Kwongan
Matters
NEWSLETTER OF THE KWONGAN FOUNDATION : 4
July : 2014
1
The Kwongan Foundation for the Conservation of
Australian Native Biodiversity
School of Plant Biology
University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009
www.plants.uwa.edu.au/alumni/kwongan
Vision
The patrons of the Kwongan
Foundation look forward to a
time when Western
Australians are proudly
committed to the
management
and
conservation of the State’s
unique native biodiversity.
Patrons
Objectives
Professor John Pate
1. provide resources for research
and study at UWA;
Lady Jean Brodie-Hall
Professor Hans Lambers
Dr Marion Cambridge
Dr Rob Keogh
Dr Cleve Hassell
Mr Jock Clough
Professor Richard Hobbs
2. implement the gathering and
sharing of knowledge;
Assoc/Prof William Loneragan
3. enable long-term planning;
Honorary Patrons
4. attract world-class researchers;
Professor Alan Robson
Mr. Peter Cundell
Ms Marion Blackwell
Professor Steve Hopper
Ms Philippa Nikulinsky
5. achieve tangible improvements in
the long-term conservation
prospects of endangered species
and associations.
The Kwongan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation
within the University of Western Australia’s Hackett
Foundation, a Deductible Gift Recipient organisation
(ABN:37 882 817 280)
Cover photo is of Verticordia grandis taken on Marchagee Rd Nov 2013 by Sue Radford
2
financial gains. The book will be
published three decades after the
book that John Pate and John Beard
edited, entitled “Kwongan. Plant Life
of the Sandplain”, published by
University of Western Australia
Press, Nedlands. That book is now
out of print and out of date, because
of a wealth of discoveries made by
numerous people, including many
who contributed to our new book.
Hans Lambers
Founder and Patron of the
Kwongan Foundation
This is the fourth issue of Kwongan
Matters, and the third that has been
produced under Susan Radford’s
editorship.
Sue continues to
compile issues of Kwongan Matters
and I am most grateful for her
efforts.
Whilst editing our book and
contributing some of the chapters,
one realises how much we have
learned in the past 30 years about
our precious kwongan, which
continues to be under threat.
Having visited the cerrado in Brazil,
Verticordia grandis
Marchagee Road Nov 2013 (Kim Sarti)
In my contribution in the previous
Kwongan Matters, I showed how the
biodiversity in our global biodiversity
hotspot increases as soils become
poorer, with phosphorus being the
key factor. Last year, a group of
authors has explored this issue in
much greater depth, working
towards a new book on the
kwongan, for which I acted as editor.
It is entitled “Plant Life on the
Sandplains in Southwest Australia, a
Global Biodiversity Hotspot”. It will
be published 1st Sept 2014 by
University of Western Australia
Publishing, Crawley, and made
available at an affordable price.
Everyone who contributed towards
this book has done this out of love
for the kwongan, without any
3
another biodiversity hotspot, which
Our recent activity, our fourth
functions in a very similar way to our
Kwongan Workshop on WA’s Arid
own sandplains, one notices one
Zone, was on 22 July 2014, at
major difference. In Brazil, many
UWA’s University Club.
large areas in the biodiversity
Kwongan Matters aims to ensure
hotspot comprising the sandplain
that far more people will become
vegetation are world-heritage-listed,
proudly committed to what our only
whereas in south-western Australia
Global Biodiversity Hotspot in
there are none.
A significant
Australia has to offer and ensure
achievement, which may well be the
that our natural heritage will be
first step towards heritage-listing of
conserved. This Kwongan Matters
our kwongan, is having southern
is, again, full of stories, based on
proteaceous kwongkan listed as
careful research. Knowledge of our
threatened by the Federal
unique system is essential, if we are
Government. As far as I am aware,
to manage our biodiversity.
We
this is the first widespread plant and
need solid background information
animal community so protected
to advise with mining operations,
within the Southwest Australian
development, and agricultural
Floristic Region.
It is noteworthy
procedures, that do not destroy our
that the word “kwongkan” is used,
instead
of
“kwongan”.
In a
Kwongan near Frenchman’s
fascinating chapter
Peak with pink Verticordia
in our new book on
Photo by Graham Zemunik
our sandplain flora,
Steve Hopper
explains why we
should prefer
kwongkan, rather
than kwongan.
Our new book
summarises
current knowledge
of our global
biodiversity
hotspot, aiming to
make that knowledge available to
those who care and those who make
decisions. That is why we need the
Kwongan Foundation, which we
established in 2006.
