Botany Nerds Ahoy
That’s a healthy looking brown there AW.
Not sure if I've already posted this.
overthefalls wrote:Does anyone know about epiphytic weeds on north coast rainforest trees? Some of my hard quandong trees (Elaeocarpus obovatus) have a weed growing on them with leaves similar to the host, except the leaves are thicker and glossier. I just noticed these weeds today because they have a red flower, which the hard quandong does not have.
OverThefalls. i really hope you received my apology.
Do you have a photo ?
Red flowers with leaves similar to the host tree, im thinking a species of native Mistletoe. AW
etarip wrote:That’s a healthy looking brown there AW.
Etarip. Hi mate. Not wrong, definitely healthy, it’s the girth that impresses me, they are strong robust snakes, i posted one a year ago from here at home, similar length and girth.
Early Spring in Victoria is watch where you step. Most, but not all snakes drop into low torpor ( a state of just a very slow heart beat, all about energy preservation) late Autumn to Winter.
As ambient temperatures and day length increases (Spring) snakes leave their calm zone and head out to feed, they are very hungry and their venom is calibrated to a high rate of toxicity so when they strike, its almost death immediately to its prey, fewer the strikes early Spring means high toxin. As prey becomes easier when the snake is more mobile as weather temp increases, the lethal dose toxicity slowly declines and multiple strikes are often observed. All about prioritising. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:overthefalls wrote:Does anyone know about epiphytic weeds on north coast rainforest trees? Some of my hard quandong trees (Elaeocarpus obovatus) have a weed growing on them with leaves similar to the host, except the leaves are thicker and glossier. I just noticed these weeds today because they have a red flower, which the hard quandong does not have.
OverThefalls. i really hope you received my apology.
Do you have a photo ?
Red flowers with leaves similar to the host tree, im thinking a species of native Mistletoe. AW
Apology accepted, AW. We’re in the same corner and I’m as passionate as you when it comes to fighting against the ignorant bigots out there.
You’re right; it’s native mistletoe. Is it a threat to the wellbeing if the host tree?
BTW, how do you know so much about flora and fauna? Did you study formally or is it years of experience in the field?
overthefalls wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:overthefalls wrote:Does anyone know about epiphytic weeds on north coast rainforest trees? Some of my hard quandong trees (Elaeocarpus obovatus) have a weed growing on them with leaves similar to the host, except the leaves are thicker and glossier. I just noticed these weeds today because they have a red flower, which the hard quandong does not have.
OverThefalls. i really hope you received my apology.
Do you have a photo ?
Red flowers with leaves similar to the host tree, im thinking a species of native Mistletoe. AWApology accepted, AW. We’re in the same corner and I’m as passionate as you when it comes to fighting against the ignorant bigots out there.
You’re right; it’s native mistletoe. Is it a threat to the wellbeing if the host tree?
BTW, how do you know so much about flora and fauna? Did you study formally or is it years of experience in the field?
OTF. Hi mate. Mistletoe plants aim to or can severely destroy or kill their host.
They are what’s called hemi-parasitic plants. A bit of co-evolution going on, for example when the host plants foliage looks similar to the parasite, imagine how long thats taken to evolve to look like your host when you don’t even have the same genes. We are talking hundreds of thousands to millions of years, it’s fascinating.
The role of mistletoe’s is to kill the host, this may appear bad to us anthropomorphic folk but its evolution working as per the master plan, which is to keep your gene pool forever mutating, evolving and not to have it diluted in any way etc. A niche is left behind once the host tree dies and them becomes habitat for other creatures, its all linked, natural communities.
As global citizens we often talk about power, war, bombs , nuclear etc.
The post powerful force on earth today is genes, genetic behaviours driving evolution, think about it for awhile.
Mistletoe is spread primarily by the Mistletoe bird (a frugivore, birds or animals that mainly eat fruit)which occurs in nearly all regions of Australia, member of the flowerpecker group related to birds of that ilk in the tropics. I see Mistletoe birds most times I’m out in the field.
Oct/November last year I was fortunate to see a couple of Orange-Bellied Flowerpeckers at Lances Right in the Ments.
