Botany Nerds Ahoy
Sprout wrote:
Gah, sorry AW, done in by their inaccuracy, you're too smart for my quiz! Always appreciate your added facts too, so interesting, you should write a book.
Job well done if you made Alfred think.
This was a cool find.
A 2m long Oarfish found washed up on the beach near Strahan.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-03/tas-rare-oarfish-found-on-straha…
Tearymasseuse. Hi mate.
Thanks for posting that video.
Funny you post that, we must have had the same thoughts lately.
So, which country in the world has the tallest trees ? The US does.
The Californian Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) from the Cupressaceae family is the tallest tree in the world at present.
The largest tree in the world ( by volume and enormity) is the Giant Redwood
( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) also from the Cupressaceae family.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit both species and stand in awe at something that originally arose from a very small seed.
Both these trees are Gymnosperms ( naked seed), they evolved well before current day flowering plants ( Angiosperms).
To understand the simple tree of life for plant evolution, it goes like this;
Starting with simple cells akin to bacteria ( Cyanobacteria) , early photosynthetic plants that evolved in the ocean, the first to liberate oxygen into our current atmosphere.
Next in the evolutionary line is ferns and allies, liverworts, bryophytes, club mosses etc, still no flowers along the evolutionary pathway, following them is the Gymnosperms, the conifers (cone bearing), Cycads, Macrozamias etc., still no flowers until we come into a period around 135 million years ago where Angiosperms (flowering plants) enter our world and proliferate still to this day.
The tallest flowering ( Angiosperm) plant on earth today’s is our own ,
Eucalyptus regnans Mountain Ash.
Historical evidence in Australia shows us that at some stage back almost a century ago , Mountain Ash was the tallest tree in the world, exceeding the height of modern day Californian Redwoods.
Major problem is that most of the giant Mountain Ash were chopped down in forests east of Melbourne, Otway Ranges and East Gippsland, a smear on society if there was ever one.
I bought a book a few years ago about trains that operated in the Otway Ranges , Victoria. An area my parents use to live and ride some of those early trains.
I’m not a train spotter or enthusiast by any means, I do like history.
The sole reason I purchased this book was my eye caught something in a photo that really grabbed me.
Here was evidence of the once enormous Mountain Ash trees.
I stare at it and wonder all kinds of thoughts , regrets etc,
If you look at the photo of the tree take the time to look at the basal trunk area, it’s gigantic, a trunk with that girth tells us this tree was incredibly tall, just one of many of the tallest trees that no longer furnish our landscape.
Such a shame. AW.
Glossy blacks have a brownish tint to their head feathers. Hard to tell for sure from your photo but it seems like it is likely to be that.
old-dog wrote:
You learn something every day, I always thought those large black birds were all just crows, turns out they are more likely to be little Ravens which are actually bigger than Crows.
Here's one for you AW. Are these birds that frequent the Sheoak trees in the backyard on K I Glossy black or red-tailed cockatoos. Here's a photo but it's not very clear. They look pretty big which suggests they might be the latter. The local restaurant is called the Glossy Black.
Here is another resident.
Old-Dog. Hi mate. Great photos.
As Blackers correctly eluded to, they are definitely Glossy- Black Cockatoos, beautiful birds.
A solid stronghold on KI, SA.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoos are very prevalent in Perth metro and larger areas of WA.
Same for Queensland in most areas including the tropics .
Amongst the coastal littoral forests ( the area just behind primary dune scrub) you often see these guys eating the big hard fruits of the Beach Almonds ( Terminalia cattapa) only a bird with a large bill like that could break open the woody fruits AW
watcha fucking around with cockys for @AW..?
you got wacko owls and cuckoos and parrots to perve on..
(no offence, @old-dog, great pics for us down here..)
old-dog wrote:
You learn something every day, I always thought those large black birds were all just crows, turns out they are more likely to be little Ravens which are actually bigger than Crows.
My father in law (RIP) used to say that the only crow in Victoria was Claude from Shirl's neighbourhood. He was a pigeon fancier - homing pigeons. I'd do a run and release with him every now and then. 3 or 4 hours in trapped in the car with him rattling on incessantly about everything anyone would need to know about pigeons. Classic old school Aussie bloke. I miss him. He'd shoot Hawks out of the sky to protect his pigeons and also ping Indian minors in our back yard. Lucky the neighbours were old and deaf.
icandig wrote:
You learn something every day, I always thought those large black birds were all just crows, turns out they are more likely to be little Ravens which are actually bigger than Crows.My father in law (RIP) used to say that the only crow in Victoria was Claude from Shirl's neighbourhood. He was a pigeon fancier - homing pigeons. I'd do a run and release with him every now and then. 3 or 4 hours in trapped in the car with him rattling on incessantly about everything anyone would need to know about pigeons. Classic old school Aussie bloke. I miss him. He'd shoot Hawks out of the sky to protect his pigeons and also ping Indian minors in our back yard. Lucky the neighbours were old and deaf.
Icandig. Hi mate, you’re hooked, you’re talking birds , it doesn’t take long, they get under your skin.
