Botany Nerds Ahoy

I’d say this is quite an easy plant for folk of QLD, NT to identify.
Prolific around Porcupine Range National Park,QLD.

I’m still looking for the toe !!!

seeds wrote:

This little lady showed up again once the storms came. It dies off every year. I don’t know if that’s natural or out of lack of water. Flower is a brief splash of colour. They are already fading after a few days. Seems to be a lily.
Anyone know?

Seeds. Here you go.

Scadoxus multiflorus Football Lily. Family Amaryllidaceae , African in origin.

Took me all day but was worth the hunt.
Formerly the genus Haemanthus which I know well, use to grow Haemanthus coccineus Ox Tongue Blood Lily . They only ever show flowers briefly then retreat subterranean. AW

A favourite going beserk at the back beach

goofyfoot wrote:

A favourite going beserk at the back beach

Goofyfoot. How are you and your family ?

Austrostipa stipoides Coast Spear Grass. Family Poaceae. AW

That’s the one AW. Or “blonde bombshells” as one well known landscape designer down here likes to call them.

All good here thanks AW. Looking forward to some time off.
Have you been on a trip away?

goofyfoot wrote:

That’s the one AW. Or “blonde bombshells” as one well known landscape designer down here likes to call them.

All good here thanks AW. Looking forward to some time off.
Have you been on a trip away?

@Goofyfoot. Well I’ve never heard of a grass being called that, but hey, whatever tickles ya fancy.

Yes I have been away mate, not surfing, just an 18 day road trip from north of Cairns out into far west QLD and down through dry country, Cunnamulla, over the border past Bourke and through Cobar etc. then back into Victoria , 3671kms all up , loved it, just birding and botanising, 21 new species of birds, stoked. Glad to hear all is well. AW

Sounds unreal AW.
Hope the covid buggers off soon and you’re back in the water.
Re “blonde bombshell”, Fiona Brockhoff, I’m sure you’ve heard of her.
All the best for X-mas and new year

goofyfoot wrote:

Sounds unreal AW.
Hope the covid buggers off soon and you’re back in the water.
Re “blonde bombshell”, Fiona Brockhoff, I’m sure you’ve heard of her.
All the best for X-mas and new year

Yes, I’ve heard of her. They/we/I all the same, I had one, she’s got one, others will follow her and get one, you get an overinflated opinion of yourself fanned by the brush strokes of your wealthy clients, EGO’s, they’re not enduring, just a life phase, in reality means nothing in life, I got so sick of clients referring to me as ‘their’ landscaper/designer, or over hear them saying on the phone ‘my’ landscaper, like they’ve got some entitlement to you.

Let’s face it , landscaping is a luxury item, all we do or did is simply apply a veneer to a set geographic location.

Labour intensive jobs are defined by two categories, ‘Essential Services’, like the ones people need to keep homes ticking, electricians, plumbers, drainers, etc and ‘Non Essential or Luxury Services’ like landscaping, interior decorators (don’t get me started) etc. people with surplus cash choose this type of service.

I often think of other countries who have way lower incomes than here, like Thailand just as an example, I cannot imagine a family sitting at their table, contemplating, whether they’ll get there small piece of earth landscaped or simply use the money for food, of course it’s for food. We are a wealthy mob and we should never forget it.

Always good to chat with you GF. AW

I get what you’re saying AW, but we’re not in Thailand, we’re in the lucky country, and in the lucky country some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (fuckin nuts hey!) on making their garden looks nice.
And if you are lucky enough to make a living by servicing this industry then good luck to you.
I’m Sure you’re aware of Peter Shaw from over that side. He makes beautiful landscapes

goofyfoot wrote:

I get what you’re saying AW, but we’re not in Thailand, we’re in the lucky country, and in the lucky country some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (fuckin nuts hey!) on making their garden looks nice.
And if you are lucky enough to make a living by servicing this industry then good luck to you.
I’m Sure you’re aware of Peter Shaw from over that side. He makes beautiful landscapes

Gf. You got my drift. I didn’t mean to sound negative. I totally agree, I can’t be a hypocrite FFS, everything I have and the endless holidays and surf trips are the indirect result of being a landscaper.
Ive heard of Peter Shaw, by my own self admittance and 32 years in the industry, I was the first to tell people I have the best job on the planet, sounds like you love it as well.

