Botany Nerds Ahoy
No NSW. Not messmate.
Alfred, it’s at high altitude but not alpine
seeds wrote:Alfred, it’s at high altitude but not alpine
Seeds. Hi , beautiful photos and landscape. I’ll have a crack tonight when I get home to try and determine where. AW
Seeds, looks like Point Lookout type landscape?
Re the lyrebird discussion, crank this recording up loud, hit play and close your eyes…..
https://wildambience.com/albums/flute-lyrebirds-of-the-werrikimbe-wilder...
Yes Distracted. Any idea on the trees? I know you’ll know. Here’s a direct link to those beautiful Lyrebird’s song
Is that Bell birds in the background at the start? Shit it’s alive as it goes on. Great to just listen without eyes darting in the bush if you were there.
An amusing take on bird intelligence, particularly crows.
He's no David Attenborough, but his style is entertaining.
"VelocityJohnno. Hi mate. Currawongs, we love them, some birds, they hate them.
Ripping observations, I dont think I can recall anybody I’ve dealt with or know who has or is currently giving a running, valuable commentary on fledgling Currawongs, it’s awesome.
It’s almost like ‘population biology’ analyses you’d do at a university.
The sheer fact you can recall who’s who in the zoo is admirable.
Yourselves and your kids must be loving it.
When you get the chance and have the time, please let me know the total number of birds, and what numbers and sexes are from which parents. It’s fascinating, so much to learn, even from just the few birds that frequent your locale.
They must love your habitat, be it natural or contrived.
Thoroughly enjoyed and have read more since about the Solar Flares stuff you wrote, from what I already understand, you were pretty close to spot on correct. Good stuff VJ. AW."
Hi Alfred, yes I think in time it is going to be realised that everything is electro-magnetically/electrically connected. They'll get there eventually. One piece of evidence at a time...
OK Currawongs - an even madder afternoon. We had a young currawong party on the lawn. Our two young ones, let's call them Star (the star pupil, a boy, the fastest grower and learner) and Fluff (the baby girl, late to develop, still got the grey feathers around the head, didn't know if she would live but she's a trooper) bought their mates over. There's a male and a female. You can tell the females are they are a bit more grey on the belly and a bit smaller.
The new girl brought her mum over - seemed unpeturbed by us, to check out the yard. The new boy and girl have more developed eyes and demeanour, so maybe they are a little bit older than our ones. All the young ones seem to get on OK.
You can tell individuals by their white marks on the tail and wing feathers, each are individual. The new mum has 3 spots of white in her mid feather area, quite distinct.
All the babies are growing up fast, and their eyes are turning more yellow, from the early black colour. The black is magic for hiding, you could be looking at Fluff in a tree and not see her when she was really little. She fell out of the nest when very young and was running around like a little chickenhawk and we thought she was toast, but we encouraged her toward a medium sized bush and she eventually climbed up high enough to be safe. The parents went berko when we got near her, then kind of understood and backed off. Then there was a couple of days when we thought they would abandon her, but the mum decided to keep feeding her. She had a great will to live. Star was meanwhile flying from limb to limb and beginning to go between trees with his dad. Fluff was a long way off that and we wondered if she would fly. But about a week after her bro, we saw her takeoff and fly to the next tree and knew she would be ok.
Their mum is a good hunter - a few times we've seen her with a mouse caught by the nape of its neck, with the kids in tow. Mum is a bit more reserved. Their dad is the neighbourhood troll - he's the one who years ago sharted pyramids of purple berries on my wetsuits. I reckon he's a bit older than the mum, he's way bigger. He's a total hoarder, he'll take food to various locations to save for later. I can tell it's him as I remember the feather markings. Kind of nice to know he's still around.
Currawongs are hands off parents. They pushed the kids to be more independent early. We thought that a bit cruel, but we now understand they socialise the young birds early, and encourage these young groups to develop together. Most times there's a parent nearby to send out the loud warning/battle call if the magpies or any other birds get close. In this way the parents seem to be pooling their resources, freeing up most adult birds. Apparently they only parent for about 5 months.
Anyway we're enjoying watching the young ones grow up. The magpies still visit, and they will send the young currawongs off, but it's nothing like the warfare that was going on in breeding season with the parents. Our maggies must have had new competitor magpies move in over summer as Mr Magpie looked really ragged and we saw some epic aerial duels. He's getting better. I hope the maggies get to raise chicks next season, their family down the road did this year.
