Cool seeds. I'll keep searching for the crocs.
Hope you get some better classic winter days down there soon. It's actually also been pretty ordinary up here the last week or so - very windy and rainy. I guess that mega high pressure system sent a strong SE surge up here too. But there's been moments of opportunity with breaks in the rain that I've been taking advantage of. Some sunny weather looks to be returning from Wednesday, so I'll be out in the forest and beaches a bit more from then. Cheers.

GreenJam wrote:

Cassowary encounter ticked off. Didnt take too long. Went for my first walk in the forest just out of town with the specific intent to see one or more. A beautiful fam palm (Licuala ramsayi) forest - apparently heavily damaged in the most recent big cyclone (Larry I think, maybe Yasi before that - they've had some big ones smash here, the 1858 one sounds like it was a real big one with the storm surge...) - but still an excellent forest with some large trees still around. Anyway, very nice setting, and immediately seeing plenty of 'evidence' of them around (aka, massive turds full of big seeds), so was confident. Did the stroll and when returning to the car there it was just off in the forest a few metres away. We watched each other for quite a while, till I got bored actually, and continued walking. Then came back and it was now out of the bush and on the track, so we got up very close, literally a few m apart. I was wary, but it never seemed threatening, just very curious. I backed off as it continually came towards me. Got a good video of the close encounter. Stoked, an awesome creature. It was apparently a female, easily as tall as me. Big head with that thing on top, and massive, evidently very strong, feet and claws. I cant say I've ever felt it before, but it was a feeling of being in the presence of, staring into the eyes of, a dinosaur.

Plenty of more walks to do, so am expecting more encounters. Haven't done it yet, but will collect some of the pre-digested seeds from some of those turds. Sow them when I get home, and might get some random germination of some random species.

Next on the list is a croc encounter. Never seen one of them in the flesh either. Already been to some what looked like classic croc habitat (mangrove streams near beaches) but alas no luck yet. I guess they are pretty elusive. We'll see... But this is a botany forum, so got to mention the very impressive Melaleucas (I think M. leucodendron) encountered on the Kennedy Track and in Lugger Bay - beautiful spot. I think the biggest I've ever seen. Another interesting littoral forest 'community'

Greenjam. Hi champ. You’re up and about, good on you.

Nice feed from you regarding your travels, keep it up please.

Melaleuca leucodendron. Quite interesting when you break the name down in Latin

Mela, black, leuca, white, referencing the colour of the paperbark and leucodendron , leuco, white and dendron, tree.

Translates to ‘a white tree with black and white bark’. Who’d of thought.

Ecologically up your way, Rainbow BeeEaters love them, the bottlebrush like flowers are very floriferous and nectar abounds, this in turn attracts bees and the bird loves them.
You often find bees with a hive in Melaleuca glades.

* For the botany nerds like me, the difference between Callistemon sp. flowers and Melaleuca sp. flowers , we know they almost look entirely the same but the difference is Callistemon mean ‘free stamens’ and in Melaleuca the flowers have ‘staminal bundles in fives’. With a 10x hand lens it’s very easy to discern one from another. AW

G'day AW. thanks as always for that bit of detail. I wonder if the 'black bark' part refers to the fire scarring on the bark you'll often see?

and good you mentioned the BeeEaters - I've been seeing plenty of them around here and elsewhere lately, and plenty of Kingfishers, some really good close-ups just a few days ago on some of those large Melaleuca's at Lugger Bay. Both species are beautiful birds hey!

and while we are talking bark - another nice one that I've been seeing (and recall liking from NQ trips many years ago) is Dillenia alata (Red Beech) - has an interesting red paperbark-like look and feel to it.

GreenJam wrote:

G'day AW. thanks as always for that bit of detail. I wonder if the 'black bark' part refers to the fire scarring on the bark you'll often see?

and good you mentioned the BeeEaters - I've been seeing plenty of them around here and elsewhere lately, and plenty of Kingfishers, some really good close-ups just a few days ago on some of those large Melaleuca's at Lugger Bay. Both species are beautiful birds hey!

and while we are talking bark - another nice one that I've been seeing (and recall liking from NQ trips many years ago) is Dillenia alata (Red Beech) - has an interesting red paperbark-like look and feel to it.

