Noon Flower: An iconic plant species and a link across time to the life of early Melbourne

2012·1.1 MB·English

by  Peter Mj Fisher

NaturalistNotes
Noon Flower: An iconic plant species and a link
across time to the life ofearly Melbourne
Introduction Noon Flower (original botanic name Mesem-
Manycitiesdon’thaveanythingspecialto offer bryanthemum sp.) which grows as a prostrate,
insofar as geophysical features are concerned, succulent orperennial herb, from 2 to 30 cen-
because either theyneverhad them in the first timetres high. Unlike the other Aizoaceae its
place,ortheyhavelongsincebeenlosttourban leaves are round in cross-section and it does
development. Melbourne is a case in point of nothybridisewiththem. Flowersarepink,pur-
thelatter, as JamesBoyce(2011: 211) records: pleorviolet (Fig. 1).
Local Aborigines used its succulent leaves as
BythetimeAnthonyTrollopevisitedMelbourne,
the source ofa refreshing but astringent drink
thenacityof206,000‘souls intheearly1870s,the
cityhadalreadylargelyturneditsbackontheYar- and thejuice was also applied as an antiseptic
ra (River),drainedtheswamps, filledin thelakes on scratches and insect bites (Watson, APS
and flattened the hills, so that Trollope knew ‘of Website). Rounded Leaf Noon Flower was a
nogreattownintheneighborhoodofwhichthere signature plant for much ofearly central Mel-
islesstoseeinthewayoflandscapebeauty.’ bourne,asshownbythefollowingextracts:
Boyce further details the stunning ecological Pigface
features ofthatlostlandscape (2011:4): ‘The encroaching pigface pours its molten
This natural bridge where salt water and fresh magenta down the sides ofcuttings.’ (Furnley
watermetwasalsowheregeologyandbotanydi- Maurice 1934)
vided in an apexofecological encounter.Within Where has all the pigface gone? The vivid-flow-
an easy walkcould be found grasslands, various eredsucculent iseverywhereinaccounts ofMel-
wmouodd.laOnndst,heasnowretlhlearsn, siindaelomfotshteervievreyrsdtirreetccthiionn,g bceonutrunrye.fTrhoemiBtlsueearLlaiekset dataytsheupwetsottehnedmiodf-t2o0wtnh
tehxrpeaenskeiloofmebtoregsgytolatnhde ngroeratthe-rwetshta,n‘w1a0s00aawcirdees wHoawsittw’rseaCtohlleidnsaSrtoruenetdgawritdheniot.fI1n853DrweGreod‘fbreedys
n..e.nitnleaxgteonotn’.wIhnicthheomnieddelarelyofsetthtilserwarescaallpeedramsa-a ocefncme’e.sPeemrbhraypsantthehepimguemons...atberiiltlailal.nt with flores-
‘beautiful blue lake ... intenselyblue, nearlyoval (Annear2009:81)
and full ofthe clearest saltwater’ but this by no
meansdeep’.OnthesouthernsideoftheYarrabe- BlueLake
tween the riverand theedgeofthebay, swampy DuringMelbourne’sfirstfiveortenyears(andfor
landstretchedforaboutsixandahalfkilometres untoldyearsbeforethat)ashallowsheetofwater
aclnuddiinngclwuhdaedtawansumtboebreocfopmeerm(awintehntmolargeootnhsanin-a knownastheBlueLakestretchednorth-westfrom
little taming) Albert Park Lake. There were also Batmans Hill, encompassing the site of today’s
extensive lagoons in the region ofwhat is now Docklands. Before long, though, grazing cattle
PortMelbourne.Bycontrastmuchoftoday’scen- trampled it intoamorass, so that it mergedwith
tral business district was well-drainedgrasslands the West Melbourne swamp before disappearing
framedbygentleandlightlywoodedhills,suchas altogetherin the 1860s whenitwas filled upand
BatmansHill,whereSouthernCrossStation now buriedunderrailyardsandwasteground.George
stands,andthepastoralplainsstretchedfartothe GordonMcCrae, aboyin theearly 1840s,would
northandwest. recall - ‘a real lake, blue, nearlyoval, and full of
Today you’re really hard pressed to find any the clearestsalt water,thoughbynomeansdeep.
remnants of this truly magical place. Boyce Fringed gaily all round with the purple mesem-