Got a ripping birdbath set up in the front yard here AW. It's the centre of all morning and evening bird activity. Centre stage of the veggie patch. They come from far and wide. Rosellas, 28s,, Maggies, Finches, Blue Wrens.
Extremely enjoyable entertainment kicking back and watching them frolic in the late arvo light and slowly cooling air.
I'm a slave to them though.....as soon as the bath looks even remotely low, i'm out there topping it up. haha.
Song birds can learn their songs whilst still developing in the egg. Researchers have swapped quite immature eggs from one nest to another and found the birds that hatch sung the quite intricate song of the original mother. Human babies also pick up a lot whilst in the womb -spoken tone, mood, language rhythm, music etc - setting the tone of their future life to some degree.
Their research has also shown that the bird signing of the sophisticated song birds goes well beyond the usual reasons of survival, territory protection, attracting mates etc. to the point where it can only be that they enjoy the creativity and performance.
Their brains are small but very densely wired with neurons. Space efficient. Smart.
That’s amazing about the egg experiment.
I read that VJ saw birds swimming in a dam .
Above is a bird bath .
Humans can give native animals a bath and a drink .
Not a little bit of food ?
Some fruit ?
Why one , and not the other ?
We’ve had some resident ringtails at our place for about a decade on and off… on a few quiet nights I’ve noticed bird sounds that I’m unfamiliar with and also some ruckus that I assumed was maybe cats vs possums…
Your input here AW made me suspect otherwise- especially in times when there doesn’t seem to be the ringtails around. We have old established trees bordering a veranda and I often spied small possums scurrying from one end to the other and launching into branches - maybe some gliders too, not really sure.
Just around Xmas a powerful owl took position scouting the backyard in a way I could only describe as a boss being on watch…. Clear night, fullish moon… I was pretty astounded to spot it as I investigated a weird faint repetitive low volume call… no possum activity at all since, I’m intrigued now - not sure if the owls stick around but I’m hoping it returns, or has taken up residence…
Not sure I would have had this rare encounter if I hadn’t read some stuff on this thread… so cheers.
The photo three down on the right makes sense - had not much idea bout these majestic birds and now I’m fascinated… not thrilled with the possible killing aspect of things, but killing for food is a necessity, not just something ‘interesting’ ;)
AW, I see you as a powerful owl of sorts - when it comes to interesting things…
AlfredWallace wrote:seeds wrote:Alfred, it’s at high altitude but not alpine
Seeds. Hi , beautiful photos and landscape. I’ll have a crack tonight when I get home to try and determine where. AW
Seeds. Hi. Is it Gibraltar Range in NSW ?
Jelly Flater wrote:We’ve had some resident ringtails at our place for about a decade on and off… on a few quiet nights I’ve noticed bird sounds that I’m unfamiliar with and also some ruckus that I assumed was maybe cats vs possums…
Your input here AW made me suspect otherwise- especially in times when there doesn’t seem to be the ringtails around. We have old established trees bordering a veranda and I often spied small possums scurrying from one end to the other and launching into branches - maybe some gliders too, not really sure.
Just around Xmas a powerful owl took position scouting the backyard in a way I could only describe as a boss being on watch…. Clear night, fullish moon… I was pretty astounded to spot it as I investigated a weird faint repetitive low volume call… no possum activity at all since, I’m intrigued now - not sure if the owls stick around but I’m hoping it returns, or has taken up residence…
Not sure I would have had this rare encounter if I hadn’t read some stuff on this thread… so cheers.
The photo three down on the right makes sense - had not much idea bout these majestic birds and now I’m fascinated… not thrilled with the possible killing aspect of things, but killing for food is a necessity, not just something ‘interesting’ ;)
AW, I see you as a powerful owl of sorts - when it comes to interesting things…
JellyFlater. I’ve just turned the dial down to ‘mood’ this evening.
Geez they’re a rowdy lot over at that other station. (JF, B6, VJ, SR, PD, W24, AW, GS, TS, A12, OptOut, GF, AMAC, SEEDS, DIST etc)
Good vibes at your place.
Powerful Owls love possums, especially Ring-tailed. They are very unassuming birds, more often than not they are present at yours or mine for days, weeks, months without us even knowing they are present.
Excellent clandestine planners and hunters.
They let out two shallow hoots, as do many other owls, but a Powerful Owl call is very recognisable.