To get the
message out, we have organised
Kwongan Colloquia, Kwongan Field
Trips, and Kwongan Workshops.
natural heritage. That is why the
Kwongan Foundation sponsors
research with a focus on our native
biodiversity.
The next issue will
focus on our department research at
the University of Western Australia.
4
Plant life on the Sandplains in Southwest
Australia
A Global Biodiversity Hotspot
Hans Lambers: Editor
Preface
Plant life on the sandplains in southwest
Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot Introduction
7G. You are what you eat: plant-insect
synergies in the kwongan
Animals providing ecosystem services
7H. Ecosystem services of digging
mammals
Chapter 1: Kwongan, from geology to
linguistics
Chapter 8: Conservation of the kwongan
flora: threats and challenges
1A: On the origins, geomorphology and
soils of the sandplains of south-western
Australia
1B: Sandplain and kwongkan: historical
spellings, meanings, synonyms,
geography and definition
Chapter 9: Human relationships with and
use of kwongan plants and lands
Chapter 2: Biogeography of kwongan:
origins, diversity, endemism and
vegetation patterns
Epilogue
The book can be ordered for as little as
$69.99 (Including postage within Australia)
at http://uwap.uwa.edu.au/books-andauthors/book/plant-life-on-the-sandplainsin-southwest-australia/
Chapter 3: A diverse flora - species and
genetic relationships
Chapter 4: Plant mineral nutrition
Chapter 5: Carbon and water relations
Chapter 6: Plants and fire in kwongan
vegetation
Chapter 7: Plant-animal interactions
Pollination
7A. Evolution of pollination strategies
7B. The beguiling and the warty –
pollination of kwongan orchids
7C. Pollination vectors: invertebrates
7D. Pollination vectors: vertebrates
Herbivory
7E. The Honey Possum, Tarsipes
rostratus, a keystone species in the
kwongan
7F. Fluoroacetate, plants, animals and a
biological arms race
5
In the above book the spelling of kwongan is changed in the chapters by Prof
Steve Hopper to kwongkan to reflect more closely the way it is pronounced in
Aboriginal dialects. There is no emphasis on syllables in Aboriginal
pronunciation, so I have chosen to keep the name of the newsletter the same
for purposes of continuity. I urge the reader to pronounce the word kwongan as
kwon-gan, with equal emphasis on the 2 syllables.
As you can see in this issue, there are flowers to be seen at all times of the
year in the kwongan and everywhere. The everlastings are wonderful but there
is so much more. Editor
Verticordia nitens
(Graham Zemunik)
Verticordia lining road near Hawks Head
(Graham Zemunik)
6
The Avon Wheatbelt : an
Underrated Biodiversity Hotspot
Greg & Bronwen Keighery
Overview
Biologically the ‘wheatbelt’ is an
artificial area in that it is the major
agricultural zone of wool and row
cropping for Western Australia. The
Agricultural Zone extends south
from north of Kalbarri to east of
Esperance. The ‘clearing line’ is the
landward boundary well east of the
600 mm rainfall isohyets, at about
300 mm. The Western boundary is
the Jarrah forest. Within this area of
230,000 sq km about 74% is cleared
of native vegetation.
The remaining 26% of native
vegetation is found scattered in: 612
nature reserves with a median size
of 116 hectares; 5000 miscellaneous
government reserves of generally
less than 4 hectares; and more than
20,000 private remnants typically
very small being less than 1 hectare.
Most large reserves are on the
margins of the Agricultural Zone.
Unfortunately this has led people to
believe that the Agricultural Zone
has less biological or scenic
treasures than the sandplains or the
goldfields.
In 2004 the results of a major
biodiversity survey of the plants and
animals of the Agricultural Zone was
published (Keighery, G.J., Halse,
S.A., Harvey, M.S. and McKenzie,
N.L. (2004) A biodiversity survey of
the western Australian agricultural
zone. Records of the Western
Wheatbelt Eucalyptus Wandoo woodland
Insert : Rhyncharrhena linearis Bush bean :
Summer (Bronwen Keighery)
7
Australian Museum Supplement no.
67). This study highlighted the
biological richness, past and present
and the issues facing the flora and
fauna in this highly fragmented
landscape.
The most natural part of the
Agricultural Zone is the Avon
Wheatbelt Bioregion (Map 1).
