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HClNC Vegetation Classification & mapping Project: Volume 1: Vegetation Classification Technical Report
(Lamb’s Tongues, 33%), Senecio madagascariensis (Fireweed, 70%), Sonchus oleraceus
(Common Sowthistle, 26%), Opuntia stricta var. stricta (Common Prickly Pear, 74%),
Hypochaeris radicata (Catsear, 67%) and Solanum nigrum (Black-berry Nightshade, 26%).
Within the study area, this community occurs on various substrates in the Central and
Lower Hunter Valley and northern Yengo NP area.
MU 75 — Narrow-leaved Ironbark / Grey Box / Spotted Gum shrub / grass open forest
Open forests characterised by Eucalyptus crebra in association with E. molucanna and C.
maculata, with a sparse small tree layer consisting mainly of Brachychiton populneus. The
understorey is typically shrubby and commonly dominated by Bursaria spinosa and Olearia
elliptica. Other common shrub species include Eremophila debilis, Indigofera australis and
Acacia parvipinnula. The ground layer is characteristically grassy and dominated by Themeda
australis, Cymbopogon refractus, Paspalidium aversum, Panicum effusum and Microlaena stipoides.
Various other herbaceous species may be common but not dominant in the ground layer,
including Brunoniella australis, Vernonia cinerea, Fimbristylis dichotoma and Cheilanthes distans.
A number of naturalised species were recorded in more than 25% of sites in this community,
including Plantago lanceolata (Lamb’s Tongues, 38%), Senecio madagascariensis (Fireweed,
69%), Opuntia stricta var. stricta (Common Prickly Pear, 27%), Bidens pilosa (Cobbler’s Pegs,
35%), Hypochaeris radicata (Catsear, 27%) and Richardia stellaris (27%).
Within the study area, this community occurs on a range of substrates, mainly sandstones
and sands, in the Central Hunter Valley and northern Yengo NP area at mid to lower
elevations.
MU 76 — Narrow-leaved Ironbark / Native Olive shrubby open forest
Open forests to woodlands characterised by Eucalyptus crebra in association with a variety
of less common eucalypt species, including E. moluccana and Angophora floribunda. The
understorey is typically shrubby and characterised by the presence of Notelaea macrocarpa
along with various other shrubs, commonly including Olearia elliptica, Pittosporum
undulatum and Acacia paradoxa, along with the climber Clematis glycinoides. The ground
layer is typically dominated by grasses, including Microlaena stipoides, Dichelachne micrantha,
Austrostipa scabra and Aristida ramosa, and may also include a variety of herbaceous species,
including Dichondra repens, Wahlenbergia stricta, Daucus glochidiatus Cheilanthes distans and
Cheilanthes sieberi. Numerous, mainly herbaceous, naturalised species were commonly
recorded in this community, including Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle, 47%), Anagallis
arvensis (Scarlet/Blue Pimpernel, 50%), Polycarpon tetraphyllum (Four-leaved Allseed,
32%), Senecio madagascariensis (Fireweed, 74%), Gamochaeta americana (Cudweed, 26%),
Sonchus oleraceus (Common Sowthistle, 74%), Opuntia stricta var. stricta (Common Prickly
Pear, 68%), Bidens pilosa (Cobbler’s Pegs, 45%), Hypochaeris radicata (Catsear, 58%), Solanum
nigrum (Black-berry Nightshade, 34%), Centaurium tenuiflorum (39%), Cynoglossum australe
var. australe (45%) and Petrorhagia nanteuilii (53%).
This community occurs within the study area on a range of substrates on ranges and
foothills of the Upper Hunter Valley and Liverpool Range at mid to lower elevations. This
community may be of particular conservation significance because it contains the only
recorded occurrence in this study of the endangered herb Lepidium hyssopifolium, although
it is not common in the community.
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