Greenjam . Hi mate.

Thanks for highlighting and showcasing Dillenia alata.

You’re not wrong, the bark mosaic is beautiful, not often do we discuss bark texture in tropical trees, usually it’s mostly about more temperate species. AW

Maybe should be in the photo thread but probably too run of the mill. Plenty of botany and a bit of geology though.

Nice.

yeah, nice seeds. Nice to see the home landscape after a while away.
Maggie drew me back - here for few weeks this time. Probably around the same time you took those pics, I was sitting on top of a big pile of boulders overlooking the hoops and ocean near Alma, a sly toke, checking out the moon thinking its getting close to full, looks like tomorrow is the night.
a bit of botany - latest favourite is the massive Callophyllum inophyllum (Tamanu) trees seen around Mission and here too. Awesome beachfront trees, give great shade to chill under in the dunes, attractive glossy foliage. I've grabbed a few seeds to hopefully successfully propagate when I get home.

Hi GJ
Very common tree up north.
Maggie is a great place for some quiet time.

Just noticed the little cresties have begun their breeding, I guess all the birds will do so soon. They are totally classic, the male does the 'woo dance' and mostly the female isn't into him and she'll shuffle off, or walk away, or fly away if cornered (!). But recently, a couple of the girls have found a fella they like...

velocityjohnno wrote:

Just noticed the little cresties have begun their breeding, I guess all the birds will do so soon. They are totally classic, the male does the 'woo dance' and mostly the female isn't into him and she'll shuffle off, or walk away, or fly away if cornered (!). But recently, a couple of the girls have found a fella they like...

VelocityJohnno. Hi mate.

Too right , Crested Pigeons like ‘a bit of it’, promiscuous buggers.

Ever wondered about that noise you hear when they fly off.

Crested pigeons have evolved narrow specialised primary flight feathers over a long period of time that act as an immediate alarm on take off so others hear it.
In truth the narrow feathers are much smaller than the normal primary flight feathers.
These feathers have been named the 8th primary feathers.

Most birds are well into their nesting, brooding periods, especially many raptors.
Before you know it, birds that have been relatively inactive over the last few months will become more apparent and especially visible with their young, many in training like raptors do. AW

AW did you see this series years ago?

In regards to your question once of why the Murray Darling flows out in SA.

Claims here that once there was a break east through the divide which doesn’t exist anymore.

Annoying guitar but great under water footage of Mary River turtle and also the ancient lungfish that is native only to the Mary and Burnett systems

hello seeds

Thanks so much for showing me , the cool Mary River habitat .

The guitar was a bit annoying .

Human genesis Ground Zero with the Aussie Larikin Lungfish , being a Native .

So good to have places like this , highlighted on more peoples Maps .

Let's protect these areas , let more turtles go , in New protected areas , platypus sections and really manage Water Flows through multiple sections , of a number of rivers .

We humans can do this Stuff ,Local Climate Change .

Then we can Dam a Gazillion other locations .

Everyone needs good reliable Water .

The Lungfish can eat its kids , keep the critters quiet , then let them outside to play next year , when it's cool .

No wonder the species is so fn successful .

seeds wrote:

AW did you see this series years ago?

In regards to your question once of why the Murray Darling flows out in SA.

Claims here that once there was a break east through the divide which doesn’t exist anymore.

Seeds. Hi mate. Yes, I remember that series well, I,ve got the DVD

They started in Casterton , Western Victoria where the divide starts and ended up on Dauan Island (Aust. Territory) just south of PNG mainland, it’s where my interest in Mt.Cornwallis came from, the end point of the divide.

I’ll be honest I don’t remember that bit about an historic previous opening in the range, I read a lot of stuff as you know.
The divide is also an area of many small chain volcanoes from the south to the north.
Fascinating how the divide formed, I think it’s the accretionary theory where other geologic systems ended hard up against our east coast, thus pushing up the Great Dividing Range.

Shit, almost forgot, thanks for the lungfish article. Recently it was acclaimed with being the link in the world of oxygen breathing animals and fishes. A complete living evolutionary treasure.

