Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: Maggi Young on April 14, 2021, 12:44:36 PM
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Alan Ayton, from Victoria in Australia is very enthusiastic about the flora of Tasmania. He and his wife visited and hiked the Overland Track through the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness back in December 2019. They saw some incredible scenery and endemic flora,and Alan posted many times about the things they saw on that trip on his Facebook page ... https://www.facebook.com/alan.ayton.5
He also posts about the flora encountered on trips on "mainland" Australia!
Earlier this year they visitied Tasmania again , this time to hike in the Cradle Moutnain area - and he shares his photos of the trip here. It's quite a trip - only a short break, but Alan took loads of photos!
May take me a while to get them all posted! but - MANY Thanks for sharing, Alan!
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Tasmania, you are looking oh so fine!
Tasmania-Meander Falls
A truly magnificent waterfall on the Meander river that tumbles down off the Great Western Tier. Raging water certainly helped by lots of rain the night before we visited. The track in was a 2 1/2 hour battle in over numerous flooded creek crossings that don’t normally exist, a track in many sections that were fast running creeks or massive still deep puddles, finding alternate routes or even using downed tree trunks to crawl/walk over, hanging onto trees to cross a raging creek, a climb over the route of 457m. In all a magical experience to see a great waterfall.
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Tasmania-Meander Falls, ‘The Track’ in to see the Falls
There was a lot of water about the route !
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Tasmania-Meander Falls, ‘The Track’ in to see the Falls
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Flora of Tasmania
Gaultheria hispida
Snow Berry
An erect, much branched shrub up to 2m tall, much smaller in exposed conditions. The midrib of the leaves and branchlets have reddish bristles, leaves are ellipse to lance shaped, 4-8cm in length. Small white urn shaped flowers in terminal or axillary groups. White sepals enclose the reddish capsule giving the appearance of a white berry. Tasmanian endemic found in alpine heath and alpine sedgeland and at lower altitudes as well.
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Trochocarpa cunninghamii
Flat Heath
A spreading shrub, leaves oval shaped with a point about 10mm long, arranged in two opposite rows. Young shoots have a covering of dense short hairs. Pink flowers in a crowded terminal spike. Found in the understory of coniferous heath, heath and deciduous heath, alpine sedgeland , rainforests and subalpine forests in the western and central mountains. A Tasmanian endemic.
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Impressive boulder/scree fields in the Meander conservation area under the Great Western Tiers
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Trochocarpa thymifolia
Thyme leaf purple berry / Thyme leaved Heath.
A much branched shrub to 1 metre tall, leaves to 4mm in length, round and slightly convex. Flowers pink, bell shaped in a nodding terminal spike, flowering during January-February , fruit is a blueish/purple drupe. Found in montane and subalpine habitats . Tasmanian endemic.
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more Trochocarpa thymifolia
Thyme leaf purple berry / Thyme leaved Heath.
A much branched shrub to 1 metre tall, leaves to 4mm in length, round and slightly convex. Flowers pink, bell shaped in a nodding terminal spike, flowering during January-February , fruit is a blueish/purple drupe. Found in montane and subalpine habitats . Tasmanian endemic.
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Some of the incredible undergrowth in Tasmania’s rainforests.
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Leptecophylla juniperina subsp. parvifolia
Mountain Pinkberry, Crimson berry amongst others.
Dense prickly shrub to 1 metre tall, more often than not carrying long lasting colourful berries. Leaves 6mm in length, linear-lanceolate with a point. Small bell shaped cream flowers September-December. Fruit-spherical berry , pink to red in colour. Common on montane dolerite slopes and wet plains. There are 3 sub species. Use to be known as Cyathodes parvifolia.
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A moody Ronny Creek in a wet and cold Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park - Richea pandanifolia on the right and Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus, button grass, knee to waist height, spikey brute!
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Utricularia dichotoma
Fairies Aprons
Carnivorous, stoloniferous herb with an erect flowering stalk 5-30cm high, short in the alpine zone. Quite often leafless, if present they are spatula like or linear - lanceolate. Flowers purple, lilac or sometimes white during December to February. Found in water logged soils, ditches, pools of water from sea level to alpine herb fields and bolster heath. It has small bladders on its roots close to the surface of the soil which trap small aquatic or soil animals and digests them.