Map 1
The Avon Wheatbelt is divided into
two subregions: the Avon Wheatbelt
1 to the east where the drainage is
very ancient and towards the east;
and the Avon Wheatbelt 2 where
more recent geological changes
have caused uplift, the rivers are
more incised and flow to the west.
This core area has over 85% of the
natural vegetation cleared.
Southwest Australia is an
internationally recognized
biodiversity hotspot for flowering
plants and although most attention is
focused on the richness and
endemism of the kwongan of the
sandplains of the Esperance and
Geraldton sandplains bioregions, the
Avon Wheatbelt is a key part of the
Southwest Land Division.
The Avon Wheatbelt contains a very
rich flora of over 5,000 species of
flowering plants of which
approximately 80% are endemic to
the Southwest. The Avon Wheatbelt
is the centre of diversity for a
number of iconic groups including
Acacia and Verticordia.
Verticordia nitens
(Graham Zemunik)
Even though the Avon Wheatbelt is
flat it has a great diversity of major
ancient habitats ranging from granite
rocks, fresh and saline wetlands,
sandplains, dunes, loam and clay
flats, lateritic uplands and
greenstones, each with their own
floras. Within these habitats are a
diverse series of communities
ranging from herbfields, succulent
shrublands, shrublands and heaths
to low and tall woodlands.
The range of habitats and
communities of the Wheatbelt is
greater than any other area in
Southwest. The flora of two habitats:
naturally saline areas and granite
8
As an example of the diversity of the Avon Wheatbelt, we have recorded more than 813 species of flowering plants in Dryandra Woodland, including 73 Orchids, 70 Myrtaceae, 68 Proteaceae, 95 Peas, 60 Daisies, 37 Trigger plants, 29 Epacridaceae, 29 Lilies, 29 Goodeniaceae and 29 Sedges (Cyperaceae). These are the typical species diverse families of the kwongan (heathlands) of southern Western Australia. Keighery G., Keighery B. (2012). Vascular flora of Dryandra Woodland (Lol Gray and Montague state forests). Western Australian Naturalist 28, pp. 73–106.). This richness is equal to much of the northern and southern sandplains
Stylidium uniflorum : Spring
(Bronwen Keighery)
rocks, is the most diverse in the
world. The saline habitats are
especially rich in daisies
(Asteraceae) and samphires
(Chenopodiaceae). WA is the world
centre of diversity for samphires.
Subsequent to the release of the
Agricultural Zone survey all data
from this study was placed on
N a t u r e m a p
(www.naturemap.dec.gov.au).
To build on this information a major
effort was undertaken to gather
baseline data on the region and
present this in publicly accessible
formats on Naturemap under the
Wheatbelt NRM Baselining Project.
Five major reports are available on
Naturemap: A Biodiversity
Assessment of the Wheatbelt; the
Avon Vegetation Map Project (over
400 Reserves have had baseline
vegetation maps digitized);
Classification and Description of
Eucalypt Woodlands of the
Wheatbelt (with 155 fact sheets on
the 93 woodland types); Wheatbelt
Wetlands and Plant Communities of
Gypsum Soils.
All biological data (plants and
animals) were the basis for the
listing of the Avon Wheatbelt area as
one of Australia’s 15 biodiversity
hotspots, hotspot 10 (Map 2).
Isopogon trilobus : Spring
(Bronwen Keighery)
Map 2
9
Where to see the Biodiversity of
the Avon Wheatbelt
With the Avon Wheatbelt as the
focus of interest, a series of five
‘Wildflower Loops’ centered on the
shires that administer these areas,
can introduce travellers to the
biodiversty of this vast landscape.
These loops are a series of drives
shire sites that cover the routes,
facilities and accommodation.
One could easily spend a week in
each of five areas to view the
amazing range of species and
communities present. Peak
flowering time is Spring but there are
always some species in flower at
every time of the year. For example:
Rhodanthe manglesii : mid Spring
(Bronwen Keighery)
through sets of reserves, which
Autumn and Winter for the heaths
represent the original landscapes of
(Epacridaceae); Summer for
the Avon Wheatbelt. All roads are
the mallee; late Spring for the
suitable for 2WD, but extra care
d i s p l a y s o f Ve r t i c o r d i a ; f o r
should be taken on
woodlands see their new
gravel roads.
bark in Autumn when the
Wurmbia drummondii
trees are at their best; layers
Winter (B.Keighery)
Sections of these
of small herbs, including the
loops are described in
orchids peak flower in early
detail in Jim Barrow’s
Spring; everlastings peak in
How to Enjoy WA
late Spring; and the tuberous
Wildflowers. Wajon
herbs (Platysace and
Publishing Co. (2013).
