Botany Nerds Ahoy
freeride76 wrote:Not sure what that is AW, but I recognise the general morphology from observations of plants up here.
Freeride76. Hi mate. I’ve enjoyed your writings over the last few days regarding WSL. I think you are the only logical person going, CEO is up for grabs !!!!!
The plant is Senna artemisioides Senna, Silver Senna etc.
(Artemis sp is the genus for Wormwood, silver- grey, aromatic, and a source for making flea powder, the suffix oides, means ‘of or like’)
Therefore, the species name means foliage of or like a plant from the genus Artemis sp.
Once part of the Caesalpiniaceae family, very closely related to all the other pea plants. Now placed back in Fabaceae and remains in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae.
A brilliant plant for hot dry, moist to wet, very durable and spectacular to 1.2mx1.2m. The coppery coloured seed follicle (pod) looks great also.
As with many silver foliaged plants Senna sp., Leucophyta sp. Calaocephalus sp, Convolvulus sp. etc. they are very useful in landscape design . We used silver plants as contrasts but often used them intermittently along paths to the door because they are are excellent at illuminating what ever light exists at night, especially from the moon.
Geez i can rabbit on, hey Warren wait for me. AW
I planted wormwood in the garden bed to use as bedding for the chook pens to control chicken mites.
Was really surprised at how vigourous it is- can barely keep up with it, even cutting it back aggressively.
AlfredWallace wrote:bonza wrote:Costermans is the bible.
I recommend Bennell plants of subtropical eastern australia for those further north this side of the range. Probs a bit low brow for experts like AW but good for mere mortals like me.Bonza. Hi mate. Thanks, i don’t know that book, i will check it out.
If i can’t identify a plant straight up, (pisses me off) i go through a process.
For the tropics, when I’m stuck, I’ll always go to this incredible book,
‘Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest’ by Wendy Cooper (a brilliant botanist in her own right), illustrated by her husband William T. Cooper (deceased), according to David Attenborough the worlds best bird painter and illustrator to ever exist, he’s correct.
Again, if I’m stuck, for the sub-tropics, i simply extrapolate from the plant families i know in the tropics and work my way to an identification.
The beauty with tropical and sub tropical plants is they generally produce some kind of significant fruit (whether its fleshy or woody) that’s attractive to another organism.AW
cheers AW!
AW, leafless cassia /silverbush?
Edit: too late I see
blackers wrote:I used Costerman back in uni days for the botany component of my course. Great to see he is still the go to resource
Blackers. Hi mate, so true.
I’d like to mention 3 very thin, small handbooks, brilliant information.
All written from sheer experience in the field and nursery.
Murray Ralph is the author, they are the go to for seed collection, treatment and germination of most of Australia’s flora. Ive used mine for 20 plus years, totally invaluable for the information contained within.
Many seeds are near on impossible to germinate, well, he’s solved nearly all those issues.
The books have guides as to when to collect seed, how long it remains on the plant, seed coat treatments, seed viability if stored etc. AW
blackers wrote:AW, leafless cassia /silverbush?
Edit: too late I see
Blackers. you are correct. Sorry i announced it a bit early.AW
All good Alfred. What are the names of the Murray Ralph handbooks?
freeride76 wrote:I planted wormwood in the garden bed to use as bedding for the chook pens to control chicken mites.
Was really surprised at how vigourous it is- can barely keep up with it, even cutting it back aggressively.
Freeride76 . Im with you there, great plant for what you are doing, it is vigorous for sure, but bulletproof in all seasons.
Inland of the coast here in farming areas where I live, you can see on the landscape large old retired farms, you know the scene, no house left but there’s the old red brick kitchen oven/fireplace and chimney, half leaning etc.
Theres a slight resemblance as to the previous occupants but nearly always theres a long almost border of Artemis sp. Wormwood parallel to where the front fence and road is. Tough as boots.
A simple vestige of the past, highlighting that nearly all gardens evolved from a ‘cutting’ here or their way back then.
I attended a conference 20 years ago about the evolution and ethnicity of gardens post colonialism, intriguing theme i must say, learnt heaps.
One particular speaker reminded the entire congregation that most of the gardens in capital cities today were derived from ‘cuttings’ (asexual reproduction-cloning) nobody had much money, simply when families or neighbours went for a morning or evening stroll, they inadvertently grabbed a small vegetative piece of a desired plant from Tom, Dick, Harry, Phylis or Myrtles gardens and kept on walking.