Outside everyday,healthy , using and learning plant life, building codes, form work boxing for stairs etc. decks , pergolas, gazebos, verandahs, sheds, such a great skill set of ad ons.
I built small private sport fields, football, basketball and tennis courts in domestic homes or rural properties.
A complete body work out every day, never stepped a foot inside a gym ever, the best cardiovascular workout that aided surfing and combined, became strong as an ox. Revegetation of biosystems including watercourses and riparian strips, loved it all, clients can and did become difficult in some instances but that passes in time.
I always respected my clients wants but not some of them personally, I use to have the 5 min rule, if ever I was called or had to engage with a slightly grumpy client about something minor or just a misinterpretation , I’d take a few breaths relax, they give it to you, I’d reply, in strife maybe for a few minutes and then back to business or hop in the car and go home.
Lead me to teaching at three different institutions for a decade at night, very enjoyable indeed.
It is and was a great life being a landscaper but as you state, the amount of money spent sometimes is out of this world and I’m glad you are getting a bit of it. AW

goofyfoot wrote:

Sounds unreal AW.
Hope the covid buggers off soon and you’re back in the water.
Re “blonde bombshell”, Fiona Brockhoff, I’m sure you’ve heard of her.
All the best for X-mas and new year

Goofyfoot & Family. I must have been running out of neurons yesterday evening , all the very best to you and your loved ones for Xmas and the NYear, again, always great to converse with you, I especially love your perspective from that side of town. AW

30/10/23. 100km north of Griffith, NSW, I found one plant of this beautiful thing in dry hard red/brown earth, stinking hot.

I know what it is. Anybody else know it ?

Is it an Eremophilia AW?

goofyfoot wrote:

Is it an Eremophilia AW?

Goofyfoot. Hi. Geez your father in law has got the full snake pit. I love them, indicates thriving biosystems.

No it’s not Eremophila from the Myoporaceae family.
The family it’s from is the new family name for saltbushes if thats a clue.

Sorry about the photo of the flowers, hard to get the right angle, it was 40c and I was been drowned by flies and other critters biting me. The flower is soft and fluffy, about 60mm long, narrow at the base, widening through the middle and tapering to an apex. Very good at popping up after rains in hot desert/dry areas of which I’d been through, this was the most southern latitude I saw it. It would spectacular en masse. Many cultivars are available to the landscape industry. AW

Oh yeah, now you mention it the leaves on the bottom photo look just like Atriplex leaves..
it would be as tough as anything I’d imagine

goofyfoot wrote:

Oh yeah, now you mention it the leaves on the bottom photo look just like Atriplex leaves..
it would be as tough as anything I’d imagine

Gf. Tough as all hell, looked like it rarely gets a drop of rain, ground parched, very hot and dry but equally very cold and dry in Winter. AW

Who says weeds can’t produce beautiful flowers. Taken near home today.
After all it’s a native plant to some country or region, in this case, the Mediterranean Basin.

AlfredWallace wrote:

goofyfoot wrote:

Oh yeah, now you mention it the leaves on the bottom photo look just like Atriplex leaves..
it would be as tough as anything I’d imagine

Gf. Tough as all hell, looked like it rarely gets a drop of rain, ground parched, very hot and dry but equally very cold and dry in Winter. AW

GF. Does Nulla Nulla ring a bell, come in many forms ? AW

It doesn’t unfortunately mate, I’m guessing it’s an indigenous name for something?
Please fill me in.

goofyfoot wrote:

It doesn’t unfortunately mate, I’m guessing it’s an indigenous name for something?
Please fill me in.

Mulla mullas are the genus Ptilotus. The silver plant I posted is Ptilotus sessilflorus because the flowers are sessile and hug the stems.
Worth checking out the most commonly used ones for landscape, PlantMark always has them . Ptilotus macrocephalus Mulla mulla, cultivar colours include white, cream, pink, rose etc, great plants. AW

goofyfoot wrote:

It doesn’t unfortunately mate, I’m guessing it’s an indigenous name for something?
Please fill me in.

Amaranthaceae Family because flowers look like the genus Amaranthus AW

AW

I see U are a genius about genus Plant stuff .

Impressive and enjoy reading the flora/fauna chatting .

The names I can't remember but love ALL the flower/bee stuff and marvel at nature .

I think we will have a few interests that we think differently about ( great :) .

When I see a guy carrying a bunch of Roses , I wonder what he did wrong , first :)

My bucket list includes seeing Australia's Desert Heartland in full Bloom .

PopDown. Hi. Beautiful day out there today. Dog and I just got back from 4 hours of bird and plant observing, gotta love life, we are a long time underground.

