Exploring Pigeon Valley: The Trailing Bitter-Tea
The riches of Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve explained by Glenwood resident and chair of the Friends of Pigeon Valley.
This is the 24th in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article will be on the Trailing Bitter-Tea.
Sometimes an element of the natural world demands your attention. Several times I have seen a cascade of white flowers at this time of year and briefly mistaken it for the invasive Chromolaena odorata, the Triffid Weed. Then I realised it was very much an integral part of the indigenous bush, though I learnt its name only recently.
When it bursts into flower, with the white heads tinged with mauve, Distephanus has a startling effect on the life around it. Once the sun falls on it, there is a profusion of butterflies attracted to the flowers, with many different species.
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In a few square metres today I saw perhaps 100 butterflies of a wide range of species. I even imagined I could hear the constant beating of wings, and the range of colours was stunning.
On Sunday I watched a cascade of this shrub caught in the afternoon sun. As the Acraeas, Whites and Dotted Borders hang onto the flowerheads, a Yellow-rumped Tinkerbed crept through, stopping to sun itself. Two male Southern Boubous flew back and forth across the clearing next to me, while above us the Sunbirds dashed in and out of the high branches; a Klaas’s Cuckoo flew to the branches and then left, and I felt part of a rich network of life.
Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.
The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.