This process simply started with culinary plants like, (cos Tom Kruze is coming over for roast dinner Sunday night), so people collected Rosemary, Oregano, Sage etc. this went onto ornamentals like lavender and so on.
I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing so many gardens and especially vegetation that grew close to footpaths and roads was there for the taking, albeit a tiny piece. Geraniums and Pelargoniums were spread in the same manner and still are . AW
blackers wrote:All good Alfred. What are the names of the Murray Ralph handbooks?
Blackers. I cant get to mine at present, in a box in a shipping container.
From memory
‘Seed Collection of Australian Native Plants: For Revegetation, Tree Planting & Direct Seeding’
‘Growing Australian Native Plants from Seeds’
‘Germination of Local Native Seeds’
I think the first two books are still available to buy, not sure of the third one.
At the time they were $10, so cheap for the 25 years of Murrays know how.
Ive just checked on-line first two are available for around $25 ea.
They were my little propagation plant bibles AW
Re: cuttings.
I bought a really nice leafy green from the market last summer (Okinawan spinach), a sub-tropical perennial.
I asked the farmer where I could get some, and he said, just stick some of it in the ground and it will take.
Which I did, and it duly took root.
Really nice plant for eating. Had to fence it because the ducks and chickens also loved eating it.
Hahahaha! I wonder! But just another quick one for now AW, I’ve got some reconnaissance to do for the evening session. However. And like I said, I wonder. I honestly do.
‘I’d be very interested to hear about the seed collection and the species you targeted and whether they were manually or mechanically obtained.‘
‘Emu Bush was so named because Emus and other birds eat the hard seeds, they enter the digestive system, gastric acids help break down the seed coat (testa) and when the seed hits the ground its primed and ready to germinate in suitable conditions.’
‘The beauty with tropical and sub tropical plants is they generally produce some kind of significant fruit (whether its fleshy or woody) that’s attractive to another organism.AW‘
I love it! It seems that the answers are appearing before our eyes. I wonder AW!
Tricks for young players. A simple looking shit can reveal much to a forensic specialist. One of the, endless I might add, joys of setting up ‘bird baths’.
Nunga style. How can you gather as many specific types of seeds as possible, prepared in absolutely the ultimate state for the best shot at life, in the most economically viable way possible, for free. So that you can truly be inclusive, and include family, nature, surfing your brains out, and the freedom to relax, ponder, daydream and wonder.
They do some big shits those big birds! And they’ve got a hearty appetite! See something you like? Coastal heath for instance? Nitre bush? Quandongs? The list is huge. Follow the trail! That’s a nice mix, all the different sizes, rates of growth (‘tree guards’, ‘erosion control’, plus compost’ ‘fertilizer’, etc), included for free too.
Jeeze! You look like you’ve been grazing in a good paddock mate! Follow the trail… well, well, well, whoda thunk it, what have we got here! A literal forest, and no weeds (just keep that weed thingy in mind will ya).
Shit everywhere! Remember though, Nunga style. Leave enough, take enough. Inclusive, reciprocity, respect.
Fuckin’ hell, some big bags a shit ya got there bud! Fuckin’ hell huge bloody nuggets too! I’m heading down the dump, chuck ‘em in the trailer with all that other… ‘shit’!
‘She’s right mate.’
‘Fucking hell where did all that come from, there was nuthin’ there before, looks like a bloody forest!’
Emu ‘shit’. Big little pyramids of life.
That’s one ‘avenue’ covered.
And just quickly. Might as well chuck another seed in the mix.
https://www.nokomis.com.au/product/new-books/general-new-books/australia...
True wisdom is universal. Costermans tapped into it, saturated himself with it. Its ageless. That would have been an epic experience that you shared with him AW.
Indigenous Australian Cultures have no word for ‘time’. Past, present, future. They use the words, the concepts now to try and include ‘us’. Dreaming. Its all connected, all one, all inclusive. The ‘information’, the ‘communication’, the ‘language’ of life, the miracle is all there. ‘Dead’ or ‘alive’. ‘Qantum’… its a ‘breakthrough’ apparently.
‘Yay we discovered it first again! Erect another statue!’
Oops nearly forgot. Remember that ‘weed thingy’? I watched friends slave their guts out clearing a huge patch for their lavender farm. Then the trailers full of ‘compost’ and ‘fertilizer’ rolled up.
‘Shes a nicely brewed mix a’ sheep shit, horse shit, cow shit, pig shit and chook shit, you name it… not too much… and work in well! Ya blood lavenders will love it!’
I tried to warn them.
