Quillaja saponaria
Soapbark at Molonglo Valley, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Quillaja saponaria | MichaelMulvaney | 22 Aug 2019 | |
| Quillaja saponaria | MichaelMulvaney | 22 Aug 2019 | |
| Quillaja saponaria | RogerH | 18 Dec 2018 |
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User's notes
Forest 94, National Arboretum Canberra. First flowering.
12 comments
18 Dec 2018
Correct spelling of scientific name to : Quillaja. What was first reported has a typo.
18 Dec 2018
Is this feral?
If it was planted, as far as I know, the only sightings of planted plants that CNM are accepting are those of local native shrubs and trees on the STEP site at the National Arboretum. This exemption allows the people who look adte to check the ID of stuff they have planted.
If it was planted, as far as I know, the only sightings of planted plants that CNM are accepting are those of local native shrubs and trees on the STEP site at the National Arboretum. This exemption allows the people who look adte to check the ID of stuff they have planted.
19 Dec 2018
Sorry if I've done the wrong thing via CNM. I thought they were recording all biodiversity of the Canberra environment. If native ants feed on the nectar of the Quillaja, as they do here, it should be valid to know that the Quillaja is there and part of their habitat, whether planted by one species (Homo sapiens), or by a bird, or the wind. This is the environment in which we live. Put flags to allow quick classification, such as native to region, to state, to continent to planet, naturalised, planted etc. But perhaps avoid excluding information on what is the actual biodiversity.
19 Dec 2018
This is too deep for me. When you have a photo of an ant on a flower, the insect moderators can decide if they want a record of what the ant is crawling on.
27 Dec 2018
Thanks Betty. I avoided the ants and other pollen/nectar seeking insects to show the flower itself. I'd like the managers of Canberra Nature Map to comment on including this picture. If CNM is accepting the sightings of planted things at STEP, then does that extend to other plantings of Australian native species at the National Arboretum? If those species are included, then why aren't the rest of the species that are planted and part of the Canberra park and beyond environment and not an arbitrary selection taken out of context? As an ecologist, I'm interested in whatever is in the environment and what role is it playing now. It would be good to have flags, such as 'native to region', 'exotic to region', but excluding species somehow seems most unfortunate.
23 Aug 2019
Hi Roger
While our main focus is on wild plants, we can't avoid recording planted specimens of trees. Our nature reserves often have trees planted in them, new & old. We now have a new box to tick for all tree reports, asking if the reported tree(s) were planted. I think is useful to record the trees planted at the arboretum since it is such a valuable resource and is admired by lots of people.
While our main focus is on wild plants, we can't avoid recording planted specimens of trees. Our nature reserves often have trees planted in them, new & old. We now have a new box to tick for all tree reports, asking if the reported tree(s) were planted. I think is useful to record the trees planted at the arboretum since it is such a valuable resource and is admired by lots of people.
23 Aug 2019
Michael,
According to https://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree_stories/chilean_soap_bark_and_chilean_wine_palm it has been planted in Westbourne Woods and Curtin as well as the National Arboretum so you could update the species comments. I used to worry about reports of plants at places like STEP because they could give misleading information on distribution because our records go to Atlas of Living Australia - and I still don't know if researchers could filter out such records. CNM does a good job of indicating local, other Australian and exotic species, and for trees whether they are planted or not. But I am glad that nobody has tried reporting all the plants in the Botanic Gardens.
According to https://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree_stories/chilean_soap_bark_and_chilean_wine_palm it has been planted in Westbourne Woods and Curtin as well as the National Arboretum so you could update the species comments. I used to worry about reports of plants at places like STEP because they could give misleading information on distribution because our records go to Atlas of Living Australia - and I still don't know if researchers could filter out such records. CNM does a good job of indicating local, other Australian and exotic species, and for trees whether they are planted or not. But I am glad that nobody has tried reporting all the plants in the Botanic Gardens.
23 Aug 2019
Mike. Researchers have had to deal with records of planted plants on ALA for quite a while. I uploaded my records to ALA in 2014, which included a lot of photos of plants at Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens and some from the Gardens here. Some of those photos are still the only photos of a particular species on ALA, so they are of use, even if not to researchers. Like you I still don’t know if researchers are able to filter planted plants out.
23 Aug 2019
There would be many instances where the origin of the plant (whether it was intentionally planted a long time ago) would be uncertain. Much like the reporting of birds where some things could equally be vagrants from further inland or escapees, for example. While this doesn't answer whether we should be reporting things that we know with certainty to be planted, the consequences of doing so should be minimal since other 'potentially' planted records can't be excluded and are bound to inevitably slip through anyway.
23 Aug 2019
If you explore the Murrumbidgee River you will find many trees that have been planted, a lot by Greening Australia. These are local natives used to improve the flora along the river. It is valuable to have records of such plantings.
23 Aug 2019
I agree we need to record planted or escapee plants. They are now an important part of the ecosystem. Where would our yellow tailed black cockatoos be without Pinus radiata? I was trying to find out food plants for a hawk moth Psilogramma casuarinae that I found on an exotic ash; the only food plants that were listed are exotics..
Location information
- Coordinates 149.064060-35.301381
- Maps National Arboretum Forests
- Places Molonglo Valley, ACT
Sighting information
- 101 - 1,000 Abundance
- 11 Dec 2018 11:00 AM Recorded on
- RogerH Recorded by
- Yes In flower
- Yes Planted
- 1 metre to 5 metres Plant height
Collections
Species information
- Quillaja saponaria Scientific name
- Soapbark Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Exotic
- Non-invasive or negligible
- External link More information
Seasonal activity
-
In flower
JFMAMJJASOND
Record quality
Quality score
4 / 7
- Images or audio
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- More than one media file
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location