Page 10 - Tropic Magazine Issue 34

TROPIC • UP FRONT

1
In season

EXPLORE
Tropic’s guide to the best of The leaves also feed butterfly caterpillars
and the fruit is a food source for several
Tropical North nature this birds. At the same time, mistletoes rarely
February and March. affect their host plants adversely.
With up to 70 species around the region,
Words: Nicky Horstmann you can find a variety of mistletoe
just about anywhere – the rainforest,
It’s so easy to be inspired by our
outstanding flora and fauna. We are shoreline, mangroves, eucalypt forests
surrounded by magnificent trees and and savannah. The easiest way to detect
eye-catching birds. But really, they are the presence of mistletoe is to go for a
just a spectacular veneer. It’s time to take bushwalk and look down for its fallen
note of some of the less obvious members flowers, generally bright red or orange,
of our community. before you start the neck-breaking
upwards search.
2
POSITIVE PARASITES
Flora STICKY SEEDS By contrast, his lady friend’s colouring is
On hearing the word ‘mistletoe’, Fauna a very subdued grey with just the faintest
most of us think of Christmas and As mistletoe doesn’t grow on the ground, red patch under the tail.
perhaps having to dodge a kiss from an it needs a way of ensuring its babies Mistletoebirds relish and digest the
sweet, juicy flesh of the mistletoe fruit,
overenthusiastic great uncle. start their lives in the treetops where
However, mistletoe is very much a there’s ample sunlight. This is where the passing the seed through their system.
botanical reality here in the Far North. mistletoebird comes into play. By clever design, the seed has a sticky
Classed as a type of plant parasite, Given there are around 90 species of coating which adheres it to the feathers
mistletoe is found growing amongst tree mistletoe in Australia, it’s amazing there’s around the bird’s bottom. So, what is any
well-bred bird going to do about this?
branches. These clever plants rely on their only one species of this bird, Dicaeum
hosts to provide both water and support hirundinaceum, and it can be found all over Wipe its rear on a tree branch, of course.
while producing their own food. our continent. Voila – two problems solved. The bird has
So, is mistletoe a good or bad addition to You’ve most likely heard one of these a clean bottom and the plant has ensured
our ecosystem? tiny charmers, their high-pitched call its spawn has the best start in life.
The answer is a resounding ‘good’. being hard to miss. When looking for
Mistletoe flowers prolifically – often at a them you’ll probably spot the male with 1. Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)
different time to their host tree – his black head and back contrasting 2. Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe curvata). Credit: B. Gray,
Australian National Botanic Gardens
which provides vital food for insects. magnificently with his red breast. 3. Longan (Dimocarpus longan)

RUSTY’S MARKETS
Regional delights
As the range and volume of locally grown vegetables dim over the
wet, thank goodness the opposite happens with fruit. Rusty’s offers an
incredible selection of tropical exotics grown in this region. I’m looking
forward to some chilled longans or a charcuterie laden with fuyu
persimmons and fresh sourdough. Barramundi season is also back,
after being off-limits for anglers since early October. Yum!
3

10 • Tropic • Issue 34