Botany Nerds Ahoy
seeds wrote:
ps. 5/10
I’ll take myself to the dunce’s corner.
Seeds. Hi mate. Well, you’re halfway there (to becoming a botany nerd). You know you want more. AW
Some gems from different geographic locations over the last few days.AW
Stereum versicolor
freeride76 wrote:
Nice shots of the whip bird AW- thats not easy!
Freeride76. Hi mate. Hope you’re well.
Well identified. Yep, very hard to ever photograph an Eastern Whipbird, they are very clever at hiding in the meekest amount of foliage. A friend waited patiently with a zoom lens camera and got the pics.
One of our classic anti-phonal birds, we have a few.
Anti-phonal calls involves two birds, us humans hear a Whipbird call and think it’s one bird, when in most cases it’s two. The very rare Night parrots, Superb Fairywrens, Magpie-larks etc. all exhibit the same behaviour .AW
Calling outside my window as we speak.
Only caught eyes on him/her less than a dozen times over a decade.
freeride76 wrote:
Calling outside my window as we speak.
Only caught eyes on him/her less than a dozen times over a decade.
Freeride76. That must be a nice sound as it goes dark at yours.
Do you have Lewin’s Honeyeater’s the machine gun callers ? I’m thinking your altitude may be a little low for them.
I’d be pleased to know if they do occur at your place. That set of photos today had the aforementioned bird amongst them. AW
Yes they are here.
And also in the cottonwood groves behind the point- can hear them when surfing.
do they migrate seasonally from highland to lowland like noisy pittas?
freeride76 wrote:
Yes they are here.
And also in the cottonwood groves behind the point- can hear them when surfing.
do they migrate seasonally from highland to lowland like noisy pittas?
Freeride76. Love cottonwoods . Lewin’s are mostly resident birds. In the north of east coast Australia they have been known to move down to lower/warmer altitudes in Winter. AW
Freeride76.. Hi mate. I think you know what it is !!!
Yes, beautiful fragrance.
Most of this morning ive been reading about Alphintonia sp.
I see Alphintonia petriei in Lennox Head is at its southern latitudinal limit.
Geez, that tree has a lot going on as you’d previously mentioned a week ago. It’s very interesting AW
bonza wrote:
Wonga vine? Pandorea pandorana?
Bonza, Freeride76.. Yes it is. The true type specimen has very pale pink to the outer edges of the white sepals.
The photo i posted is a cultivar. Pandorea pandorana ‘Snow Bells’.
Pandorea pandorana is found in every state of Oz including Flinders island in Bass Strait. It also found in Melanesia including PNG.
Tough plant FNP had many uses.
Anyone prepared to have a crack at how the plant naturally happens to be on Flinders Island ? AW
Land bridge from last Ice Age?
Carried there by people or animals?
freeride76 wrote:
Land bridge from last Ice Age?
Carried there by people or animals?
Freeride76. I knew you’d have the answer. Land bridge last ice age (14,000-20,000 yrs ago)
Of interest, similar scenario.
Across the northern coast and in particular NW coast of Tasmania around the Sisters Beach area, huge stands of very old massive Banksia serrata which we’d normally associate with East coast Oz..
Don’t you love the geological/meteorological processes that can shape organism dispersal. Well, i do. AW
freeride76 wrote:
I recognise that leaf!
FR76 Sorry i haven’t got a photo of its flowers, if i did, you’d know it immediately, pretty spectacular. It’s very popular just south of Sydney.AW
bonza wrote:
Kurrajong?
Bonza. Hi. Very close..Not Kurrajong, leaves are much smaller for that species, but it is the same genus. AW
bonza wrote:
oh lol its a bloody flame tree. my bad
Bonza. Correct. Brachychiton acerfolius. Illawarra Flame Tree. Good stuff. AW
freeride76 wrote:
Hey AW, is this very spiky customer a juvey cabbage palm?
Freeride76. . Looks like one, young plant exhibiting the standard mass spikes for the juvenile phase to prevent herbivory.
Livistona australis - Cabbage Palm
I’d say the only other possibility of a naturally occurring palm in your area would be Archontophoenix cunninghamiana. - Bangalow Palm. AW
freeride76 wrote:
Man those spikes are sharp.