Plants, a much better topic than WAR and human beings fucking up.

I looked to the bottom of the page earlier, 17 pages of amassed plant, bird, insect, animals, reptile, amphibian, bacteria, fungi etc. discussion since someone sowed the SEEDs.

I made a suggestion something to do with plants, before you know it our own SEEDs came up with the name Botany Nerds Ahoy, we’ve had a shit load of fun and learnings, I hope you will as well.
If bothered troll back through the pages and get a bit of an insight. AW

AlfredWallace wrote:

I’d say this is quite an easy plant for folk of QLD, NT to identify.
Prolific around Porcupine Range National Park,QLD.

I’m still looking for the toe !!!

No replies.

This is the Camel Bush, Trichodesma zeylanicum, was very widespread in around Porcupine Range National Park, QLD.

This photo and a few others was taken in amongst Themeda triandra Kangaroo Grass , grasslands. AW

AW
Both u and the dog are probably relaxing after such an adventurous morning .
( I need a cart for 4 hours of golf ) .

I love the name of the thread ( unless seeds is from Botany Bay :)

I know we have Kangaroos and Islands named after them , BUT Porcupines ? Ranges ?

Beautiful day here with Winki looking fun ( cam ) .
Picked up mum and her sister from the Pier as the QE 1 , through them off ( again ), this morning . Then Prahan Mkt ( I do the cooking like u ) and having fresh seafood for
dinner . I will look backwards ( this once ) to see what other interesting things u and seeds have been chatting about .

Ha @Pop, two great take-aways in this regard from time up north were 1. many aboriginals call echidnas 'porcupines' up there (from early seppo missionaries), 2 aboriginal people said feral camels can't be removed from around uluru as they are in the bible. Wacky world, but anything that makes you think, makes you think.

Pop Down wrote:

AW
Both u and the dog are probably relaxing after such an adventurous morning .
( I need a cart for 4 hours of golf ) .

I love the name of the thread ( unless seeds is from Botany Bay :)

I know we have Kangaroos and Islands named after them , BUT Porcupines ? Ranges ?

Beautiful day here with Winki looking fun ( cam ) .
Picked up mum and her sister from the Pier as the QE 1 , through them off ( again ), this morning . Then Prahan Mkt ( I do the cooking like u ) and having fresh seafood for
dinner . I will look backwards ( this once ) to see what other interesting things u and seeds have been chatting about .

PopDown. Very clean here this morning 3-4ft, NW, very chilly early. Once I rid Covid which I’m still testing +tive for I’m out there, albeit wave heights will begin to diminish soon.

Not good at doing idle.

Yes , historical names miss matched, times of the past. Hey, South Australian early settlers thought the calls of Kookaburras were monkeys, communicated back to the old dart, zoologist of the time were totally confused.
Echidnas were thought to be Porcupines , hence the name you mentioned.
Alligator Creek, another misnomer, I/we find them everywhere in our vernaculars of the past.
If you scroll back through all the 17 pages, you just may well need a Bex and a lie down in that Golf cart.AW

basesix wrote:

Ha @Pop, two great take-aways in this regard from time up north were 1. many aboriginals call echidnas 'porcupines' up there (from early seppo missionaries), 2 aboriginal people said feral camels can't be removed from around uluru as they are in the bible. Wacky world, but anything that makes you think, makes you think.

Basesix. My ex informed me years ago when she was working in FNQ, early white Holden utes and later white Toyota Landcruisers were being introduced into ‘Dreamtime’ stuff. The General and the Emperor would’ve loved that.

Don’t you love when the ‘Generals Talk’.

Now where have I heard that before ? Good stuff B6. AW

I love this photo. Tells a story of a lot of things going on. AW

So interesting ! :)

Guessing FNP have a gazillion names for our "5c" Native animal .
One might mean , "Not Worth Eating , Nearly " haha .
Another , "Not a Good Seat" , ( dad jokes ) , perhaps .

I love the photo ( a bloody photographer as well ! ) .

Especially , that u didn't focus IN on the flower .

It looks dry but some new ( even the bees don't know the flower is out ) shoots and they look inedible ( bush tucker medicine maybe ) so I am missing a lot of the story and love it .
Will look again !

edit

I see seeds ahoying on another Thread NOW , that's funny , and interesting imo .

I hope my jokes are not White Dad jokes .

edit

Ahoy seeds - great Q and now we have AW , I won't do a googly and guess .

desert road/ desert rose.. same same
stunning picture AW, life comes, goes, time, seasons, things...

seeds wrote:

Alfred, look what I (just realised) took a photo of. Correction…. West of Alice Springs 2015. Don’t know what her friend’s name is. You might.

