Spits strong back legs kicked-out freeing him from his attacker. In a blink of an eye he had rolled clear and his powerful hind legs launched him forward. Hopping across the open paddock with his head held low, he zig zagged to confuse the shadow at his heals. He heard its sounds of rage behind him as he extended his leaps forward with his tail trailing low, he made his escape.

Yirn

The nights were getting darker and Spit had almost forgotten about his recent scare. He’d moved to another nest amongst the clumps of lomandra and had found another warm rock to sit on. He had different places on his patch of land where he liked to stay. He know that moving from nest to nest kept him safe from night predators like owls.  

The rain of a week ago had made the ground soft to dig and there were lots of delicious native truffles, his favourite food.

Sometimes he would move closer to Yirn and they would munch on fungi together. Yirn had lived here as long as he had, on a patch of land close by. He liked being beside her and the smell of her truffley breath as they dug and ate together.

They were both much more alert than usual because of the dangerous shadow. A shadow is all they ever saw, though they had got to know its fetid smell. It was a dead animal smell and they knew to move well away if they got a scent.

The other small animals and birds were nervous too. Only the night before there was a half-eaten potoroo beside the track and scattered bird feathers were now a common site.

The night was becoming windy and there was movement in the trees overhead. Spit could hear the gum leaves slapping together and the sheoak’s whispering mournfully. It was quite dark so he felt confident to move into a more open area where he could smell ripe truffles.

Yirn hadn’t moved away with him because they kept mostly to themselves. When Spit glanced back he noticed a shape in the shadows. Its peculiar restless eyes occasionally reflecting the moonlight. He coughed-out a warning to Yirn, but it was too late, the growling shadow was over her.

Spit was terrified. He felt like hopping as fast as he could toward the protection of the tussock grasses, but he didn’t. He turned toward Yirn, hopping at full speed into the frightening spectacle. With his head low he charged toward the yowling shadow. When he reached Yirn he stopped and propped on his prehensile tail, kicking-out with all the the power of his hind legs, striking the shadow on the side. The shadow screamed with rage and fear as it was knocked clear, releasing the shaken Yirn.

Spit and Yirn did what they did best and hopped at full speed, zig zagging across the open field until they found shelter in the tussock grasses beyond. 

“Nearly every plant in this woodland depends on soil fungi to stay healthy?

"From the box and ironbark trees overhead to the orchids at our feet, the soil fungi are helping them retrieve important nutrients they can't access on their own.

Sadly from being common in the eastern states they are now extinct on the mainland.  Though they’re still doing fine in Tasmania where there are no foxes.

“Because plants are dependent on soil fungi, can everyone see that the extinction of bettongs is a huge loss for our  ecosystems”?

Some of the group nod their heads.

“Who amongst you has a pet cat? Mm.
Well I hope you keep your pets locked inside at night.

We’ve had a feral cat in this reserve recently and we lost countless birds and five potoroos in just two weeks. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your cuddly pet is a super-dangerous predator.

Oh just one more important thing that we can thank these little digging kangaroos for.
They mix leaf litter with soil, significantly reducing the risk of bushfires.

We’re missing these little animals on our bush landscapes big time.

Are there any questions"?

“How can we get bettongs back into our parks and reserves”?

“The short answer is, I wish I knew. There is some evidence that they can survive and breed where cat and fox numbers are kept low.

The long answer is there are lots of clever people working on this question, because its so critical to the future health of our nation’s ecosystems.

But you can play your part by keeping your cat inside at night".

Spit and Yirn watched the group move away. It was a dark still night with a clear starlit sky. They had picked up some enticing smells of their favourite truffles. And with the soil so soft and moist, truffles were plentiful and easy to dig. Life was good and Spit was relaxed. He was looking forward to enjoying a midnight feast with Yirn and her joey at his side.

 

For the love of Snow Gums, Eucalyptus pauciflora

The Snow Gum is amongst the hardiest of all Eucalypt species, most commonly thought of as high country trees and often pictured in snow in Alpine regions, like this at Ramshead in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP).

Snow Gums are quite wide spread

Sometimes called White Sallees, Snow Gums are in fact spread throughout Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania, NSW to just over the Queensland border, and a few in South Australia near Mt Gambier.
In Victoria they occur mainly in sub-alpine woodlands.