‘Couple win Guiness book of Records World Record. ‘Guarranteed winners for next 10 years at least! ‘Most species of weeds grown in worlds heaviest density, and in record time!’
‘She’ll be right, roll up ya sleeves, cancel the cricket, we’ll have another bloody workin’ bee! Start the ring around, I’ll bring the keg!’
Give Indigenous Australians a voice, please, deep down its ours anyway.
‘Don’t cut ya tongue off to spite ya… who was it said that?’
Deluxe
Bud1 wrote:Hahahaha! I wonder! But just another quick one for now AW, I’ve got some reconnaissance to do for the evening session. However. And like I said, I wonder. I honestly do.
‘I’d be very interested to hear about the seed collection and the species you targeted and whether they were manually or mechanically obtained.‘
‘Emu Bush was so named because Emus and other birds eat the hard seeds, they enter the digestive system, gastric acids help break down the seed coat (testa) and when the seed hits the ground its primed and ready to germinate in suitable conditions.’
‘The beauty with tropical and sub tropical plants is they generally produce some kind of significant fruit (whether its fleshy or woody) that’s attractive to another organism.AW‘
I love it! It seems that the answers are appearing before our eyes. I wonder AW!
Tricks for young players. A simple looking shit can reveal much to a forensic specialist. One of the, endless I might add, joys of setting up ‘bird baths’.
Nunga style. How can you gather as many specific types of seeds as possible, prepared in absolutely the ultimate state for the best shot at life, in the most economically viable way possible, for free. So that you can truly be inclusive, and include family, nature, surfing your brains out, and the freedom to relax, ponder, daydream and wonder.
They do some big shits those big birds! And they’ve got a hearty appetite! See something you like? Coastal heath for instance? Nitre bush? Quandongs? The list is huge. Follow the trail! That’s a nice mix, all the different sizes, rates of growth (‘tree guards’, ‘erosion control’, plus compost’ ‘fertilizer’, etc), included for free too.
Jeeze! You look like you’ve been grazing in a good paddock mate! Follow the trail… well, well, well, whoda thunk it, what have we got here! A literal forest, and no weeds (just keep that weed thingy in mind will ya).
Shit everywhere! Remember though, Nunga style. Leave enough, take enough. Inclusive, reciprocity, respect.
Fuckin’ hell, some big bags a shit ya got there bud! Fuckin’ hell huge bloody nuggets too! I’m heading down the dump, chuck ‘em in the trailer with all that other… ‘shit’!
‘She’s right mate.’
‘Fucking hell where did all that come from, there was nuthin’ there before, looks like a bloody forest!’
Emu ‘shit’. Big little pyramids of life.
That’s one ‘avenue’ covered.
And just quickly. Might as well chuck another seed in the mix.
https://www.nokomis.com.au/product/new-books/general-new-books/australia...
True wisdom is universal. Costermans tapped into it, saturated himself with it. Its ageless. That would have been an epic experience that you shared with him AW.
Indigenous Australian Cultures have no word for ‘time’. Past, present, future. They use the words, the concepts now to try and include ‘us’. Dreaming. Its all connected, all one, all inclusive. The ‘information’, the ‘communication’, the ‘language’ of life, the miracle is all there. ‘Dead’ or ‘alive’. ‘Qantum’… its a ‘breakthrough’ apparently.
‘Yay we discovered it first again! Erect another statue!’
Oops nearly forgot. Remember that ‘weed thingy’? I watched friends slave their guts out clearing a huge patch for their lavender farm. Then the trailers full of ‘compost’ and ‘fertilizer’ rolled up.
‘Shes a nicely brewed mix a’ sheep shit, horse shit, cow shit, pig shit and chook shit, you name it… not too much… and work in well! Ya blood lavenders will love it!’
I tried to warn them.
‘Couple win Guiness book of Records World Record. ‘Guarranteed winners for next 10 years at least! ‘Most species of weeds grown in worlds heaviest density, and in record time!’
‘She’ll be right, roll up ya sleeves, cancel the cricket, we’ll have another bloody workin’ bee! Start the ring around, I’ll bring the keg!’
Give Indigenous Australians a voice, please, deep down its ours anyway.
‘Don’t cut ya tongue off to spite ya… who was it said that?’
Bud1 . Hi mate. Im very glad you’ve joined this read, especially because it gives us all another geographic perspective of OZ to discuss. Well expressed and i agree with you wholeheartedly.
Indigenous folk, as i stated yesterday, had it all properly wired and sorted.
