Plants need birds & birds need plants!

Bird of Paradise from PNG is Magnificent!

This is not about the botantical kingdom but this bird also relies on plants!
Lettuce look at this photo: (The lettuce joke is for Dean & Levi! - Peter already uses it!)

Superb Bird of Paradise PNG

Then the female comes along here:

Mr Superb gets the Girl - all live happily ever after!

 The reason I have chosen this subject is the following two videos - no more talk just watch these! The BBC What a Wonderful World is just the best spoken version & visuals I have see of this song!

Amazing Bird!

Best Wildlife Clip!

Plumbing in a Tree!

The Pipelines of The Tree.

Trees need CO2, water, sunlight, and nutrients. Three things affect these essential components in tree growth - and they are tree characteristics, site characteristics, and climate. The tree has two major pipelines - one that carries water and nutrients from the ground to the leaves - and other (mainly down) carries all the carbohydrates (mainly sugars) to growth and storage areas of the tree.

Look at this basic diagram of the tree trunk:

Cross Section of tree trunk showing the basic components

 As you can see the major parts are the outer bark, then the cambium, sapwood and then central heartwood. So wheres the pipes? Look at this diagram of a cross section of root magnified and you can see all the cells that make up the basic pipeline.


The phloem and xylem here are dominant with not heartwood.

The phloem lies just under the bark of a tree trunk and this mainly fibrous tissue carries sugars down from the leaves to growth and storage areas. Could be called a feeding pipe or downpipe.

The xylem is composed of the sapwood and heartwood combined and carries water & nutrients to the leaves. The sapwood is the major transport area and is lighter than the heartwood. The heartwood is mainly for strength of the tree.

Trees are mainly carbon, but to ensure healthy growth, trees also need oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, and trace elements.
CO2 and sunlight are absorbed by the leaves, water is absorbed by the roots, and nutrients are absorbed mostly by the roots but also by the leaves. The chlorophyll that enables the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar through photosynthesis.

How does water rise in some cases over 100 metres from the ground to the leaves - as there is no electric pump, heart or anything to assist this? In some cases waters rises at the rate of 30 meters per hours and in large volumes. It all starts in the root area where the cells contain sugars and minerals dissolved and this will pull water from the ground into these cells through osmosis, and the water pressure then transfers the flow onto the next cells upward and so on. This is repeated throughout the xylem or sapwood until it is released into the tissue of the leaves. Also involved in this is the evaporation of water from the leaves into the air - that is called transpiration - and will cause a vacuum effect that is quickly filled by water rising up the trunk. In some cases during rapid growth a tree may only utilise 1% of the water sent up the tree to the leaves - with the rest lost to the atmosphere.




Parts of a Tree

 As you can see the trees trunk, branches and roots are all set up in a similar way that helps these pipelines operate.
The phloem is the section between the bark and the cambium layer - and this carries the sugars around to differentt areas of the tree ranging from the roots to new growth tips at the very top. The phloem is only small compared to the xylem in the main trunk as it only carries the concentrated sugars to the growth and storage areas.

The parts of the trunk

The cambium is the main growth or cell making area of the tree. It provides new cells for the phloem and xylem and will continually lay down these new tissues at a rapid rate. The outer bark is the main protection for the whole tree interior pipework - and will vary greatly from species to species.
 

Satinay - the Builders Name?

Satinay, Turpentine or Syncarpia hillii.

Well, again we start with the reason for this article and it involves lunch with three other men, one a builder (the same one as the Jacaranda story), a boat builder, and the builders son. The talk got around to timber and carbon sequestration with trees - and I happened to mention Turpentine from Fraser Island! The reply was short and swift -

"Turpentine is the common name - not it's proper name - It's Fraser Island Satinay!"

I would like to mention prior to correcting the builder on his error - his knowledge of timber, history and the area of Fraser Island is second to none. Where did the name Central Station come from? Why is the current railway line the width it is? etc These are all questions I get asked regularly - so you can understand this reply!

Here's a few photos of the Satinay or Turpentine (both common names)

Satinay or Turpentine at Fraser Island

Syncarpia hilli flower! The Botanical name!

Central Station - ex logging camp - why the name?

So very quickly - the botanical name is Syncarpia hilli - just one of many species within the syncarpia genus! Syncarpia hillii is a tree of the Myrtaceae family which grows on Fraser Island, Queensland, and the surrounding Cooloola area. Common names for this species are Satinay and Fraser Island Turpentine.  Large examples of this tree may be seen growing at the 'Central Station' picnic area on Fraser Island.
The tree can grow to 40 metres tall and the trunk may reach over one metre in diameter.

