On 13 October a group of 18 people joined SLG for a walk around the Sutton Village Reserve. The group was led by Dr Sue McIntyre, a local, highly respected plant ecologist.
There are predominantly 6 species of Eucalypt in the Sutton area: The Yellow Box Eucalyptus melliodora), Red Gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi), Apple Box (Eucalyptus bridgesiana), Scribbly Gum (Eucalyptus rossii, Brittle Gum (Eucalyptus mannifera) and the Red Stringy bark (Eucalyptus macrorhynga). That makes identifying Eucalypts here slightly easier as there are 800 different species of Eucalypt in Australia. To confuse us, the juvenile leaves are not the same as the adult leaves!
To identify eucalypts, you look at the leaf shape, the fruit and the seed pods (shape, number and positioning) and the bark as these three aspects can help a lot to identify the tree you want to know more about. Other aspects are the general look of the tree or the smell of the leaves when you crush them.
We also talked about the value of a varied understory, for the smaller birds and the need for some control of grass growth to give the small native ground covers and forbs a chance to thrive.
All in all, it was an interesting and educational walk on a gorgeous Saturday morning.
Written by Arnold Dekker, Sutton Landcare
