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tonic

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Posts posted by tonic

  2. Posted

    Cereus peruvianus is the big multistemmed, small spined cactus you commonly see in gardens [which gnomes often make clandestine night missions to collect and find out after much cooking that it contains little to no gnomic alkaloids and get a little bit annoyed, gnomes are funny like that], it also has tasty [if pollinated] edible fruit. Trichocereus/Echinopsis peruvianus is the one of most ethnobotanical interest and seems to have a vast array of hybrids and cultivars on the market. Usually has much larger spination than the former mentioned genus/species Possibly making it quite hard to get what was the original form.

  3. Posted · Edited by tonic

    Hi Apothecary :)

    I'm roughly an hour from Sydney, can see the stars, fairly well, and other strange lights :blink: , no powerlines [we don't have mains power], we live reasonably cheap for being this close to the big smoke, though I must say there are a few major drawbacks, which I wont go into here, amazing wildeness type bushland at the back door, very easy to get lost in! Lots of wildlife.

    Though saying all this a move to the north coast is on the cards in the next few years [we will be selling :wink: ], favourable growing climate ect; I am still tied to the big city at the moment due to my music career [maybe] gaining some momentum, but thats never that reliable :rolleyes: anyways if it sounds interesting, or you just want hear a bit more about it, drop me a pm

    BTW it happened because it is cheaper than most places in or around the Sydney district and it's a lovely place.

  4. Posted · Edited by tonic

    So when is it? I'd like to join in if I may? [if I feel up to a social thing at the time, not that good in these situations :blush:, I went to a meet out west in 2003 had to leave though. Am keen to meet some people who are actually interested in similiar things to what I am interested in, my plant love has been piqued recently again, after quite a while of doing other stuff.

    So if there is a date set? Will try and make it

    Thanks

  5. Posted · Edited by tonic

    It uses whatever the mycorrhiza uses as food, for example, decaying leaves, humus, ect; it is parasytic on the mycorrhiza, and the mycorrhiza lives in symbiosis with the Eucalyptus sp. to help control pests ect; and possibly has nutritional benefits for the host tree?

    A very interesting system of life I would say, what with having three lifeforms all living symbiotically and relying on one another

    Yes mycoparasite is real term, usually associated with Fungi though for example:

    mycoparasite: a fungus parasitic on another fungus.

    & here is the definition of mycorrhiza

    mycorrhiza: a mutualistic or weakly pathogenic association of a fungus and the roots of a plant. There are a number of types, some of which are: ectomycorrhiza, where the fungus is on the surface of the roots and forms a Hartig net; endomycorrhiza, where the fungus invades the cells of roots where it is frequently confined to well-defined layers; ectendomycorrhiza, where there is a Hartig net but the fungus also penetrates the root cells; and vesicular arbuscular, where the hyphae in the cortical cells of the root may be coiled or branched. pl. mycorrhizae.

  7. Posted · Edited by tonic

    From my research on the amended:

    Guide to Psychoactive Plants Native to Australia 2007 [amended by me]

    Psychotria loniceroides = no dmt

    I'm finding it hard to glean much information on the Australian group of this Genus, but will keep looking

  9. Posted · Edited by tonic

    Cacti flowers tend to very variable, the fact that they have NO pups whatsoever and considering the size [without pupping] I would say definately Lophophora williamsii

    Diffuse: Widely or loosely scattered or spreading.

    Spreading: Having a horizontally branching habit.

    L. diffusa is diffuse in it's growing pattern and will pup very readily from a small size

    I'm sticking with Lophophora williamsii the ribs are far too pronounced for me to think it was any other species

    Incedentally, what species did you purchase them as?

  13. Posted

    What is the progress on this list? I am in the process of amending this list and researching the active constituents, plant locales, uses ect; anyone know what's happening with this, did it end up on wiki? Or did it all fall by the wayside? An interesting [but time consuming project], this information should be worked on for it is an important work for all Australian ethnobotanist communities, can someone please get back to me on this.

    Thanks

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    Don't want to hunt around for posts/websites but generally:

    Blue meanies = Copelandia cyanescens

    Gold tops = Psilocybe cubensis

    hey thanks MORG, this should help me in my research a bit :)

    Interesting to note that one of the most talked about mushrooms happens to be introduced :o

  20. Posted · Edited by tonic

    yeah some people give cacti native fertiliser mixes low on nitrogen

    i use a slow release fertiliser which has a fairly high amount of nitrogen and my plants are absolutely powering.

    currently i see no evidence that mine dont like it.

    will cut back on the high levels of fert im currently using in the winter though.

    (N)= Nitrogen is great for growth, i;e with normal vascular plants the leaves will turn very green and grow extremely well the same applies for cacti

    (P)= Phosphorus is great for promoting root growth and helping in fortifying against plant disease

    (K)= Potassium is great for flowering and then seed production

    As I said it's usually good to have a balance of all 3, but it is also good to give a good dose of (N) at the start of the growing period.

    Native plants [mainly PROTEACEAE] are intolerant of, particulary (P), most native plants don't mind a little bit of (N), and Acacia spp. have Nitrogen fixing nodules on thier roots which actually feed surrounding plants :) . Always do your research before feeding any native plant with any of the above elements, generally they shouldnt need too much feeding if in the ground anyway [if any].

    I always feed my cacti with either high N feed [example fish emulsion, worm poo juice] or a more balanced feed something like miracle grow isn't too bad and has a ratio of (N): 15.0% (P): 13.1% (K): 12.4% as you can see the balance is quite close, though some schools of thought choose to use ONLY organic plant food as gnomes who may consider going to be ingesting ect; may noy not want chemical contaminants within the substance, gnomes are funny like that :wink:

    ....and you probably shouldn't feed plants through the winter months as it can stress them, if you really want to just do it once in winter as opposed to the growing period [spring-summer] which would be more likely to be fortnightly [at HALF STRENGTH] applications.

    Anyway hope that helps a bit :)

  24. Posted · Edited by tonic

    i was under the impression that cacti weren't big on nitrogen

    Iv'e never heard that, although it's usually better to just use a good balance of N, P and K for an all round feed

    PS: I've seen decent portable walk in hot houses for sale at bunnings :wink:

    You can always try building a small poly house from old tent poles and some plastic sheeting from the hardware [or variations on this theme], opaque white is usually the best option to cut down the UV rays a bit, see how you go, I recommend a hothouse or polyhouse any day :)

  25. Posted · Edited by tonic

    "Acacia melanoxylon, DMT in the bark and leaf" is the quote :) this one is quite common in the Blue Mountains of NSW [likes the cold, hence it being common in Tasmania], could be an interesting research point to find out more about the active constituents of this attractive species

    In NSW prickly moses is Acacia ulicifolia

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