They perch themselves as close to their prey as possible, remaining motionless and just survey the area and wait for an opportunity..GuySmiley mentioned last night, the silent flight movement, a great tool so as to be less detectable when they do decide to move to another tree or branch.
From personal observations, they will often perch in a tree that has lower branches with girth similar to the bird, an act of rock solid camouflage .
I used to have 10 acres of virgin, never cleared , Messmate woodland up behind the Anglesea Heath off the Great Ocean Road.
At night, the tree tops abounded with life, Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps), movement of both Brushtail and Ring-Tailed Possums.
The latter possums formed a little colony of from memory 22 individuals.
Something I’d never heard before was that when they exhibited colonial behaviour, they actually had a feint little whistle.
I’ve never heard that call from an individual animal.
Powerful Owls were present, simply because the possums were there.
One Easter, around the fire with about 20 friends, through dim light. I looked at a very old Messmate Eucalyptus obliqua ( very first Eucalyptus sp. described) that was close to our congregation, I looked into the tree thinking I don’t remember a branch like that in that position. A female Powerful Owl was within 6m of us and nobody noticed at all.
The bird was there for a curious circumstance. See, on the branch, hanging was our solar shower bag.
Over the Summer I made a 1m2 pad of decking to stand below the shower.
On the decking was a basic cake of soap, directly below the owl.
Didn’t take long to work out what was going on.
Crap, basic soap is made from animal fats and sodium hydroxide .
The soap attracted the odd rat, the Owl spied it from above and that’s why the owl was there. Gotta love the biological world. AW
frog wrote:Song birds can learn their songs whilst still developing in the egg. Researchers have swapped quite immature eggs from one nest to another and found the birds that hatch sung the quite intricate song of the original mother. Human babies also pick up a lot whilst in the womb -spoken tone, mood, language rhythm, music etc - setting the tone of their future life to some degree.
Their research has also shown that the bird signing of the sophisticated song birds goes well beyond the usual reasons of survival, territory protection, attracting mates etc. to the point where it can only be that they enjoy the creativity and performance.
Their brains are small but very densely wired with neurons. Space efficient. Smart.
Frog. Hi mate. Great write up there,, thanks for highlighting another great element of bird life, and human life as well. Never a dull moment in the biological world. It’s simply fascinating.AW
AlfredWallace wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:seeds wrote:Alfred, it’s at high altitude but not alpine
Seeds. Hi , beautiful photos and landscape. I’ll have a crack tonight when I get home to try and determine where. AW
Seeds. Hi. Is it Gibraltar Range in NSW ?
Close Alfred. Just south of there at Point Lookout, New England National Park out of Ebor. Point Lookout is at an elevation of over 1500 metres.
Pop Down wrote:I read that VJ saw birds swimming in a dam .
Above is a bird bath .
Humans can give native animals a bath and a drink .
Not a little bit of food ?
Some fruit ?
Why one , and not the other ?
PopDown. Hi mate, you’re a good guy, always up for a chat.
You’re ’Top of The Pops’
Bloody good question. Why is it not good to feed birds but ok to top up bird baths ?
Birds can obtain water from several sources, like us in a sense, liquid down the gullet or absorbed from fruits and other food items, they even obtain water from wet grassy mornings, droplets on spider webs, anything that can gather condensation.
Rarely do you see birds squabbling over water.
On my recent trip heading south from Cairns to Victoria, i was the only person in Idalia National Park near Blackall, according to the two rangers.
I set up camp at Monks Tank, an old historical dam once belonging to a mustering company late 1800.s
Tank was the name given to large man made bodies of water where stock survived and were prepared for sale.
At this location, which previously I’d heard about from the ‘ bird grapevine’ was a daily congregation of that many species of birds needing water, it was like the Alfred Hitchcock movie ‘Birds.’
Thousands of birds, many different species continually visited the water body from dusk to dawn. I filled my thermos with tea, sat in a single deck chair in 40c temp, armed with binoculars and just watched the greatest show on earth. Every 45 minutes I’d need a swim due to how hot it was, it didn’t deter any birds.
It was a continual interchange of species all day, I was in disbelief as to what was going down within 10m of the waters edge.
Bird species observed over three very hot days, but worth it.
Spotted Bowebirds including two bowers right near my vehicle camp.