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Baeckea gunniana
Alpine heathmyrtle
Variable low spreading or arching woody shrub, prostrate in exposed alpine conditions, size-prostrate to 1.5 x .5-2m, leaves are crowded, 5mm long, oblong, thick and blunt. Flowers are small, white with 5 petals and with a red or green centre during summer, common in moist alpine habitats above 800 m in Tasmania.
Also in VIC, NSW.
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more Baeckea gunniana
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Boronia rhomboidea
Broadleaf Boronia, Rhomboid Boronia
A small alpine shrub 20-75cm tall by 50-100cm wide, rhomboid shaped leaves to 13 mm long, stalkless, dark green with a reddish margin. Flowers-deep pink buds open to white/pink with 4 petals. Flowering during spring and summer. Found in moist exposed subalpine areas to 1200m, mainly in the north and northwest of Tasmania, isolated elsewhere. Also in NSW. A lovely little shrub
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last image of Boronia rhomboidea
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Olearia persoonioides
Geebung daisybush
A woody shrub growing 1.5-3m x 1-2m, smaller forms at high altitudes, leaves variable 2-5vm in length, glossy green above, white to light brown below.
Flowers have 5-7 white ray florets with a yellow disc, with 3-5 per flowering stem from late spring initiative summer. Found in moist well drained rainforest margins and sub alpine areas of Tasmania.
Unfortunately these had finished flowering. Photos 3 and 5 show its habitat.
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Part of Crater Lake on the way up to Marion’s lookout in the Cradle Mountain Lake st Clair National Park. A truly remarkable landscape gouged out by glaciers in the last ice age in Tasmania.
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Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp. discolor
Broad leaved eye bright.
A semi parasitic herb with a white or lilac, deep lilac corolla, with a yellow spot in the throat and dark purple-indigo striations extending onto the lobes. Found on rocky places at Cradle Mountain and in the west of the state. There are many sub species of this species making for interesting identification of them.
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Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp. discolor habitat
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part of Crater Lake again
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Continuing on from our recent little holiday to Tasmania, this is the famous Kitchen Hut on the Overland Track at the base of Cradle Mountain, an historic old emergency shelter.
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Little Horn in front of Cradle Mountain on the most mountainous island in the world, Tasmania.
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Cradle Mountain in all its cloudy glory! Somewhere up there is the summit.
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On the ascent of Cradle Mountain looking towards Fury Gorge. Another of the countless vistas and views in the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park.
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Xerochrysum milliganii syn. Helichrysum milliganii
Snow Everlasting, Milligans everlasting.
A Herb growing to 10 x 5cm when in flower,has overlapping crowded leaves in a rosette. Papery terminal flowers on strong stems with dark pink outer bracts, white inner bracts and a small yellow disc floret, flowering in summer. A Tasmanian endemic found on the Western and central mountains in coniferous heath, bolster heath, heath, alpine sedgeland, fjaeldmark and short grasslands. A little beauty which wasn’t quite in flower!
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Senecio pectinatus var pectinatus
Yellow alpine groundsel
A stoloniferous herb with basal rosettes, leaves are crowded, oak shaped with rounded crinkly lobes to 3cm. Flowers are solitary bright yellow on stems to 20cm, flowers during summer. Widespread across the Tasmanian alpine areas. Also in Victoria and NSW.
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another Senecio pectinatus var pectinatus
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"Cradle Mountain, cloudy, misty and plenty of big boulders to scramble over, we didn’t get to the top, a bit foggy and, as the younger generation would say, ‘a bit sketchy’ "
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Astelia alpina var. alpina
Pineapple Grass
A mat forming plant with all parts covered with silver scales, more noticeable at the base of leaves and stems. Leaves are 6-40cm long and up to 2.8cm wide, green-grey green above, grey-silver or brown below. Flower heads normally hidden amongst the leaves, creamy white in colour during spring, red berries more noticeable later on. A Tasmanian endemic found in all vegetation types apart from aquatic and short alpine herb fields. Found on nearly all mountains in Tasmania.
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more Astelia alpina var. alpina
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Bellendena montana
Mountain Rocket
A small rounded shrub .5-1m high x 1-2m wide, usually only to 60cm high at high altitudes. Variable leaves, often obovate to cuneate with 3 lobes at the apex, 1-4cm long, green in colour, leathery and alternate in arrangement, stems are reddish in colour. White to pink flowers in a terminal cluster held above the plant during summer. Fruit is flattened and hanging in papery sacs, colour ranging from reds, yellow to orange. A Tasmanian endemic widespread above 600m altitude. An interesting member of the Proteaceae family.
