Botanic Gardens: The Palmetum

---

Specializing in Palms

This lovely botanic garden, located a convenient kilometer from my house, features the family Arecaceae (the palms) and hosts representatives from each of the six subfamilies. Many of these species are local, but the garden hosts several rare/endangered non-native palms as well.

The sporadic paths makes winding your way through the garden an interesting pursuit. I enjoyed the oval, relatively unorganized, dirt, gravel, and concrete paths quite a lot. The garden was much larger than Queens Garden, and was divided into several sections based on climate. Aside from a fascinating collection of palms ranging in sizes from small shrubs to towering trees with leaves that could leave you concussed, their was a wide range of wildlife gracing the gardens.

Of course, I had forgot my camera (a habit I will break), but luckily my new friend Mark had brought his camera along. All pictures are generously borrowed from him. 😊

We managed to find the incredibly beautiful wheel weaving spider, Gasteracantha fornicata. G. fornicata also has the distinction of being the first Australian spider to be scientifically described by Joseph Banks during Captain Cook's visit during 1770! We found several hanging out near a creek in their uniquely shaped webs.

Several birds decided to gratify us with the glory of their presence and Mark managed to get shots of a kukubara, curlew, crane, and a hawk! The hawks were hunting smaller birds and calling as they swooped around the open clearing. It was pretty amazing.

---

Photos

Cockatoo
These guys ebb and tide in swarms.

Kukubara
The creature here has a loud and obnoxious call. It's relatively common but hard to see.

Mosaic
I really like this picture. I think it has interesting shapes, colors, contrast, and exposure.

Hawk
We watched a few hawks hunting smaller birds unsuccessfully.

Windy Roots
I imagine the extensive root work helps provide stabilization during the rainy season.

G. fornicata
These "spiny spiders" are relatively prolific.

Comments

[Nina]

Kukubara
Dear Sarah The name of this bird is KUKABURA.