Pencil Cedar (Polyscias murrayi) has a large central stem about six metres long and with large pinnate leaves radiating from it, giving a kind of umbrella canopy. It can reach 30 metres and is easily to spot.

It is generally found in the rainforest but also in wet sclerophyll forest. The pinnate leaves with between 9 and 31 leaflets can be over a metre long. It is found right along the Illawarra escarpment, but is also found from the Victorian border to New Guinea.

There is one example of Pencil Cedar in the Stanwell Park Reserve, planted about 30 years ago.

Banksia Bush Care wins grant

We recently applied for a Local Environment of Australia Funding (LEAF) grant from Sutherland Shire Environment Centre to help us pay for hinge wire and star pickets to enable us to protect Stanwell Park bushland from Rusa deer.

The removal of Lantana, Senna and Ochna from local bushland is an important step in restoring our endangered littoral rainforest. While these weeds impeded the regeneration of the rainforest, they also provided some protection from Rusa deer for any trees that did manage to poke through. Once they were removed, we have had to protect trees and their progeny, and the only practical method is to cage them.

We are grateful to the centre for granting us $2000 for this program.