Reference Community: Pittwater Spotted Gum Forest EEC Dry Ridgetop Variant

Reference Community: Pittwater Spotted Gum Forest EEC Dry Ridgetop Variant

8 Oct

Written By India Turner

Site: Careel Bay Crescent Reserve, Avalon

Soil landscape: Watagan - Narrow, convex crests and ridges, steep colluvial sideslopes, occasional sandstone boulders and benches.

Aspect: North-facing

Vegetation type: Dry closed forest

Flora:

Narrow-Leaf Geebung (*Persoonia linearis*) covered in fruit

Burrawang (*Macrozamia communis*) twined by climbers Wonga Wonga Vine (*Pandorea pandorana*) and Dodder Laurel (*Cassytha glabella*)

A more sheltered, sloping aspect leading up to the ridgetop

Pale Grass Lily (*Caesia parviflora*) in bloom

A Brown Ringlet Moth (*Hypocysta metirius*) resting on Australian Coleus (*Plectranthus parviflorus*)

An understorey of vines, grasses, and herbs

Stout Bamboo Grass (*Austrostipa ramosissima*) - a huge specimen!

Forest Nightshade (*Solanum prinophyllum*) emerging through the grasses

Wild Yellow Jasmine (*Pittosporum revolutum*) in flower

A stand of Giant Hare’s Foot Fern (*Davallia solida*) nestled beneath a Burrawang (*Macrozamia communis*)

Wattle Mat-Rush (*Lomandra filiformis*) in flower

Forest becomes more open on the ridgetop, where the ground is dominated by Kangaroo Grass (*Themeda triandra*)

Wild Clematis (*Clematis aristata*) climbing and flowering over a Burrawang (*Macrozamia communis*)

A forest stand: Burrawang (*Macrozamia communis*) beneath Spotted Gums (*Corymbia maculata*)

A drier understorey on the ridge top, featuring a Rice Flower (*Ozothamnus dismifolius*) in the centre

Bottlebrush Grass-Tree (*Xanthorrea macronema*) putting out a flower spike