Main Range Track: Jan 2016

Summer is in full bloom and in some cases getting past its peak! Short and sweet that’s how we describe our mountain summers. The Silver Daises were bursting with happiness last week and this week they seem to have all gone to seed. The other members of the Daisy family are holding their own with lovely Billy Buttons (Craspedis sp.) and Brachyscomes still dotting the Alps. The section of track flanking Lake Albina is home to an understated burst of Scaly Buttons (Leptorhynchos sqaumatus) and vibrant Alpine Groundsels (Senecio pectinous var. major).

The ever lovely Willow Herb (Epilobium gunnianum) are beginning to show while the whole suite of Euphrasia sp. can still be found. Be quick if you wish to spot a Feldmark Eyebright (Euphrasia collina subs. lapidosa) though, they are winding up for the season. All along the track, a sharp eye can spot both Prasophyllum species (P.tadgellianum and P.alpestre). These hardy little orchids are especially abundant in short herb fields growing among the snow grass.

If, like me, you love the inconspicuous flora then watch out for the fabulous little Feldmark Cushion plant (Colobanthus pulvinatus) It is glorious in all of its tiny-ness! I am never biased and also love the showy flora, the Yellow Kunzea (Kunzea muelleri) is creating its signature artwork and cloaking the Alps in swathes of yellow. Very dramatic up close and from afar.

Down in the Blue Lake catchment the miniature Alpine Baeckea (Baeckea gunniana) is flowering profusely whilst the Candle Heath (Richea continentis)and Alpine Celery (Acyphylla glacialis) are both setting seed.

It is a glorious time to take a walk in the Alpine the flowers are bursting and the flies are buzzing…(Oh did i mention flies …LOTS of Flies….). However when walking in the Alpine please be aware of areas which are particularly ecologically sensitive and avoid leaving the well marked trails. The Feldmark is not a place to tramp all over! It is fragile and beautiful.

And so with the wind in your face and the flies on your back i wish you all happy wanderings.

Marion.