Seeds. Hi mate. Have you been hiding something from all of us?

You’ve bloody got a secret wealth of botanical knowledge hidden away in your photo album. Great photo

Trichodesma zeylanicum as you correctly point out, tells me there was recent rain prior to that photo being taken, the health of the aforementioned is outstanding, very rosy stems and vivid green leaves and very blue flowers.

What a coincidence, just last night Goofyfoot and I were back and forthing over a species of Mulla Mulla (not the usual ones, in my photo), my photo was a grey foliage Ptilotus sessiliflorus, small perennial shrub.

Your beautiful photo shows the Camel Bush (blue flowers) with, guess what, another species of Mulla Mulla, a creamy flowered one, atypical of coming to its floristic life after the appropriate amount of rain.
It possibly just straight up Ptilotus macrocephalus (big head) Mulla Mulla but hard to tell without being up close, leaves look a little too narrow. More checking, I’m sticking with what I’ve recommended. Well worth checking out all the other species, I just did, they’re spectacular.Stunning.AW

AlfredWallace wrote:

I love this photo. Tells a story of a lot of things going on. AW

PopDown, I’m definitely no photographer, iPhone8 , point and hope for the best.

In this photo, October 19th, 2023, 1.18pm Porcupine Range, QLD, 40c

Yes you are all correct. It’s a Desert Rose, in this instance , Gossypium australe

It’s got those sage grey/green leaves, very different from the floral emblem of N.T.
Gossypium sturtianum Sturts Desert Rose

All in the Hibiscus family , Malvaceae.

For those who love to learn (me & you), we grow a plant in the north of Oz, we probably shouldn’t, but we do. You may have heard of it before, Cotton, guess what, its name is, Gossypium hirsutum , origin, Mexico.

Just a bit of plant trivia.

In my photo, it appears as though it was a very dry Winter, plant began to put out new leaf buds and leaves, warmer than normal mid to late Winter heat arrives, you can see the first iteration dying away, as we pass Winter solstice, days are lengthening and the plant has a second attempt which is looking successful and by the time this occurs the plant has had the appropriate amount of light from its photoperiod, coupled with a raise in ambient air temperature and flower begins to form.
When I was there it was very hot, I wonder if the second iteration of leaves survived, I think they would have, because 3-4weeks later, early rain licked parts of that landscape.
It’s not a harsh landscape at all for that plant, in fact conditions are favourable, otherwise it would not occur there. AW

seeds wrote:

Alfred, look what I (just realised) took a photo of. Correction…. West of Alice Springs 2015. Don’t know what her friend’s name is. You might.

Seeds. You’ve named her ? Was that a response to my Camel Bush, Camel Toe efforts ? AW

bumpd down @seeds.

AlfredWallace wrote:

Seeds. Hi mate. Have you been hiding something from all of us?

You’ve bloody got a secret wealth of botanical knowledge hidden away in your photo album. Great photo

Trichodesma zeylanicum as you correctly point out, tells me there was recent rain prior to that photo being taken, the health of the aforementioned is outstanding, very rosy stems and vivid green leaves and very blue flowers.

What a coincidence, just last night Goofyfoot and I were back and forthing over a species of Mulla Mulla (not the usual ones, in my photo), my photo was a grey foliage Ptilotus sessiliflorus, small perennial shrub.

Your beautiful photo shows the Camel Bush (blue flowers) with, guess what, another species of Mulla Mulla, a creamy flowered one, atypical of coming to its floristic life after the appropriate amount of rain.
It possibly just straight up Ptilotus macrocephalus (big head) Mulla Mulla but hard to tell without being up close, leaves look a little too narrow. More checking, I’m sticking with what I’ve recommended. Well worth checking out all the other species, I just did, they’re spectacular.Stunning.AW

Just googlyed something I have never thought to googled .

How many species of native roses .

Was thinking none or a gazillion ( like Lillies ) .

Boronia serrulate is more commonly known as native rose or rose boronia. It is a pretty species of plant from the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, mainly in the Sydney basin.17 May 2022

One !!??

Bloody Amazing Australia , bloody different ( Rose does to , broad leafed )

edit

The name ,Australian Rose , is easy for me to remember . It looked like a small cacti thingy .

seeds wrote:

Im guessing Ptilotus Clementii

Seeds. I’m pretty sure you are correct. Leaf description matches, a key point, flowers, nodding. Your original photo shows the flowers nodding/leaning forward. Great work mate.
Would you be able to confirm exactly/approximately where you took the photo ?