It is valuable timber tree, particularly for marine pylons as it is totally resistant to marine borers . It is also fire and termite resistant. However, supply is limited. Satinay timber was used in the construction of the Suez Canal and London Docks. Resin from the sap has proven useful in treating chronic ulcers. There's another native to one of Queenslands islands that is also resistant to termites - whats's it's Botanical name?

If you require answers to the builders questions above? I have already suggested he writes his own BLOG site! And this also proves that men at lunch don't always discuss footy, the races and jokes! But that's another story!

Jacaranda - Who knows where it came from?

Jacaranda - Where did it come from?

I was asked where the Jacaranda and the Poinciana came from by a friend - he said Madagascar? I wasn't sure so hence this little article on the Blue Haze Tree or "Get ready it's exam time tree"!
Below is a photo of the particular Jacaranda we were discussing:

A broken limb off a Jacaranda nearly 20 meters long

 Now to the history of it's origin - and this is where it gets interesting as Stirling Macoboy (who my friend uses a gospel) didn't read his copy that day -

"the Jacaranda is found naturally in the high and dry deserts of Brazil."

But as investigations take us further - the fact that it has been introduced all over the world as Baron von Ludwig  did in Cape Town about 1829. Time of arrival in Australia was considered around 1900 - but it is thought to be earlier than this. It was almost certainly the first jacaranda to be grown in Australia. Walter Hill, the Gardens' Superintendent, planted it in 1864. It remained in the Gardens until 1979, when it was blown over during a cyclone ― part of the trunk is now located at the offices of the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Under the jacaranda (see below) 1903 has been one of the best loved works in the Queensland Art Gallery since it entered the Collection in 1903. Godfrey Rivers completed the painting 13 years after he arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom. The work depicts Rivers and Miss Selina Bell, who later became his wife, taking tea under the shade of a jacaranda tree in full bloom. The tree was a landmark in Brisbane's Botanic Gardens, which adjoined the grounds of the Brisbane Technical College where Rivers taught from 1891 to 1915. It's worth a visit to the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens to see this specimen - and the painting below is on display at Queensland Art Gallery.

R. Godfrey Rivers | England/Australia 1859-1925 | Under the jacaranda 1903 | Oil on canvas | 143.4 x 107.2cm | Purchased 1903 | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

The main street of the town of Red Cliffs, Victoria, Australia (part of the Calder Highway) was named Jacaranda Street in the original town plans of the early 1920s and Jacaranda trees have since been planted to line this street. So they had to have been in Australia for Town Planners to have designated street names after them! Ipswich, Grafton and Brisbane have also had a long history of Jacarandas. In South Africa their love extends to students that start studying hard when the Jacaranda starts flowering as they do every year that coincide with end of year exams! South Africa's love of Jacaranda's is similar to our own but with legend - they have this little legend which has not yet been proven:

University of Pretoria and legend has it that if a flower from the Jacaranda tree drops on your head, you will pass all your exams.

Here's a photo of Jacarandas in Zimbabwe - South Africa.

Jacaranda in flower in Harare, Zimbabwe - could be Grafton Australia.

There are so many stories regarding the Jacaranda - and its contribution to the gardens of Australia has been invaluable!  Another article will describe the botanical information of beautiful tree from Brazil, Peru, Argentina or Bolivia (Oh - and I put in Madagascar for my friend)?

Use the poll on the right to vote where you think it originated from? A clue is in the name Jacaranda mimosifolia!  Poll Open Now

Pōhutukawa - What's in a Name

Metrosideros - what a great genus!

This beautiful group of shrubs, vines and trees are in the Order Myrtales and Family Myrtaceae which means they are a close relative of the Gum Tree (Eucalyptus) yet there are no native Australian species of Metrosideros.

NZ Xmas Bush or pōhutukawa

This showy group of plants in the genus Metrosideros comprises of about 50 known species in 3 subgenus:

1. Mearnsia, 24 or 25 species, trees, shrubs (some epiphytic) and vines, with red, pink or white flowers;
2. Metrosideros, 26 species, trees and shrubs, flowers mostly red, but some species have yellow or white flowers;
3. Carpolepis, 3 species of rainforest trees from New Caledonia, all with bright yellow flowers.