Leaden Flycatcher
Pied Currawongs
Willie Wagtail
Australasian Grebe
Double Bar Finch
White Plumed Honeyeater
Striped Honeyeater
Brown Headed Honeyeater
Brown Treecreeper
Crimson Chats
Collared Sparrowhawk
Rainbow Bee-eater
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
Dusky Woodswallow
Boobook Owl (nocturnal)
Australian Owlet Nightjar (nocturnal)
Australian Raven
Laughing Kookaburra
Bar Shoulderd Dove
Grey Shrike Thrush
Australian Ringneck Parrot ssp. barnardi
Pacific Swift
Common Bronzewing Pigeon
Noisy Friarbird
Pied Butcherbird
Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike
Sacred Kingfisher
Apostlebirds
Grey Fantail ssp.alisteri
Singing Honeyeater
Whistling Kite
Peaceful Dove
Restless Flycatcher
Grey Teal
White Breasted Woodswallow
AW
seeds wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:seeds wrote:Alfred, it’s at high altitude but not alpine
Seeds. Hi , beautiful photos and landscape. I’ll have a crack tonight when I get home to try and determine where. AW
Seeds. Hi. Is it Gibraltar Range in NSW ?
Close Alfred. Just south of there at Point Lookout, New England National Park out of Ebor. Point Lookout is at an elevation of over 1500 metres.
Seeds. Hi and thanks, I’ve not been there previously but will put it on my list. Cheers.AW
Those ancient trees grow at elevation at the high points on the eastern parts of the escarpments up into Gold Coast hinterlands. Also further south I believe and other countries that were part of Gondwana. You know them they’re no secret. Lovely to walk amongst them.
seeds wrote:Those ancient trees grow at elevation at the high points on the eastern parts of the escarpments up into Gold Coast hinterlands. Also further south I believe and other countries that were part of Gondwana. You know them they’re no secret. Lovely to walk amongst them.
Seeds. We are very fortunate to still have areas like you’ve described, albeit they only exist and survive because they are at altitude, bit hard back in the day to clear those areas due to its topography.
Luckily, relictual ancestral species from Gondwanan times still have a stronghold. AW
Seeds, cheers for the revised link, it’s a magical sound . That’s a Yellow Robin in the background initially.
Wasn’t sure of your tree ID initially but from your later discussion there can be no doubt…… the awesome Antarctic Beech, nothofagus moorei?!
Yes Distracted. Correct.
ps. I’ve given your clip a few run throughs. It’s very relaxing.
seeds wrote:Yes Distracted. Correct.
ps. I’ve given your clip a few run throughs. It’s very relaxing.
Seeds. Hello . In the Otway Ranges down our coast, we have some great stands of Nothofagus cunninghamii Myrtle Beech. Spectacular late Autumn and Winter, strange sight seeing yellow/ red foliage in an otherwise green landscape. AW
Alfred why do they call them Myrtle Beech when they aren’t Myrtaceae?
AW where would one go to see the Myrtle here? I miss them from Tassie. Out in the Tarkine we were under a great canopy of them not far from a stream and there were all these little land crabs living on the forest floor...
seeds wrote:Alfred why do they call them Myrtle Beech when they aren’t Myrtaceae?
Seeds . Hi. Good question.
Most of us who know and love the biodiversity of the family Myrtaceae don’t realise that the name is taken from the type genus, Myrtus.
Myrtus communis is a plant of the Mediterranean basin, North Africa, Indian subcontinent and other parts of cool air Asia.
It’s well worth looking at this plant, has the ‘showy stamens’ something we associate with Myrtaceae floristics, there are exceptions, Leptospermum and others who don’t have ‘showy stamens’.
The foliage of Myrtle Beech is just in name, it does look a bit like the aforementioned plant and others from South America, like Temu lemu apiculata or also called Luma apiculata, Chilean Myrtle. AW
velocityjohnno wrote:AW where would one go to see the Myrtle here? I miss them from Tassie. Out in the Tarkine we were under a great canopy of them not far from a stream and there were all these little land crabs living on the forest floor...
VJ. Hi mate. Thanks for that great wrap up and information about your avian families, Currawongs, Magpies etc. Good reading and thanks for taking the time.
In the Otways, I’ve been several times. Go to The Otway Fly.
Its well done, similar to the tree top walk in Denmark/Walpole are SW, WA
Late Autumn and Winter you walk on suspended swing walkways ascending up into the trees. You get a full appreciation of the kaleidoscope of Autumnal colour, which is kind of weird to see and say with reference to Australian flora.