The first photo you posted with the Camel Bush and the Ptilotus is such a gem, kind of typifies Australia even with just a meek glance. We are blessed in Aus, I wish we’d stop mowing it all down.
Let’s start a plant rebellion ? Good stuff.AW

Pop Down wrote:

Just googlyed something I have never thought to googled .

How many species of native roses .

Was thinking none or a gazillion ( like Lillies ) .

Boronia serrulate is more commonly known as native rose or rose boronia. It is a pretty species of plant from the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, mainly in the Sydney basin.17 May 2022

One !!??

Bloody Amazing Australia , bloody different ( Rose does to , broad leafed )

edit

The name ,Australian Rose , is easy for me to remember . It looked like a cacti thingy .

PopDown, like ya style. Problem with common names is you never know which plant someone is talking about, that’s why Carolus Linnaeus came up with binomial classification system, of which we use today. That way someone in Chile can chat with someone in Bundaberg and we all know we are talking about the same plant.
For example , I could name probably 20 different blue daisies.

Linnaeus was knighted for his invention and posthumously goes by the title Carl von Linne. The system is also called the Linnaean System of Binomial Nomenclature. AW

you're an inspiration to us all, AW. Speaking of common names, I've been tweezering ticks out of the ears of sleepy/stumpy/shingleback lizards today.. they're out and about, fucking rife with them, anyone got any recommends? I'm down to one guinea fowl.. foxes are nailing it this year.

PopDown. To harshly add comment to your good Googling, Australia has NO true roses at all.
No Rosa sp. at all

Rose history, the original rose was a very prickly, sprawling ground cover covered in thorns to prevent herbivory and to piss us off and prick us 100-1000’s years later, not sure of the age scale, never really interested in roses except buying one or a bunch in the prospect that I might get laid.

Todays Tea Hybrids etc and cultivars ( cultivated varieties) are in the 1000’s, one thing change we bred the bushier ground cover ones into small shrubs and then after centuries got them to upright plants of today, of course ground cover versions still exist but it’s the former that are mostly planted. AW

basesix wrote:

you're an inspiration to us all, AW. Speaking of common names, I've been tweezering ticks out of the ears of sleepy/stumpy/shingleback lizards today.. they're out and about, fucking rife with them, anyone got any recommends? I'm down to one guinea fowl.. foxes are nailing it this year.

Basesix. Off topic, I think I’ve told you before, I do love you pictorial moniker it’s so biological and you of course.

Well I went to one of our sheds today, pulled out the ride-on mower. Big juicy fat female baking in the son underneath one of the polycarbonate sheets above, I did notice she had a tick either side of her vents like it was some new reptilian fashionista set of earrings, impossible to catch her, shes so quick on the retreat. I’ve been told it’s about smothering the ticks breathing apparatus, where the hell am I going to see that let alone operate at such a miniscule focal range. I’ve got the full dissecting kit, done it before with tick tweezers, my son gets here Boxing Day from Europe, I will make it a mission. All the rain of late has not helped, what was parched a month ago is now like Anne of Green Gables residence. Good chatting.AW.

seeds wrote:

Alfred I said above West of Alice Springs. Incorrect. Next photo in series is Emily Gap in East McDonnell Ranges. Same day taken half hour before so somewhere between Alice and Emily in East McDonnell Ranges but as Emily gap would have been our first stop on day trip I’d say there. Not gap itself but around car park area

Seeds. Cheers, great part of the world. I don’t know about you, but every time I venture somewhere I see new stuff, always going home with a full show bag. The best. AW

AW

On genus U are the genius and take your advice .
I will just remember One Commonly Common Named Plant then - Ozzy Rose .

Carolus Linnaeus sounds smart as I like when things don't confused in interpenetration between countries . Languages , especially Latin , are gobblygooglegoop imho .

I think I heard that someone ( UN ?) has chosen someone to nicely speak to aliens in the Periodic Tables quantum stuff ( not me ) , language ( first , as might become boring , we just need an ice breaker and French sounds cooler and no one gets our lingo or sense of humor imo .

As rocks and gold and Metals are the same Out There ( nearly wrote O/S ) , they at least will have something in Common to chat about haha

Aliens would have travelled a fair way to get here and probably don't like leaving empty handed . They are smart and won't want our Gold , useless and heavy !