Simon Heyes

@simondheyes.bsky.social

1620 Followers 607 Following

Rare plants | drought and climate change | soil specialist plants | grassy ecosystems PhD student @ La Trobe, Australia He/Him Fedi: https://ecoevo.social/@SimonDHeyes Blog: https://sdheyes.wixsite.com/ecologyblog

Heathland just before sunset with small grass tree (Xanthorrhoea minor) and long leaf bundy (Eucalyptus goniocalyx).
Two forms of Enchylaena tomentosa in grey box woodland near Melbourne. On the left the glaucous shrubby form and on the right the prostrate form.
An early morning sunrise with a few scattered clouds and the the light of the sun at the bottom of the image.
Juicy purple green leaf galls in Eremophila deserti near Melbourne, Australia
Large swollen stem galls. These are usually packed will larvae of this host specific wasp
Tiny annual sundews with red leaves bejeweled with sticky hairs to catch and digest insects. These plants are smaller than the fingernail of your little finger
A large Acacia paradoxa shrub on the edge of the grassland. The invasion of Acacia into the grassland is becoming quite problematic and provides harbour for introduced rabbits and hares.
Grassland in the foreground with purple flowered chocolate lilies and trees and shrubs in the background
Hyalosperma demissum growing in an inter tussock space in a temperate grassland
A small green plant surrounded by white sand grains. Centrolepis cephaloformis is a tiny annual plant in the Restionaceae family. Found in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Uromycladium paradoxae gall are caused by a species of rust fungus. This species is host specific the Kangaroo Thorn (Acacia paradoxa).
A cluster of acorns with wrinkled green-brown galls on them. These are surrounded by oak leaves with my hand holding them. The galls belong to the gall forming wasp, Andricus quercuscalicis.
Restored offset almost dominated by Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle). Lowland forest has a diverse understory of heathy shrubs and sedges. The restored site is bare ground and exotic grasses.
Remnant lowland forest with a canopy of stringybark Eucalypts and a heathy understory of Acacia, Heaths and Myrtaceae.
Underside of a Pomaderris oraria subsp. oraria leaf showing a dense covering of rusty stellate hairs.
A plant sitting on a metal bench. The plant is the rare limestone indicator species Pomaderris oraria subsp. calcicola. Where you find limestone in East Gippsland (Vic, Australia) you find this shrub.
Grey box and Buloke on the edges of a steep escarpment with scattered basalt rock in the foreground. The sky is blue and the sun is shining and everything is great!
A silver Banksia tree in centre of the image has brown dying leaves.
X-ray imaging of Acacia caerulescens seed. Healthy undamaged seed appears as pale white roughly circular object on a black background with a small protruding elaiosome at the top. The seed on the left is damaged and shows a small faint shape of a small wasp inside the seed.
A grassland in late spring. In the foreground is Ptilotus macrocephalus with basal leaves and a head of fluffy cream-green flowers. In the background are a variety of wild flowers and red-bronze kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra). Ptilotus macrocephalus is a long-lived perennial with a deep woody taproot. Some have been carbon dated to over 200 years.
A screenshot of the Vic Emergency app showing the fire impacted area (shaded grey) with red polygons representing the areas advised to evacuate.
Red spider like flowers of Grevillea dimorpha a Grampians endemic. Grampians, Vic, Australia
An orange red insect (sawfly) clings to the winged Daisy-bush (Ozothamnus adnatus). The Daisy-bush has almost scale like leaves and almost leafless. This is one of only two populations of this species in Victoria with the other occurring on dry rocky slopes around Suggan Buggan (what a great name!)
An image with a steep tall hill dominated by open shrubby vegetation. Two trees frame the image and the sky is blue.
Pomaderris oraria ssp. calcicola. Green leaves with prominent veins. The underside of the leaves and the stems are covered in small rusty hairs that are typically stellate. This species is endemic to East Gippsland and is found only on limestone soils hence it's sub-specific epithet calcicole. When they do flower they're clusters of small yellow flowers and it's quite a pretty plant.
A typical daisy 'flower' with purple 'petals'. The background is blurred with various greens and browns of background vegetation. A daisy flower is actually a composite inflorescence called a capitula. In the middle are many disc florets (individual flowers) and what appear to be petals are also actually flowers with a prominent ligule.
A roadside grassland remnant with some trees and two mountain peaks in the distance. The grassland is natural temperate grassland of the basalt plains in eastern Australia and is now very rare (less than 1% remaining).
X-ray image with a dark background and the seed embryo of Acacia caerulescens showing as light grey. In the seed on the left is a very small wasp.
Screenshot of a post from LinkedIn. It says the following: Distinguished Prof. Jamie Kirkpatrick passed away yesterday. A beloved colleague at the heart of our School for 50+ years at the University of Tasmania, his kindness, dedication, and commitment to the Tasmanian environment will not be forgotten. He will be missed.
Ranunculus diminutus (brackish plains buttercup)
Silurian limestone escarpment in the background forms distinct open vegetation. These are dominated by Sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) and Limestone Pomaderris (Pomaderris oraria ssp. calcicola)