There are 6 subspecies of Snow Gum, all present in Victoria, but the most widespread is Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. pauciflora.

Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp pauciflora
(Latin, 'pauci', meaning 'few' and 'florus' meaning 'flowered')

This usually has a somewhat crooked trunk and many twisted branches, and can grow to 30 metres. It is distinguished by the smooth bark which can be green, grey and cream often with ‘scribbles’.

The leathery leaves are long with a curving shape, are glossy green and glisten in the sun, with distinctive longitudinal veins. A distinctive feature is that the veins run parallel to the mid-rib, the only local eucalypt that has this feature.

The fruit is thick-rimmed and pear-shaped after lovely and profuse white flowers. Locally it is a mallee or open tree growing to 15-20 metres.

E. pauciflora subsp niphophilla




This photo was taken in summer walking at our favourite spot in the KNP on Currango/Gurrangorambla plain where we have holidayed for over 40 years. It is most likely Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila. 
(niphophila is Greek for 'snow lover')

Eucalyptus lacrimans

On the same plain as above is most likely Eucalyptus lacrimans - Weeping Snow Gum, which some call Whipsticks. (Lacrimans is Latin for weeping)

A small tree with a sparse crown, it is restricted to the high plains in the Adaminaby-Kiandra-Rules Point district in the KNP where Currango is located.

It differs from E. pauciflora by its relatively slender trunks, open crowns and often pendulous branches. It tends to grow in small pure stands.

A relic of the last ice age

Ecologist Karl Just pointed out to me that the presence of widely scattered, small and isolated populations of Snow Gum across parts of lowland Victoria such as Newham, which suggests that these are remnants from the colder period during the last Ice Age, when Snow Gum would have been much more widespread. As the species contracted with the warming of the climate, it remained in scattered cooler pockets. These remnants are now obviously at threat from climate change.

It is also interesting that in Tasmania, Snow Gum is only found in the warmer eastern half of the State. It is another cold climate specialists such as E. coccifera that occupy the alpine zone. Karl assumes that this is because Tasmania is even colder and was largely covered in glaciers during the Ice Age. Further adaptation and speciation was required to occupy the colder highlands.

As per the threat from climate change, I noted Snow Gums dying on Henneberg Road. In the years after the 2009 drought some have died but I have replanted many. The species does regenerate from seed, by epicormic shoots below the bark and from big storage organs called lignotubers at its base.

Plant a Snow Gum in your garden

Snow Gums can be great in medium to large gardens with bark being a major feature. The growth habit is usually determined by the location in which it is grown.

According to Gardening Australia;
“...in the home garden, they can be trained, manipulated and even espaliered to recreate some of these forms seen in nature. They will also respond strongly to a heavy prune once established, meaning the magnificent multi-trunks can be replicated.” Click here to watch (1.5min)

Snow Gum hybrids are available from specialist nurseries.

You may have noticed E. pauciflora ‘Edna Walling Little Snowman’ planted as a street tree in Woodend in Ballymower Mews - it is smaller and semi-weeping with patches of grey, white and reddish-pink bark in older growth on small trunks.
(I don’t know what Edna would make of all the varieties of plants that have taken her name)

According to Austraflora “Eucalyptus Little Snowman is an elegant choice of tree for your garden. Small and semi-weeping, with a clean creamy-white trunk and branches, a canopy of glossy grey-green leaves, and massed spring-to-summer bird-attracting creamy white flowers".

"Eucalyptus Little Snowman has a presence in any landscape large or small.  It provides screening and summer shade, and will deal with the coldest conditions (frost and snow) as well as sub tropical, in well drained clay loam. It’s great in near-coastal sites too. If you’ve got some space, Eucalyptus Little Snowman loves company, so a copse of them would be spectacular.”

To read more about Snow Gums click on these sites to explore:

• Flora of Australia 
• Australian National Herbarium
• The Flora Victoria website has distribution maps

Extra note: The Snow Gums on the Gippsland Plains are related to those of the high country in Victoria, however ecologists suspect the Gippsland Plains form could be a new sub-species. This is because the populations have been separated for millennia and opportunities for gene flow have been very limited.