We just didn’t take enough notice of them and their sustainable practices, a real blight on society that we had those ‘blinkers’ on. Sadly, some Australians are still wearing them.
Your description of Emu shit is spot on. On the Atherton Tableland FNQ, there’s great car stickers with a Southern Cassowary ’backing one out’.
‘IT SAYS MY POO BUILDS RAINFORESTS’ ✅ , cant disagree with that.
Years ago i collected those coral red seeds of a Ghania sp. from emu shit on our property, knowing too well they’d been through the ‘biological wringer’
The majority germinated without problems. Take the time to observe and learn and it’s all there for the taking. AW
freeride76 wrote:Re: cuttings.
I bought a really nice leafy green from the market last summer (Okinawan spinach), a sub-tropical perennial.
I asked the farmer where I could get some, and he said, just stick some of it in the ground and it will take.
Which I did, and it duly took root.
Really nice plant for eating. Had to fence it because the ducks and chickens also loved eating it.
Freeride76 Now ive got Okinawa Spinach envy, ( Gynura crepioides )
Asteraceae family, daisy group, sounds delicious. I bet your chooks love it, humans consume it for aiding the reduction of cholesterol. Good stuff.AW
goofyfoot wrote:Deluxe
Hahahaha, my first thought too as I was reading the post.
basesix wrote:So Frenchy, so good.. southern WA styling...
Escargot & Bordeaux blend = brown snails & Pemberton cab merlot:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-16/retired-police-officers-career-ch...
Basesix. Ooh, La, La monsieur.
I do hope those gastropod pests (Cornu aspersum) are well contained.
Like a lot of early entrepreneurs, all champagne and caviar when business is going great for a few years, can soon turn to Sarsparilla and Samboy Chips for the biological world when a pest jumps the fence so to speak, before you know it we’ve got a problem.
Look at the venison, aquarium, exotic reptiles industries as an example etc they’re now exploiting Australia’s biota.
Pippies, Periwinkles and Mussels are much better alternatives for a tasty feed IMO. AW
Agreed AW. Even free-range-caught, gardeners might love the idea, but what of long-term sustainability? Similar to if we got a carp industry cranking in the Murray.. what happens if they did rid the Murray of the silt-swillers; jobs, machinery, markets.. would an industry let that happen?
No free lunches.
(I was in Rundle St last week, and asked a noodle bar where they got the pipis/cockles from that were on the specials board.. a few gourmet beach-farmers down my way. They looked at the frozen bag and gormlessly informed me 'China')
: P
Illegal to take pipis of the beach here due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
we have a few licenses, Discovery Bay, Coorong, etc.
freeride76 wrote:Illegal to take pipis of the beach here due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
Freeride76. Hi. Didn’t know that, thanks. I wonder if it’s the same for the coasts of Southern Australia , i better find out. AW
An offering for the dusky part of the day. AW
I know it's not but the flowers look like stinking cryptocarya.
freeride76 wrote:I know it's not but the flowers look like stinking cryptocarya.
Freeride76. Hi. Two different families, especially the Lauraceae Family ( one of the oldest plant families, especially containing genera from Europes ancient Laurel forests) that is home to Cryptocarya sp.
The photo is of a well known tree (for the wrong reasons) rainforest plant that inhabits anywhere from East Gippsland and right up the eastern seaboard .
We’ve given it to the world and they don’t want it. Clue is the pattern of the leaf margins and its flowers are fragrant. AW
Thanks blackers, and goofer, thanks heaps too, it worked! So goofer the least I can do is give you a double dose of deluxeness!
And you’ll be even happier to know that the earlier reconnaissance paid off big time, deluxe surf, just a short walk up the beach, now I’m feeling even more deluxe!
That picture was given to me just before I moved here, a guy that runs a little museum had it.
Everyone is so happy in it! Hahahahaha. I am for sure, I couldn’t stop grinning… Johnny Bascomb, the brother of the guy that I replaced on the council, he actually didn’t even want to be in the photo! And when Paech spotted that little tub of quandongs, he lit up like neon red lightbulb, he nearly blew a fuse, his calculator was in overdrive, and he spent all night trying to corner me, for a bit of sly wheeling an’ dealing. Hahaha, I had him shuffling and grimacing and hopping all over the shop! Leading him around like a trained…
However, the story is actually pertinant. I was a councilor and also elected the business enterprise representative, and was already picking quandongs, drying them, and had sold some to boutique restuarants in Adelaide. I had been trying to get the local farmers interested. Paech and the CSIRO, who were also working on trying quandong farming got wind of it and contacted me.