The Mistletoe bird eats the seed, it passes through the digestive system, gastric acids and other chemicals break the seed coat, bird shits it out with a sticky mucilagelatinous substance that adheres the seed to a branch and out of the seed comes what’s called haustorium, these little biteys from the seed bind onto the vascular flow of host and use up water and nutrients. Multiple parasites will kill the host, one maybe not.
Elaeaocarpus sp. like most host trees , have a specific Mistletoe plant for that actual genus.
I was just a landscaper who studied horticulture, I did all my best learning by reading books and being blessed with an inherited photographic memory, especially when it come to the biological world.
I’ve a library like you can’t imagine. I’ve been interested in birds and plants and everything else since I was 4 years old.
Supafreak and I are about the same age. But, I still feel as young as a mere Spring Chicken.
As I say, if you’re interested, it’s all interesting.AW
Nice Eastern Brown AW- haven't seen the usual browns I see here yet - although I am sure it has been warm enough for them since early Aug.
No red-bellied blacks with the frogs?
Do you have the Frog ID app?
I'm addicted to that thing!
freeride76 wrote:Nice Eastern Brown AW- haven't seen the usual browns I see here yet - although I am sure it has been warm enough for them since early Aug.
No red-bellied blacks with the frogs?
Do you have the Frog ID app?
I'm addicted to that thing!
Freeride76. Hi mate. Haven’t seen one yet, won’t be long. Browns dominate here, pastoral hinterland, rats, mice, skinks, frogs, legless lizards, ,baby bunnies in warrens, Stubble and Brown Quail.
I know of the frog app, over the decades I’ve become accustomed to most of our frogs calls down here, I’m sure I’d struggle up North with you guys. Hope you’re well. AW
Thanks for the reply, AW. Think I’ll remove the mistletoe to protect the tree. Sounds like you and I have followed similar paths. I studied horticulture at VCAH Burnley and was a landscaper for several years until back and knee problems led me into more sedentary work. Nearly 30 years later, I’m still a tree nerd.
ADDENDUM to the Mistletoe discussion. Ive just reread what i wrote, the role of a Mistletoe plant is to enhance or spread its own genes via sexual reproduction , when a host tree has several plants hooking into it, it may or most likely will die. Sorry if i confused folk. AW
overthefalls wrote:Thanks for the reply, AW. Think I’ll remove the mistletoe to protect the tree. Sounds like you and I have followed similar paths. I studied horticulture at VCAH Burnley and was a landscaper for several years until back and knee problems led me into more sedentary work. Nearly 30 years later, I’m still a tree nerd.
OTF, Wow, how interesting, so did i, 1987 i started at VCAH, almost parallel lives.
Gotta admit, it’s been a good one , especially when you are immersed in these topics of discussion. I simply love it and love people learning, of which i do everyday.
I attended and watched an amazing presentation on Thursday night by a colleague whose presentation was about Short-Tailed Shearwaters and their enormous migration and lifestyle (muttonbirds). I was definitely a wiser man the day after. AW
That's a solid brown snake AW, I saw one a very similar size a few days ago.
And as you said, although it was easy 6ft+, it was fat, a big thick thing.
I was doing a few laps up and down a very popular set of steps and the thing had a little hidy hole under the steps but took off when it felt me coming.
AndyM wrote:That's a solid brown snake AW, I saw one a very similar size a few days ago.
And as you said, although it was easy 6ft+, it was fat, a big thick thing.
I was doing a few laps up and down a very popular set of steps and the thing had a little hidy hole under the steps but took off when it felt me coming.
AndyM. Hi mate. Yes, it’s always the girth that gets me, wonderful natural genetic engineering at its best, fit to fight.
If anyone’s interested, on YouTube there’s an Australian guy who states the Ten Things You Didn’t Know about the aforementioned snake, the colour diversity is incredible, even a thick striped orange version, well worth a look.
Keep up that great cardiovascular and upper thigh work. AW
Yeah, the colour diversity is amazing on browns.
It's amazing to me how abundant they are and how few people get bitten.
Lennox Point is absolutely packed with browns.
freeride76 wrote:Yeah, the colour diversity is amazing on browns.
It's amazing to me how abundant they are and how few people get bitten.
Lennox Point is absolutely packed with browns.
