Botany Nerds Ahoy

blackers wrote:

Thanks guru bob. Some more from the last coupla days. Pic 3 AW? Big plant, almost eucalypt like leaves.

Blackers. I’m driving, scant reception, I’ll have a crack at all of those entire two lists of beauties after 7pm, when I sadly arrive home , glorious snaps, love the reptiles. AW

Edit. Photo three, Fabaceae flowers, big leaves Hardenbergia violacea

Edit 2. Photo 4 Dodonaea viscosa ssp. spathulata Hop Bush. (discoid fruits very evident)

I’m an id junkie can’t you tell.

Cheers Alfred. An id junkie is the best kind there is, no one gets harmed.

My sister lives on karragarra island and this little guy/lady flew into the window and knocked him/ her self out . Big sister cupped it in her hands until it regained consciousness and the bird , scarlet honeyeater ? happily hung around for quite awhile and thanked her before flying off . loving all the great contributions on this thread.

Supafreak wrote:

My sister lives on karragarra island and this little guy/lady flew into the window and knocked him/ her self out . Big sister cupped it in her hands until it regained consciousness and the bird , scarlet honeyeater ? happily hung around for quite awhile and thanked her before flying off . loving all the great contributions on this thread.

Scarlet Myzomela (aka Scarlet Honeyeater). The Myzomela are a unique group inside the honeyeater family Malphigidae.

Where’s my spoon and ciggie lighter, I’ve just stuck the needle in. AW

blackers wrote:

Cheers Alfred. An id junkie is the best kind there is, no one gets harmed.

Shingle tailed Lizard is under an Araucaria heterophylla

Your snake is sliding under Acacia iteaphylla and to its right Acacia paradoxa

AlfredWallace wrote:

blackers wrote:

Thanks guru bob. Some more from the last coupla days. Pic 3 AW? Big plant, almost eucalypt like leaves.

Blackers. I’m driving, scant reception, I’ll have a crack at all of those entire two lists of beauties after 7pm, when I sadly arrive home , glorious snaps, love the reptiles. AW

Edit. Photo three, Fabaceae flowers, big leaves Hardenbergia violacea

Edit 2. Photo 4 Dodonaea viscosa ssp. spathulata Hop Bush. (discoid fruits very evident)

I’m an id junkie can’t you tell.

Piss stop. Photo 5 are all Proteaceous plants. The pink flowers are either a Grevillea or Hakea, bit hard to tell.

The green plant in the foreground is an Isopogon species, probably ceratophyllus Honey-cone Bush

Must be sandy loam or sand in that location , Proteoid roots tend to not tolerate other soils very well, obviously conditions are favourable, again ,nice snaps.

AlfredWallace wrote:

Supafreak wrote:

Yes on rote . https://seedresort.com/home/

Supa. Hi.

Talk about ‘sowing your seeds’ far and wide.

Our Seeds must be a very fecund fellow. Keep well.

Supa. You’ll know what this is in this photo. I took it in Coolum in a coastal park just behind the primary dune scrub and sandy beach.
There was at least 12 flying around.

I remember you once telling me a certain bird observation on your golf course gig.

I looked at them and thought, give up, it’s never going to work in that location.AW

Hey. Supafreak. Did happen to guess the bird that makes this hole ? AW

Honyeater ? I remember others and yourself quickly identifying it when I asked . I mentioned I’m a complete novice when it comes to this thread and enjoy being educated.

@AW , had a hard time with this bloke , extremely camera shy , couldn’t get close for photo as he kept running around the post .

Supafreak wrote:

Honyeater ? I remember others and yourself quickly identifying it when I asked . I mentioned I’m a complete novice when it comes to this thread and enjoy being educated.

I think it was a Rainbow bee eater Supa.
Nice geko.

blackers wrote:

Supafreak wrote:

Honyeater ? I remember others and yourself quickly identifying it when I asked . I mentioned I’m a complete novice when it comes to this thread and enjoy being educated.

I think it was a Rainbow bee eater Supa.
Nice geko.

Thank you blackers , my short term memory ain’t the best

Alfred, hope you have travelled safely.
The isopogon's grabbed our attention, tough structures! Look soft but are not, like a coral head!
Found some in flower.

Supafreak wrote:

Honyeater ? I remember others and yourself quickly identifying it when I asked . I mentioned I’m a complete novice when it comes to this thread and enjoy being educated.