Not long before that, a local farmer had spotted me picking some just out of town. I knew him well, he was one of the people who wanted me in the council, and, ‘quandongs aye, you better head on out to my place young fella’. I would love to take you there AW, on the north side of town, maybe 20 clicks inland. Famous for huge stands of native pines. Stunning, beautiful, huge weeping cherries (Exocarpos sparteus), some rare mallees with bright red branchlets, I knew a few places to get seed from them, sheoaks, some really old redgums, and absolutely mind blowing quandongs, Some of the trees looked like big eucalypts, huge, and some were over 80 years old! Earlier when he invited me, I was telling him about germination procedure, the sealed bags, dark cupboard, vermiculite, anti mould dust method that I’d had a bit of success with. He was grinning from ear to ear.
There were literally thousands of seedlings springing up everywhere we walked, right up to his front door. ‘The bloody things are everywhere!’ There was a beautiful carpet of mulch of leaves, stones, fruit in all stages of decay. And the fruit was that real deep maroon red, completely smooth and shiny type, the thickest flesh I’d seen, close to 1/4 of an inch. Proper quandong rattle, and plenty golf ball size. I was blown away. Virtually no grubs. He put it down to the prolific, very healthy wormwoods everywhere. There was a shed full of crates and sacks of seeds. Mountains of them. So I set up the meeting, invited the farmer and anyone interested and took some fruit.
The CSIRO headed it up, had some fruit and cuttings from the ‘super quandongs’ they were developing, and wanted to entice farmers to graft them. They were at the grow to 8 - 10 feet, around 12 year life span and had passed their ‘super fruits’ around.
‘Ya might wanna hold ya horses there son, have ya got that tub of quandongs there Mike.’
‘Yeh here they are’.
Cue frothing frenzy.
‘They’re from a tree over 80 years old, and over 25 foot high, ya might wanna head back to the drawing board!’
The cuttings ended up in the bin out in front of the town hall. I convinced the farmer to let me bring them out to his place next day, and they left with sacks and sacks of seed. He had many different types of quandong fruit style trees on the property as well. They couldn’t believe the gazzillions of seedlings under foot as they too had broached the ‘germination’ subject. The farmer disappeared and came out of his machinery shed in the front end loader, scooped up a bucket of thick carpet, full of seedings, and dumped in their trailer.
‘If ya can figure out how to kill that lot, ya better than me!’
I did sell fruit to Paech for quite a while, and got a few other people in town onto it, but that’s a whole another saga.
The council organized the photo, and the next council meeting was only a couple of days later. They couldn’t wait to show me the photo. ‘Bloody hell, Mick, they left councilor off! How the hell did that happen!’ The games people play!
AlfredWallace wrote:freeride76 wrote:I know it's not but the flowers look like stinking cryptocarya.
Freeride76. Hi. Two different families, especially the Lauraceae Family ( one of the oldest plant families, especially containing genera from Europes ancient Laurel forests) that is home to Cryptocarya sp.
The photo is of a well known tree (for the wrong reasons) rainforest plant that inhabits anywhere from East Gippsland and right up the eastern seaboard .
We’ve given it to the world and they don’t want it. Clue is the pattern of the leaf margins and its flowers are fragrant. AW
The stinkin sweet pitto
Bud1 wrote:
Which one are you uppy?
goofyfoot wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:freeride76 wrote:I know it's not but the flowers look like stinking cryptocarya.
Freeride76. Hi. Two different families, especially the Lauraceae Family ( one of the oldest plant families, especially containing genera from Europes ancient Laurel forests) that is home to Cryptocarya sp.
The photo is of a well known tree (for the wrong reasons) rainforest plant that inhabits anywhere from East Gippsland and right up the eastern seaboard .
We’ve given it to the world and they don’t want it. Clue is the pattern of the leaf margins and its flowers are fragrant. AWThe stinkin sweet pitto
Goofyfoot. Hi. Correct, you’ve got pretty good id skills. Impressive.
Pittosporum undulatum. Sweet Pittosporum , Pittosporaceae family.
This plant’s seeds are spread by birds .AW
Bud1 wrote:
Bud1. Hi. Is it viable, I’m not sure, I suppose it’s all to do with supply, if you can’t regularly supply customers you’re doomed
The landscape (Eyre) is suitable but you need host trees in the vicinity, after all Santalum sp. are hemiparasitic plants that love to find a host/s within about a 10-15m radius. AW
A plant for the tropical and sub-tropical eastern seaboarders amongst us.AW
I hadn’t finished the post, once I saw the photo worked, I just edited and put the rest of the post in. So here’s even more deluxeness goofer!
