicum effusum ''Panicum effusum'', commonly known as hairy panic, is a grass native to inland Australia. It occurs in every mainland state, as well as New Guinea. In dry conditions, the fast-growing grass can become a tumbleweed. Description Hairy panic is a ...
'' (hairy panic) *''
Sorghum leiocladum ''Sorghum leiocladum'' (also known as wild sorghum) is a grass plant in the family Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the ce ...
'' (wild sorghum) *'' Chloris truncata'' (Australian fingergrass)


Wildlife

Bird species in the woodland include (which are mostly vulnerable and/or
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
): * Gang Gang Cockatoo *
Glossy Black-cockatoo The glossy black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus lathami''), is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in eastern Australia. Adult glossy black cockatoos may reach in length. They are sexually dimorphic. Males are blackish bro ...
*
Brown Treecreeper The brown treecreeper (''Climacteris picumnus'') is the largest Australasian treecreeper. The bird, endemic to eastern Australia, has a broad distribution, occupying areas from Cape York, Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria to Po ...
*
Painted Honeyeater The painted honeyeater (''Grantiella picta'') is a species of honeyeater in a monotypic genus. Taxonomy A member of the family Meliphagidae, ''Grantiella picta'' is the sole species under this genus. The painted honeyeater was first described ...
*
Swift Parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith-Warialda ...
*Square-tailed Kite *Hooded Robin *Black-chinned Honeyeater *Turquoise Parrot *Barking Owl *Powerful Owl *Speckled Warbler *Diamond Firetail *Masked Owl *Sooty Owl *Regent Honeyeater Mammals: *Large-eared Pied Bat *Spotted-tail Quoll *Eastern False Pipistrelle *Miniopterus fuliginosus, Eastern Bent-wing Bat *East-coast free-tailed bat, Eastern Freetail Bat *Large-footed Myotis *Yellow-bellied Glider *Squirrel Glider *Koala *Yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat *Greater Broad-nosed Bat


Historical description

In April 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip describes the land west of Parramatta:
The country through which they travelled was singularly fine, level, or rising in small hills of a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. The soil excellent, except in a few small spots where it was stony. The trees growing at a distance of from 20 to 40 feet [6–12 metres] from each other, and in general entirely free from brushwood, which was confined to the stony and barren spots.
In 1818, author and settler James Atkinson describes the plain as:
One immense tract of forest land extends, with little interruption, from below Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor, on the Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Hawkesbury to Appin, New South Wales, Appin, a distance of 50 miles...Forest means land more or less furnished with timber trees, and invariably grassland, covered with grass underneath, and destitute of underwood...The whole of this tract, and indeed all the forest in this county, was thick forest land, covered with very heavy timber, chiefly iron and stringy bark, box, blue and other gums, and mahogany.
In 1819, British explorer William Wentworth describes Cumberland Plain's natural landscape between
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Nepean River:Statistical, Historical, and Political Description of NSW
by William Charles Wentworth, 1819
The soil changes to a thin layer of vegetable mould, resting on a stratum of yellow clay, which is again supported by a deep bed of Metamorphic rock, schistus. The trees of the forest are here of the most stately dimensions. Full sized gums and Eucalyptus paniculata, iron barks, along side of which the loftiest trees in this country would appear as Dwarfing, pigmies, with the beefwood tree, or as it is generally termed, the Casuarina, forest oak, which is of much humbler growth, are the usual timber. The forest is extremely thick, but there is little or no Understory, underwood. A poor sour grass, which is too effectually sheltered from the rays of the sun, to be possessed of any nutritive and fattening properties, shoots up in the intervals. This description of country, with a few exceptions, however, which deserve not to be particularly noticed, forms another girdle of about in breadth: so that, generally speaking, the colony for about into the interior, may be said to possess a soil, which has naturally no claim to Soil fertility, fertility, and will require all the skill and industry of its owners to render it even tolerably productive. At this distance, however, the aspect of the country begins rapidly to improve. The forest is less thick, and the trees in general are of another description; the iron barks, Eucalyptus leucoxylon, yellow gums, and forest oaks disappearing, and the Eucalyptus oblonga, stringy barks, Sydney Blue Gum, blue gums, and Eucalyptus melliodora, box trees, generally usurping their stead. When you have advanced about further into the interior, you are at length gratified with the appearance of a country truly beautiful. An endless variety of hill and dale, clothed in the most luxuriant herbage, and covered with bleating flocks and lowing herds, at length indicate that you are in regions fit to be inhabited by civilized man. The soil has no longer the stamp of barren vegetation, barrenness. A rich loam resting on a substratum of fat red clay, several feet in depth, is found even on the tops of the highest hills, which in general do not yield in fertility to the valleys. The timber, strange as it may appear, is of inferior size, though still of the same nature, i. e. blue gum, box, and stringy bark. There is no underwood, and the number of trees upon an acre do not upon an average exceed thirty. They are, in fact, so thin, that a person may gallop without difficulty in every direction. Coursing the kangaroo is the favourite amusement of the colonists, who generally pursue this animal at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage, notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at the death; so trifling are the impediments occasioned by the forest.


See also

*
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
*Ecology of Sydney *Sclerophyll *Geography of Sydney *List of endangered ecological communities in NSW


References


External links


Cumberland Plain Woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion - profileEcology of Cumberland Plain Woodland
{{Australasia grasslands navbox Endangered ecological communities Geography of Sydney Grasslands of Australia Remnant urban bushland Vegetation of Australia Ecoregions of New South Wales Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Sclerophyll forests