The White Dragon Tree of Northern Australia - Sesbania formosa

 Hi everyone, it is a little while since I last blogged about our Half Lap of Australia last year, but today I thought we would continue as I still have lots to show you. My last blog post was back in December when we were at Kakadu in the Northern Territory - you can see it here if you missed it - Exploring country - Kakadu, Northern Territory

From Kakadu we continued south to Mataranka (you can see the spot up in the northern section of the Northern Territory map below) where we stayed for a few days exploring and relaxing in the thermal pools.  More about that later. 

Today I want to tell you about one of my favourite northern Australian wildflowers - the White Dragon Tree - Sesbania formosa. This has been an favourite of mine since we first saw one flower high up in a tree Purnululu National Park in the Kimberley of Western Australia in 2012. 
 The species name is from the Latin formosus meaning beautiful, referring to the flowers, which are the largest of any in the Australian pea family.

When we arrived in the Bitter Springs caravan park at Mataranka we were given a site beneath one of these beautiful trees. There were many more flowering in the area where we were. Oh bliss! 

 The White Dragon Flower belongs to the pea family. The tree grows to 12-15 metres high and bears large creamy-white fragrant flowers arranged in sprays. Their petals are about 10 centimetres long. The smooth slender pods are about 70 centimeters long and the seeds are bean like. You can see the pods in this photo. 

 
 They flower from May to September, and fruit August to September and grows in the Kimberley, Pilbara, and Northern Territory, with a small occurrence in Cape York in Queensland in Australia, usually in wet black mud of seasonal swamps and floodplains or along watercourses. The tree is fast growing but usually short-lived - about five to seven years.  
The maps below shows the distribution in Western Australia and Northern Territory

Other English names are swamp corkwood, dragon flower tree, and water tree. 
The Western Australian aboriginal Bardi name is rirwal or arninyban, and the Yuwuru name is rirwal.
 The Northern Territory Aboriginal Language Names: Jaminjung, Ngaliwurru, Nungali: Jangarla (Jam, Ngal, Nung). Jaru: wirrwirr. MalakMalak, Matngala: Lurrklurrkma (Mal). Ngarinyman: Jangarla. Wagiman: garnbit

The flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. Australian Aboriginals used an infusion from the inner bark for treating sores and general illness.  Dishes could be carved from the wood.

 For more information:
Flora Base - Western Australia
Flora Northern Territory

Bush Books - Common Plants of the Kimberley - Dept of Conservation & Land Management, Western Australia

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed learning about the White Dragon Tree. Do you have a favourite native wildflower? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

I hope to be back for more about our exploration of Mataranka in the Northern Territory. 

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Exploring country - Kakadu, NT - Part 2 - Half Lap of Australia - Part 10

Welcome back to my half lap of Australia. If you remember last week we started exploring the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.  Please click on the link if you want to back track - Walking on country

 This week we are continuing our exploration of the 20,000 square kilometre UNESCO World heritage listed Kakadu National Park.  

 We left Jabiru caravan park after a couple of nights and only had a short 56 kilometres drive to Cooinda Lodge. We decided to relocate as Cooinda Lodge is a little further south than Jabiru and will give us access to other places in the park. Jabiru and Cooinda are the only two commercial accommodation options in Kakadu - however there are a couple of opportunities for bush camping but with no or only very basic facilities. 

Walking on country - Kakadu - Northern Territory - Half lap - Part 9

I can walk on your country, I can listen and hear your stories, I can learn about plants and see the trees, birds, flowers, animals, I can study your ancient rock art, I can walk along your paths, I can sit under a tree and be still and feel the breeze on me, but I cannot really know your deep connection to your country, your cultural heritage, and what it means to you. But I, as a non-aboriginal "Balanda" can try. 

For aboriginal people "country" is not only the landscape, but the rich interconnection between the land and the people - they are inseparable.

 Hi everyone, and welcome back to my half lap of Australia, part 9. This week we leave Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, and travel via the Arnhem Highway to Kakadu National Park - about 150kms to the entrance of the park from Darwin.  

Getting even CLOSER to the wildlife - Corroboree Billabong, Northern Territory - half lap - Part 8

Hi everyone, I promised last post when we were at the Territory Wildlife Park to get you even closer to the wildlife this week, so here we are, at the three purple circles on the left and centre of the map below, in the Northern Territory of Australia on our mid year half lap of Australia. 

To get even closer to the wildlife, actually in the wild, not in a park, we took a day trip out to Corroboree Billabong for a one and a half hour wetland cruise. 105 kilometres from Darwin (allow about 90 minutes driving time), we left our caravan park in Darwin before 8am to get to the billabong on time for our 10am cruise. This is the closest wetland cruise available to visitors from Darwin and it is well worth the drive and the cost. ($55 for adults August 2019).  I highly recommend this cruise.  Bookings essential.