The hole belongs to Rainbow Bee Eaters

Just got in bed. Fucking fog from central Victoria to home, 3 hours later than expected. Great trip but. AW

blackers wrote:

Alfred, hope you have travelled safely.
The isopogon's grabbed our attention, tough structures! Look soft but are not, like a coral head!
Found some in flower.

Blackers. Great Id photos, I love Isopogons tough for sure, birds love them in flower.

Supafreak wrote:

@AW , had a hard time with this bloke , extremely camera shy , couldn’t get close for photo as he kept running around the post .

Supafreak. Hi mate. Animals are smart, in Eurimbula National Park near Agnes Water I had the same problem with a very intelligent six inch long and one inch thick grasshopper I was trying to photograph it on a tree trunk, as I moved closer it just kept going around and hiding, never got a shot.
Appears as though yours was doing the same.

That skin looks like a skink.
I’ll try and get an identification tomorrow. AW

@AW , it was about 9” long , local indo’s were having a good laugh watching me trying to get the photo , had to stand back and zoom in .

Supafreak wrote:

@AW , it was about 9” long , local indo’s were having a good laugh watching me trying to get the photo , had to stand back and zoom in .

PS buddy , glad you made it back in one piece , sleep well.

seeds wrote:

AW the road warrior.
Big trip mate. Did you take any notice of the k’s you did?

Seeds. Hi mate. Totally stuffed this morning, garbos woke me. Great trip.
Thanks for your ongoing accompaniment along the way.

We’ve got a great band of biological nerds on Swellnet, so much fun, learning.

Total kilometres travelled 4997

well done AW, thanks for including SN in your explorations.
You're gonna feel pretty weird today. Go easy mate.

basesix wrote:

well done AW, thanks for including SN in your explorations.
You're gonna feel pretty weird today. Go easy mate.

Basesix. Morning mate, Hope you and your children are well, thanks for your kind wishes. I mean everyone when I thanked Seeds, it’s all fun.

I knew the party was over when I reached West Wyalong, southern NSW yesterday , I felt that all too familiar, cool Antarctic derived air, reality kicked right in. All the best. AW

Supafreak wrote:

Supafreak wrote:

@AW , it was about 9” long , local indo’s were having a good laugh watching me trying to get the photo , had to stand back and zoom in .

PS buddy , glad you made it back in one piece , sleep well.

@Supafreak. Thanks mate.

I've enjoyed your musings along the way AW. Mr Wallace would be proud, your a chip off the old block

Fliplid wrote:

I've enjoyed your musings along the way AW. Mr Wallace would be proud, your a chip off the old block

Fliplid. Hi mate.

Well thank you Mr.Darwin esquire.

It’s a lot of fun with interest when you/we/us humans take notice of the world around us instead of just ourselves.

I had a blast, even managed three surfs ,two good days in a row in Byron with that swell pulse.
Couple of days prior to New Year, I’m off again , three weeks in the Bight, already looking forward to it.

For what it’s worth, road trips are relatively inexpensive , fuel was $976 ( I didn’t pay for that, ex wife did, it’s her work ute) and I spent $600 on food and fun.

You are a long time dead. AW

seeds wrote:

rhaponticum australe spotted near Toowoomba.
Eagle eyed driver.
https://apple.news/ApAjFocF5R6mHZC-0PSat5w

Seeds. Hi fella.

That’s a bit of nice botanical news. Thanks. AW

seeds wrote:

AW
Looks a bit like a Scotch Thistle flower.
Any relation?

Seeds. Hi. Same plant family which is a very large one, Asteraceae ( all the planet’s daisies) Asteraceae family used to be the family Compositae (referencing the composite arrangement of flowers).

When you say look at a typical round daisy flower its arrangement is actinomorphic which means whatever plane you cut through it, it’s always the same.
A daisies flowers are actually the little arrangement in the middle of the flower, the dark dot, you can see close up with a hand lens.
All the fancy petals surrounding this central floral arrangement are called ray florets. ( not actual flowers).

But, not all daisy flowers are the same, within the Asteraceae family there are sub-families and tribes etc, it’s very complicated and takes a long while to grasp, I still struggle sometimes distinguishing which group or sub group to go to so as to start the process of identifying. AW

seeds wrote:

That’s interesting.
Artichokes?

Same family.
Yep, you’re good on your disused train line plants.

Remember our discussion about Foeniculum vulgare, Fennel, different family. AW

Tenterfield., NSW, 28/09/24

Two famous things from this town.