Would definitely prevent herbivory.
FR76. From memory i think there is a chemical in the tips of those hooks that irritate our skin. I’ll do a bit of hunting around to qualify.
Re: Palms. It wont be long, the Palm Detective- Indo will probably have a say. He is very good with palm id.
Alas, i think we both have got it right for this plant. AW
Yep, I had one of the spike tips buried in my thumb, very painful for weeks.
AlfredWallace wrote:
Man those spikes are sharp.Would definitely prevent herbivory.
FR76. From memory i think there is a chemical in the tips of those hooks that irritate our skin. I’ll do a bit of hunting around to qualify.
Re: Palms. It wont be long, the Palm Detective- Indo will probably have a say. He is very good with palm id.
Alas, i think we both have got it right for this plant. AW
Often wondered if there was a chemical or poison involved, there's certainly a particular pain when you get spiked by one of those.
Great bird shots above AW. Off the Southern Highlands next week, will see what I can find.
re the thorns and irritants/poison/chemicals they may contain - I've long thought citrus have something like that going on, particularly the native citrus and most particularly the finger limes. Those thorns really hurt, and really irritate my hands even when just scraping against them, and then if they puncture you, can easily cause deep infection, but maybe its just me
then there is the citrus allergy thing, I'm talking about the contact dermatitis thing, phytophotodermatitis.
GreenJam wrote:
re the thorns and irritants/poison/chemicals they may contain - I've long thought citrus have something like that going on, particularly the native citrus and most particularly the finger limes. Those thorns really hurt, and really irritate my hands even when just scraping against them, and then if they puncture you, can easily cause deep infection, but maybe its just me
then there is the citrus allergy thing, I'm talking about the contact dermatitis thing, phytophotodermatitis.
Greenjam. Hi mate.How’s things?
Citrus definitely have some chemical irritant in their thorns.
If you look at the evolution of all types of plants, it’s fairly obvious that the presence of thorns and any chemical contained within is a deterrent to herbivory.
PLANT TRIVIA
Many other chemical deterrents occur in plants, for example , Eucalyptus sp. the sessile juvenile foliage is normally a grey/green colour.
Cyanogenic compounds are present thus producing the aforementioned colour.
Contained with in the leaves are a Part 1 component and a Part 2 component,, the deterrent is activated when say a macropod begins chewing the low foliage, as soon as the two components are mixed together, a foul taste is formed and the animal pisses off thus allowing the tree to grow to maturation, a complete ‘in house’ defence mechanism.
An easy analogy to understand how this works is to think of the common adhesive Araldite, it comes as a two part kit, one the actual glue and two the catalytic hardener, mixed together the glue rapidly hardens. Same process as mentioned. AW
I remember a rose gardener telling me how most thorny, spikey plants harbour bacteria that cause infections etc.,
So I googled it.
"Thorns, spines and prickles are a common anti-herbivory mechanical defense in thousands of plant species, especially in arid regions.1,2 The unpalatability of thorny plants is associated with aposematism (warning coloration) in thousands of species.3,4 We proposed that the mechanical protection provided by thorns against large herbivores might not be the whole defensive story. By wounding, thorns may introduce bacteria or fungi into herbivores and cause them severe infections that may be much more dangerous and painful than the thorn's physical injury itself. In a recent publication we showed that thorns from Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) and Crataegus aronia (common hawthorn) harbour an array of pathogenic bacteria.5 The bacteria described and other pathogenic organisms including additional bacteria and fungi that inhabit thorns are most likely involved in both deterring and damaging herbivores, and thus may have uniquely contributed to the common evolution of aposematism in thorny plants as an honest defensive signal."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2634350/#:~:text=The%20bac….
My finger limes have started to flower . I'm going to a bit more careful around them now.
tubeshooter wrote:
I remember a rose gardener telling me how most thorny, spikey plants harbour bacteria that cause infections etc.,
So I googled it.
