Page 10 - Tropic Magazine Issue 32

TROPIC • UP FRONT

In season

EXPLORE
Tropic’s local guide to the best
of Tropical North nature this
October and November.

Words: Nicky Horstmann
1
The holiday season is rapidly
approaching! Argh! Where will we go? In nature they are colonisers on coral
Can we actually go there? Will we need cays and even in patches on rocky shores.
to quarantine? Is the booking fully So impressive is their ability to survive,
refundable? Partly refundable? they are deliberately planted to stabilise
Even a little bit refundable, pleeease? shifting sands when the need arises.
So much for the joys of travel in 2021, our So, on your next stroll along the
second COVID year. Perhaps instead we Esplanade’s northern end, make sure you
could consider some different travellers, stop and pay your respects to this humble 2
successful ones, who made the trip to but important plant’s role in maintaining
Australia a very long time ago. our shoreline. – the black one that sports stalky, yellow
feathers on the neck. Well, think again.
STEADY SHORELINES MUDFLAT FORAGERS The Glossy Ibis is smaller in stature and is
Flora Fauna often described as brown in colour.
In fact, it can display beautiful bronze
The first of these travellers is a shrub that Among the many other delights to enjoy and green iridescent feathers in its wings
most of you will be familiar with; an old on Esplanade excursions is birdwatching. and, as the name implies, its plumage
friend found on the Cairns Esplanade Our mudflats are, after all, of world is shiny.
and other shorelines around renown in this field and they offered Here in the tropical north, the Glossy Ibis
Northern Australia. This plant also us a special reward on a recent evening can take up permanent residence and is
features as a significant native of walk. We spotted a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis present in larger numbers than in more
warmer coastlines from East Africa falcinellus) taking advantage of all those southerly parts of Australia. They can also
across to Hawaii. yummy delights buried in the mud. be found in Africa, Asia, the Atlantic and
Our shrub has many different At this stage, how many readers are Caribbean Americas – even Europe.
common names, one of them being visualising a bin-chicken? The well- This species has certainly been a
the Sea Lettuce Tree. known White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is successful traveller in its time.
The scientific name of Scaevola taccada a bird that we are all too familiar with.
tells us something about the plant, Some of you might have thought of the
scaevola being an old Roman reference Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) 1. Sea Lettuce Tree (Scaevola taccada)
2. Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
to ‘left-handed’, an apt description of
the flower’s shape. These little white
flowers cluster near the tips of the stems, RUSTY’S MARKETS
surrounded by a whorl of largish green Bananas for jicamas
and glossy leaves. Who’s been dreaming of Mexican holidays
The white flowers ultimately turn into sometime in the future? Why not have a
white fruit, about one centimetre long. little taste of Mexico here – try a jicama
The seeds inside are corky in nature (Pachyrrhizus erosus), sometimes called a
and are happy to float about the ocean, yam bean among other names. This crunchy
remaining viable for up to a year. yam contains a healthy dose of vitamin
It’s little wonder that this beautiful yet C and is also high in fibre. It can be eaten
tough plant can be found above the high- raw or lightly cooked. Seek one out at
tide mark of so many countries. Rusty’s and you can snack like a Mexican.
Sea Lettuce shrubs can withstand the Cut a jicama into batons, then sprinkle
saltiest of winds and individual plants with a little lime and chilli salt. The perfect
can spread as stems touch the ground accompaniment to an icy cold beer or G&T!
and grow roots.

10 • Tropic • Issue 32