Botany Nerds Ahoy
GreenJam wrote:
gday AW, hope the trip is going well. You're in the territory I was hanging around in recent months.
plants you posted - a Persoonia? Looks like the Larsenakia we discussed on here a little while back? and the awesome Fan Palm. Love them, bought a few from the Mission Beach community nursery when I was up there, planning to pot them up soon.
happy travels
Greenjam. Hi mate . Hope you’re well.
I am in much the same territory that’s for sure.
Contemplating going to Magnetic Island, just spoke to someone in Townsville, he said the ferry was packed and shit loads of school holiday families are on the island, which is good, more kids learning.
I think I’ll give it miss this time around.
Correct my friend, it’s a Persoonia for sure and doubley correct with the Larsenaikia ID.
Dead give away to species level, but you have to be holding and looking at it. It’s got falcate leaves like most Eucalyptus sp.
A thick cuticle and a reel rubbery feel to the leaf, hence its Persoonia falcata.
Catch ya. AW
Tyto Wetlands , Ingham, very early morning and late afternoon yesterday.
Pan tropical across Australia and Asia. Nelumbo nucifera Lotus Lily.
Sacred in India.
Wallaman falls area. Girringun National Park, day use car park.
Gahnia aspera. Beautiful coloured seeds. Very hard testa (seed coat)
In fact Aboriginal people use to wear them around their necks on twine, hell knows how they made holes in the incredibly hard seed. AW
And a strangler fig doing what it does, strangles!!!
Tyto Wetlands, Ingham.
More red seeds.
This time , Cordyline fruticosa or terminalis. Beautiful colour. AW
Same wetlands. I know this plant and or few plants. Anyone?
Girrimay National Park near Cardwell
Coastal littoral rainforest.
Pandanus spiralis
AlfredWallace wrote:
Tyto Wetlands , Ingham, very early morning and late afternoon yesterday.
Pan tropical across Australia and Asia. Nelumbo nucifera Lotus Lily.
Sacred in India.
Some great photos there AW. Looks and sounds like you are having a great trip.
I'm sure you are well aware, but be careful of crocs up there in any bodies of water, Tyto included.
Enjoy.
fitzroy-21 wrote:
I'm sure you are well aware, but be careful of crocs up there in any bodies of water, Tyto included.
Enjoy.
"I strode through the waters of the owl, feeling clear headed and alive; a wise old agile wallaby. I looked from the sky to the waters and reaching down, gently lifted a sacred lotus, a nelumbo nucifera, seed pod. Alien eyes of proteins and B vitamins stared back at me - its mirror-still home breathless, except for insects dancing about the water, curlew and jacana stalking the reeds. A curious short-necked turtle popped its head up as a distant bittern dove into the water..
Suddenly, the stillness exploded! A nubile young croc launched itself at my crotch, viciously spinning, twisting, turning, its teeth clamped tight on its prize. I felt a sickening snap! and the predator retreated to the murky depths, taking not one seven-inch shaft with it... but two!
I had unwittingly protected my junk with the finest in high optical performance equipment - thank God I had invested in a pair of Swarovski EL field-binoculars.
The SWAROVISION technology redefined the concept of optical quality. Field Flattener lenses provide unprecedented peripheral definition, fluoride-containing HD lenses minimize color fringing, while optimized coatings ensure maximum color fidelity. Large eye relief offering a full field of view for those wearing eyeglasses. Handy as Aussie crocodile decoys too."
Alfred Wallace for the J. Peterman catalogue 2024
https://jpeterman.com/pages/about
Amazing prose !
Thanks so much , basey 6 !!!
Our Powerful Owl is such a hoot !
Please keep hOwling your incredible tunes , U wise 1's :) !
If anything young and nubile Launched herself at Me in the bush , I don't know what I would Do :) !
fitzroy-21 wrote:
Tyto Wetlands , Ingham, very early morning and late afternoon yesterday.
Pan tropical across Australia and Asia. Nelumbo nucifera Lotus Lily.
Sacred in India.
Some great photos there AW. Looks and sounds like you are having a great trip.
