Research Report

Allelopathic Effects of Sweet Pittosporum Pittosporum undulatum Vent.
on the Germination of Selected Native Plant Species

Amanda Tunbridge, Dianne Simmons and Robyn Adams

Abstract
The successful invasion of Pittosporum undulatum, and displacement of native understorey plant species has been partially attributed to allelopathic effects. This study examined the effects of Pittosporum leaf-extract on the germination of Acacia spp., Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana, Leptospermum continentale, Kunzea ericoides, Poa morrisii, Triticum sp., Ozothamnus ferrugineus, and Pittosporum undulatum. No germination was recorded for the latter two species for either treated or untreated seeds. Only Poa morrisii showed suppression of germination, while treatment with leaf-extract increased germination in Eucalyptus. The allelopathic effects recorded for the other species examined are insufficient to explain the decline in native species cover and diversity under Pittosporum canopies. The most likely explanation for the successful invasion of Pittosporum is the species’ competitive ability rather than any allelopathic effect.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 44-50.)
Back to Table of Contents

Contributions

Orange Hawkweed Hieracium aurantiacum L.: a New Naturalised Species
in Alpine Australia

John W. Morgan

Abstract
Orange Hawkweed Hieracium aurantiacum L. is a new species for mainland Australia. It has been planted at Falls Creek and potentially threatens subalpine communitites. Efforts are underway to control the species.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 50-51.)
Back to Table of Contents

Plant Invasions in the High Mountains of North-Eastern Victoria

Keith L. McDougall and Mary L. Appleby

Abstract
In surveys of Victorian ski resorts since 1980, 113 weed species have been recorded. Less than half of these species have been recorded in the natural vegetation of the surrounding treeless plains. The number of species that have been consciously introduced is greater at Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo than at other ski resorts. This can probably be attributed to the greater summer use at Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo and particularly to the exotic gardens there, which contain species selected for their cold-hardiness. We suggest that the intentional introduction of exotic plants to ski resorts, which are surrounded by National Park, may threaten the natural values of the Victorian high country. It may not be possible to recommend any non-invasive exotic plants for amenity plantings in ski resorts because of the long time taken for plants to reproduce in some cases and the lack of data on invasive potential in most cases.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 52-59.)
Back to Table of Contents

The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog Litoria fallax (Peters) (Anura: Hylidae):
Recent Introduction to Victoria?

Graeme R. Gillespie and Nick Clemann

Abstract
The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog Litoria fallax (Peters) is an inhabitant of wetlands and swamps along the east coast of Australia, from Jervis Bay south of Sydney, to the Atherton Tablelands in northern Queensland. We report the discovery of the species inhabiting a small wetland in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. This is likely to be a recent introduction rather than a natural range extension. The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog is one of several species frequently inadvertently transported to Victoria amongst fresh fruit and horticultural products. This discovery highlights the possibility that some of these species could become established outside their natural ranges, which has potentially serious repercussions for local amphibian biodiversity.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 60-62.)
Back to Table of Contents

Birds and Boxthorn

John M. Peter

Abstract
Boxthorn Lycium ferocissimum is a noxious weed introduced from South Africa in the 19th century, and is now well established in many parts of Victoria. During weekly ornithological surveys in an area infested with the weed during autumn–winter 1999, all species of birds that were observed using clumps of Boxthorn, both as a food-source and for shelter, were recorded. Particular attention was paid to the behaviour of birds feeding in Boxthorn. These observations were compared with published records of feeding behaviour of birds in Boxthorn observed elsewhere.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 63-66.)
Back to Table of Contents

Utricularia gibba L.: a New Bladderwort Record for Victoria

John Eichler

Abstract
This article records Utricularia gibba from two sites in the Frankston area, discusses the status of the plant in Victoria and suggests that it has the potential to become an environmental weed.
(The Victorian Naturalist 117 (2), 2000, 66-67.)
Back to Table of Contents

On the Origin, History and Significance of the Easter Bilby

Ian Faithfull

Abstract
Evidence is presented that the concept of the Easter Bilby was invented between 1976 and 1983 by Malcolm Turner of the Hawthorn Junior Field Naturalists Club as a replacement for the Easter bunny at the Club’s traditional Easter bush camps. Officials of the Club acted as the Easter Bilby and delivered chocolate eggs to camp participants on Easter morning. The idea was adopted because it replaced a culturally inherited reverence for an introduced pest, the Rabbit Cuniculus vulgaris with a conservation-oriented, educative function involving an endangered native mammal (the Bilby, Macrotis lagotis), and is believed to have spread slowly in the naturalist subculture and perhaps in professional wildlife conservation circles. The concept also appears to have been invented independently by Tony Robinson of the South Australian National Parks Service about 1980. The idea was developed further in Adelaide by Nicholas Newland of the South Australian Department of Environment who in 1991 conceived the idea of the ‘Easter Bilby’ as a marketing tool for the Rabbit Fund, a predecessor of the Anti-Rabbit Research Foundation of Australia (ARRFA), to raise funds for research and education on rabbit control. ARFFA registered the name as a trademark and initiated steps to produce the first chocolate confectionary bearing the name. The increased popularity of the ‘Easter Bilby’ and similar products since the first production in 1993 is described. The enculturation of M. lagotis through the Easter Bilby concept and product is interpreted as an object lesson in, and paradigmatic example of the methodology that may be employed in the construction of a more deeply rooted, culturally anchored, conservation ethos.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 117 (2), 2000, 68-74.)
Back to Table of Contents