Arthropodium) used by
The websites given
Aboriginal peoples, flower in
below lead you to
Summer.
10
In terms of +loral diversity the Shire of Kulin has over 1,300 native +lora species, the adjacent Shire of Kondinin over 1,400. For the two large upland reserves (Bendering and North Karlgarin) we have recorded over 740 species, including 41 species of Acacia (114 in Shire); 20 Eucalyptus (75 in Shire); 24 Verticordia (24 in Shire); 26 Melaleuca (55 in Shire) and 6 Leucopogon (17 in Shire, 8 undescribed!). There is more to be found and recorded.
Focus Avon Wheatbelt 2 Rejuvenated Drainage
Northern Western Wheatbelt
Starting in Perth, head towards
Moora to see heaths of the
Dandarragan Plateau, then east to
Wongan Hills and across to the
Manmanning reserves and
Marchagee Nature Reserve through
the Shires of Moora, Victoria Plains,
Northam, Cunderdin, Goomalling,
Dowerin and Wongan-Ballidu. Then
continue on to the Shires of
Dallwallinu, Mingenew, Mullewa,
Morawa, Perenjori, Carnamah and
Three Springs (see self drive trail at
www.wildflowercountry.com.au).
One can return to Perth either via
the Geraldton Sandplains or via
Great Northern Highway and diverge
through Julimar Conservation Park
to see the transition to the northern
Jarrah Forest. This is partially
covered in the red trail in Barrow
(2013) between Mullewa, Canna,
Dalwallinu and Wongan Hills.
Southern Wheatbelt
This trip goes beyond the Avon
Austrostipa elegantissima : Summer
(Bronwen Keighery)
11
Wheatbelt into the Mallee Bioregion
(Map 1), east of the Agricultural
Zone. Travel through the Shires of
Wagin, Dumbleyung, Lake Grace
and Kent starting from Narrogin.
From Narrogin head to Harrismith
townsite reserve (Banksia baueri
heaths) and Dongolocking
Reserves; then to Tarin Rock
reserve (diverse heaths); east to
Dragon Rocks, Dunn Rock Reserve
and then Frank Hann reserve
(Verticordia displays). The
Agricultural Zone margins of two
other bioregions, Jarrah Forest and
Esperance Sandplains, are touched
on. These are the shires of
B r o o m e h i l l , Ta m b e l l u p a n d
Gnowangerup.
A good trail can be found at
www.australiasgoldenoutback.com.au.
Barrow’s purple route.
Western Wheatbelt
This is in an area of rejuvenated
drainage (rivers run west to the sea)
that abuts the Jarrah Forest, but
also includes the most cleared
shires of the Avon Wheatbelt
(Corrigin, Quairading and Tamin).
This region includes the shires of
Wandering, Williams, West Arthur,
Narrogin, Cuballing, Kojonup,
Pingelly, Corrigin, Beverley and
Tamin. This is partly covered in
Barrow’s red route between
Styphelia tenuiflora : Autumn
(Bronwen Keighery)
Quairading, Merredin, Muckinbudin
and back through Dryandra.
To see the diversity of plant
communities and plants, do a loop
from Perth south to the reserves of
Boyagin and Dryandra. After
Dryandra, loop through Tutanning to
see lateritic heaths. On the second
day go to Corrigin Water Reserve,
and back to Perth either via
Eucalyptus drummondii : Spring
(Bronwen Keighery)
Quairading and Charles Gardner
National Park (Tammin) for a wide
variety of sandplain heaths (Mallee,
Banksia and Shrub dominated); or
continue east to Hyden/Kulin.
Focus Avon Wheatbelt 1 uncoordinated drainage.
Central and South Eastern
Wheatbelt
This includes the Shires of Wickepin,
Kondinin, Kulin, Bruce Rock and
Narembeen. Here the focus is
centered on Kulin. From Corrigin
continue towards Hyden and at
Kondinin head north on the
Williams-Kondinin Road then east
on Bendering Reserve Road through
Bendering and North Kalgarin
Reserves.
These areas display a wide variety
of habitats and communities
12
including granite areas, woodlands,
mallet woodlands and a diverse
range of lateritic and sandplain
heaths. Travelling back towards
Kulin from Hyden though Kalgarin
Nature Reserve (Hyden to Kondinin
road) are wonderful woodlands, then
south on Kalgarin road to Pederah
Road and west to the Kondinin Salt
marsh to see examples of the flora
of gypsum-dominated, natural saline
communities.