The colours are simply the result of photosynthesis ceasing, so no chlorophyll present, and the return of all other valuable chemical elements that flow back into the vascular systems to be stored, just like in exotic deciduous trees.
It’s well worth a visit, kids love it , it’s cold and wet, but that’s what those relictual Gondwanan forests love, isolation and that type of climate.
For those who are interested Gondwana or Gondwanan is not an Australia, NZ or South American derived name, it’s taken from the Gonds in India who are relatives of an ancient linguistics group. AW
southernraw wrote:Got a ripping birdbath set up in the front yard here AW. It's the centre of all morning and evening bird activity. Centre stage of the veggie patch. They come from far and wide. Rosellas, 28s,, Maggies, Finches, Blue Wrens.
Extremely enjoyable entertainment kicking back and watching them frolic in the late arvo light and slowly cooling air.
I'm a slave to them though.....as soon as the bath looks even remotely low, i'm out there topping it up. haha.
Southernraw. How good is that, watching birds activities all day is a joy and a learning curve. I do the same. 22 years ago, I hit a house warming present from a mate. A large bluestone pitcher, he’d dropped a diamond blade demolition saw in the guts and carve out the best water bowl for birds, I , like you are constantly topping it up, we do it because we love the joy of seeing individual or group bird visits, which gives us the time to observe and learn. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:From recent travels. 100km north of Griffith, NSW.
A bit of cleaning up the house.
Dodonaea viscosa. Hop Bush. As several sub species throughout Australia. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:
More house cleaning. Goodenia ovata. Hop Bush. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:Photos taken today in Victoria, the plant is not an eastern seaboarder.AW
More cleaning out the house. This is a native of WA. Eucalyptus forrestiana Fuchsia Gum.
I posted this because it provides a bit of historical context to early tree planting in SE Australia especially in rural/farmland areas.
Late 60’s, early 70’s society and land carers, farmers began to learn that planting trees for wind reduction , stock protection was somewhat important.
Most farmers for example, ( this photo is from a fence line planting strip near me).
Early seed supply was from Forestry Commissions and the bulk collection of local native flora hadn’t quite taken off .
Farmers purchased seed but not a lot was available, as it was spared for forestry.
This is where mail order seed businesses came to the fore.
One large organisation was Nindethana Seed supply out of WA.
Many established or poorly established plantings in farm communities around here, contain all WA species, many a failure, many now problematic weeds.
The Fuchsia Gum photo was taken up the road amongst, Hakea francisiana, Hakea suaveolens, Eucalyptus salubris, Acacia saligna and so on.
For the time these trees have been in the ground, they are nothing compared to local native flora planted two decades later.
Plant species providenced to the area is the the only way to grow and have success when starting from seed or or tube stock.
Twenty years ago I collected seed from around here, my trees are 60-80ft high compared to trees grown from seed sourced from WA are still 20ft high after 40-50 years.
Think local, plant local, encourage biodiversity to your back door. AW
velocityjohnno wrote:AW where would one go to see the Myrtle here? I miss them from Tassie. Out in the Tarkine we were under a great canopy of them not far from a stream and there were all these little land crabs living on the forest floor...
VJ. At Dismal Swamp, East coast Tassie, I’ve also seen those land crabs, 1000’s of holes everywhere, leading to subsidence in some parts.
Intriguing to say the least. AW
Had an interesting beach walk the other day on the Mid North Coast NSW, with heaps of fruit from the Red Mangrove washed up on the tide line. See the occasional fruit here but not previously in such an abundance, presumably an indication that the East Aus Current is pushing in close. I think they only grow north of about Ballina.
Some of the local beaches are also still awash in red weed (polysiphonia or rhodophyta sp?) following the upwellings in spring, which has been trapped between the headlands and is not dispersing. The weed has been here so long it appears to have killed the barnacles on the rocks, presumably clogging the filter feeding membranes.
image url
I’m up at my olds place. I’ve always been impressed by this tree.
Distracted wrote:Had an interesting beach walk the other day on the Mid North Coast NSW, with heaps of fruit from the Red Mangrove washed up on the tide line. See the occasional fruit here but not previously in such an abundance, presumably an indication that the East Aus Current is pushing in close. I think they only grow north of about Ballina.
