My Lamma Forums

[Alan]

Looks like they're all Australian trees, except the Schima. So I'll be able to return to my roots... They look like mostly pleasant flowering trees.

More seriously, as non-natives they won't do much if anything for wildlife or encourage native plants; though they will be better than the bare hillsides the arsonists have left. Obviously the department prefers low maintenance over providing habitats.

So here's what we have to look forward to, provided no idiots burn them down before they're established.


Lophostemon confertus
Brush Box, Queensland Box, vinegar tree.
Tall tree growing to 35m in forest, much shorter and many-branched in littoral rainforest Bark rough and scaly.
Feathery white flowers, 0.8-1.2 inches long (2-3 cm), by 3 to 7 in axillary cymes. Favourite tree for bee-keepers and widely planted as a park or street tree.




Casuarina equisetifolia
Australian pine, Ironwood, Horsetail She-oak
Australian pine is fast-growing (5-10 feet per year), produces dense shade and a thick blanket of leaves and hard, pointed fruits, that completely covers the ground beneath it. Dense thickets of Australian pine displace native dune and beach vegetation, including mangroves and many other resident, beach-adapted species. Because its roots are capable of producing nitrogen through microbial associations, Australian pine can colonize nutrient-poor soils. Once established, it radically alters the light, temperature, and soil chemistry regimes of beach habitats, as it outcompetes and displaces native plant species and destroys habitat for native insects and other wildlife. Chemicals in the leaves of Australian pine may inhibit the growth of other plants underneath it.





Eucalyptus calophylla
Redgum, Marri
This tall tree may grow 60 metres high, but is sometimes much smaller and grows as a mallee. The rough bark is greyish-brown to dark brown and flakes off in small pieces. The leaves are 85 to 150 millimetres long, dull to shiny dark green above and paler below, with closely packed veins. The buds are on long stalks and in loose clusters of three to seven. Each bud has a hemispherical cap two to four millimetres long. Marri flowers are usually white, but there is a rare pink flowering form. The large woody, urn-shaped fruits are 26 to 50 millimetres long and 22 to 40 millimetres wide.
The strong, light-coloured timber is used in building for fence posts and for woodchips and is rapidly gaining popularity for making fine furniture. Marri is important in honey production.



Acacia auriculiformis
Northern Black Wattle, Earleaf acacia
Fast growing small tree to 95 foot with 8 inch leaves and yellow flowers and twisted fruit pods.
Native to the savannas of New Guinea, islands of the Torres Strait, and northern Australia.
The tree flowers quickly, within 1-2 years. The tiny yellow flowers are fragrant. The pods are first straight or slightly curved but as they ripen, they turn from yellow to brown and curl up, then split open. The black seeds hang from short curled orange stalks when the pod splits open. Birds find these seeds highly attractive and eat them. Thus the plant is very quickly dispersed.
Acacias recover wastelands, returning nutrients to poor soils and providing shade for other plants to take hold. They do not produce a lot of pollen or nectar as food, but their plentiful seed supply is a valuable food source for animals (mainly birds and also small mammals), particularly in dry places. Various insects eat their leaves and wood, and sugar gliders and squirrels may eat their sap. The trees also provide shelter for animals; as well as epiphytic plants.



Schima wallichii
Chinese guger tree, needle wood, schima, Laukya, Chilaune Tree
SCHIMA wallichii ssp. liukiuensis. Amember of the Theaceae, the tea family and is closely related to Gordonia. They occur from Nepal and India eastward to Taiwan at elevations of 200 to 2500 meters. Most become quite tall with some reportedly over 40 meters. They have showy fragrant white flowers 4 to 6 centimeters across with five petals and numerous yellow stamens. These bloom on pedicels 1.5 centimeters long in the terminal axils of the spring growth. Cupped flowers over 2" across open near the shoot tips in summer. They are pure white with large central brushes of golden stamens, and have a sweet fragrance.

[Alan]

[zep]

It seems almost churlish to complain about somebody putting in the effort to reforest a barren hillside, but it's true that the non-native nature of the species is unfortunate. Well at least we can look forward to the Schima. I guess the trick is to have someone with some ecological savvy as part of the decision-making process. Anyone have the time and energy to get involved?

Meanwhile, how about lobbying our community leader to try to do something to prevent the inevitable Ching Ming destruction BEFORE it happens.

[Alan]

[Lamma-Gung]

[Alan]

What was she doing up there, conducting a black mass?

Anyway, there aren't any "big trees" where the saplings were planted, a few bushes at most.