From Kulin itself you can easily
spend a day or two visting the local
reserves. Start in the Macrocarpa
Trail just outside the town which
features the Shire’s Floral Emblem.
Hakea scoparia
Macrcarpa Trail : June 2014
(Kim Sarti)
(www.westernaustralia.com.au)
as well as a granite rock trail and
Wave
Rock
trail
( w w w . w h e a t b e l t w a y. c o m . a u )
(www.wheatbelttourism.com.au).
KULIN SHOWCASE
Eucalyptus macrocarpa
(Sue Radford)
The reserves and roads are listed in
Shire website (www.kulin.wa.gov.au)
under /tourism/wildflowers and /file/
wildflowerbrochure.pdf). This is
partially covered in Barrow’s red
route Corrigin to Kulin.
North-Eastern
The shires of Beacon, Bencubbin,
Dowerin, Koorda, Merredin,
Mukinbuddin, Nungarin, Southern
Cross, Trayning, Westonia and
Wylalkatchem have basic
wildflower viewing trails
Kulin has a branch of the Wildflower
Society of Western Australia and
hosts a herbarium. Recently it was
the location for the State Conference
of the Wildflower Society (WSWA).
Kulin has approximately 2% of
natural bush vegetation left in the
area, but is well worth seeing. There
is much hard work and commitment
from the local people, who put huge
amounts of time and energy into
conserving the local flora; working to
maintain and grow the herbarium
that the local WSWA has developed
Working with the local landowners to
keep ahead of invading weeds with
13
the ‘Spotters Program’, designated
‘Walkers” search for any incidence
of weed invasion. This early warning
system allows the weeds to be dealt
with before they become a problem.
Grevillea excelsior
Macrocarpa Trail, Kulin :Oct 2013
(Kim Sarti)
Up to 20 areas have been identified
for conservation at Kulin. The best
known is the Macrocarpa Walk,
which is located on the way into
town from the north and is on private
land. Even in late October last year
there was a wonderful show of
wildflowers from tall shrubs to
abundant ground covers.
Other areas of significance are: the
Kulin Road Nature Reserve; Jilakin
Rock, which is an A class reserve
maintained by the shire and the
Windmill Hill block, which is a
remnant vegetation where the ‘Kulin
wattle’ is to be found (See Flora
Base for photos by Sandra Murray).
In addition there is; ‘Our Patch’, an
area of sandalwood with Acacia spp.
as hosts, which is fenced and
managed for weed control; part of
the golf course and the ‘Rock
Paddock’ which is currently
undergoing a management survey.
There is remnant vegetation next to
the airstrip, where surveys have
found a beautiful orange eucalypt,
possibly a variant of E. erythronema.
Verticordia tumida
Macrocarpa Trail : Kulin, Dec 2013
(Kim Sarti)
Dampiera sp : Macrocarpa Trail : Kulin:
Oct 2013. (Sue Radford)
14
Lepidosperma and Verticordia chrysantha
October: Kulin -Corrigin Rd (Robin Campbell)
Thysonotus Sp. : Dec
(Robin Campbell)
Drosera bulbosa : Jilakin rock
(Robin Campbell)
Ptilotus manglesii : Nov.
(Robin Campbell)
Lichens on live shrub at Jilakin Rock
(Robin Campbell)
There is a good population of
Eremophila veneta on the road
verge near the town on the
Lake Grace road, marked by
DPaW ‘hockey’ sticks, which is
being monitored. Part of the old
caravan park has been
revegetated using direct
seeding using branches from
local plants.
This rich floral
heritage is
b e i n g
replanted on
some local
properties.
Beaufortia orbifolia : Nov:
(Robin Campbell)
Calytrix sp:Marcrocarpa Trail:
Kulin : Oct 2013
Photo Kim Sarti
Grevillea hookeriana : Oct
(Robin Campbell)
Allocasuarina sp Oct
Kulin (Kim Sarti)
15
How many more bees?
Dr Terry Houston
Research Associate:Terrestrial
Zoology
Western Australian Museum
Formerly Curator of Insects
Native bees are among the most
efficient pollinators of kwongan
plants and while some of them are
generalists, visiting a wide range of
plant taxa, many others specialize.
There are bees which confine their
foraging to flowers of just one family,
genus or even just a single species.