Freeride76. Hi. I agree with you totally, very few people get bitten I find them very shy, as you’d know the main reasons people get bitten, accidentally standing on one or the usual idiot cause, trying to kill one. Leave them alone, they’ve a role to play.AW
I found a couple of photos of a M and F Peregrine Falcons refurbishing the upper surface of a disused Whistling Kite nest overhanging a small swamp. Elegant birds..AW
A couple of very beautiful and interesting spiders. AW
Argiope keyserlingi St.Andrew’s Cross Spider . An orb weaving spider.
Backobourkia sp. ( believe it or not that’s the generic name) An orb weaving spider
You can clearly see the two thorn like protuberances on the abdomen , a clear diagnostic feature when identifying.
Great pics AW…
Always thought those st andrews cross spiders were deadly - as a youngster I hastily avoided running through a web and collided with a wasp nest instead and knocked it off the side of our garage at home…
- good lesson in fear, that one. (later learned the spider was harmless).
Jelly Flater wrote:Great pics AW…
Always thought those st andrews cross spiders were deadly - as a youngster I hastily avoided running through a web and collided with a wasp nest instead and knocked it off the side of our garage at home…
- good lesson in fear, that one. (later learned the spider was harmless).
JellyFlater. Hi mate. Thanks, the iPhone certainly gets a workout when I’m in the field.
True, we all had those societal fears instilled in us from a very early age, I do understand though, our parents, as animals, just simply protecting us .
Age brings wisdom.AW.
AlfredWallace wrote:ADDENDUM to the Mistletoe discussion. Ive just reread what i wrote, the role of a Mistletoe plant is to enhance or spread its own genes via sexual reproduction , when a host tree has several plants hooking into it, it may or most likely will die. Sorry if i confused folk. AW
AW/OTF, mistletoe is a pretty amazing resource providing nectar, fruit and the clumps make great nesting spots. I’d be inclined to leave it .
There is some comment that multiple clumps of mistletoe may not kill a tree.
https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1271899/HLLS-Mist...
Distracted wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:ADDENDUM to the Mistletoe discussion. Ive just reread what i wrote, the role of a Mistletoe plant is to enhance or spread its own genes via sexual reproduction , when a host tree has several plants hooking into it, it may or most likely will die. Sorry if i confused folk. AW
AW/OTF, mistletoe is a pretty amazing resource providing nectar, fruit and the clumps make great nesting spots. I’d be inclined to leave it .
There is some comment that multiple clumps of mistletoe may not kill a tree.
https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1271899/HLLS-Mist...
Distracted. Hi mate. I’d be leaving it also.
Thanks for the info. All the Eucalyptus around here, when they have 6-8 mistletoe present, they eventually die. It’s all tree specific as you would know. Good stuff.AW
Stressed trees. It’s the land management not the mistletoe.
bonza wrote:Stressed trees. It’s the land management not the mistletoe.
Bonza. Hi mate. Where I live many large very old trees like Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) have died over the past 10-15 years. They had Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquelli ) present to such an extent that a lot of what looked like foliage was actually the mistletoe vegetation.
Similarly, Yellow Gums (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) here that are quite old are heavily occupied with Drooping Mistletoe (Amyema pendula) which produces enormous biomass. Some of the mistletoe clusters hanging can be 3-4m in length and 1-2m wide, some trees have so many clusters it’s even difficult to identify the host trees own foliage.
Fire has been in this landscape in the last decade, many trees killed , some trees have probably become stressed overtime that’s for sure.
Large Eucalyptus sp. close to roads here also have alot of mistletoe present, many trees have half their root plate out under existing gravel or bitumen, more stress I’d imagine.. AW.
@OverTheFalls. Hi. Here’s a book I bought 6 months ago, might be of interest. AW
I'm sure you are all over it AW, but for everyone else - the annual Aussie Bird Count is coming up soon.
an easy, fun and worthy thing to do, while we are also admiring all the botany...
Deffo Greenjam.
GreenJam wrote:I'm sure you are all over it AW, but for everyone else - the annual Aussie Bird Count is coming up soon.
an easy, fun and worthy thing to do, while we are also admiring all the botany...
Greenjam & Freeride76. I’m definitely a participant for the Aussie Backyard Bird Count.
Importantly, I also will be participating globally with millions of others in the Big Day Count , October 14th.
Here, bird observers like myself, using the eBird app , voluntarily collect as i do twice daily everyday of my life, data, if you are going to observe birds, make it count.