New Zealand has only 12 species of Metrosideros although it is through that this group all originated from there in the late Cretaceous period after breaking off from Gondwana Land. Hawaii has five, and Papua has four with the remainder scattered across small islands of the Pacific, with one outsider described from South Africa.

The name Metrosideros comes from Greek - metra meaning "heartwood" and sideron meaning "iron! Hence the term ironwood as the it was used in carving by the original New Zealanders the Maori! The Maori also named Metrosideros excelsa as the pōhutukawa which means "sprinkled with spray" - as it describes the plants habit of clinging to salt water cliff faces and being constanly exposed to the marine environment. In mid-summer in the southern Hemisphere the pōhutukawa is covered in flowers and hence the easier name of New Zealand Xmas Bush! The photo above is of metrosideros excelsa and even within this species the leaf colour can vary from leathery grey to dark almost shiny green! Normally the underside is always a silvery colour.

The other species (also NZ) of NZ Xmas Bush is metrosideros kermadecensis which is mainly sold today as the varigated form with also a wide variety of colours.

metrosideros kermadecensis

Metrosideros polymorpha  - or the Ohi'a Lehua is from the Hawaiian Islands and is found growing up to 35 meters high. When these large trees are covered in red vivid blanket of flowers - you can understand the Hawaiians declaring it sacred to the VOLCANO goddess called PELE!

ōhiʻa lehua  or Metrosideros polymorpha 

Books that botanists read!

My favourite gardening book!

"The Lazy Gardener" by Don Burke is still one of the better publications for the home gardener (Yes, I use it) and the latest one is a very entertaining read! Funny, stories, recipes, tips & the environment rolled into a chapter by chapter informative story. The original "The Lazy Gardener" is almost a collectors item - if you haven't read this - then try and get a copy!

R'Cycling and the 'Nvironment contains some of the most practical advice out of all the different gardening magazines. His environmental advice is based on common sense - not as Don puts it "feel good one day experiences".

Here's a photo of the front cover - you can also click the photo to go to Don's site - Burke's Backyard.


Click the photo!

Also his recipe for Finger Lime canapes is terrific. But I perfer the pulp on fresh oysters! YUM!

The name he has for slow release (or controlled) fertilisers is funny! But you'll have to read it to find out.

GRASS is not a Grass!

Grass is not a grass!

Cannabis species (Grass) is not technically a grass at all. It is a member of the flowering plants called dicotyledons while true grasses are members of the moncotyledons.

Cannabis is a dicotyledon - It is not a grass!

Where the name "Grass" came from is unknown by this author - maybe check more informed sites on cannabis! But grasses in the true sense, normally have narrow leaves with smooth edges. Their flowers are arranged also in threes or multiplies of three.

First - the difference between monocotyledons and dicotyledons is in the seed development. Cotyledon refers to the first seed leaf that appears and in monocots only one leaf (cotyledon) appears while in dicotyledons there are two seed cotyledons (leaves) that appear first. Beans are dicotyledons as are the majority of flowering plants. Here is a drawing of the basic difference between a monocotyledon and a dicotyledon.



Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons compliements of Wikipedia

In this example they have used a bean seedling and a corn seedling. The major difference is the emergence of the two leaves in the bean (dicotyledon) and only the one leaf in the corn (monocotyledon). Cannabis is a dicotyledon and should not be refered to as a grass.

Monocotyledons include all the grasses, orchids, lillies, palms and bananas. There are many more species and number of dicotyledons than monocotyledons. But of the two - it is the grasses (monocotyledons) that man relies on so heavily. Corn, rice, wheat, oats, barley, sugar cane, millet, sorgham and bamboo are all members of the moncot group and basically classified as grasses. Some of the grasses (including wheat, corn etc) are annual, and these grow one season and produce seeds, then die. The average lawn grass is not annual and has the majority of the plant underground and will spread by runners in the soil. The leaves of these grasses can be grazed by cattle, sheep or lawnmowers and continually regrow!

Wheat is descended  from wild grasses some 7,000 years ago - when man selectively cultivated the plants with the most grain - and then chose these seeds for the next crop. Over the years techniques have been deleveloped that currently wheat is now dependant on man to survive and spread.

Cultivated wheat is a grass! (somewhat modified)

Grasses in general cover nearly one third of the land area on earth, as they don't rely on as much moisture as many other plants. Their survival ability sees them exist in deserts, the artic, mountains and salt pans - the role they play in the environment is probably the greatest of all plant groups.