I'm sure you are well aware, but be careful of crocs up there in any bodies of water, Tyto included.
Enjoy.
Fitzroy-21. Hi mate, thanks for your considerate thoughts about crocs.
They are omnipresent, last year in October there was one visible.
Yesterday, not seen, but you know they are there.
In fact, I was last to leave just on dark yesterday, my last photo of the
Azolla sp. floating fern near the waters edge, I got a little spooked, water lilies 6ft away all parted and wobbled above the surface, time to depart, quickly.
I’ve been there a few times, it’s an amazing place, one it’s a wetland but two the vegetation around it abounds with all manor of species, rarely have I walked out of there with less than 40 species for a couple of hours work.
A must visit even if you aren’t a bird/ plant nut job like me. AW
Supafreak wrote:
Beautiful photos AW , keep them coming please .
Supafreak. Hi mate.
Always . Hope your trip is going well. AW
basesix wrote:
I'm sure you are well aware, but be careful of crocs up there in any bodies of water, Tyto included.
Enjoy.
"I strode through the waters of the owl, feeling clear headed and alive; a wise old agile wallaby. I looked from the sky to the waters and reaching down, gently lifted a sacred lotus, a nelumbo nucifera, seed pod. Alien eyes of proteins and B vitamins stared back at me - its mirror-still home breathless, except for insects dancing about the water, curlew and jacana stalking the reeds. A curious short-necked turtle popped its head up as a distant bittern dove into the water..
Suddenly, the stillness exploded! A nubile young croc launched itself at my crotch, viciously spinning, twisting, turning, its teeth clamped tight on its prize. I felt a sickening snap! and the predator retreated to the murky depths, taking not one seven-inch shaft with it... but two!
I had unwittingly protected my junk with the finest in high optical performance equipment - thank God I had invested in a pair of Swarovski EL field-binoculars.
The SWAROVISION technology redefined the concept of optical quality. Field Flattener lenses provide unprecedented peripheral definition, fluoride-containing HD lenses minimize color fringing, while optimized coatings ensure maximum color fidelity. Large eye relief offering a full field of view for those wearing eyeglasses. Handy as Aussie crocodile decoys too."
Alfred Wallace for the J. Peterman catalogue 2024
https://jpeterman.com/pages/about
Basesix. You are the best.
Your intuition, verse and prose are amazing.
Well deduced, Swarovski, when only the best will do. Rolls Royce of binos.
Buy them once, have them for life.
Everything you wrote describes Tyto Wetlands, even the bird species.
I’ve just dropped my strides, tackle is all there and present..
I’d hate for your mere mention of me being crotchless coming to fruition .
That would be a eunuch (unique )situation wouldn’t it !!!! AW.
Edit. You even got the series EL correct you are incredible.
I’ve got some 12x42 NL binos coming soon on back order. My last three landscape clients have indirectly bought them for me, you could say.!!!
crocodile dundee going commando : o
(do look after yourself though, AW! : )
Oh Base 6 !
I really thought it true , a lovely contribution , from Alfred The Croc , 4 the J Peterman Catalogue .
I believe Everything , U post !
I was going 2 google - J Peterman , 2 !
Was thinking of adding it into the Billy story ffs !
Was surprised AW put his 7 inches of tackle , Out there and so recently , but he IS , Alfred The Great , so , ok , I thought .
I now realise , I have been drowning in the Tito Wetlands , under a bloody Swarovski microscope and feel a real Pole , that's been shafted :) !
J Peterman is real @PopD, cool as fiction/reality clash, the actor that spoofed him in Seinfeld invested in the company, and the TV show brought the company back into the public consciousness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Hurley
Oh My Stars
A Corporate Mr Magoo , that jumps on any Boat , bound 4 Burma or Tibet :) !
A truly wonderful Character ( guessing he surfs 2 ) , with a Fashion Brand specifically designed , 4 the Alfreds of the World .
