Enormous diversity of plant life in the South Pacific Healthland Reserve at Ulladulla has drawn some of the country’s top botanists on a road trip in pouring rain.
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“The reserve is the southernmost Sydney sandstone country with huge diversity of wildflowers, so coming into spring is one of best times to see it,” said organiser Catriona Bate.
Except it was umbrellas undaunted as they came through, as part of a five day field trip ahead of the Australian Native Plant Society’s (ANPS) conference next week in Canberra.
“The Heathland trustees are doing such a good job of looking after the reserve and promoting it to interest groups and to people who can influence its future,” said gardening enthusiast Ms Bate, a long term member of the Society who lives just outside Milton on Little Forest Road.
Ulladulla botanist Nick de Jong says there are 260 different plant species in the Heathland.
He talked about dwarf banksias to give visitors from Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and one New Zealander local insights.
The 37 participants, one quarter of them published experts, are taking in notable coastal flora sites between Bodalla and Jervis Bay.
Expert on South Coast plants John Knight steered them through the Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens he ran for more than 20 years at Batemans Bay and grevillea expert and author Peter Olde from Sydney contributed his knowledge.
Further north at Jervis Bay the group was scheduled to see a soon to be gazetted rare and highly endangered species, Banksia vincentia.
On their way down the Clyde on Monday (November 9) they saw tree ferns and the flowering Monga waratahs in the Monga National Park east of Braidwood.
On their way back up to the highlands via Turpentine Road through Morton National Park and Granite Falls they will get another flush of diversity, including other rare grevilleas near Nerriga.