Buloke Woodland Wander
We recently got together for a spring wander through the buloke woodland just on the northern edge of Minyip township, led by local resident and nature proponent Rae Talbot.
Rae has lived near this woodland for decades, and it has become her local passion project. Along with her husband, she spends many hours monitoring and caring for the woodland, and knows the place like the back of her hand. She kindly guided us around to see some of her favourite features and interesting plants, teaching us about the ecology of Buloke woodlands as she went.
Bulokes (Allocasuarina luehmannii) are a tree species that look a lot like pines, with their long, think needle-like leaves, but are actually more closely related to northern hemisphere oak trees. They are listed as critically endangered in Victoria, and the ecosystem type “Buloke Woodlands of the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion” are critically endangered at the national level.
Bulokes are “dioecious”, meaning they have separate male and female plants (dioecious literally means “two houses”). Pollen-producing male cones are on separate trees to the seed-producing female cones, and both need to be growing in proximity of each other for viable seed to be produced.
Buloke mistletoe (Amyema linophylla) (shown below) is another critically endangered species only found in buloke woodlands. As the name suggests, it grows mainly on buloke trees (and one other related species). Look how perfectly it mimics the branches of the buloke tree!
Contrary to popular belief, in most cases native mistletoes do not hurt their host plants, despite being semi-parasitic plants. They produce their own energy via photosynthesis, and rely on their host for nutrients and water. If the host plant is otherwise stressed or disturbed, an overabundance of mistletoe can put a strain on it, but this is just an indicator that something else in the environment is out of balance.
Mistletoes can be masters of disguise. There are around 90 species of mistletoe native to Australia, and many of them have evolved to mimic their host plants. Those growing in gum trees often have the same characteristic long, gracefully narrow leaves. Here is another species of mistletoe (Harlequin mistletoe - Lisiana exocarpi) growing on a native apricot (Pittosporum angustifolium) tree! Their fruits and leaves were nearly identical in shape, size and colour.
I was actually fooled by this sneaky mimic. I quickly posted both photos to iNaturalist and listed them as native apricot. It wasn’t until another user pointed it out that I took a closer look and realised I’d made a mistake! A bit embarrassing for me, but a testament to the mimicry abilities of the mistletoe!
Another special dioecious species found in this buloke woodland is the Wimmera riceflower (Pimelea spinescens ssp. publiflora). Known from only a handful of sites in the Wimmera including this one, it is also critically endangered. It is a subspecies of the Spiny Riceflower (Pimelea spinescens ssp. spinescens) (also critically endangered) and was actually listed as extinct in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) before being rediscovered in the Wimmera in the early 2000s.
It is a low-growing, small bush and germination of seedlings is very sensitive to competition from other plants. Controlled burns are a great way to reduce competition, particularly by removing grassy thatch from the soil surface. While spiny riceflower recovers well after fire, and germination and seedling recruitment responds accordingly, there is less information available about the Wimmera riceflower’s response to fire.
The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has been involved in Wimmera riceflower conservation activities at Minyip. In August 2021, almost 150 seedlings were planted into this site, boosting population numbers. This was the first time the species has successfully been germinated from seed and planted into an existing population. There are significant weed issues (mainly wild oats) across the site. Recently, Yarrilinks has lent a hand by organising weeding bees to clear wild oats from around the plants.
During our walk, Rae encouraged us to tread carefully and watch our step, as many of the species found here are small, delicate, and easy to overlook.
Rae and her husband have also been involved in conservation activities at this buloke woodland patch. One common issue is incursion by weeds, such as bridal creeper. Plants are often marked after treatment so it is easier to keep track of what’s been treated, and whether treatment has worked. This bridal creeper plant has been marked with blue spray paint to indicate it has been treated.
We finished up the walk with a tour of Rae’s beautiful garden (see below), which takes inspiration from the woodland nearby.
Following the walk, we undertook a second activity: a weed prioritisation session as part of our Partnerships Against Pests Project. You can read more about it here.
More information:
Bulokes and Buloke Woodlands:
Mistletoes
Wimmera Riceflower
SWIFFT: Wimmera Rice-flower