endorfinder

IndianDreaming - so it seems, I just downloaded it this afternoon. It's based on similar technologies to human biometrics, makes great sense. Getting a decent pic from an iphone on a white background isn't the easiest though... I'll have a macro lens soon which should help. What would be interesting would be to contact the developers in the US and see if they'd be interesting in expanding their database with the help of a bunch of aussie plant freaks with smartphones :D

My dear mother claims this tree is an acacia and grows like a pest around these parts (northern Queensland). The species' she thought it might have been have turned out to be incorrect though, can anyone provide an ID? many thanks! -ef

@IndianDreaming have you tried the Leafsnap smartphone app? I've played around a little but the database is obviously quite americo-centric.

Any idea on this guy? I long presumed it was an acacia but that was before I cared about plants @IndianDreaming heh I knew it was a long shot on this one after poking around google, but my dear mother has been insistant that it's an acacia for 20 years so I had to give her the benefit of the doubt !

Yes I think the pods are the giveaway. I'm not going to bother trying to ID this one any further, although I'll toss in another ID in a second while you guys are around :D I'll feel better when i take the chainsaw to this one now....

Part of me *does* hope it's a golden shower tree, there are a bunch in the wetlands behind me here, which makes me giggle. ;) What more useful pics can I take while it's still daylight? My hopes that this is an acacia are kinda slim at this point :/

@bigred the BD Vacutainers are actually pretty handy... guaranteed sterile.

Sown any yet?

Check the classifieds...

Absolutely gorgeous pics. Forgive my ignorance, but why are grafted lophs on pere more expensive than seed grown plants? What is the advantage?

I would love the acacia seeds and the rustica. If you like I can set you up with a few seeds of a range of ethnos, and you can see what thrives for you (with a little babying )

Hah, I'll sell you some LC jars, presterilised with injection ports if you're truly that lazy But really based on your question you need to read up a bit. Going straight to liquid culture is a less than ideal option since you need magnetic stirring to be remotely efficient about it, and it makes spotting contamination next to impossible. You're better off going to agar -> LC or perhaps even with grain liquid culture (GLC) depending on your situation. Not sure about the source rules, but there is an Australian vendor of mushroom supplies that carries the bulk of what you need, if you can't find it locally. As well as the usual staples, they sell things like rubber injection ports and filter disks that make assembling idiot-proof containers easy. They also have agar starter kits with petrie dishes and such... It's not hard to do things on the cheap from honey/corn syrup/malt extract, agar powder from the asian supermarket, some glass/PP (type 5 plastic) containers and a way to sterilise said containers (pressure cooker preferably). You may already have the things lying around the house.

No @mushroomman but I intend to try soon, I'll be overflowing with loph and trich seedlings soon, need a space efficient way to graft them! Today and yesterday I leisurely potted some trich cuttings and added a dragon fruit to the family The "normal" garden has sucked my attention this weekend.

@mindperformer I'm both lucky enough to have ladybugs hanging out naturally, and stupid enough to grow carnivorous plants in my greenhouse... Actually a lot of useful critters appear from time to time... I'll look in things I can grow that might attract them Edit: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-a-ladybug-feeder-attract-them-to-your-garden-169681 http://www.backyardbuddies.net.au/Meet_Backyard_buddies.html Mmm... Nice.

Marigolds and catnip are supposed to be good to keep pests away naturally, it's the only reason I'm growing them.

the archive in west end? i was away for the worst of the heat so far... somehow i managed to only lose two little babies that shouldn't have been in full sun anyway. hovering around 36 here today, and the air con ain't cutting it...

Taking up waterboy's offer, I think...? VVVV 10 Ephedra nevadensis seeds, 100+ Artemisia absinthium seeds (they're tiny), 10 Salvia splendens v "Blaze of Fire" seeds, 10 Salvia splendens v "Rocket" seeds VVVV

PM'ed, oyster bags will be perfect to break in the little concrete cave I have prepared as a sheltered outdoor fruiting bed! thanks in advance. ef

OK this thread is too good to stagnate like this, microscopy is a too oft neglected hobby . So, the next poster gets Emule's Cambodian print plus I'll throw in a Pan Cyan Hawaiian as well (both only for microscopy use). -ef VVVVVVV two prints ! VVVVVVV

Hey all - Just came back home through Singapore airport, which has a wonderful cactus garden in the international transfer section. Couldn't get to them with a decent camera, but I took some passable photos on my phone, enjoy! Oh, and the odd brown cacti are iron sculptures, before the inevitable questions :D ef

Yesterday I came back from a couple of weeks in SE Asia, after doing a graft and a ~1000 seed sow the day before leaving. I've come back and everything's doing sporting! Before I left I got an offer for all the lovely river sand (and coarser) I can carry. I had 1000 odd peruvianus and 50 loph seeds burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to plant them all in a single large plastic tub and let them germinate in my absence. I certainly didn't expect to see this many little guys sprouting 12 days later on my return! There must be ~100 already, I'll top it up with some fresh sand tomorrow and hopefully have a few hundred viable little babies within a month or two ! :D My first ever ariole graft (backberg onto pere stock) seems to have taken well, although it'll be a few weeks before it's ready for show and tell. 3x chunky ~8" pachanoi cuttings taken before xmas are now dried and ready to reroot in new pots, I've mixed them up some nice sandy soil in pots, soaking in peroxide overnight before I settle them in tomorrow. All my adults got a feed of seasol, although so did most of the garden (didn't tell them that, though). Now I just need to be patient and harden them all up so I can migrate the bigger fellas to my newly built cactus bed later in autumn! I have some pics I took of the fantastic cactus garden at Singapore Airport if anyone's interested, but I'll put those in another thread if so. Here are some pics of dragonfruit cultivation on a small family farm in Vietnam (Mekong Delta) - notice the loosely strung incandescent bulbs hanging between the trees to induce fruiting twice yearly rather than once. The flowers have been reduced back to make sure the fruit is nice and healthy.

Last night I did my first graft, an areole from a backberg onto pere. Going away for 10 days today, when I return I should have a pretty good idea how I went!