Rail Trails like the O’Keefe Rail Trail are usually located within land corridors that have not previously been fully cleared of trees and/or were not grazed by introduced farmed animals. Such trails provide protection for native animals, plus allow native plants to grow and flower during the annual Spring season.
A recent sighting by O’Keefe Rail Trail user Lisa Hall has highlighted an Australian native plant, named Templetonia stenophylla.
The commonly named Leafy Templetonia was observed growing in the Knowsley area of the rail trail, with Lisa sharing her excitement by posting the following comment “Beautiful and rare Templetonia flowering near Knowsley……”
For those with specific interests, the Templetonia plant is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. They are native to Australia and is named in honour of John Templeton, an Irish naturalist and botanist.
With this Leafy Templetonia being one of a number of flowering plants growing along the O’Keefe Rail Trail reserve, and possibly within the four State forests that this trail transverses, observing such plants flowering is another reason to enjoy being out along this popular trail during the August – November period.