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HClNC Vegetation Classification & mapping Project: Volume 1: Vegetation Classification Technical Report
This community is distributed within the study area on poorly drained sites and waterways
on ranges and coastal lowlands of the Sydney Basin.
MU 190 — Swamp Oak / Juncus kraussii / Baumea juncea swamp forest on coastal lowlands
Open swamp forests with an overstorey characterised by Casuarina glauca, and with the
main understorey shrub being Melaleuca ericifolia. The climber Parsonsia straminea is also
common in the mid and overstorey. The ground layer is wet and dominated by sedges and
rushes, including Juncus kraussii, Baumea juncea and Phragmites australis. Other common
ground layer species include the grass Sporobolus virginicus and the herb Samolus repens.
This community occurs within the study area on margins of brackish water bodies and
watercourses on floodplains of the Lower North coast and Central Coast. This community
may have particular regional conservation significance as it relates to the Endangered
Ecological Community ‘Swamp oak floodplain forest of the NSW North Coast; Sydney
Basin and South East Corner bioregions’ (DECC 2009). In addition, the rare shrub species
Wilsonia backhousei is only recorded in this community in this study.
MU 191 — Swamp Oak / Melaleuca styphelioides / Carex appressa swamp forest
Open swamp forests with an overstorey characterised by Casuarina glauca, often in
association with Melaleuca styphelioides and the climber Parsonsia straminea. The ground layer
is commonly dominated by the ground fern Hypolepis muelleri, along with various sedges
and rushes, including Carex appressa and Juncus usitatus. The herbs Commelina cyanea and
Viola banksii and the grass Entolasia marginata are also common, though less abundant, in the
ground layer. Commonly recorded naturalised species include Cyperus eragrostis (Umbrella
Sedge, 36%), Ligustrum sinense (Small-leaved Privet, 27%), Ehrharta erecta (Panic Veldtgrass,
36%), Lantana camara (Lantana, 45%) and Plantago lanceolata (Lamb’s Tongues, 27%).
This community is distributed within the study area on poorly drained sites on coastal
floodplains of the Lower North Coast and Central Coast, mainly on alluvial muds and
sands. MU 191 may have particular regional conservation significance as it relates to the
Endangered Ecological Community ‘Swamp oak floodplain forest of the NSW North Coast;
Sydney Basin and South East Corner bioregions’ (DECC 2009).
MU 192 — Swamp Oak swamp forest of coastal lowlands
Open swamp forests characterised by an overstorey almost exclusively dominated by
Casuarina glauca. The understorey is typically grassy and dominated by Paspalum vaginatum.
Few other species occurring in this community are diagnostic. No naturalised species were
recorded at more than 25% of sites in this community.
This community occurs within the study area on margins of brackish water bodies and very
wet sites on the Lower North Coast and Central Coast, mainly on alluvial sands. MU 192
may have particular regional conservation significance as it relates to the Endangered
Ecological Community ‘Swamp oak floodplain forest of the NSW North Coast; Sydney
Basin and South East Corner bioregions’ (DECC 2009).
MU 193 — Melaleuca ericifolia / Baumea juncea swamp shrubland
Open swamp forests with an open canopy characterised by Casuarina glauca and with a tall
shrub layer dominated by Melaleuca ericifolia, and commonly also including M. linariifolia
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