A very useful and attractive shrub to tall tree, the silver banksia - B. marginata - occurs naturally throughout south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, and here it grows wild in many areas, providing a valuable food resource for honeyeaters, especially the New Hollands, insects and insectivorous birds.
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Native to the south-east of Australia, the top of Tassie and to New Zealand (where it is commonly known as poroporo or NZ nightshade), the Kangaroo Apple (solanum laciniatum) is an interesting plant with diverse uses in medicine. As well as it being bush tucker, Aboriginal use of the plant employs its natural anti-inflammatory steroidal properties, these also being used in western medicine to produce steroids and as an ingredient in contraceptive pills. The Kangaroo Apple is in the deadly nightshade family, along with many other foods that have toxic qualities, such as tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants (to which they are closely related) .
Is it a grass? Is it a tree? Actually it's closely related to a lily, but the Xanthorrhoea is in a class of its own. The particular species here is Xanthorrhoea semiplana,* and there are many hundreds on the block. This grass tree is widespread around the Lower South-east of the state wherever natural bush remains.
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Archives
February 2019
January - Grass Tree
February - Kangaroo Apple - Large-leaf Grevillea March - Silver Banksia April - Drooping Sheoak May - Correa June - Grevillea July - Buddleja August - Sundews September - Native Hibiscus October - Running Postman November - Hakea December - Sticky Hop Bush |