Ridges, Roads and Rarities

Trails have followed ridge tops in and around the Sydney basin for millennia. When Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth traversed the Blue Mountains in 1813 they did so by following ridges, many of which were known to the local indigenous people. Over time, many ridge top trails have become roads: the Blue Mountains route, for example, became the Great Western Highway.

A little to the east of my bushland suburb, somewhat less steep-sided ridges have become major roads which service the population of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Great for humans - but what if there were a rare plant that grew only along those specific ridges? Incredibly, there is. Meet Caley’s Grevillea.

Spectacular isn’t it? Not to mention listed as critically endangered. G. caleyi only grows on laterite sandstone ridges above 170 metres. It’s believed that around 85% of its habitat has been lost, primarily due to land clearing. As a result it’s now restricted to a tiny area of around 8 x 8 km in the Northern Beaches Local Government Area.

There are recovery plans - and who knows, they may help. The plan that I like best, described in this fascinating local news article, is the G. caleyi revival project, run by the wonderful people at IndigiGrow. Propagation looks to be proceeding very well so one day soon, the native gardeners of Sydney may be able to play a part in bringing a plant back from the brink.