Benson, Vegetation of Agnes Banks 
53 
TABLE 6 
Habitats and life-forms indicated by Multbet Species Groups 
Species Group 1 
Species occurring on almost all sites, indicating presence of sandy soil but evidently not 
reflecting drainage, moisture, fire or disturbance conditions. 
2 shrubs, 2 herbs, 2 graminoids. 
Species Group 2 
Species occurring on most sites except those of site group 10 which are dry sites with high 
canopy cover recordings. 
7 shrubs, 1 small tree. 
Species Group 3 
Species occurring regularly on all dry sites and on occasional wet sites. Species completely 
absent from wet sites are Acacia itlicifolia, Bossiaea rhombifolia, Leucopogon virgatus, Schoenus 
ericetorum, Banksia serrata, Brachyloma daphnoides, Leptospermum attenuation, Persoonia 
nutans and Ricinocarpos pinifolius. 
2 trees, 13 shrubs, 1 graminoid, 1 twiner. 
Species Group 4 
Species occurring irregularly on all sites. All graminoids except Hypochoeris radicata, a 
rosette herb and the only exotic weed included in the analysis. 
Species Group 5 
Species restricted to wettest or most poorly drained sites. 
5 shrubs, 4 herbs, 2 graminoids. 
Species Group 6 
Species restricted to driest sites but also appear to be correlated with high projective canopy 
cover readings. Sites may be burnt, though most have not been for a long time. 
3 shrubs, 1 graminoid, 1 herb, 1 twiner and 1 fern. 
Species Group 7 
Species of low frequency occurring sporadically on any sites. No concentrations with any 
site groups evident. 
7 shrubs, 1 herb, 5 graminoids. 
DISCUSSION 
An estimate of the similarity of the vegetation at Agnes Banks to that of other 
areas is difficult to make in the absence of comparative sampling. On a visual 
impression it appears to be most similar to coastal vegetation, but this impression is 
probably influenced by the presence of the white, dune sand topography, which is 
unlike that of typical Hawkesbury Sandstone country of much of the Sydney district. 
Structurally the vegetation is sclerophyllous woodland, similar to both Hawkesbury 
Sandstone vegetation and coastal vegetation. Floristically, there are also similarities 
with both types. Of the tree species, Eucalyptus sclerophylla, Angophora bakeri 
and Banksia serrata all occur on Hawkesbury Sandstone. E. parramattensis is 
found on sandy soils, though not commonly on Hawkesbury Sandstone. Only 
B. serratifolia is restricted to coastal sand-dune areas, the nearest recorded locality 
to Agnes Banks being Cooper Park, near Bondi, a coastal locality, 60 km to the 
south-east. It is common in the Myall Lakes area where it grows on the sand 
deposits of apparently lower nutrient status and greater age than those supporting 
Banksia serrata (R. Carolin pers. comm.). 