Bud1 wrote:
Thanks blackers, and goofer, thanks heaps too, it worked! So goofer the least I can do is give you a double dose of deluxeness!
And you’ll be even happier to know that the earlier reconnaissance paid off big time, deluxe surf, just a short walk up the beach, now I’m feeling even more deluxe!
That picture was given to me just before I moved here, a guy that runs a little museum had it.
Everyone is so happy in it! Hahahahaha. I am for sure, I couldn’t stop grinning… Johnny Bascomb, the brother of the guy that I replaced on the council, he actually didn’t even want to be in the photo! And when Paech spotted that little tub of quandongs, he lit up like neon red lightbulb, he nearly blew a fuse, his calculator was in overdrive, and he spent all night trying to corner me, for a bit of sly wheeling an’ dealing. Hahaha, I had him shuffling and grimacing and hopping all over the shop! Leading him around like a trained…
However, the story is actually pertinant. I was a councilor and also elected the business enterprise representative, and was already picking quandongs, drying them, and had sold some to boutique restuarants in Adelaide. I had been trying to get the local farmers interested. Paech and the CSIRO, who were also working on trying quandong farming got wind of it and contacted me.
Not long before that, a local farmer had spotted me picking some just out of town. I knew him well, he was one of the people who wanted me in the council, and, ‘quandongs aye, you better head on out to my place young fella’. I would love to take you there AW, on the north side of town, maybe 20 clicks inland. Famous for huge stands of native pines. Stunning, beautiful, huge weeping cherries (Exocarpos sparteus), some rare mallees with bright red branchlets, I knew a few places to get seed from them, sheoaks, some really old redgums, and absolutely mind blowing quandongs, Some of the trees looked like big eucalypts, huge, and some were over 80 years old! Earlier when he invited me, I was telling him about germination procedure, the sealed bags, dark cupboard, vermiculite, anti mould dust method that I’d had a bit of success with. He was grinning from ear to ear.
There were literally thousands of seedlings springing up everywhere we walked, right up to his front door. ‘The bloody things are everywhere!’ There was a beautiful carpet of mulch of leaves, stones, fruit in all stages of decay. And the fruit was that real deep maroon red, completely smooth and shiny type, the thickest flesh I’d seen, close to 1/4 of an inch. Proper quandong rattle, and plenty golf ball size. I was blown away. Virtually no grubs. He put it down to the prolific, very healthy wormwoods everywhere. There was a shed full of crates and sacks of seeds. Mountains of them. So I set up the meeting, invited the farmer and anyone interested and took some fruit.
The CSIRO headed it up, had some fruit and cuttings from the ‘super quandongs’ they were developing, and wanted to entice farmers to graft them. They were at the grow to 8 - 10 feet, around 12 year life span stage of their presentation, and had passed their ‘super fruits’ around.
‘Ya might wanna hold ya horses there son, have ya got that tub of quandongs there Mike.’
‘Yeh here they are’.
Cue frothing frenzy.
‘They’re from a tree over 80 years old, and over 25 foot high, ya might wanna head back to the drawing board!’
The cuttings ended up in the bin out in front of the town hall. I convinced the farmer to let me bring them out to his place next day, and they left with sacks and sacks of seed. He had many different types of quandong fruit style trees on the property as well. They couldn’t believe the gazzillions of seedlings under foot as they too had broached the ‘germination’ subject. The farmer disappeared and came out of his machinery shed in the front end loader, scooped up a bucket of thick carpet, full of seedings, and dumped in their trailer.
‘If ya can figure out how to kill that lot, ya better than me!’
I did sell fruit to Paech for quite a while, and got a few other people in town onto it, but that’s a whole another saga.
The council organized the photo, and the next council meeting was only a couple of days later. They couldn’t wait to show me the photo. ‘Bloody hell, Mick, they left councilor off! How the hell did that happen!’ The games people play!
Classic shot MB.
AW, looks like scurvy weed to me (Commelina cyanea).
Bud1 wrote:I hadn’t finished the post, once I saw the photo worked, I just edited and put the rest of the post in. So here’s even more deluxeness goofer!
Bud1 wrote:
Thanks blackers, and goofer, thanks heaps too, it worked! So goofer the least I can do is give you a double dose of deluxeness!
And you’ll be even happier to know that the earlier reconnaissance paid off big time, deluxe surf, just a short walk up the beach, now I’m feeling even more deluxe!
