'Alphitonia excelsa' (Red Ash)
Red Ash occurs throughout the Illawarra on the lower parts of the escarpment and on the coastal plain. It can grow to 20 metres, and there are two good examples of it on both sides at the bottom of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk. There is another large example on the flat area south-west of the Kiosk.
A distinctive feature of the tree is the dark green upper surface of the leaf and the white under surface. There are often holes in the leaves, probably caused by insects. The tree has light grey, furrowed bark.
There do not seem to be any young examples of the tree in the bush care site outside the deer fence, and they are starting to come up within it. Farmers use its leaves for fodder, and so it is not surprising that as soon as a seed sprout outside the deer fence, the deer eat the seedlings. A small one has recently started growing in the Reserve circle, and to save it from being eaten, we have put a mesh cage around it. There are some 20 in total in the Reserve, with about 10 planted or naturally regenerating within the deer fence area.
New labels at Banksia Bush Care
Our main purpose is to regenerate and maintain the littoral rainforest but another aim is to educate the community about this coastal environment, which the Commonwealth government has classified as “critically endangered.” We have published a Guide, available for download, free of charge at www.southcoaster.com.au/discover-a-bush-art-gallery
Another way of educating the community about the littoral rainforest is by providing labels along the walking tracks for the 73 tree species.
A few years ago, Natasha Watson from Ripples Print and Design at Otford (0414 919 634, www.ripplesprinting.com.au) kindly donated some 200 tree labels, and she has just provided us with another 300. These have been printed on old plastic vertical blinds that have been cut up and, after printing, tied onto the trees with elastic cord to allow for the expansion of the tree trunk.
