The Grose Vale flora and the value of documenting botanically interesting sites

Particular botanical sites have always been attractive to botanists, and the recording of such sites even in an ad hoc way, adds to our long-term documentation of ecological change. Here we look at records from an unusual dry rainforest site in western Sydney, first recognised in 1910, and re-recorded on several occasions more recently. Though the site has little formal conservation protection, the records indicate that many of the original species still survive at the site, while the periodic recording draws attention to the scientific value of the site, particularly at a local level, and has increased its value as an ecological reference site. Much of the vegetation of the Cumberland Plain has been subject to major clearing and disturbance over the past 200 years, and almost all vegetation is recovering in some way. Repeated visits are valuable for getting a complete picture of the flora; repeated visits by the same botanist over the shorter term (e.g. within a few years) may also be valuable, especially as the revisiting botanist may be more likely to notice changes. By documenting sites now, and continuing this over future years; we can enhance the value of many existing sites