Nice story bar the hawk slaying.
Schools out for Summer.
Corvid School has just opened.
Melbourne- Geelong area, Victoria and most of NSW, S.E-SA and King Island Little Ravens.
Australian Ravens, Victoria, NSW, QLD , east NT and east SA, The Bight and SW-WA.
Forest Ravens, coastal Victoria and SE-SA, Tasmania, Bass Strait Islands, Mid North Coast NSW.
Little Crow, SA, most of the interior, bar SW-WA and NW-WA
Torresian Crow, most of the top half of Oz.
I had no idea Dampier was a forerunner in collection and description of flora and fauna.
Very interesting. (Plus his introduction of so many words to the English language)
Seeds. Try reading A Pirate of Exquite Mind by Diana Preston and Micheal J Preston for an excellant in depth account of Dampier.
Amongst much else it has a section on medical practice of the times which suggests treatment of constipation with "a well oiled spoon".
(last Cranker night on the original site for a couple of year on Friday 19th @Mattlock..)
https://www.crownandanchorhotel.com.au/
Mega bill b6.
Haven't heard of any of them.
Looks like I'm a bit out of touch eh.
ha, that's what a healthy music scene is about @matt, I don't know anything either.. recognise 3 bands, hardly know their music. These boys are loosely representing the '89 southern backyard party sound and attitude..
King Jeff & The How Are Yous at the Cranker ^
seeds wrote:
I had no idea Dampier was a forerunner in collection and description of flora and fauna.
Very interesting. (Plus his introduction of so many words to the English language)
Seeds. Hi mate. Good stuff highlighting William Dampier and his exploits.
We have a genus of ground cover plants to low shrubs named after him Dampiera sp.
Sturts Desert Pea The floral emblem of South Australia has had many names and name changes.
Swainsonia formosa, Clianthus formosus, Clianthus dampieri and a once attempted
Willdampier formosa. From your plant nerd. AW
seeds wrote:
Good to hear from you AW
I’m jealous of your travels
Seeds. Hi mate. We all have a chance to travel, I was jealous reading and hearing about your recent solo trip exploits, you know we are the same, happiest away from home.
Your photos and dialogue made me feel I was in the passenger seat vicariously sharing the pleasures of life.
Then you turned all Tom Kruse on us and delivered a package (surfboard) to Basesix on the Limestone Coast.
I think you know me by now despite never meeting. I did those two bathroom renovations a few months ago, made very good coin.
I work to live, once my fist is full of bucks I spend it all. That cycle is my life, upon returning to home I’ll need to work a bit, I’ve always got about a years worth of enquiry for work in front of me if I want it even though I’m basically retired, it’s a pleasure to be able to pick and choose your own path in life.
Living life to its fullest is my mantra, not here long. Good stuff. AW
seeds wrote:
Live it up mate. I do when I can.
Beautiful pal, succinct. AW
Just got out, it’s still pumping, glaring sunlight, even got a glimpse of Mt.Agung today , hoping to see Mt. Rinjani ( second tallest mountain in Indonesia on Lombok) after Puncak Jaya near the east border of West Papua.
SF owes me a block of wax for getting that Rat snake ID correct AW.
Only fitting you claim it on my behalf and put it to good use. ;)
The dust has settled a bit, anyone know exactly what ID did? Did he take it outside the safe space of the forums?
He'd assumed I was Adam Robertson, and appeared at crumpets with a cross bow and demanded Adam stop quashing the zionist military complex with his mild socialist suggestings on a boutique oz surf site. Robbo was taken aback, had no idea what @indo was on about. Robbo took @indo down with just his feet, which have lately taken on a texture akin to an allosaurus-skin after working on ridged boards these last months.. Robbo shouted us all shots at the Iron Bar that evening, but it was a surprising day.. @indo's last day on this site.
tubeshooter wrote:
SF owes me a block of wax for getting that Rat snake ID correct AW.
Only fitting you claim it on my behalf and put it to good use. ;)
Tubeshooter. Hi mate. Hope ya cruisin.
I’ve just rolled into bed like a sumo wrestler in a bean bag. We just had incredibly good Indian food for dinner.
Well, on your behalf, I will seek permission from Supafreak to vicariously enjoy the pleasure of using YOUR block of wax for the correct snake identification , I won’t be a pain in the asp but will remind him to pay his debt. Good to hear from you.AW
Yeah no problem, I’ve got a few bars of soap I mean wax put aside .
Nusa Lembongan sandprints.
Everything is having a good time. AW
^ that is magnificent @AW. unfosilised moment in time, as..
'everything is having a good time'
golden words, bless you, chum.
(^ this is the song that makes you wonder why, if you're a band recording an album in a studio, and have a groovy chorus, why wouldn't you get your friends in to clap along enthusiastically while the engineer has a mild conniption?)
Question without notice for @AW about small growing clumping bamboo suitable for screening out difficult chomper neighbours who will hate the idea of leaves dropping in their yard!! The idea is that they will be grown in large planter boxes thereby guaranteeing control/containment. We’re thinking either Himalayan weeping (1-3 metres) or Nepalese blue (1-3 metres). Do you have any comments about ^^ or other suggestions?
