Goodenia salina

Click image to enlarge

Goodenia salina

This small unassuming plant has a Priority Two Conservation Code rating, meaning it is known from less than five populations and is in urgent need of further study. It was only described in 2007 from material collected from two locations, one in the Lake King region and another in mallee NE of Albany, but now other colonies have been discovered further east. In my region, I have encountered it in the Lake Tay and Lake Sharpe areas where reasonably common in small-scattered colonies; these lakes are over 100 km (62 miles) from the closest Lake King colony and around 110 km NW of Esperance.

Despite being a small delicate looking plant, it grows in a most harsh environment, namely Samphire beds and gypsum mounds on dry inland saltlakes. These occur in low rainfall regions (around 30 cm or 12” annual rainfall) where gypsum forms into fine powdery deposits; these are not only periodically incredibly dry, but are usually saline too. These habitat conditions are too harsh for most plants and require the herbaceous Goodenia salina to adopt adaptive survival strategies; firstly it is a perennial (apparently annual in the Lake King area) and has a protective, relatively deep rhizome from which other plants develop into self-supporting individuals.

The soft herbaceous foliage dies back to the rootstock when conditions become too hot, but quickly regrow when moisture becomes available, especially after summer storms. The recorded flowering period is September and October, but from my observations, it also blooms from November to the end of January, which illustrates Goodenia salina is highly opportunistic and blooms whenever conditions are suitable in its irregular rainfall habitat.

Other variations from the more western colonies concern the divided foliage, which is more pronounced by having deeper and more numerous pinnatifid divisions. The leaves in Lake Tay and Lake Sharpe region have mostly entire linear foliage, although these might vary at different times of the year and in different weather conditions.

My thanks to the WA Herbarium for confirming identification.

Goodenia is part of the Goodeniaceae (Fan-flower) family.

Reference:

Five new conservation-listed species of Goodenia (Goodeniaceae) from southern Western Australia

By LW Sage and KA Shepherd

Nuytsia Vol 17. 2007.

Goodenia affinis - Silver Goodenia

Click image to enlarge

Goodenia affinis - Silver Goodenia

Goodenia affinis is a low growing perennial herb with large yellow flowers and covered in long silvery, cotton-like hairs, from which its gets the common name of Silver Goodenia. It favours sandy soils, preferably with a clay content and occurs from the Stiling Range (NE of Albany) to the Nullarbor, plus a few records inland between Hyden and Morawa. It is reasonably common and generally forms scattered colonies in open ground (often after fire).

The long silky hairs are multicellular and cover most of the plant, although smaller branched (stellate) hairs are also common, especially on the upper leaf surface. The 1.5 cm (5/8”) diameter flowers are bright yellow and all petals have wide side wings, which combine to make them appear much larger than they actually are. Flowering time is dependent on local weather conditions and is recorded from July to December.

Hoary Goodenia - Goodenia incana

Click image to enlarge

Hoary Goodenia - Goodenia incana

Goodenia incana is softly hairy with bright 2 cm (3/4”) diameter fan flowers, which are mostly blue with a yellow centre, but can also be a delicate pink and occasionally even white. It is a widespread colonising plant favouring disturbed soils and the aftermath of bushfires, where it will readily grow from seed and for this reason is commonly found on roadside verges. It is regarded as a perennial, but in harsh dry conditions it is more of an annual, or will die back to the rootstock to regrow when conditions improve.

It is distributed in well-drained sandy and/or gravel soils from Israelite Bay east of Esperance, to north of Perth and up to 300 km (190 miles) inland, where it grows to 30 cm (1’) in height and forms numerous small spreading colonies. Due to its tangled hairy nature (probably making it susceptible to fungal disease), it appears after lengthening warming days are able to dry surface moisture from any late rainfall. Like many Goodeniaceae species, flowers develop quickly from new growth and have been recorded in bloom from September to January, but locally November/December would be their main period. They probably flower earlier inland where conditions are drier, and later near the coast where rainfall is higher.

White Goodenia - Goodenia scapigera subsp. scapigera

Click to enlarge image

White Goodenia - Goodenia scapigera subsp. scapigera

Goodenia scapigera subsp. scapigera is a widespread shrub around Esperance, also extending to Albany and further inland, whilst the other subspecies (subsp. graniticola) grows even further west. The subsp. scapigera looks very similar to Goodenia decursiva (a previous post, see right-hand column), but the White Goodenia mainly grows in sand and gravel based soils, particularly along roadsides thus reflecting its liking for disturbed areas and bushfires. Its leaves are less toothed, longer and more slender (4-6 cm x less than 1 cm wide) or (over 2” long x around ¼” wide) than Goodenia decursiva, with the apex wider or sides reasonably parallel.

Generally occurring in scattered colonies and seldom exceeding a metre (3’) in height, it grows quite quickly, but usually has a shorter lifespan than Goodenia decursiva, although setting seed and reproducing with little effort. Many plants in the large Goodeniaceae family have this quick growth and seed setting ability and are consequently often the first to colonise after destructive events.

The flowers are to 2 cm (3/4”) diameter and produce over a fair period of time, depending on the length of the flower spike (usually shorter than Goodenia decursiva), nevertheless they display well, helped considerably by a greater number of flowering stems. The White Goodenia normally flowers between September and January, although prolonged dry weather can alter times significantly.

Goodenia decursiva

Click image to enlarge

Goodenia decursiva

Goodenia decursiva is a handsome shrub to 1.5 metres (5’) with toothed, compact, deep green foliage and long terminal clusters of white fan flowers, each to around 2 cm (3/4”) diameter. It was also known as Goodenia scapigera var. foliosa, which according to the Flora of Australia has now been incorporated into this species. Goodenia decursiva strongly favours granite outcrops, where it can often be found growing around the base or in deep soil pockets, particularly to the east of the town. In this habitat it extends inland to near mallee outcrops and to the Israelite Bay region (175 km or 110 miles away). Shrubs are usually open with several near vertical but heavily leaved stems and when in full flower can appear like a giant posy.

This is a long flowering shrub and depending on seasonal rainfall will bloom anytime from September to January, often relying on additional water run-off from the granite. Goodenia decursiva does at times occur along gravel roadsides, but the similar looking species Goodenia scapigera subsp. scapigera is more likely to be found there, but this species although having similar flowers has longer thinner leaves that are less congested along the stems.