Some of the local beaches are also still awash in red weed (polysiphonia or rhodophyta sp?) following the upwellings in spring, which has been trapped between the headlands and is not dispersing. The weed has been here so long it appears to have killed the barnacles on the rocks, presumably clogging the filter feeding membranes.
image url
Hi Distracted
How can you tell that the barnacles are dead?
Seeds, bit hard on the phone but if you zoom in, the shells are empty. The pale coloured rings are where some of the shells have already fallen off.
Distracted wrote:Seeds, bit hard on the phone but if you zoom in, the shells are empty. The pale coloured rings are where some of the shells have already fallen off.
Distracted, Seeds. Hi to you both.
Nice shots and explanation of what’s occurred in that location.
Out of interest, here is an excellent book I’ve got my head buried in at present.
A very fine publication, concise, accurate and easy to learn from. AW
seeds wrote:I’m up at my olds place. I’ve always been impressed by this tree.
Seeds. Eucalyptus platypylla. Poplar Gum ?. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:seeds wrote:I’m up at my olds place. I’ve always been impressed by this tree.
Seeds. Eucalyptus platypylla. Poplar Gum ?. AW
Excuse my spelling. platyphylla.
Distracted wrote:Seeds, bit hard on the phone but if you zoom in, the shells are empty. The pale coloured rings are where some of the shells have already fallen off.
Yes okay
I saw plenty have fallen off. I get it now.
Thanks Alfred. There’s plenty around here. This one and another are on the property. Always look majestic whether wet or dry season.
Tiny gum nuts also.
Edit. I’ve got no idea Alfred
Edit too. Alligator Creek just south of Townsville
Edit three. Different angle of the dangle
seeds wrote:Thanks Alfred. There’s plenty around here. This one and another are on the property. Always look majestic whether wet or dry season.
Tiny gum nuts also.
Edit. I’ve got no idea Alfred
Edit too. Alligator Creek just south of Townsville
Edit three. Different angle of the dangle
Seeds. I’m confused. At 5.08pm I gave you the name, if that’s what you’re referring to. Good stuff. AW
Sorry Alfred. You did add a ? So I was just confirming I didn’t know.
seeds wrote:Sorry Alfred. You did add a ? So I was just confirming I didn’t know.
Seeds. Apologies, long day. Bloody beautiful trees.
I stayed (free camped) at Alligator Creek in May last year en route to Cairns, some great plant and bird life around there, I found the weather very enjoyable. AW
Off for a swim there tomorrow.
I’m finding the weather this time of year deplorable up here as always. Unfortunately, as per Craig’s article, it was more deplorable at home last night.
seeds wrote:Off for a swim there tomorrow.
I’m finding the weather this time of year deplorable up here as always. Unfortunately, as per Craig’s article, it was more deplorable at home last night.
Enjoy. I’m out of batteries, I’m no energiser bunny.AW
I’m assuming Platy being Ancient Greek for flat or wide is the reason for the naming of the Platypus. ie. the shape of it’s bill. Is it called a bill?
seeds wrote:I’m assuming Platy being Ancient Greek for flat or wide is the reason for the naming of the Platypus. ie. the shape of it’s bill. Is it called a bill?
Seeds. Evening. Correct, Platy means flat. The other diagnostic feature that stood out from the photos from your folks place of that magnificent tree and trees was , soon as I saw the shape of those leaves it reminded me of an exotic, Poplars. the genus Populus sp.. Colder areas of Oz, especially down here, many varieties are seen, particularly where there is plenty of space to grow.
Getting back to the term ‘ platy’ , in a geological context or just basic soil structure,
two elements like aluminium and silicon are regarded as also being ‘Platy’ minerals, flat when you look at their individual crystallography especially at the molecular level and their structures.
Inadvertently this is why clays react the way they do.
When wet, water gets in between the two Platy layers (lamina) of aluminium and silicon forming a very strong cohesive bond with high surface tension, clays then expand, people dig clays, they find them very sticky after lots of rain or irrigation, can’t get the stuff of my spade some say.
Converse to that , when it’s very dry or we have droughts, clay’s become has hard as rock in some cases because the water that’s normally bonding the layer between aluminium and silicon has almost disappeared, the shrinking and retraction of the molecular structure pulls the clay in tighter and forms a very cohesive bond that’s hard to dig. Soils, we dig ‘em, yes. AW
Hi AW, does your new book include floating algae?
Curious for an ID on this infamous ‘red weed’. Hopefully there is enough detail in the image.
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.