Cheers
GuySmiley wrote:
Question without notice for @AW about small growing clumping bamboo suitable for screening out difficult chomper neighbours who will hate the idea of leaves dropping in their yard!! The idea is that they will be grown in large planter boxes thereby guaranteeing control/containment. We’re thinking either Himalayan weeping (1-3 metres) or Nepalese blue (1-3 metres). Do you have any comments about ^^ or other suggestions?
Cheers
GuySmiley. Hi mate. Hope ya well. Lunch here at present, gut full, waiting to go back out in a couple of hours.
I might start by suggesting that you are legally allowed to plant clumping bamboo on your side of the fence, leaves falling on your neighbours side is part of an acceptable level of tolerance for neighbourhoods.
In large planting boxes, plenty of organic matter because you’ll be watering them a lot in Summer and that’ll leach out nutrients from the potting mix.
I wouldn’t use straight potting mix, too porous for bamboo, mix some soil and organic matter with the potting mix to retain moisture and nutrients.
I’ve grown and are still growing Nepalese Blue, good choice.
Alternatively you could grow other species even larger varieties as it’s all going to be maintained and containerised by the volume of the boxes you grow in. In essence creating your own dwarfing affect. AW
Cheers @AW, agree with all of that. Hey, loving all the posts on your adventures, cheers
Any new culms that pop up that aren’t wanted can be cut at ground level. They’re that supple when they first appear you can snap them off by hand.
Isn't that what @Calhoun said the three (3) people will be eating on his magical mystery tour?
basesix wrote:
Isn't that what @Calhoun said the three (3) people will be eating on his magical mystery tour?
Nah, they’ll be sniffing around rat holes for a feed.
GuySmiley wrote:
Cheers @AW, agree with all of that. Hey, loving all the posts on your adventures, cheers
GuySmiley. Anytime pal.
I’ve got plenty more to upload, you know me well by now, I can talk underwater with a mouth full of peanuts. AW
seeds wrote:
Any new culms that pop up that aren’t wanted can be cut at ground level. They’re that supple when they first appear you can snap them off by hand.
Seeds. Hi mate. 100%. Supple young culms ‘bamboo shoots’ are a culinary delight in some Asian food.
Don’t you love the word culm. AW
Bloody hell @ AW, check this out
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/31/big-stick-insect-ac…
GuySmiley wrote:
Bloody hell @ AW, check this out
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/31/big-stick-insect-ac…
GuySmiley. Hi mate. Hope you’re doing fine.
Thank you, incredibly interesting, the Atherton Tablelands are a great place for biodiversity, especially in the remaining wet forests.
Contrary to most people’s thoughts on rainforest age in the area, the Daintree is not the oldest rainforest in the world. It’s actually an area on the lower side of Mt. Bartle Frere, Qlds highest mountain .
This rainforest is approximately 180 million years old, an interesting comparison is the Amazon is around 55 million years old. Biodiversity, I love it. AW
A local, but found throughout SE Asia.
Orthomorpha coarctata Long Flange Millipede.
Yes, amazing stuff @AW, just picking up on @olddog's comment on the other thread was plant shopping today and brought home two of my all time favourites perfumed flowering plants. Luculia Gratissima and Philadelphus Virginalis, Cheers, GS
GuySmiley wrote:
Yes, amazing stuff @AW, just picking up on @olddog's comment on the other thread was plant shopping today and brought home two of my all time favourites perfumed flowering plants. Luculia Gratissima and Philadelphus Virginalis, Cheers, GS
GuySmiley. Hi pal. Good to chat as always.
Those two purchases will definitely provide an arousing aroma.
Luculia sp. love the cold and cool of Southern states in Oz that’s for sure. Spring flowers that smell exquisite. Plants from mid to high altitudes or high latitudes globally where a certain level of cold is required.
Philadelphus mexicanus was always a favourite of mine when landscaping clients gardens when they wanted exotics only, a great perfume that’s for sure, long lived plant that can be shaped, pruned or clipped into a hedge. Lovely yellow centre of stamens in a cupped egg white flower.
I have full respect for your admiration of plants, we could talk all day everyday about flora. All the best, I’m off with owner of where we are staying to a guy who grows tropical plants in the village here where we are staying, I’m producing a landscape plan for their half built new house, a nice challenge which is a first for me using totally tropical flora. AW
Some birdies seen on a recent sojourn. BTW love your liverworts AW.
burleigh wrote:
Looks like a European Goldfinch FR.
Yup. There were a few of them near where we were staying. Have not seen any outside of cages before but I believe they are not uncommon.
I just finished listening to an audio book about John and Elizabeth Gould and if Mr Gould saw that finch of yours @blackers he'd have the double barrel out and would take the carcass back for his wife to paint!
Nice photo of the Currawong
As an aside if you're still after photo editing software Affinity Photo are now letting people download their software for free. I've used it occasionally over the years (had to pay for it when I downloaded it though) and it's okay, not as intuitive as Lightroom but it does the job
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.