Head out along the Arnhem Highway south of Darwin towards Kakadu National Park. I recommend you bypass the Jumping Crocodile cruise at Adelaide River. Whilst this is very popular with tourists, and I haven't actually been on this cruise, for me it is orchestrated. I would rather see the crocodiles in their natural environment not jumping up to catch fresh meat hung over the side of the boat.

I think he is smiling at me.....  Do you know the song "Never smile at a crocodile, don't be taken in by his welcome grin...."

Getting close to the wildlife - Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - Half Lap, Part 7

Hi everyone, welcome to Part 7 of my half lap of Australia. Last week you might remember we arrived in Darwin, the capital city of Northern Territory in Australia's north, and explored some of Darwin's war history. 

 Darwin is a big city, but there are plenty of opportunities to see wildlife not far out of Darwin.  Here is a map to show you where we are heading to, the places circled.

 First off, the Territory Wildlife Park. 45 kilometres south of Darwin (the purple circle in the left of the map), this is a fabulous place to get close to wildlife, so I suggest arrive early and plan a full day excursion. (Opening times 9am - 5pm, entry fees, and concession rates, apply).  

Darwin remembers, Northern Territory, Australia - Half lap, Part 6

Hi everyone, and welcome back to my Half Lap of Australia. A couple of weeks ago we took a "quick" side trip to Uluru in central Australia, but now we are back on the road and heading from our last stop, Litchfield National Park, up to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. 

Here is the map to get you orientated. Darwin is up on the north coast, and is the most northern capital of the Australian mainland. 

Darwin is only about 115km from our last stop, Litchfield, so it was an easy drive, and we arrived at the caravan park late morning. 





Today, 11 November, is Remembrance Day in Australia and other Allied Nations, when we remember our fallen - United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Belgium, France, and the Cayman Islands. 

Uluru - Australia's Heart

Hi everyone, today I am going to take a little side-trip from my Half Lap of Australia.
and take you to the beating heart of Australia, Uluru in Central Australia. 

Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory - half lap of Australia, Part 5

Hi everyone, this week we continue north from Katherine and Adelaide River which we visited on my last blog post about the Northern Territory leg of our 13,329 kilometre half lap of Australia.  

Our next stop was town of Batchelor and the Litchfield National Park in the top end of the Northern Territory.  It was only a relatively short drive from Katherine, 287 kilometres, and even with our stop at Adelaide River, we arrived around 1pm. 

The town of Batchelor is about 97 kilometres from Darwin and about 20 kilometres from the edge of the Litchfield National Park. We booked into the Litchfield Tourist Park which is located 14 kilometres from Batchelor and only about 4 kilometres from the entrance to the National Park. You can also camp at one of the bush camp sites in Litchfield, however these don't have power and only limited facilities.  We were more than happy to pay a little extra for power, shade, facilities and swimming pool. They also have a restaurant.

Katherine & Adelaide River, Northern Territory - Half Lap of Australia, Part 4

Hi everyone, and welcome to Part 4 of my Half Lap of Australia. 
This week we will travel from Western Australia into the Northern Territory, and visit Katherine and Adelaide River on our way to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. 

We had not visited this part of the Northern Territory before, so this is all new territory to us. You can see a rough map of our trip through the Northern Territory on the map below, the main locations showing with a red dot or red print. 


Leaving Lake Argyle and Kununurra (last week's blog post) we crossed the border into the Northern Territory 63 kilometres from Kununurra. From there our trip takes us to Katherine, Adelaide River, Litchfield National Park, Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Mataranka, Daly Waters, Karly Karlu (Devil's Marbles), down to Alice Springs in central Australia, before reaching the Northern Territory/South Australian border. 

We left Lake Argyle at around 6.00am which incidentally is 7.30am Northern Territory time. We had lost and hour and a half crossing the border. The time difference and that we had 510 kilometres to travel today to our next stopping place, Katherine, was the reason for the early start. Also we were travelling over new ground, so there were gong to be places we wanted to stop and look at. My diary records that the sun was already "a burning red ball above the horizon, lighting up the rocks red and shimmery across the long grass." 

Half lap of Australia

Hi everyone! I'm back! If you are wondering where I have been the last couple of months we have been travelling a half lap of Australia - starting in the south west corner of Western Australia, north up along the Western Australian coast to Kununurra, across into the Northern Territory to Darwin at the top of Australia, around Kakadu National Park, then down the centre to Alice Springs and Coober Pedy in the dry centre, to the south of the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, before returning home across the Nullarbor -  13,329 kilometers in 7 weeks and 3 days, 16 caravan parks and 11 free camps. Phew!  You can see a rough idea of our trek on this map which I have marked in red.