More about Christmas Bells around Robbo

Today I found Christmas Bells (Blandfordia nobilis) flowering close to the roadside edge of Butler's Swamp. This area was crucial in the dispute with the Sydney Catchment Authority as it is rated as having the highest diodivesity rating (species per sq metre) of any area in the Kangaloon Aquifer. It is also the "Type Locality" (the place where the specimen from which a species was named) for the Kangaloon Sun Orchid (Thelymitra kangaloonica).

Interestingly, although this Swamp was studied extensively by the environmental consultants SMEC, they never recorded Christmas Bells in Butler's Swamp. That simply means they did not look at the right time, because today I spotted these plants after about 5 minutes looking, from the edge of the easement beside the swamp proper (I did not "trespass").
These "Environmental Studies" are always very limited, and that is why the "experts" ought seek the assistance and advice of local enthusiasts, because we can tell them when and where to look. Otherwise, trying to find a Christmas Bell, by leaf shape alone (when it is not in flower or seed) is far harder than looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack".

This shows the location of these flowers
vis-a-vis the rest of Butler's Swamp.
See the two red circles drawn in on the image - in the foreground.
(Click to enlarge the image)
There is a monitoring bore (pipe) visible in the far distance.

To my left, from where I took the other photos,
you can see I was close to a monitoring bore.
The SCA boundary warning notice is in the far distance.
I am parallel with that notice, just outside their boundary line.

I have gone back through my old photos of Christmas Bells, and checked the dates for flowering times, in the local area. The earliest I have ever seen them in flower was 2 December 2007, on dry sandstone heath at Budderoo Plateau. Next was 1 January 2009, also on Budderoo, then in Butler's Swamp, from 21 January onwards (over several different years). The latest I have seen them flower there is 5 February 2007. Butler's Swamp is both wetter and colder than other habitats where I have seen Christmas Bells in the Southern Highlands, so that obviously delays their flowering time here.

Interestingly, in the Royal National Park (just south of Sydney, a warm spot on the coast), I have seen Christmas Bells in flower on 22 July 2009. That record (even if unusual) confirms the range of flowering times of this species, and the need for local knowledge, when trying to conduct environmental studies, to find ephemeral flowers, particularly in an environment such as an "Upland Swamp".

A rare golden form of Christmas Bell
in Butler's Swamp 25/1/2007

I have published this image before, but just for old times sake, here is a photo of a rare golden form of the Christmas Bell, which flowered in Butler's Swamp on 25 January 2007. It is regarded by the botanists as a variant form, within the basic species.