The eBird app is one of the most powerful known, its basically a platform that collects temporal (time) and spatial (place) data, its GPS tracked, a signal from satellites makes it useable almost anywhere. As a user, i simply enter the bird species i saw through my binoculars and the number of them. A list is produced in the app, i simply add a few comments and then submit it to the worlds largest depository of ornithological data on the planet, Cornell University, Ithaca, in up state New York.
This database is so big that it has approximately 280 tech gurus working on it on any one day.
So, when i walk and observe birds, this app ‘paints a picture’ , input from all corners of the globe helps build models of the status of birds in both hemispheres. The access to all this data is available to users, the app is free and it’s the least we can do for birds.
There’s a warm feeling about doing something twice a day, completely voluntary and knowing it’s helping birds, because, they need help. AW
Some things from a few walks in the NP near where we have been staying.
Mountain Devil, Waratah and I've seen that purple one lots. Nice Blackers!
You in the Blue Mountains or Kuringai?
blackers wrote:Some things from a few walks in the NP near where we have been staying.
Blackers. Hi to you and your lady. Hope you are both having a good time.
Nice shots. Top photo i think is a Thomasia sp. Second photo Lambertia formosa, Third Telopea speciosissima and fourth photo Patersonia sericea var.longifolia. AW
Craig wrote:You in the Blue Mountains or Kuringai?
Neither, Budderoo NP, Carrington Falls. Very happy to see waratahs flowering in situ.
AlfredWallace wrote:....
Nice shots. Top photo i think is a Thomasia sp. Second photo Lambertia formosa, Third Telopea speciosissima and fourth photo Patersonia sericea var.longifolia. AW
Hi Alfred, thanks we are having a ball.
Thanks for the id's.
Not sure the top one is Thomasina, plantnet suggests Dampiera stricta. Seeing them all over the place in the dry sclerophyll forest around the escarpment. Heart shaped petals.
blackers wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:....
Nice shots. Top photo i think is a Thomasia sp. Second photo Lambertia formosa, Third Telopea speciosissima and fourth photo Patersonia sericea var.longifolia. AWHi Alfred, thanks we are having a ball.
Thanks for the id's.
Not sure the top one is Thomasina, plantnet suggests Dampiera stricta. Seeing them all over the place in the dry sclerophyll forest around the escarpment. Heart shaped petals.
Blackers. I keep forgetting you take a lot of macro shots, I see heart shaped petals, i was tricked by the foliage with its little ‘pustule’ like dots.
I think you are correct, Dampiera sp.. (Goodeniaceae family) Enjoy.AW
Funnily it was the location that suggested it wasn't Thomasina. Don't mean to confuse with the photos, just provide details.
blackers wrote:Funnily it was the location that suggested it wasn't Thomasina. Don't mean to confuse with the photos, just provide details.
Blackers. Hi mate. No confusion from your end, it’s all mine, I confused myself, broke the cardinal rules of Botany 101, all plants are classified based upon the floristics, I jumped to foliage and stuffed my ego with the wrong idea instead of focusing in on flowers. Keep enjoying what you guys are doing. All of best.AW
Anyone want to have a crack at identifying this one?
Looks familiar- not a burnie bean?
I genuinely don't know FR.
I would like to. Can't find anything online.
EDIT. No, not a bernie bean.
fitzroy-21 wrote:Anyone want to have a crack at identifying this one?
At this early stage of i.d. Im thinking possibly Notelaea sp.
fitzroy-21 wrote:
Fitzroy-21. Is this photographed plant in a garden or a natural system in northern NSW or OLD ? Thanks .AW
AW, Garden in Coastal West Arnhem Land NT.
On an outstation, no one knows who planted it.
fitzroy-21 wrote:AW, Garden in Coastal West Arnhem Land NT.
On an outstation, no one knows who planted it.
Fitzroy-21. Thanks. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:fitzroy-21 wrote:Anyone want to have a crack at identifying this one?
At this early stage of i.d. Im thinking possibly Notelaea sp.
It’s not a species of Notelaea, different flower inflorescence.. Will try again.AW
Kopsia arborea.
@ Craig. That looks like the one. Legend. Cheers.
Here's another one from the same spot. Fruit is about the size of a dollar coin. Can anyone identify please?
Seems a keen interest for some, so why not.