That picture was given to me just before I moved here, a guy that runs a little museum had it.
Everyone is so happy in it! Hahahahaha. I am for sure, I couldn’t stop grinning… Johnny Bascomb, the brother of the guy that I replaced on the council, he actually didn’t even want to be in the photo! And when Paech spotted that little tub of quandongs, he lit up like neon red lightbulb, he nearly blew a fuse, his calculator was in overdrive, and he spent all night trying to corner me, for a bit of sly wheeling an’ dealing. Hahaha, I had him shuffling and grimacing and hopping all over the shop! Leading him around like a trained…
However, the story is actually pertinant. I was a councilor and also elected the business enterprise representative, and was already picking quandongs, drying them, and had sold some to boutique restuarants in Adelaide. I had been trying to get the local farmers interested. Paech and the CSIRO, who were also working on trying quandong farming got wind of it and contacted me.
Not long before that, a local farmer had spotted me picking some just out of town. I knew him well, he was one of the people who wanted me in the council, and, ‘quandongs aye, you better head on out to my place young fella’. I would love to take you there AW, on the north side of town, maybe 20 clicks inland. Famous for huge stands of native pines. Stunning, beautiful, huge weeping cherries (Exocarpos sparteus), some rare mallees with bright red branchlets, I knew a few places to get seed from them, sheoaks, some really old redgums, and absolutely mind blowing quandongs, Some of the trees looked like big eucalypts, huge, and some were over 80 years old! Earlier when he invited me, I was telling him about germination procedure, the sealed bags, dark cupboard, vermiculite, anti mould dust method that I’d had a bit of success with. He was grinning from ear to ear.
There were literally thousands of seedlings springing up everywhere we walked, right up to his front door. ‘The bloody things are everywhere!’ There was a beautiful carpet of mulch of leaves, stones, fruit in all stages of decay. And the fruit was that real deep maroon red, completely smooth and shiny type, the thickest flesh I’d seen, close to 1/4 of an inch. Proper quandong rattle, and plenty golf ball size. I was blown away. Virtually no grubs. He put it down to the prolific, very healthy wormwoods everywhere. There was a shed full of crates and sacks of seeds. Mountains of them. So I set up the meeting, invited the farmer and anyone interested and took some fruit.
The CSIRO headed it up, had some fruit and cuttings from the ‘super quandongs’ they were developing, and wanted to entice farmers to graft them. They were at the grow to 8 - 10 feet, around 12 year life span stage of their presentation, and had passed their ‘super fruits’ around.
‘Ya might wanna hold ya horses there son, have ya got that tub of quandongs there Mike.’
‘Yeh here they are’.
Cue frothing frenzy.
‘They’re from a tree over 80 years old, and over 25 foot high, ya might wanna head back to the drawing board!’
The cuttings ended up in the bin out in front of the town hall. I convinced the farmer to let me bring them out to his place next day, and they left with sacks and sacks of seed. He had many different types of quandong fruit style trees on the property as well. They couldn’t believe the gazzillions of seedlings under foot as they too had broached the ‘germination’ subject. The farmer disappeared and came out of his machinery shed in the front end loader, scooped up a bucket of thick carpet, full of seedings, and dumped in their trailer.
‘If ya can figure out how to kill that lot, ya better than me!’
I did sell fruit to Paech for quite a while, and got a few other people in town onto it, but that’s a whole another saga.
The council organized the photo, and the next council meeting was only a couple of days later. They couldn’t wait to show me the photo. ‘Bloody hell, Mick, they left councilor off! How the hell did that happen!’ The games people play!
Bud1. Hi mate. What an interesting story.
You are or were growing Santalum acuminatum correct ?
Exocarpus came into the discussion also. What context ?
You refer to heaps of native pines, I guess you are referring to Callitris gracilis and Callitris glaucophylla.
The height of some of those Quandongs sounds incredible, id love a photo.
Eyre Peninsula, nice and dry, no wonder you have shitloads of fruit, often.
Nice work Bud1, glad you got a deluxe surf in yesterday..It’s about to go ‘deluxe deluxe’ here in the next 24-48 hours, big bombing low is about to romance us and then drop us like a jilted lover. AW
freeride76 wrote:AW, looks like scurvy weed to me (Commelina cyanea).
Freeride76. Morning. Absolutely correct. I love that blue colour.
Surprisingly, many people I know up your way and further up , think it’s an exotic weed, when in fact it’s a native plant.