Highly specialized bees tend to have
much more confined geographic
ranges and flight seasons than the
generalists and their discovery
requires being in the right place at
the right time. Discoveries of ‘new’
species of bees are not uncommon
and we can only wonder how many
more bee species await discovery.
Western Australia’s floristically rich
kwongan habitats have yielded
many previously unknown species of
bees over the years, some exhibiting
fascinating adaptations to their
Female of the common blue-banded bee, Amegilla chlorocyanea. Blue-banded bees are
supreme generalists in terms of the range of flowers they can exploit for nectar and
pollen.
Photo: Bryony Fremlin.
16
forage plants. In this article, I outline
a few examples that have come to
my attention over the years and look
to what we might hope to find in
future.
Among the members of the family
Myrtaceae are some taxa that
produce oily pollen (e.g.
Chamelaucium, Darwinia and
Verticordia). In some species, the
oily pollen is held on the anthers,
while in others, it gets transferred in
the bud stage to a substigmatic ring
of hairs on the style. Many insects,
including bees, are attracted to
these flowers to feed on nectar and
are likely to be daubed with the
pollen/oil mixture. The majority of
bees, though, are unable to harvest
pollen from such flowers. Only one
group of bees is adapted to do so
which
group
is
the
‘euryglossines’ (members of the
subfamily Euryglossinae in the
family Colletidae). They swallow
pollen, whether oily or not, and
transport it to the nests in their crops
(called ‘honey stomachs’).
One of the first species-specific
euryglossine bees that I
encountered was the tiny Morrison
Bee, Euhesma morrisoni. It proved
to be the exclusive pollinator of the
Morrison Feather-flower, Verticordia
nitens, the brilliant orange flowers of
which appear in profusion on the
Swan Coastal Plain in summer. Like
other members of the Verticordia
(Chrysoma) group, V. nitens retains
its oily pollen beneath curious hoods
Left: a female of the solitary native bee, Euhesma morrisoni, lapping oil and pollen from anthers of
Morrison Feather-flower, Verticordia nitens. Right: a female of an unnamed species of Euhesma on
flowers of Verticordia cooloomia. In both cases, the bee and plant species appear to be mutually
dependent. Photos: T. Houston.
17
or appendages on the anthers.
Females of the specialist bee lick
each anther to extract the pollen and
oil (Houston et al. 1993).
Following the discovery of this
species, I went on to find other
species of Euhesma, and some of
Dasyhesma, which appeared to be
specific to various other Verticordia
species (including some exhibiting
secondary pollen-presentation).
While the Dasyhesma species were
described and named, thanks to
euryglossine specialist Dr Elizabeth
Exley (2004), the additional
Euhesma species are still unnamed.
Unfortunately, Dr Exley died before
she could complete her revision of
this genus. The great majority of the
102 recognized species of
Verticordia have yet to be surveyed
for bee visitors and who knows how
many more Verticordia-specialist
bees remain to be discovered?
From my earliest days of beecollecting in Western Australia, I was
intrigued by the peculiar ‘woolly’
flowers of the smokebushes,
Conospermum species, and
wondered what pollinated them.
Persistent watching eventually paid
off with the discovery of three
species of small, solitary bees that
specialized in such flowers and form
what is now known as the
Leioproctus conospermi group.
Males are densely clothed in white
pubescence and when settled on the
flowers, are extremely hard to spot.
As females are less hairy and much
easier to see while foraging, I
believe it is a case of males being
camouflaged for ‘ambush mating’.
Left: flowers of Tree Smokebush,
Conospermum triplinervium. Above: a
male of the smokebush bee,
Leioproctus pappus (not to same scale
as flowers). Photos: T. Houston.
Another interesting aspect of
smokebushes is their explosive
pollen release mechanism. When an
insect inserts its proboscis into a
smokebush flower, it triggers an
instantaneous mechanical reaction:
the style snaps across the corolla
18
tube and the anthers burst, releasing
their pollen. An insect inserting a
long, thin proboscis risks getting it
trapped between the style and
corolla tube wall. Female
smokebush bees, though, are welladapted to the flowers, having a
short, stubby proboscis covered with
stiff bristles. The bristles serve to
hold a load of pollen around the
proboscis until the female can
groom it off and transfer it to
specialized hairs on the hind legs.