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Bellendena montana
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The rugged beauty of Tasmania’s wilderness. From the ascent of Cradle Mountain.
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Planocarpa petiolaris
Alpine Cheeseberry
A small woody shrub , 15-30cm high by 30-50cm wide. Leaves are crowded, 7mm in length rounded and taper to a point, and white underneath. Flowers are tubular with 5 petals and hairy lobes and flowering during spring-summer. Fruit is a dark red/black drupe. A Tasmanian endemic found above 1200 m altitude on dolerite mountains of the central plateau and south east. Quite a beautiful little plant.
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Planocarpa petiolaris
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Dolerite in all its glory on Cradle Mountain.
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Gentianella diemensis subsp. diemensis
Tasmanian snow gentian
Not quite in flower but always beautiful to see.
A rosette herb with leaves spatula shaped to lanceolate 20-30mm by 5-10mm. Flowering stems can be unbranched or sparsely branched. Flowers are white and sometimes with violet-grey veining on the inside. A Tasmanian endemic which is widespread and occurs in all the mountain regions of the state. G. diemensis ssp. diemensis, picture taken on the side of Cradle Mountain. Plants die after flowering so definitely don’t hold onto fruit.
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Pimelea sericea
Alpine rice flower
A shrub to 70cm tall with leaves that are green above and hairy below arranged in a opposite formation. Flower heads at end of branches ranging in colour from pink to white. A Tasmanian endemic found in alpine heath and coniferous heath in the eastern and central mountains. Photos 4,5,6 show its habitat.
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Pimelea sericea view
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Cushion plants under the walls of Cradle Mountain.
Cushions galore on the face track at Cradle Mountain. Not to sit on of course, naturally the plant variety incl. Donatia novae-zelandiae and Pterygopappus lawrencei .
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Pterygopappus lawrencei
Sage cushion plant
An all time favourite of mine which I’ve posted many times before. Seen here in flower at the base of Cradle Mountain. A Tasmanian endemic found on most mountains as either a dominant or sub dominant in bolster heath. Small solitary white flower heads in summer.
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more Pterygopappus lawrencei
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To round off Alan's photos from the trip :
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The picturesque Dove Lake from the side of Cradle Mountain.
Many thanks, Alan for sharing your photos!
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Really wonderful. Many thanks Maggi and Alan.
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Thanks Ashley, and thanks Maggi for posting. Hopefully one day we will open up to visitors from overseas again and people can visit this wonderful little island again.
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It was great to see your photographs Alan. A few years ago I hiked for a few days from Scotts Peak Dam SW further into the national park. Although it was early winter, frosty and flowers scarce, the plants were really fascinating. Your photos reminded me to go looking for my own, lurking somewhere on an old hard-drive ;D
Tasmania is magnificent. In addition to the high country & buttongrass moorland, the old-growth forests in the west are truly stunning. I hope a way can be found to protect them further because they are unique and irreplaceable.
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i agree totally!
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Wonderful pictures thanks to all concerned. Always fancied Tasmania but I'm afraid I'm too old now.
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Always fancied Tasmania but I'm afraid I'm too old now.
That is of course rubbish Shelagh! If you have always wanted to do something, you should do it, as soon as pandemic permits....
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Fascinating landscape and plants.Most of these plants are quite new to me and probably
impossble to cultivate in our climate.
Many thanks to Maggi and Alan
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Everytime I hear of Tasmania think of Eucryphia lucida and the fabulous leather wood honey
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Late in December 2019, Alan made a trip to trek the Overland Trail in Tasmania - I'll add some photos from that here too.
Apologies from Maggi - they may be "out of time order" but I hope you'll get a flavour of the trail nonetheless.
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Hello Tasmania, good to see you again!
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"Don’t think we could of asked for a better forecast on the Overland Track this week considering the last 4+ weeks of snow and blizzards. Fingers crossed it holds out!!"
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A forest of Pandani’s, Overland Track December 2019.
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Overland Track December 2019,Looking over Button grass plain
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Reflections on the Overland Track
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Little Horn looming over the Twisted Lakes at Cradle Mountain. Quite a beautiful scene to soothe the sore leg muscles!
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A good view of Dove Lake from the Face Track on Cradle Mountain.
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Moody skies over Barn Bluff on the plateau behind Cradle Mountain.