"Thorns, spines and prickles are a common anti-herbivory mechanical defense in thousands of plant species, especially in arid regions.1,2 The unpalatability of thorny plants is associated with aposematism (warning coloration) in thousands of species.3,4 We proposed that the mechanical protection provided by thorns against large herbivores might not be the whole defensive story. By wounding, thorns may introduce bacteria or fungi into herbivores and cause them severe infections that may be much more dangerous and painful than the thorn's physical injury itself. In a recent publication we showed that thorns from Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) and Crataegus aronia (common hawthorn) harbour an array of pathogenic bacteria.5 The bacteria described and other pathogenic organisms including additional bacteria and fungi that inhabit thorns are most likely involved in both deterring and damaging herbivores, and thus may have uniquely contributed to the common evolution of aposematism in thorny plants as an honest defensive signal."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2634350/#:~:text=The%20bac….
My finger limes have started to flower . I'm going to a bit more careful around them now.
Tubeshooter. Hi mate. Thanks, interesting reading. We think we are smart (Humans), but look at the complex processes going on in plants just as an example, wherever there’s a ‘reaction/injury there’s always a remedy’.
Survival!!.AW
Amazing tree. I want to plant one on my block
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/mystery-of-living-fossi…
You're up on the Sunny Coast Seeds? May be a bit warm for that one.
blackers wrote:
Great bird shots above AW. Off the Southern Highlands next week, will see what I can find.
Blackers. Hi. Thanks. Southern Highlands, NSW ? . Look forward to photos and macro shots, enjoy, safe travels.AW
seeds wrote:
Amazing tree. I want to plant one on my block
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/mystery-of-living-fossi…
Seeds. Hi to our founding member. Fully concur with Blackers, tree would suffice if you were at some kind of elevation , not so sure out in the open up where you live. The Wollemi Pine book is a good read, AW
Hi fellas
I have read they can withstand temps up to 45. If planted here in a position that doesn’t get blasted by the hot arvo sun it could be a goer. Only one way to find out.
"Only one way to find out." Totally. Good luck, they are amazing plants.
good on you and good luck seeds. I agree that with a sheltered wetter 'gully type' position it could do ok in our region. Seeing your pic, I'd be concerned about the competitive effect of the bamboo. Did you have to dig through bamboo roots to get that wollemi in the ground? I'd be surprised if not - they spread out their surface roots quite a way and have a substantial drying effect on the surrounding region. I'd think that would extend to the area of your wollemi planting. But I may be wrong? These wollemis do also have a track record of dying (part of the reason the QLD government put an end to its mass propagation and distribution program some years back). But I wish you all the best with your wollemi.
and tubeshooter - yes, do be careful, they will inflict infections. I've found particularly any dead branches, the thorns on them seem the worst, maybe they've accumulated some extra pathogens being dead/dry?
and thanks AW. Confirms my thoughts.
sorry I dont do the photos on here, but my latest 'botany nerd' report is the maccas are once again dripping with flowers. Look and smell amazing, and I'm seeing some good pollination/nut set happening so I am excited, although al the pest battles are yet to come.....
Hi GJ
Sounds great about the maccas.
The Wollemi is substantially uphill from the bamboo. Deceptive photo. No root issues but they do provide the protection from the blasting summer arvo sun.
Fingers crossed. I will plant a couple more. The hoops and bunyas I planted eight or so years ago like the area also.
cool seeds. Uphill of the bamboo and with it providing much shelter sounds good. And did you buy the wollemi locally?
Good to hear re the hoops and bunyas - same here, they thrive in this region. I was just sorting out my nursery last week and have about a dozen bunyas that would love to get in the ground. Just dont have the space for all of them, will squeeze a couple more in, and hopefully entice the new neighbour to stick a few in.
seeds wrote:
Time to find out.
Seeds Hi. Greenjam Hi.
Seeds,You’ve a shitload of bamboo, nice, as Greenjam stated their rhizomatous roots travel ten of metres, competition for nutrients and water will be interesting.
I’d imagine keeping all night and day herbivores off your new baby would be paramount, may even have to cover over the top of your tree guard until it shows signs of extension growth which is normally commensurate with root growth. Great choice, do read that short book if you have time, insightful to say the least.
Nurture, nature. AW
just on the bamboo fine roots - I recently sorted through a few stacks of pavers I'd piled up about 2 years ago, stacked next to some bamboos, about 1.2m high. When moving said pavers, roots were spread all through the pile, right up to the layer just below the top layer. Seeking out moisture anywhere they can find it...
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.