rahli

Thanks guy's It seems like Boletus or a closely related species would be the best bet. Here is a picture of the print for interests sake - I have found reference to a Pychoactive Boletus found in PNG. It seems like this is the only place with a history of use and they sound pretty full on in the effects department. Boletus manicus (Nonda gegwants Nyimbil)

I don't know (?) Figured seeing as though there are so many know and uknown active natives, thought this little tacker growing under a Eucalypt might have a good chance at being one. I'll look into the reference ID you have given and see where it leads. cheers.

Happy Birthday yall! I"ve heard half of Somalia has their birthday today as well. Its the standard birthday for those that don't keep a close eye on the calender. Or if you want birth date anonymity for online security sake. But hey it could also just be their birthdays.

I have grafted 5 Ariocarpus fissuratus. Out of the first 3 only 1 joined successfully but only by a thread. It has now fully joined. The other two just refused to join. One of the failures I placed back in the seed tray and it sprouted a root (here). The second two I used a clear cap of a nasal spray bottle weighted with wire to apply pressure on the graft for the first 2 or 3 days. This worked well but you have to use the seedlings that have not fully sprouted tubercles. The second 2 that were weighted took longer to start putting on growth. One was eaten by something and the other is just starting to put on growth after being dormant for a few months.

IME

Petalostigma pubescens "Aboriginal uses: Good fire wood; wood used to make spear throwers; after preperation and certain procedures, fruit used by women to prevent further pregnacies; infusion from bark or fruit used to relieve sore eyes; also an antiseptic wash; fruits held in mouth to relieve toothache". Brock, J. (1990). Top End Native Plants, ISBN 0731608593, pp. 279. "Medical uses: The bark and fresh fruit have been used as a bitter tonic. The bark has also been used in low intermittent fever in dosesof 10g three times a day, whereas the fruit was reputedly useful in malaria. A bark infusion has been used as an antidote for opium and as an astringent. An infusion of the bark or fruit in water (one berry per mug) was used to relieve sore eyes: one drop was used. This infusion was also used as an antiseptic wash. fruits held in the mouth were reputed to relieve toothache. Fruits were also used as a vermifuge for horses. Fruits had to be used fresh since they apparently lost all activity after drying". Lassak, E.V. and McCarthy, T. (2001). Australian Medicinal Plants. New Holland publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd, pp. 40-1. and Petalostigma_pubescens_chemistry.pdf

Thanks for these insights into the game called life.

Well you can't trust wiki but it gives you the general ideas to look further into. Thanks for your advice on the subject. Here is the wiki text that lead me to believe that this compound existed - "The bean is then ground with a mortar and pestle into a powder and mixed with a natural form of calcium hydroxide (lime) or calcium oxide (from certain types of ashes, calcined shells, etc.). This mix is then moistened to a consistency similar to bread dough, using a small amount of water. If calcium oxide is used, the water will react with it to form calcium hydroxide. Once moistened, it is kneaded into a ball for several minutes. If given enough time, calcium hydroxide will react with bufotenine and replace the hydrogen bond at the five position of bufotenine (5-HO-DMT) with calcium, forming Ca + 5-O-DMT, also known as calcium bufotenate (or calcium bufotenoxide). This is a common chemical reaction that occurs with all phenolic compounds when reacted with calcium hydroxide for expended periods of time" Wiki - Anadenanthera peregrina

cheers, thought there must be a reason for the burning of shells and limestone to form quick lime before adding it to snuffs.

I have read that burnt snail shell is converted into calcium oxide then combined with water to form calcium hydroxide. The lime is then mixed with the seed material coming into contact with bufotenine to form calcium bufotenate. Further exposure to carbon dioxide in the air converts the excess calcium hydroxide into calcium carbonate (limestone powder) which is a lot less caustic on the nasal passage. Is there any reason why calcium carbonate (powdered limestone) can't be used as the initial additive or must it first be present as calcium oxide then/or calcium hydroxide for the calcium bufotenate to form?

I'm not sure where to buy/trade caper plants but last time I was in central Australia (Alice Springs) this stuff was growing everywhere. According to the Northern Territory plants list there is both Capparis spinosa and spinosa var nummularia. It would be very interesting to source this native plant and test it for its suitability for caper production. I'm prettry sure the cappers are accually the pickled unopened flower buds . Anyway good luck finding your caper plant and if you know someone in central Australia you might even be able get the native form.

What if it was a great big f**cka and everyone at the beach looked at it and though "Geez I wish that was my kite", might be worth having blood piss out of your eyes then?

Addicted To Ice Most people have heard of the illegal drug Ice, also known as crystal meth or methamphetamine. A few years ago, Ice was mainly confined to America but recently more and more of it is turning up in Australia. In fact, Ice is “ripping” through our streets, with 73,000 Australians now classified as users and over 2,000 methamphetamine labs having already been discovered. With growing reports of Ice related crimes in the daily press, do we know why this drug is causing such social chaos? Ice has an image of being one of the worst drugs society has seen but what is it? Why is it so addictive and what exactly does it do to the body? We turn to science to sort the facts from the hype. http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/promo.htm

The first big storm for the comming wet resulted in a huge tree frog orgy right the way through my garden. Somewhere in the middle of all this a amorous pair literaly bonked the top off my prize (all be it small) peres-loph graft. They didn't even have the decency to leave the scene at day break and I was left to move them on to a more appropriate position in the pond. Lucky I had earlier prepared a Scop cutting in case of such an emergancy. So i made quick work of my first Trichocereus graft, securing it in place with a length of elastic which I plan to leave in place for at least 10 days. I plan to place it back in the full sun once the elastic is off but I'm not sure how long to leave it unwatered. Any advice would be appriciated.

Sweet botanical drawings. Did you draw them from live specimens or photograghs?

Yeah, 17 out of 24 so far. Best germination rate I've got yet and my improved seed soil mix has pumped them right up fast. Good luck with your entries gerbil.

Grafted one peres this morning. Planted 24 seed on Oct 1st Still waiting for the other peres to grow a little bigger before grafting And yet to come

lucky they got their saftey gear on.

Dutch Govt outlaws magic mushrooms http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/13/2058634.htm

Nice pics bob-bob. Bet you can't wait to graft the seedlings from the resulting fruit. 8 months full circle is much better then 5 years or so. Thanks for the pics

Hey Teo I've sprayed multicrop 'BugGuard' insect spray straight onto one of my small peres/loph grafts without ill effects (on the plant). The active constituent is 8.5g/L Potassium salts of fatty acids. Oh and good luck with the farm.

Thanks Phos We all like a chance to win Cheers

I lived in a small town in the NT which the cops would never bust dry. Why? Because then everyone would get hell pissed and try to kill each other. To much extra work for the cops (and the hospital).

Thanks for the chance of a lovely cacti. Cheers apo