The Booyong Flora Reserve is a
protected
Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
located in
Booyong in the
Northern Rivers
Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly Regions of New South Wales, region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence Ri ...
region of New South Wales, Australia. The subtropical jungle is situated northeast of
Lismore and is a remnant of the
Big Scrub
The Big Scrub was one of the largest areas (75,000 ha) of lowland subtropical rainforest in eastern Australia. It was intensively cleared for agricultural use in the 19th century (1801–1900) by settlers. By the late 19th century less than 1 ...
, of which less than one percent of the original Big Scrub remains.
Description
The red-brown soil is derived from a basaltic flow from the nearby
Mount Warning
Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located west-south-west of ...
and later volcanic flows from the
Nightcap Range
The Nightcap Range is a mountain range located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in the area between Lismore and the New South Wales-Queensland border. It includes Mount Burrell and Mount Nardi as well as containing th ...
.
Average annual rainfall at Lismore is .
90 species of
rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
trees have been recorded in this small area.
[ Significant rainforest tree species include White Booyong, ]Small-leaved Fig
''Ficus obliqua'', commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia to Sulawesi and islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Previously known for many years as ...
, Olivers Sassafras, Black Bean, Grey Walnut
''Beilschmiedia elliptica'', known as the grey walnut is a rainforest laurel growing in eastern Australia. The range of natural distribution is from Forster, New South Wales (32° S) to Fraser Island (25° S) in southeastern Queensland. ''Beilsch ...
, Blush Walnut, Koda
KODA (99.1 FM, "Sunny 99.1") is an American commercial adult contemporary-formatted radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios and offices are located along the West Loop Freeway in Uptown Houston.
KOD ...
, Red Cedar, White Beech
''Gmelina leichhardtii'', the white beech, is a tree of eastern Australia. Scattered individuals or small groups of trees naturally occur from the Illawarra district of New South Wales (34½° S) to near Proserpine in tropical Queensland. T ...
, Pepperberry and Hard Quandong. Rainforest myrtles at Booyong reserve are well represented. The most striking are the large Francis Water Gums; one of which has a wide girth.
A sealed road divides the reserve, with a grassy area in the western corner, surrounded by rainforest. Another grassy area to the north by the railway line also abuts onto the rainforest.
A colony of Grey-headed Flying Fox
The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicillat ...
lives in this reserve. The spectacular Richmond Birdwing
''Ornithoptera richmondia'', the Richmond birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly that is endemic to Australia. It is the second smallest of the birdwing species, the smallest being ''Ornithoptera meridionalis''.
Distribution
Historically, ...
butterfly may be seen here,
See also
* Andrew Johnston Big Scrub Nature Reserve
* Protected areas of New South Wales
The Protected areas of New South Wales include both terrestrial and marine protected areas. there are 225 national parks in New South Wales. A number established since the late 1970s followed campaigns by local residents and environmentalis ...
References
External links
*
{{Nature reserves of New South Wales , state=autocollapse
Flora reserves in New South Wales
Forests of New South Wales
Northern Rivers