Greetings fellow Foxies
Jumping spiders (family Salticidae) are miniature warriors of the spider world. They have the most species of the spider families and are very common, but are seldom noticed because they are so tiny. 
Jumping spiders are tiny day-active hunters that will tackle prey several times their size. They are the most intelligent and endearing of spiders, which will stand their ground and rear up when disturbed. Jumping spiders have outstanding eyesight.. The large, centre pair of eyes faces straight forward, giving the spider excellent resolution, and they have good color vision. 

Jumping spiders make silk, but they don’t make trap webs, preferring to spot their prey from afar and leap on it (they can cover 50 times their body length in a single leap).  Since they are not tied to a single location by a web, they spend a lot of time on foot (they can remember visual landmarks and relocate their nests) or head-down, near the top of a plant, like a sailor in a crow’s nest. Whether they spot their prey from a perch or find it during a walk, they can spin a dragline when they jump. 
Narrogin species are generally tiny and drab, but make up for this with their interesting behaviour. Myrmarachne species are ant mimics/ant hunters. They tend to wave their front legs in the air to simulate antennae, and many have bodies that also closely resemble ants.

Each autumn I see Euryattus species spindle shaped egg sacs on rock sheoak needles. The female apparently guards the egg web for a month until the spiderlings hatch, then dies. last year I watched a female patiently  sitting on or adjacent tto her egg. Unfortunately she disappeared after three weeks after heavy rain and I never saw any spiderlings.

This video shows her waggling her cute little bum as she renovates her egg web

Greetings fellow Foxies,
I have been into bloodroots (Haemodorum species) this year, which are some of the most cryptic, unattractive, and unassuming bush plants. They are widespread on sands and gravels, but rarely noticed by most humans

Haemodorum is one of a motley group of genera in the Haemodoraceae (bloodroot) family. Other local genera include  Anigozanthus (cats paw, kangaroo paws), Conostylis (cone flowers), Haemodorum, and Tribonanthes.
Not all members of this family have red sap, but common features include 

• All are monocotyledons (flowering parts are multiples of 3 (dicotyledons have 5), with 6 tepals and stamens
• They are clumping plants with kangaroo paw type linear leaves on each side of a stem
• Leathery flowers ( Haemodorum are shiny, others are suede
• Long sand binding roots from bulbs (Haemodorum), or rhizomes (Anigozanthus, Conostylis)

Anigozanthus species in this district are the common Anigozanthus humilis (catspaw) and Anigozanthus bicolor (little kangaroo paw) which is found occasionally in moist spots at Borgey Block and Forestry Road.
Suede texture flowers are fused into a tube which is split on one side, with anthers near the opening. This design suits pollination by honey eaters. Plants spread via underground rhizomes.

Local Haemodorum species are bulbs; the common bloodroot Haemodorum discolor, and Haemodorum simplex, which is sometimesfound at on gravels at Quinns reserve and Borgey Block. Bloodroot bulbs have intense red juice. a coastal species Haemodorum spicatum is a Noongar bush medicine and last resort peppery bush tucker. Dark flowers on their strange dark flowers remain closed, but exude a strong smell which attracts native bees strong enough to push into them to reach nectar below and pollinate them. The crab spider on a flower is waiting for a feed.

​Tribonanthes species are for some unknown reason named diurndins!. Local Tribonanthes longipetala -Branching diurndin is a low herb with a leathery star shaped flower, which I have found on wet granite country at Dryandra Highbury Telstra spot and Borgey Block.
The Noongar name is Djooback. It reproduces from kidney shaped tubers, which are roasted in ashes and eaten as bush tucker.

Conostylis species (variously known as cottonheads or cone flowers) are widespread on well drained soils. They have underground rhizomes, and long flowering stalks with attractive yellow clumps of cone-shaped flowers.  

Greetings fellow Foxies,

I have been reflecting on the recent fire, which severely burnt sections of North Yilliminning and Birdwhistle reserves.
Most plants in our bush are adapted to fire, but both reserves had been unburnt for about 50 years and were littered with dead material, which fuelled a very hot fire.
Annual plant seeds on the surface or seeds retained on plants were obliterated. Survival of seed in the soil varies with depth of burial.
Woody root plants which regrow from soil lignotubers (most eucalypts) and root suckers should survive well and resprout in the next few months.

Geophytes are fire tolerant perennial monocotyledons, which resprout from dormant underground storage organs each growing season - rhizomes, bulbs, corms and tubers.
The ability of geophytes to resprout at the break of the season enables them to outcompete annuals, and they survive hot and frequent fires. Unfortunately, many invasive weeds are geophytes, and some also have contractile roots, which draw them deeper into the soil. Introduced Guildford grass has spread through most loam and duplex soils at the expense of native annuals.
​Rhizomes are swollen underground stems, which are very common in sedges, rushes, Haemodoraceae (kangaroo paws), and  some native lilies. Depending on depth,  rhizomes provide fire resistance, however in the absence of fire, rhizomatous plants can take over from plants that depend on fire for seed germination. The image below shows the effect of a hot fire in Foxes Lair after a decade. The left side (unburnt for decades) has mainly mature rock sheoaks with a dense sedge understorey. To the right, fire has stimulated a range of shrubs to grow  from  buried seed, and has reduced sedge density.

Bulbs have a thickened stem base of modified leaves, which store nutrients. Examples include onions and introduced lilies such as daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, and Easter lily. Some Haemodorum species (bloodroots) are bulbaceous.

Corms are swollen stem bases filled with starch, which sit on the root base. These are very common in native and introduced geophytes. Natives include many lilies, sundews, and triggerplants. Some of our most aggressive introduced weeds (oxalis, freesias, watsonia) are cormous.

Tubers (swollen storage organs which form on roots and underground stems) are present on all our orchids and many native lilies, and many are bush tucker foods.
​Grass trees and zamias have above ground, fire resistant growing points called caudexes.

I will peg some spots in these reserves and see what comes up