Vegetation class map
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Key:
<1%
1-10%
10-50%
>50%
Estimated percentage landcover for vegetation class
Structure
Low closed forest. Irregular canopy 5-20 m tall comprised of
numerous tree species and occasional emergent eucalypts. The trees support occasional epiphytes and a diversity of vines. There are no palms, and the understorey is sparse, comprising scattered
shrubs and a few species of ferns and herbs.
Trees
The canopy is commonly made up of Alectryon subcinereus (wild quince), Backhousia sciadophora (shatterwood), Baloghia inophylla (
brush bloodwood), Brachychiton discolor (lacebark tree), Dendrocnide excelsa (
stinging tree), Gossia bidwillii (python tree), Guioa semiglauca (wild quince)
and Streblus brunonianus (whalebone tree). Emergent trees may comprise Araucaria cunninghamii (hoop pine), Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson fig), Ficus superba <
/em>var. henneana (deciduous fig), Flindersia australis (crows ash) and Podocarpus elatus (plum pine), and in the gallery Dry Rainforests Grevillea
robusta (silky oak). In steep dry gorges of the Macleay and upper Clarence catchments
Backhousia sciadophora (shatterwood) dominates, while in similar habitats south from the Kowmung Backhousia myrtifolia (grey myrtle) fills a similar role. In the gallery form of
dry rainforests Castanospermum australe (black bean), Grevillea robusta (silky
oak), Tristaniopsis laurina (water gum) and Waterhousea floribunda (weeping
lilly pilly) dominate.
Shrubs
Acalypha capillipes, Cassine australe, Citriobatus
pauciflorus (orange thorn), Claoxylon australe (brittlewood), Croton
insularis (silver croton), Mallotus philippensis (red kamala).
Scramblers
Aphanopetalum resinosum (gum vine), Austrosteenisia
blackii var. blackii (blood vine), Celastrus australis, Cissus
antarctica (water vine), Jasminum volubile (scrambling jasmine), Marsdenia
pleiadenia, Morinda jasminoides, Tetrastigma nitens.
Forbs
Epiphytic herbs include Dendrobium cucumerinum (cucumber
orchid) and D. linguiforme (tongue orchid), whilst on the ground
Pseuderanthemum variabile (pastel flower) and Typhonium brownii may be common.
Ground ferns include Adiantum aethiopicum (common maidenhair), A. formosum (
giant maidenhair), Asplenium attenuatum var. attenuatum(simple spleenwort),
Doodia aspera (prickly rasp fern), Lastreopsis munita (naked shield fern),
Pellaea falcata (sickle fern) and Pteris tremula (tender brake), while
epiphytic ferns include Dictymia brownii, Platycerium superbum (staghorn), Pyrrosia
confluens var. confluens (horseshoe felt vine) and P. rupestris (rock felt
fern). Common grasses include Austrostipa ramosissima (stout bamboo grass)
Oplismenus imbecillus.
Habitat
Typically in rough terrain, where average annual rainfall is 600
-1100 mm, on rocky substrates, such as basalt, trachyte, and some granites or
metasediments, or sometimes on riverine alluvium as gallery forests.
Distribution
Scattered in gorges of the Brogo, Tuross, Deua, Shoalhaven,
Kowmung, Manning, Oxley, Guy Fawkes and Timbarra Rivers on foothills of Barrington Tops, the
western McPherson, Richmond, Liverpool and Nandewar Ranges, and along the lower riparian
corridors of the Clarence, Macleay and Manning rivers.
Notes
A highly variable amalgam of assemblages including complex
forests of the north-east coastal valleys and foothills, gallery forests of coastal floodplains,
and depauperateBackhousia- or Ficus- dominated forests of dissected gorge terrain. Largely
confined toNew South Wales, although floristically related assemblages occur in south-central Queensland.
Sources
Floyd (1990); J. B. Williams (pers. comm. 2003)
See all threatened species associated with this vegetation class
See a
list of species, populations and ecological communities
associated with the Dry Rainforests vegetation class.