U should take UP writing , base 6 , u are Unreal .
kind of you mate, rare air, that gig.
but I admire those who do it for fun -
keep letting us know how billy develops : )
AlfredWallace wrote:
an azolla, I wouldn't know what sort..
lovely three worlds shot though!
https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-today/three-worlds/?lang=en
basesix wrote:
an azolla, I wouldn't know what sort..
lovely three worlds shot though!
https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-today/three-worlds/?lang=en
Basesix. As stated the surface covering fern is an Azolla sp.
The very small green plant is a Lemna sp. commonly called Duckweed.
I don’t know the third plant in that mix, I’ll get onto that.
Both Azolla sp. and Lemna sp.
Very important plants that serves many purposes.
It keeps the water column at a certain temperature, too hot, toxic blue green algae (not a true algae, but a Cyanobacteria) proliferates and fucks the aquatic ecology.
It provides shade and cover for fish and invertebrates , it absorbs ridiculous amounts of carbon and it’s also a nitrogen fixer that leaves plants like legumes in its wake.
In fact the Lemna sp. has a lesser percentage of nitrogen fixing than Azolla but still more than general run of the mill legumes.
Plants ‘rock’ & ‘rule’ the world. AW
Edit. Basesix, you’d love palimpsest’s I’d guess.
I once had a friend whose photographic works were only that form, they were amazing, mostly rainfall and raindrops.
Look at this leguminous behemoth.
I measured it, 590mm , almost 2ft in length.
It was as in the day camp area at Jourama Falls, Paluma National Park, QLD.
Quirky, the incessant early calling noise of a Noisy Pitta brought me to the tree it was calling from, the aforementioned.
I could be wrong but I think it is Entada rheedii
If it is, it’s the biggest I’ve ever seen.
Greenjam . Where are you , I think you’ll know the answer? AW
G'day AW, you're certainly getting around up there.
sorry to say I dont know the answer. But a look at the spp. you suggested looks like a seed pod match. So it is a vine? No native tree or vine with a seed pod like that jumps out to me. If you are right, that is disappointing, as it would be a weedy vine in that setting. Was it smothering the canopy?
GreenJam wrote:
G'day AW, you're certainly getting around up there.
sorry to say I dont know the answer. But a look at the spp. you suggested looks like a seed pod match. So it is a vine? No native tree or vine with a seed pod like that jumps out to me. If you are right, that is disappointing, as it would be a weedy vine in that setting. Was it smothering the canopy?
Greenjam. I was a twining plant inside a tree, there were several of them . Not smothering at all, just hanging through the host trees branches.
I’ve found some more info, apparently they are on Magnetic Island and are found in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia, our aboriginal folk used them.
Apparently they drift in water currents and move around the warm parts of the globe. Fascinating, still doesn’t settle my nerve regarding native or not. Thanks for your chatter. AW
Greenjam. My go to for checking all current plant nomenclature is Atlas of Living Australia.
It’s classified as a native plant from coast up to forests inland at no greater altitude than 120m. Well there you go, I’d never have thought. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:
Greenjam. My go to for checking all current plant nomenclature is Atlas of Living Australia.
It’s classified as a native plant from coast up to forests inland at no greater altitude than 120m. Well there you go, I’d never have thought. AW
Name change.
Entada phaseoloides is current. AW
AW, is that a drop bear’s bean bag?
At Jourama that is.
Last time I pulled in there for a swim the mozzies were thick. We lasted about 1 minute.
I was driving to Clermont today.
Spotted some budgies scattering across the road from our oncoming car a few times.
Lots of emu in the near paddocks.
Later two of what seemed all green parrots flashed past the front of the vehicle a few metres ahead. Vibrant green like the green on a male King Parrot. But what seemed all green. Similar size to a King Parrot.
Not out here I thought.
Further on the same thing but this time right across my windscreen. Once again seemed all green but one banked and on it’s underwing a large patch of red from the juncture of the wing and body to half way out the wing.
Zee bird book suggests Redwing Parrot in that zone but description doesn’t match. Especially the underwing red.
Edit. Nothing matches. Maybe it was all too fast but that second sighting I went ah there you go. The underwing red is the identifier.
seeds wrote:
AW, is that a drop bear’s bean bag?