More the reason to care for our waterways and start the decommissioning of residual agricultural sprays and start using bioagents instead, they do exist.
All very interesting to me that’s for sure. AW

Once learning about the uniqueness of this river, that I live near, I’ve appreciated the Mary Valley much more.
Not many public access points. Best seen kayaking along.
Endangered Mary River Cod too.
Been a few crocs in the estuarine stretches and as far up in the fresh as Tiaro.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2015-07-07/croc-caught-on-camera-to-b…
Been a few historically even in the Brisbane and Logan Rivers.

seeds wrote:

Once learning about the uniqueness of this river, that I live near, I’ve appreciated the Mary Valley much more.

Not many public access points. Best seen kayaking along.

Endangered Mary River Cod too.

Don’t you love it when you know you can have some kind of compassionate affect on an organism, that in reality most or your very own self didnt even realise was right on your doorstep . I have the same here with legless lizards, I feel duty bound to do my best to never see their grasslands destroyed.
Marbled Geckoes here also. AW

Wholeheartedly AW.
^^ I added a bit above.

seeds wrote:

Wholeheartedly AW.

^^ I added a bit above.

Cheers. I’ll have a look.
I’m over on another station, the battlefront with clowns about culling sharks. AW

seeds wrote:

Wholeheartedly AW.

^^ I added a bit above.

I’ll get up your way on a road trip early Autumn next year, catch up with you and explore some of your treasures. AW

Well, that came around quickly.

BOTANY NERDS AHOY. 1st. Birthday

Big thanks to SEEDS for kick starting this thread.

I’ve enjoyed it, learnt heaps, I hope everyone else has also.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Banksia_Birthday_Ca…

Yep , great thread, have enjoyed reading and being educated, some great photos too .

haha, holy crap! quick, indeed,
happy 1st, seeds, Adub, and contributors..
winter annual thread for me, see y'all in spring!

It's a great thread.
If I'm not mistaken it's actually an offshoot from Waivus Ovdedayus.

tubeshooter wrote:

It's a great thread.

If I'm not mistaken it's actually an offshoot from Waivus Ovdedayus.

Tubeshooter hi mate.

Your Latin nomenclature is honourable Maximus Waivus ( subspecies-Nazarius). AW

We are all a bit prickly on here at times.
And an unknown moth

Saturday afternoon. Bells Beach hinterland.AW

- Nyctemera amicus
.....magpie moth ;)

Jelly Flater wrote:

- Nyctemera amicus

JellyFlater. Hi mate. Good stuff

In house entomologist .

Did you see the moths balls, no I didn’t, was looking at the antennae. AW

Jelly Flater wrote:

- Nyctemera amicus

.....magpie moth ;)

GuySmiley won’t be happy, he’s over everything magpie at present .

Need to find an organism that contains the name ‘Bomber’. AW

Somehow I don’t think this will suffice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swima_bombiviridis

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/bombardier-beetle/#:~:t….

Nasty. No doubt some animals have developed a fetish for that peptide spray.

Calliphora Stygia, aka the "brown bomber / brown blowfly"
https://canberra.naturemapr.org/species/2168

- not an organism
....likes to hop after brown bombers ;)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/385807104511

Haha is that for real?

- haha @seeds, u have an eye for bargains
.....the 'artworks' are for real, that's about it ;)

Had a couple of Kermits back in the day. No brown bombers appeared. Other things? Yes.

a rare genetic disorder makes this tassie yellow-tailed black cockatoo yellow all over
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/tasmania-tweety-yellow-black-coc…
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/rn-break…

He's so cool! Got the hi-viz going which might not help a black cockatoo, there are eagles around.

Little pigeons on the way here after successful woo dance, and Mrs Magpie is collecting only the softest bits of vegetation to line the nest - haven't found where that is yet though.

This is the best news I’ve received all year, by far.

Totally excited by this find.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-03/victorian-grassland-earless-drag…

how epic, AW! (I did have a grin at the idea of a lizard with wingnuts)

basesix wrote:

how epic, AW! (I did have a grin at the idea of a lizard with wingnuts)

Basesix. Morning mate.