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Advancing across the alpine plateau towards the Pelion Mountains. Bleak and Beautiful.
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the trail goes on... Looking towards the Pelion mountain range.
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Barn Bluff peeking over Lake Windermere.
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I wonder which way the wind blows here 🤔🤔. Near Windermere hut
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Another interesting Eucalyptus shape on the edge of a Button Grass plain near Lake Windermere
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The classic view of Mount Oakleigh from Pelion hut across the button grass plain. On the left in the distance you can see Barn Bluff and the slight hump at the base of Mt. Oakleigh is Cradle Mountain.
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Sunset over Mt Oakleigh from Pelion hut posted
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Overland Track 2019 Mount Ossa, highest point in Tasmania, 1617m.
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Richea scoparia and mountains. On the way to the top of Mount Doris, next door to Mount Ossa.
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From Mt. Doris looking back to Mt. Oakleigh on the right, Cradle Mountain middle right and Barn Bluff middle left.
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Glaciers have been at work here leaving behind scree slopes, deep valleys and buttress shaped mountains. Beautiful country!
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‘Endless Views’ Mt. Oakleigh on the near right and Cradle Mountain in the distance slightly left.Glorious views from the side of Mt. Doris
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Mount Pelion East
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‘Endless Views’ 2 looking towards the Du Cane Range from Mt. Doris.
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Mountain views just past Mt. Ossa with skeletons of what could be Athrotaxis cupressoides (Pencil Pine) from a past Bushfire. Sadly these do not regenerate like a lot of our natives can after fire.
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Eucalyptus at Kia Ora.
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Some of the obstacles you face on the Overland Track, gnarly roots which can trip you up in a blink of an eye. These are from Nothofagus cunninghamii, the Myrtle Beech, a beautiful rainforest tree with dangerous roots.
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Du Cane Hut.oldest hut on the track - 1901 an old trappers hut from a bygone era , now 'emergency only' hut
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D’Alton Falls, one of the beautiful waterfalls on the Overland track.
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Hartnett Falls.
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Green and more green in the Tasmanian wilderness.
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The Du Cane range with The Acropolis and Mt Geryon from Bert Nichols Hut.
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‘Water, Moss and Beech trees’ beautiful Tasmanian rainforests
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Never ending vistas to look at.
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Moody skies over the alpine plateau behind Cradle Mountain.
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Lake St. Clair, Tasmania. The end of the Overland Track and starting point for Pine Valley hiking. It’s also the deepest lake in Australia. Idyllic stroll along the lake the day after finishing the Overland Track.
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Overland track December 2019 Some of the beautiful scenery just past New Pelion hut, lovely Richea pandanifolia standing tall under light Eucalyptus forest beneath the high point of Tasmania, Mt. Ossa
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Mt. Ossa Overland Track December 2019.
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The classic view of Mount Oakleigh from Pelion hut across the button grass plain. On the left in the distance you can see Barn Bluff and the slight hump at the base of Mt. Oakleigh is Cradle Mountain
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Cathedral Mountain looming over the Overland Track at Kia Ora
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Ewartia meredithiae
The Rusty Cushionherb is a herbaceous plant forming a compact mat or cushion 2-6cm tall x 20-30cm wide, flowering in summer with white daisy flowers with a rusty red centre, this one was only just opening up, so no red centres yet. Can be found in alpine boggy areas of the Tasmanian central plateau and western Alpine areas
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Bay of fires, Tasmania. Part of the beautiful east coast of Tassie.
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Another interesting Eucalyptus shape on the edge of a Button Grass plain near Lake Windermere.
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Advancing across the alpine plateau towards the Pelion Mountains. Bleak and Beautiful.
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Mountains, Richea scoparia and Cushion plants.
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Fantastic flora and stunning landscapes :o
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A stunning place - and amusing to me that Alan calls it a "little" island" ! Not from my perspective it isn't!!
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Well for us on the mainland here, it is a little Island :D :), Thanks again for Sharing Maggi.
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Completely beautiful. I'd love to go - maybe one day...
Also am I alone in having a bit of a giggle at the colonial names? I particularly liked 'Mount Doris' (wealthy maiden aunt who financed an expedition perhaps?) and 'Windermere' (we've run out of ideas for names). I also liked Kia-Ora, because of the childhood memories.... [for overseas members, Kia-Ora was a brand of orange squash popular in the 1980s]
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what a diversity of landscapes and wildlife :o