Members of the L. conospermi
group have been recorded visiting
flowers of four Conospermum
species (crassinervium, incurvum,
stoechadis, and triplinervium). The
genus Conospermum comprises 53
species exhibiting considerable floral
diversity. For most of them we do not
know the pollen vectors. How many
more of them will be found to be
pollinated by native bees and how
many of those will be specialized?
The endemic WA genus Synaphea
with 56 species is closely related to
Conospermum and shares with it an
explosive pollen-release system. Its
flowers, then, appear to be adapted
for insect pollination.
Synaphea spinulosa
Photo. T. Houston
Flowers of Synaphea spinulosa
(enlarged). Photo: T. Houston.
My first sighting of bees working
flowers of this genus came in the
spring of 2008 while I was working in
Boonanarring Nature Reserve north
of Gingin. I observed numerous
males and females of a black,
medium-sized solitary bee
(Leioproctus species) collecting
pollen and nectar from flowers of S.
grandis. The bees were not seen to
visit flowers of any other kind.
Around the same time in the same
reserve, I collected just a single
specimen of a different Leioproctus
on flowers of S. spinulosa. It wasn’t
until spring this year that I
encountered this second species
again in Yanchep National Park. I
found both sexes numerous about
flowers of S. spinulosa. I’m puzzled
as to why I hadn’t observed either of
19
these Synaphea specialists during
the previous 30-odd years I’d spent
collecting bees in Western Australia.
It hadn’t been for lack of looking. So,
the question now is what bees visit
and pollinate the remaining 54
species of Synaphea?
The kwongan flora is so diverse that
I think we can be assured of many
further discoveries of new bee
species and interesting bee-flower
relationships. Given my
experiences, it may require many
observers to survey the floral visitors
of particular plant taxa over many
years before we can be confident
that we know all of the bees that are
associated with those plants.
References
Exley, E.M. 2004. Revision of the
genus Dasyhesma Michener
(Apoidea: Colletidae:
Euryglossinae). Records of the
Western Australian Museum
22: 115-128.
Houston, T.F. 1989.
Leioproctus
bees associated with Western
Australian smoke bushes
(Conospermum spp.) and their
adaptations for foraging and
concealment (Hymenoptera:
Colletidae: Paracolletini).
R e c o r d s o f t h e We s t e r n
Australian Museum 14:
275-92.
H o u s t o n , T. F. , L a m o n t , B . B . ,
Radford, S., Errington, S.G.
1993.
Apparent mutualism
between Verticordia nitens and
V. aurea (Myrtaceae) and their
oil-ingesting bee pollinators
(Hymenoptera: Colletidae).
Australian Journal of Botany
41: 369-80.
Verticordia nitens Dec
(Ken McNamara)
20
ON BUZZ POLLINATION
AND BEE PURPLE
Dr Jim Barrow
Former Chief Research ScienZst : CSIRO
Fans of David Attenborough will
remember him talking about buzz
pollination. To demonstrate it, he
brings a tuning fork, tuned to the
correct frequency, up to the flower in
order to induce it to eject its pollen.
The tuning fork mimics the action of
several species of bee that also
vibrate their wing muscles at the
appropriate frequency and this
causes the anthers to shed their
pollen. These flowers don’t provide
nectar; the pollen is the reward.
About 180 species of our plants are
buzz pollinated. Several species of
native bee, such as the blue-banded
bees, can do it. Honeybees cannot,
but bumblebees can. The anthers of
buzz pollinated flowers are typically
long and thin and have a pore at the
top end. This flower structure is
common in Solanaceae species
including tomato which is why
growers of glasshouse tomatoes
would like to import bumble bees
into mainland Australia.
If a flower is to rely on buzz
pollination, it needs to attract the
appropriate bees to the flower. It is
therefore a good idea to adopt a
common colour scheme and a
similar structure. Many buzz
pollinated flowers mimic the solanum
colour scheme, that is, blueishmauve petals (and sepals for
monocots) and bright yellow
anthers. These colours are used by
plants in widely differing families.
Hibbertia sp
Buzz pollination also occurs in
Conostephium (Pearl Flowers) and
there the colour scheme is white and
purple. However buzz pollination
also occurs in yellow flowers such as
Hibbertia, Senna and Labichea (see
photos below). So why are blue and
yellow flowers used by many
21
species but yellow flowers used by
others?
broke the rule that families are to be
named after the type genus but with
Hibbertia is a genus with about
150 species in Australia and
about 85 in Western Australia.