I was just communicating with a colleague earlier, we and a few others monitor( excuse my reptilian pun) and
( basically protect) a grassland area near home that contains Legless lizards.

The joy derived from knowing this specific population is doing well, warms our hearts.
I can only imagine the couple of researchers who discovered these guys and how they are feeling, immense joy I’d guess.
This news of the earless dragon has gone global in the herpetological world. Good stuff.
Another animal saved from being added to Australia’s extinct list, which is currently the worse globally for the last 50 years. AW

Seems like the Earless Dragon , hadn't heard about its own demise , AW !

Good on them !

Good on the Landowner 2 , for working with Herpetolies and keeping the location quiet .

A concerted Action , by nearly everyone , including sniffer dogs , has these guys popping out of eggs and firing again .

Organising appropriate NEW habitat , should be successful .

I don't think it's VITAL , that they have to stay near Geelong .

Guessing they were all over Victoria .

Hear , hear , 4 Earless Lizards !

Gday AW, I was reading about some research UQ are doing on the earless dragons up our way, seems they are persisting in some unexpected places, in some of the cropping areas in the Darling Downs area. Good stuff - I've long had a thing for the dragons, had a small one named Rex as a pet for years (think it was actually a Tommy Roundhead), before releasing it down the creek we used to hang out at.

re botany, had a great and informative 'bush wander' yesterday morning with a retired CSIRO scientist, through some lowland country in the south-west of Maggie, ancient dune and swamp ecosystems, merging into the woodlands on the lower slopes of the granite hills. Key species learning for the day was the native Gardenia (Larsenaikia ochreata) - scored some fruit to try to propagate. The Kapok's are all starting to flower too - looking good with flashes of yellow throughout the fairly sparse forests at present as the dry season kicks in (many deciduous species).

GreenJam wrote:

Gday AW, I was reading about some research UQ are doing on the earless dragons up our way, seems they are persisting in some unexpected places, in some of the cropping areas in the Darling Downs area. Good stuff - I've long had a thing for the dragons, had a small one named Rex as a pet for years (think it was actually a Tommy Roundhead), before releasing it down the creek we used to hang out at.

re botany, had a great and informative 'bush wander' yesterday morning with a retired CSIRO scientist, through some lowland country in the south-west of Maggie, ancient dune and swamp ecosystems, merging into the woodlands on the lower slopes of the granite hills. Key species learning for the day was the native Gardenia (Larsenaikia ochreata) - scored some fruit to try to propagate. The Kapok's are all starting to flower too - looking good with flashes of yellow throughout the fairly sparse forests at present as the dry season kicks in (many deciduous species).

Greenjam. Hi mate, you’re having a ball, good on you.

Having a retired CSIRO person with you would’ve been great.

You are seeing some great vegetation that’s for sure.

FYI. Herein lies the problem with common names.

In Australia we’ve actually got 2 different plants that are colloquially named Native Gardenia

The first one as you correctly named is Larsenaikia ochreata

The second one is Randa fitzalanii, syn, (Atractocarpus fitzalanii)

Both of these genera are in the Rubiaceae family.

The very well known global plant, which most of the world drinks, coffee ,( Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora) is also found in this family.

The red fruits of coffee plants look amazing, can be different colour variations also.

If you get the chance, check out the native gardenia flowers (floristics) and the different flower shape/arrangement of both species, a few notables but still a few differences, but that same milky white colour, and of course, both fragrant.

All the best . AW

Pop Down wrote:

Seems like the Earless Dragon , hadn't heard about its own demise , AW !

Good on them !

Good on the Landowner 2 , for working with Herpetolies and keeping the location quiet .

A concerted Action , by nearly everyone , including sniffer dogs , has these guys popping out of eggs and firing again .

Organising appropriate NEW habitat , should be successful .

I don't think it's VITAL , that they have to stay near Geelong .

Guessing they were all over Victoria .

Hear , hear , 4 Earless Lizards !

PopDown. Hi mate.

You in New Brighton, Ocean Shores area.
Just got labelled as one of the biggest drug harbouring locations in NSW, better get ya sniffer dogs out and go find some evening entertainment.