pointstoacoupleofriverredgumsinthelower bryanthemum [pigfacej in full bloom, it seemed
reaches ofthe Botanic Gardens. But a further in the broad sunshine to be girdled by a belt of
unexpected relic is Disphyma crassifoliuis ssp. magentafire’.(Annear2009: 12). (Fig.2)
clavellatum, commonly called Rounded Leaf
Vol 129 (5) 2012 183
NaturalistNotes
Fig. 1.ADisphymacrassifoliuisssp.clavellatumfloralcarpet,photographedinTasmania. (SourcedfromAus-
tralianPlantSociety-Tasmaniawebsite.)
Fig. 2. Robert Hoddles watercolor‘NearMelbourne 1847’ has captured thetop cornerofthe Bluelakewith
MountMacedonintheleftbackground.(SourcedfromStateLibraryofVictoria.)
184 TheVictorianNaturalist
NaturalistNotes
CoodeIsland questionwasdiscoveredatapointintimewhen
The sky was ablaze with skylarks ... every few therehadbeennointroducednativeplants,the
yardstherewerenestsontheground.Springtime siteotherwisebeingawasteland.
wasfulloftheirmusic.Sometimesthereweredol- TheMoonee PondsCreekhereis represented
phinsintheriver.ThemostbeautifulthingIhave by the vestiges ofthe Railway Canal excavated
everseenwasthepigfacegrowingontheislandin alongthechannelofthecreek in thelate 1880s
sdprraiinnge.dItit.waIswiallsnweavemrpfionrgtehtetmhiatddpligefabceef.or(eLathheeyy tsotagperonveiadre atchceesNsorftorhcMoeallbboaurrgensetLoocaolmaontdiivneg
1994:7).
Depot. Thevarious works along this stretch of
RelicPopulation waterway-itwasnarrowedatonestage-would
A relic population, scale-free and thick on the haveleftatleastsome overburden in thevicin-
ground, was uncovered by Ian Taylor ofWest- ity from which the plant has regenerated (Ar-
ern Plains Flora Nurseryat the southern-most nottpers. comm. 2010).
end of Dudley Street on both banks of the There is also a local population ofangle leaf
Moonee Ponds Creek (nee Railway Canal) in pigface,KarkollaCarpobrotusrossii(Fig. 5).
the early 1990s. The area in question is rather
neglected butclothed in some native plantings Thewayforward
under the Bolte Bridge and presently teeming It is recommended that, in view of Rounded
withrabbits. LeafNoon Flower’slinkacrosstimetopre- and
ReferencetoRussell’s 1837mapofMelbourne early settlement ofMelbourne, the area where
(Fig. 3) and a later map depicting an enlarged therelicpopulationisfound,be:
streetgridshowsthatthispointcorrespondsto • Cleaned out of weeds and any other inap-
the south-eastern boundary ofthe lake which propriate species amidst the population and
Russell had labelled ‘Salt Lake’. The plant in integratedintothePortofMelbourne Corpo-
Fig.3.Russell’s 1837mapofMelbourneshowstheareaoftheBlueLake,depictedasSaltLake.(Sourcedfrom
StateLibraryofVictoria.)
Vol 129 (5) 2012 185
BookReviews
rations Shared Spaces landscape plan for the BoyceJames(2011)1835:ThefoundingofMelbourneandthe
area; conquestofAustralia.(Melbourne:BlackInc.Publishing)
FearnleyMaurice (1934)MelbourneOdes (Melbourne: The
• Boardwalksbe established; author)
• Interpretativesignageerectedoftheplantand Lahey John (1994) When CoodeIsland wasa paradise for
birds.TheAge,15March,7.
itshistoricassociationwiththeLakeandearly
Melbourne;
• Thereservebe calledBlue LakeNoon Flower
Parkorsomethingsimilar;
• Docklands Way be renamed Noon Flower
WayorBlueLakeWay. M
Peter Fisher
J
References AdjunctProfessor,Environment&Planning
Annneeaarr.cRom/(d2o0c0s9/)mMrsr-sbrBardaldelyesy-smMeelblobuorunren.ep.dfh.ttp://robynan- SchoolofGlobalStudies,SocialScienRcMeIaTndUnPilvaenrnsiintgy
Australian Plant Society - Tasmania Warming to the Ice Email:[email protected]
Plantshttp://www.apstas.com/iceplants.html
Fig. 5. PigfaceCarpobrotusrossiipicturedatAltona. (Photoreproducedfrom TheYarra:anaturaltreasureby
DavidandCamBeardsell.)
186 TheVictorianNaturalist