The genus takes its name from
George Hibbert (1757-1837) an
eminent merchant and amateur
botanist. Here, in the south-west,
there would be few patches of
bushland without at least one
species of Hibbertia present. For
all but three species of Hibbertia,
the flowers are yellow. For the
three exceptions they are shades
of orange.
Senna and Labichea are both
legumes and for many years,
botanists were uncertain how to
classify the three kinds of
legumes. The three kinds are:
those with a pea flower; those
with a mimosa flower such as the
wattles and those with cassia
type flower. Are there three
separate families, all members of
a “super-family”? This was the
arrangement adopted by the
Western Australian Flora Descriptive
Catalogue published in 2000. Or is
there just one large family with three
sub-families? This is the
arrangement now preferred.
This large family used to be called
Leguminosae so that, in common
with other large and important
families such as the grass, the
carrot, and the cabbage families, it
the ending changed to “aceae”.
These errant families have now
been brought into line. For the
legumes, the type genus is Faba
and so the family becomes
Fabaceae.
The Senna genus has had a
complex taxonomic history. For a
long time, it was included in Cassia,
and Australian species were thought
to belong to that genus. That is why
the common name of many of the
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species is ‘cassia’. For example,
Senna artemisioides is known as
Silver cassia.
As currently recognised, Senna has
about 350 species world wide with
about 80% of them occurring in
America. Western Australia has
about 40 species, mostly occurring
outside the better-watered areas of
the south-west. The “standard”
number of stamens is 10.
However, in many species,
three of them are infertile
and the remaining seven
may be modified so that two
deposit their pollen on the
back of the bee and the
others provide it with the
reward.
Labichea is a much smaller
genus with about 14
species, nine of which occur
in Western Australia, with
the remainder in
Queensland and the
Northern Territory. It is
named for Jean Jacques
Labiche, second lieutenant
of Uranie on Frecenet’s
voyage. It differs from
Senna in that there are only
two stamens. Of our nine
species, only two are common in the
south-west. These are L. punctata
(with anthers of similar size) and L.
lanceolata (with one anther bigger).
You may not have noticed these
plants. It is easy to walk past them
thinking the flowers are “just”
another Hibbertia. And that is worth
thinking about. Why the similarity?
To have produced such similarity,
there must have been a very strong
selection pressure and considerable
advantage to the plant. This
selection pressure was exerted by
bees who also recognise the
solanum colour pattern. The answer
to this question may be in the way
that bees and humans perceive
colour. See the above chart.
Bees and humans both have threecolour vision. However, we see
different parts of the spectrum. Bee
23
vision is shifted to shorter
wavelengths; they do not see red
and for them the longest visible
wavelength is yellow, but they see
well into the ultraviolet down to
wavelengths that are invisible to us.
When we see a mixture of the long
wavelength red, and the short
wavelength blue, we interpret the
resulting colour as purple. When
bees see a mixture of their long
wavelength, which is yellow, and
their short wavelength ultraviolet,
they also interpret it as a different
colour which is sometimes referred
to as “bee-purple”.
The remaining part of the puzzle is
concerned with the colour spectrum
of the yellow buzz-pollinated flowers.
So far as I know, this has only been
measured for one species: Hibbertia
scandens. It has been shown to
strongly reflect ultraviolet light. Bees
do not perceive its petals as
yellow,as we do, but as bee-purple.
For them, the colour scheme is
“super-solanum“.
So in the spirit of “Yes Minister”,
here is a brave proposal. The yellow
buzz-pollinated flowers are not
perceived by bees as yellow but as
bee-purple and thus as having the
super-solanum colour pattern. It’s a
brave proposal because it is based
on just one measurement.
A good research project perhaps!
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE KWONGAN FOUNDATION
KWONGAN WORKSHOP was on The Ecology of Western Australias’s Arid Zone
22nd July.
Contact Barbara Jamieson [email protected] for 2015 bookings
EDITORIAL
This edition gives facts about remnant bushland, where to find it and some further
avenues of research. There are over 200 flowers out around Kulin this month alone.
Enjoy going wildflower hunting this year.
The next newsletter will focus on the great research being done to help us understand
better our unique and globally significant Biodiversity Hotspot and how to care for it.
Offers of articles for the next issue of Kwongan
Matters are requested by end of September 2014.
Please contact me: [email protected]
or Prof Hans Lambers [email protected] if you would like to submit an
article, small item or photos.
cheers
Sue Radford
Eucalytus salubris : Kulin
(Robin Campbell)
24
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Back ground photo by Graham Zemunik
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