Peter Allen, singer/entertainer, was once the biggest show on the road anywhere, in constant demand.

AND,

The photos below.

A Cork Oak (Quercus suber)

A native of the Mediterranean basin, NW Africa and SW Europe.

It’s incredibly tough , can handle extremes of weather.

It’s called Q. suber because it has suberized cell walls.(waxy)
Hence why it’s bark has been used to cork bottles over centuries of human existence.

This tree is about 25 m in diameter, and about 20m high.

I’ve seen a few in Melbourne that were big trees but this one is next level.
It’s gigantic, for scale you can see to the right of the tree the brown canvas canopy of the vehicle I was driving.
I stood there gobsmacked. AW

star loading screen 1

seeds wrote:

Whoa that’s a big tree.

In fact, it’s one of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen.

Many of its horizontal branches ( boughs) were as thick in girth as some other trees main trunks. It’s well worth a visit. AW

seeds wrote:

If I may.
A musical interlude. One of my favourite songs.
A sad story indeed with a great career after.
https://youtu.be/ogA-B1MRBkQ?si=kEzSG_F7s2L0z3GK

You’ll think I’m a dag, but every time I drive through Tenterfield I play that song.

It’s a sad and beautiful song, quintessentially, Australian. AW

I love some of the winding, hilly roads and the scenery out that way. Some nice natural rest areas too, not like these new ones getting built on the freeways.
The Old Pac Hwy through Buladelah mountains is another fave of mine.

P.S Thanks for the ride AW. Nice.

Great tree Alfred.

seeds wrote:

I’m the dag. Love it. One of those goosebumps songs where I feel so attached to and enamoured by this great land.

Seeds, Morning, you and I and others are very similar organisms, I concur wholeheartedly with that statement. Brings tears to my eyes. AW

tubeshooter wrote:

I love some of the winding, hilly roads and the scenery out that way. Some nice natural rest areas too, not like these new ones getting built on the freeways.
The Old Pac Hwy through Buladelah mountains is another fave of mine.

P.S Thanks for the ride AW. Nice.

Tubeshooter. Luv you mate, I also share your sentiments of your statement, heading out of Byron through Lismore, Casino, Tabulam and onto Tenterfield on the Bruxner Hwy, it is the road of many turns, hills, sharp bends and descents, in essence it’s a long and winding road.

When I was younger I use to curse it , heading up the Newell, en route to warm water, warm girls and beaches, you’d get to Tenterfield and all you want to fucking do is get to the coast, but oh no, you get on that granite roller coaster and bitumen slippery slide, sometimes it felt like you were driving back from where you just left.

Typically it commenced raining as you got over the Dividing Range, but waves were waiting for you on arrival 2 hours later.
It’s a Wide Open Road. All the best. AW

blackers wrote:

Great tree Alfred.

Blackers. Hi mate. Loving your Kangaroo Island vision.
I’m sure your party is having a party.

Yep, it’s certainly a tree, got out of the car and the first thing that hits you is its enormity.

For those interested, there is a sign on the right hand side of road as you come into Tenterfield from the Byron direction, conversely as you pass through T/Field en route to Byron, it’s the very last street on your left where there is also a sign. AW

In B6 territory now.

blackers wrote:

In B6 territory now.

Blackers. Hi fella.

Nice sunny photos on the calcium carbonate coast.

In particular photo 2, there’s a lot going on.

In the background, the milkshake colours of those waves look great, middle ground a small patch of Atriplex sp. probably A.cinerea, Saltbush, then in the foreground, big shrub cluster of Leucopogon parviflorus Coast Beard Heath with Tetragonia implexicoma Bower Spinach smothering its lower regions.
In front of all that it looks like Rhagodia candolleana Saltbush.

Only thing spoiling the entire environment is pesky garden escapees, Gazania sp.
Shit of a plant, dislike it immensely. Safe travels. AW

Unfortunately everywhere.

I'm in adelaide atm @blackers, but if you want to pop past my property and get rid of the polygala, I'll give you my record collection.

basesix wrote:

I'm in adelaide atm @blackers, but if you want to pop past my property and get rid of the polygala, I'll give you my record collection.

Kind offer but I would need an indication of what "my record collection" actually is before committing to such an undertaking. 2 A-ha albums and a Smash hits 84 will not cut it.

haha, and would require 7 years work on your part, regardless! (happy travels.. hope you got some dark and windswept GFC from indifferent teens at Green Room 2.0 ; )