Page 11 - Tropic Magazine Issue 36

TROPIC • UP FRONT

1. Isoodon macrourus
2. Dendrocnide or
Gympie Gympies
Credit: Ian Cowan.
In season 1

EXPLORE
Tropic’s local guide to the best of heart-shaped leaves that lie on the
Far North flora and fauna this horizontal plane. The leaf stems can be
June and July. pinkish in colour. More often than not,
the leaves are full of holes – insects don’t
Words: Nicky Horstmann
appear to suffer our fate, nor do the birds
The relentless stream of politics news or bats that consume their surprisingly
constantly reminds us of the old adage, attractive red berry-like fruit.
‘the best defence is a good offence.’ While Dendrocnide is found in the
Whether there’s any truth in this saying is rainforests, it likes to grow in places
debatable, but the natural world where the canopy has been damaged and
does provide many examples of a little extra sunlight filters through.
its effectiveness.
FOREST SYMBIOTICS
STING IN THE LEAF Fauna 2
Flora Most of us have heard of the little hairy It’s this digging that is so important
A plant’s aim in life is to grow up and be marsupials called bandicoots. to their habitat.
‘fruitful’ to continue the advancement of In our slice of Australia, we see two The little holes that bandicoots make are
its species. To protect itself from being different species – the Northern Brown a vital component of habitat health and
eaten, it can’t pull up its roots and run Bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and, less renewal. Turning over leaf litter hastens
away; it sticks it out and finds a commonly, the Long-nosed Bandicoot its decomposition, returning nutrients to
way of attacking. And that’s exactly what (Perameles nasuta). the soil more effectively. Digging for and
our notorious Stinging Trees have done. As smaller ground-dwelling animals, feeding on fungi helps to spread spores,
Related to stinging nettles, these little critters have found it safer to sustaining healthier microbial action in
our Dendrocnide or Gympie Gympies have operate at night, relying heavily on their the soil.
developed a very painful way of warding sense of smell to locate food – Bandicoots need the shelter and food that
off potential grazing animals (and bush- and grunting contentedly when they do. the woodlands and forests provide and in
bashing humans). And whilst climbing trees for their return, they give back by improving the
The fine hairs covering the leaves reward is out, digging for their dinner is structure and fertility of the soil:
and stems are essentially glass-like certainly okay. a win-win situation.
hypodermic syringes containing a poison
similar to that found in scorpions,
spiders and cone shells. Even brushing RUSTY’S MARKETS
up against these plants will result in these
hairs penetrating your skin, causing Berry good
extreme pain. To make it worse, the hairs June and July at Rusty’s means one thing – local blueberries. Straight from
can stay lodged in your skin and continue the Tablelands, these juicy little bombs are an absolute delight and make
to release venom for months to come. a great addition to many of our favourite foods – pancakes, porridge or
The best form of defence against this muesli, muffins (of course), cakes or sweet puddings.
unfriendly bush is to be able to recognise Try adding blueberries to your cheeseboard too. And of course, simply
Gympie Gympies from a safe distance. snack on them. Always healthy and always yummy. What could be better?
Look for plants with hairy, green,

11 • tropicnow.com.au