The Earless Lizard needs to be in the WNW Melbourne corridor and the continuum of the once bountiful basalt plains grasslands stretching down to Bacchus Marsh, Balliang, Anakie around and past Geelong.

Areas that are cold and windy in Winter and hot, dry and windy in Summer, heavy soils persist with sparse grassy vegetation , that’s what they love.

For your information the basalt plains grasslands sit atop the third largest basalt flow on earth, stretching from near Melbourne all the way down to the western border at the SA boundary in Basesix territory where it meets the Limestone (calcium carbonate) Coast.
The biodiversity that it contained was immense, there’s only a speck of it left, shame on us. AW

AlfredWallace wrote:

We are all a bit prickly on here at times.

And an unknown moth

Saturday afternoon. Bells Beach hinterland.AW

Top photo. Hakea decurrens ssp. physocarpa

AlfredWallace wrote:

GreenJam wrote:

Gday AW, I was reading about some research UQ are doing on the earless dragons up our way, seems they are persisting in some unexpected places, in some of the cropping areas in the Darling Downs area. Good stuff - I've long had a thing for the dragons, had a small one named Rex as a pet for years (think it was actually a Tommy Roundhead), before releasing it down the creek we used to hang out at.

re botany, had a great and informative 'bush wander' yesterday morning with a retired CSIRO scientist, through some lowland country in the south-west of Maggie, ancient dune and swamp ecosystems, merging into the woodlands on the lower slopes of the granite hills. Key species learning for the day was the native Gardenia (Larsenaikia ochreata) - scored some fruit to try to propagate. The Kapok's are all starting to flower too - looking good with flashes of yellow throughout the fairly sparse forests at present as the dry season kicks in (many deciduous species).

Greenjam. Hi mate, you’re having a ball, good on you.

Having a retired CSIRO person with you would’ve been great.

You are seeing some great vegetation that’s for sure.

FYI. Herein lies the problem with common names.

In Australia we’ve actually got 2 different plants that are colloquially named Native Gardenia

The first one as you correctly named is Larsenaikia ochreata

The second one is Randa fitzalanii, syn, (Atractocarpus fitzalanii)

Both of these genera are in the Rubiaceae family.

The very well known global plant, which most of the world drinks, coffee ,( Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora) is also found in this family.

The red fruits of coffee plants look amazing, can be different colour variations also.

If you get the chance, check out the native gardenia flowers (floristics) and the different flower shape/arrangement of both species, a few notables but still a few differences, but that same milky white colour, and of course, both fragrant.

All the best . AW

Addendum. Greenjam Hope ya well.

I’ve found many more colloquially named ‘Native Gardenia’ species

All found in Oz.
Randia moorei, Randia chartacea, Randia benthamiana and Randia cochinchinensis
all previously classified in the genus Atractocarpus.

Australia has a long list of ‘true native Gardenia sp.’

Gardenia megasperma, Gardenia ovularis, Gardenia pyriformis, Gardenia resinosa,
Gardenia suffruticosa and Gardenia tentaculata

All the best. AW

proactive conservation, practical genie-out-the-bottle eco optimism. Pennsylvanian Richard Weller talks (15 mins) to Julian Morrow on RN about ways to move forward with planet care:
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/designing-a-planet/1…
https://atlas-for-the-end-of-the-world.com/

(Richard Weller giving a free lecture at WA Uni, this Tuesday 6pm -7:30, any Perth Botany nerds!):
https://events.humanitix.com/designingaplanet

basesix wrote:

proactive conservation, practical genie-out-the-bottle eco optimism. Pennsylvanian Richard Weller talks (15 mins) to Julian Morrow on RN about ways to move forward with planet care:

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/designing-a-planet/1…

https://atlas-for-the-end-of-the-world.com/

(Richard Weller giving a free lecture at WA Uni, this Tuesday 6pm -7:30, any Perth Botany nerds!):

https://events.humanitix.com/designingaplanet

Basesix. Hello to you on this beautiful sunny day.

Thanks for those. I’ve attended Zoom meetings previously via Humantix, I’ll check it out. AW