Other members of the family Commeliniaceae from other parts of the world are definitely hard to eradicate weeds. Like Tradescantia albiflora Wandering Jew for example, mongrel of things have a very waxy cuticle thus repelling any type of atomised herbicide if that’s your choice of control, not mine.AW.
Yeah it gets confused with wandering jew alot.
I love the little flowers too.
From the West
AlfredWallace wrote:freeride76 wrote:AW, looks like scurvy weed to me (Commelina cyanea).
Freeride76. Morning. Absolutely correct. I love that blue colour.
Surprisingly, many people I know up your way and further up , think it’s an exotic weed, when in fact it’s a native plant.
Other members of the family Commeliniaceae from other parts of the world are definitely hard to eradicate weeds. Like Tradescantia albiflora Wandering Jew for example, mongrel of things have a very waxy cuticle thus repelling any type of atomised herbicide if that’s your choice of control, not mine.AW.
Another plant from the same family. Picked up a very tiny dry almost dead corm/rhizome 100km west of Atherton FNQ many years ago.
I potted it, I never water it, just produces flowers year after year, a true ephemeral.AW
Yeah, I see that one around here, recognise that flower.
freeride76 wrote:Yeah, I see that one around here, recognise that flower.
Freeride76. It’s Murdannia graminea. Pink Murdannia.
It’s so tough it will hide itself for 3/4 of the year then show itself under suitable conditions .AW
A little gem from St.Lawrence Wetlands, Nth.Queensland, Apr2023. AW.
Ah, I know that one - or recognise it.
Hang on.
Snowflake Lilly (NYMPHOIDES indica)
freeride76 wrote:Snowflake Lilly (NYMPHOIDES indica)
Freeride76. Spot on again, kicking arse today, good one. Dead give away is the small flowers often with winged, hairy or fuzzy hairs on petals and flowers held close to foliage.
Great wetland by the way, spent the whole day there on my own, it was brilliant with good bird and plant life.
Here in Victoria we mostly have Nymphoides crenata with citrus yellow flowers.AW
This is great fun AW- most of these plants I have observed and have mental representations of flowers and vegetative processes stored away.
Just not the names.
Thanks for helping my knowledge base expand.
Been a real boon in marine biodiversity here lately with the extreme shallow sandbanks at local points- which has put intertidal organisms right in close.
Saw three species of moray eel the other day coming in, octopus, brittlestars, four species of urchins, rock cod, heaps of molluscs (two cowries!).
It was almost as much fun as the surf.
freeride76 wrote:This is great fun AW- most of these plants I have observed and have mental representations of flowers and vegetative processes stored away.
Just not the names.
Thanks for helping my knowledge base expand.
Been a real boon in marine biodiversity here lately with the extreme shallow sandbanks at local points- which has put intertidal organisms right in close.
Saw three species of moray eel the other day coming in, octopus, brittlestars, four species of urchins, rock cod, heaps of molluscs (two cowries!).
It was almost as much fun as the surf.
AlfredWallace wrote:freeride76 wrote:This is great fun AW- most of these plants I have observed and have mental representations of flowers and vegetative processes stored away.
Just not the names.
Thanks for helping my knowledge base expand.
Been a real boon in marine biodiversity here lately with the extreme shallow sandbanks at local points- which has put intertidal organisms right in close.
Saw three species of moray eel the other day coming in, octopus, brittlestars, four species of urchins, rock cod, heaps of molluscs (two cowries!).
It was almost as much fun as the surf.
Freeride76, you know as well as I do, the cellular/ biological world is amazing, for the short time we are here, I want to know everything about it.
I’m loving your littoral zone and hinterland report’s because you and I and others are at different geographic addresses but the theme is generally the same, all that’s different on many occasions is at the ‘genus & species’ level.
Plant and animal communities operate in the same manner, just with different players depending upon where we all reside.
Botany Nerds Ahoy has and will remain refreshing for me and others, it’s great to revisit learnings of the past and hopefully introduce loads of our subscribers to a whole new world of learning and more importantly, understanding, which in my opinion contributes to people appreciating the biota around them, instead of trashing it. Just my opinion. All the best AW.
May as well keep the show rolling, Here is one from 300km inland due west of Cairns two years ago.AW
udo wrote:https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/safety-beach/nonfiction-books/native-tre...
Udo. Thanks $12, bargain, albeit it’s one of the early versions, 1982, definitely suit someone just starting out, the principles are still the same just a few name changes have taken place. The latest revised addition is a quality bit of work by Leon. AW.
Ah, I think I know that one too AW- at least that flower looks very familiar.
hang on.
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.