At Jourama that is.
Last time I pulled in there for a swim the mozzies were thick. We lasted about 1 minute.
I was driving to Clermont today.
Spotted some budgies scattering across the road from our oncoming car a few times.
Lots of emu in the near paddocks.
Later two of what seemed all green parrots flashed past the front of the vehicle a few metres ahead. Vibrant green like the green on a male King Parrot. But what seemed all green. Similar size to a King Parrot.
Not out here I thought.
Further on the same thing but this time right across my windscreen. Once again seemed all green but one banked and on it’s underwing a large patch of red from the juncture of the wing and body to half way out the wing.
Zee bird book suggests Redwing Parrot in that zone but description doesn’t match. Especially the underwing red.
Edit. Nothing matches. Maybe it was all too fast but that second sighting I went ah there you go. The underwing red is the identifier.
Seeds. Hi mate. Just got off a Zoom meeting about why birds are shrinking, fascinating.
I couldn’t get over the size of that legume follicle, ginormous.
You are ‘Johnny on the Spot’. Good research and use of the book.
Definitely Red Winged Parrots with that description, well done.
There is a tried and true method for bird identification , GISS
General Impression of Size & Shape.
Quickly look at bill type and any other stand out distinguishing features.
Hey, and there’s nothing wrong with flicking through the book until you find your bird either, we’ve all done it in our primary learning days.
Love the sounds of the numbers of Budgies.
When I first got to Jourama right on dusk, parked the Tardis under a tree with big oval blue fruits, 10 minutes later had to relocate, two medium size bats were raining down fruit on the canvas canopy, next morning, a few hundred on the ground, they just taste test them then drop the astringent ones. Cassowaries will eventually clean them up.i
I’m snoozed been up since 4,30. Catch ya. AW
Here’s one that you’ll definitely know has paid you a visit.
Saltmarsh March Fly.
1770, QLD
Tabanus australicus
We shared a kebab together, think he ate more than I did. AW
wooahh! always wondered are march flies what americans call horse flies?
Kroombit Tops Lookout, Kroombit National Park , QLD. 20/09/24
Two plants only.
A genus not much heard about.
Jacksonia scoparia. Fabaceae family (pea flowers)
Leaves reduced to scales.
Anyone suggest why ? AW
I"ll give it a crack. Gets cold at night in winter, so to prevent frost damage mebe? Nice fly btw, not like the Marchies we get down here. Bastard feckin creatures
a cool thing you can do at woolworths,
is buy their living basil, soak it in water overnight,
and plant it. Goes pretty well for a few weeks.
Cheers too quick fer me. Let me know.
I"ll give it a crack. Gets cold at night in winter, so to prevent frost damage mebe? Nice fly btw, not like the Marchies we get down here. Bastard feckin creatures.
my daughter loves planting random potatoes, too, i'll email you about it some time.
Does get cold up there at night in winter but on the Tops I doubt there’s frosts.
Maybe more exposed to the blistering summer sun and winds has something to do with it.
seeds wrote:
Does get cold up there at night in winter but on the Tops I doubt there’s frosts.
Maybe more exposed to the blistering summer sun and winds has something to do with it.
Probs a better bet. Either that or avoidance of predation.
Just sent you a message.
I’m up at Clermont NW of there at the moment. Helping son move and hanging out for a bit.
Already hot enough through the day.
You watching the football seeds? Big comeback. Will transfer this to the religion thread.
Deserved win, were on top from half time. No vicco teams in the GF will be kinda weird. Glad I will be out of town.
That one stings! Bugger but great game and great win by Lions. Now smash them Swannies next week!!
haha, could you forward my email to seeds @blackers?
I sent him a present, but the bastard hasn't tapped me back!
southernraw wrote:
That one stings! Bugger but great game and great win by Lions. Now smash them Swannies next week!!
Wash your mouth out young man!
basesix wrote:
haha, could you forward my email to seeds @blackers?
I sent him a present, but the bastard hasn't tapped me back!
Have you been to check your PO Box lately?
AW got his.
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.