Page 12 - Tropic Magazine Issue 27

TROPIC • UP FRONT

In Season

EXPLORE
Tropic’s local guide to the
wonders of nature this
December and January.
1
Words: Nicky Horstmann
Flame Trees are naturally occurring
FIRED UP along the East Coast of Australia from
Flora Central NSW to Cape York and can
One of the notable sights of summer survive in relatively dry conditions, as
here in FNQ are the isolated patches of well as rainforest.
red that pop up on the hills and in the
forests surrounding us. BIT NOISY, MATE
Viewed close up or from a distance, Insects 2
the Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton Now for the sounds of summer. 1. Brachychiton acerifolius
acerifolius) provides a real spectacle Croaking frogs? Well no – they croak all 2. Cicada
when in flower. Having shed all its the time. Our two resident amphibians
leaves before flowering, there’s nothing support that theory, their 5am ‘echo- There are around 200 species of cicadas
on the tree to distract from the brilliant chamber’ conversation being the most in Australia and we’ve got a great deal
bell-shaped blossoms that create a difficult to live with. of cicada diversity here in the tropics.
rather delicate lace-like canopy of fire. One of the most overwhelming signals Among our more notable species are
The brown seed pods that follow of the season can be the persistent the Golden Emperor, the Northern
contain many highly nutritious and mating song of the male cicadas. Green Grocer, the Green Baron and
edible seeds, but take care if you try These bugs really don’t let up when the Double Drummer. The challenge is
to handle these as they’re encased in the time is right. Perhaps it’s because to get a good enough look to identify
irritant ‘hairs’. they’ve spent years living in the soil as one. It is hard to comprehend that such
And like many other species of nymphs, sucking sap from the roots of noisy insects with a wing span of up to
Brachychiton, this tree’s seed pods will trees. Once they enter the world above 15cm can be so hard to see.
exude a jelly-like secretion if subjected (after shedding an empty ‘skin’ on the Basically, they are very shy choristers,
to insect damage and other incursions. trunk of a tree), they have only one perhaps because they all sing
This ‘mucilage’ has been known to thing on their minds. Actually, it their own songs, in their own way,
damage the paintwork on vehicles. could be two things – avoiding simultaneously. No choir leader
Both planting and parking require becoming some bird’s dinner might would put up with such an
some thought. be the second. uncoordinated performance!

RUSTY’S MARKETS
Tastes of summer
Once again, lychees have become the fruit of the moment at Rusty’s.
Did you know Cairns has the oldest lychee orchard in the country?
Planted in the 1930s by the first Chinese settlers in the region, the
orchard has been kept and cared for by the Wah Day family for over
eighty years. In my mind, lychees are best eaten fresh rather than
cooked. Try pleasing the kids by turning them into eyeballs –
peel, remove seeds, insert a tiny dollop of jam into the hole, push in a
blueberry and then skewer through sideways with a toothpick. For the
grown-ups: puree in the blender, strain and mix the juice with sparking
white wine and a little Chambord to make a Bellini of sorts. It is the
holidays after all.

12 • Tropic • Issue 27