First Overview of Cape Honey Flower Bank

Removal of Japanese honeysuckle,blackberry and kikuyu from the Arena of Gahnia Grove have enabled a visual overview of the steep bank between the primary Flame Tree invasion and Gahnia Grove, which we refer to as Cape Honey Flower Bank (CHF Bank).

This steep drop appears to be the result of a past landslip about 2m from the Reserve edge, prerhaps due to a hidden outflow of stormwater in the vicinity. There is a crack several centimetres wide in the bank, now exposed by removal of blackberry and Japanese honeysuckle. We do not attempt or recommend access to this bank from the kikuyu margin/pedestrian access.

CHF Bank contains a few surviving planted natives (karamu, manuka, a very large harakeke), dense Cape honey Flower to 3mH, diffuse blackberry suckers, and Japanese honeysuckle apparently originating from Gahnia Grove but now rooted throughout CHF bank and reaching the primary Flame Tree stand.

The bank ends at the bottom in an almost-level area of tradescantia, edged by kanuka canopy with native saplings (mapou, karamu, hangehange), Gahnia, Wild ginger, and two young flame trees on the border of Gahnia Grove. The lower part of CHF bank is overhung the long branches of these two young Flame trees, with several other stands of Flame Tree between them and the primary stand.

Posted on July 30, 2018 09:16 PM by kaipatiki_naturewatch