cristop

I'm pretty sure it's Agonis flexuosa, a WA native

Looks like the WA species Acacia saligna. If so that would make it a weed in Victoria. It likes disturbance and has gone feral in South Africa causing all sorts of problems there. Kill it before it multiplies!

I actually found some of the first acacia on a walk by the Canning River today and grabbed some material together with last year's pods from the litter. It is Acacia dentifera. I took it through the electronic key ('Wattle') and confirmed it against written descriptions of certain features. Here is some basic info: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/3294 If you submit photos in future try to find pods. With large plants there are usually some old ones in the litter. Also include something in the photos to help with scale (matchbox, pen whatever). All A. acuminata variants have curved phyllode tips and those tips are hairy - at least a little bit. The hairs might run down the margins of the phyllode or they may be restricted to the tip. There are a few other acacias that also have hairy curved tips (e.g. A. assimilis, A. aulacophylla) but these are not flat in cross section like A. acuminata. The other A. acuminata variants, including A. burkittii which is now a species in its own right, are only found in the arid zone. A. longifolia is a weed and you'd be doing the environment a favor if you killed these trees. Not so with A. acuminata.

The first could be Acacia extensa, but it looks very large for that species. I agree that the second is A. acuminata. I'm thinking you must be somewhere along the eastern edge of the Jarrah forest rather than in the Perth area..

There area few similar looking acacias in SE Qld. Considering it's about to flower and it's July look at concurrens, crassa, julifera, leiocalyx and leptocarpa. There should be some pods among the leaf litter to help you pick between these

You're right on both counts. These wattles are native to NSW & Qld and sometimes go feral in WA.

I took it through the Wattle electronic key and agree it's Acacia iteaphylla. There's some growing as a hedge down the street from me and it's flowering now as well. The bracts around the budding racemes helped nail it.

The first three are Sonchus oleraceus

I used to think solar power was only a feelgood measure available to people who had a spare $10,000. Then I looked into it, something I should have done years ago. Anyway I just had 1.5kW of solar panels + inverter installed. It's giving me 8 to 9 kWhs per day. The cost was $9190 less $6200 for the RECs. So I pay $2990. BUT it is in interest free installments over two years. The installments come to one $299 deposit then monthly payments of $112.12 over two years. Given the savings on the power bills I'll hardly feel it. What's more, whenever the meter is running backwards - which is any day the A/C is off - I can sell the surplus electricity back to Synergy for 47c a kWh, which is more than they charge me! They are happy because they get my solar power through the summer daytime peak demand period. Anyway, if the conspiracy theorists want to pay more for their electicity forever, let them. Let them drive gas guzzlers too, if that is their way of standing up to the threat of global communism. As long as they don't want their power bills subsidised by my taxes and they don't whinge about the cost of petrol, who cares?

I don't think anyone ever said that global warming accounts for every weather event. Nor does anyone say we will no longer have seasons; or every successive year must be hotter than the last.

I am not a climate scientist, but from what I have read the factors that influence global temperatures on the timescale of months as opposed to years or decades would include: 1. Solar activity. This goes through 11 year cycles and longer term changes, but it also fluctuates day to day & month to month. 2. Heat exchange between the oceans & atmosphere. Global average temperatures are based on land and sea surface measurements, so deep sea temperatures don't figure. The extreme El Nino of 1998 for example was mostly responsible for the record high temps of that year because higher temperatures concentrated in surface waters of the Pacific were able to discharge their heat into the atmosphere very efficiently. Aside from El Nino Southern Oscillation, other well known atmosphere-oceanic heat exchange systems include the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation, the Antarctic Oscillation, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the Madden–Julian oscillation. I expect there are others as well. Apart from the direct effects of these systems on sea & air surface temperatures, there are also changes in precipitation and cloud cover. These factors (e.g. snow cover, cloud cover) change reflectivity (albedo) giving a secondary influence on surface temperatures. 3. Volcanic clouds. These are particularly influential if they get into the stratosphere. 4. Seasonal CO2. This oscillates throughout the year. Most of the earths land mass is in the northern hemisphere, so in the northern spring & summer CO2 falls as plant growth absorbs it, then is released as leaves decay in the autumn & winter. The above factors, and more, fluctuate over different frequencies and time scales. Their individual effects on global mean surface temperatures will counteract or reinforce one another to varying degrees at different times. On top of all these fluctuations is the +/- 0.05°C (two standard errors) degree of uncertainty estimated by the CRU. People do make regional seasonal forecasts based on the phenomena I outlined above. I don't know if anyone tries to marry them all together to make global seasonal forecasts, let alone monthly ones. That would be a massive undertaking and wouldn't have the economic imperative that regional forecasts have. Here is another link to FAQs: http://hadobs.metoffice.com/indicators/index.html

The answer to the question about the temperatures changing is on the CRU website. It as a frequently asked question. Here is the link: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/#faq

The leaves (with leaflets) occur on seedlings, and you often get throwbacks to leaf growth where the plant is diseased. It would be good if you can get a clear photo of the phyllodes so the venation (pattern of the veins) can be seen. Also something (ruler, matchbox, pen) to give the scale. If you look in the litter under the tree you may be able to find some pods too. They would be a great help.

Definitely Solanum. Possibly Solanum linnaeanum

Could be Acacia excelsa if that grows in NZ. If so the pods should break readily at the constrictions between the seeds.

Does look like bindi but bindi doesn't have the long peduncle.

Looks like Cotula bipinnata. It's a weed so it probably grows in SA as well as WA.

The first two look like Hypochaeris glabra (flatweed). If so they should flower with a single yellow daisy head on a longish stalk. The rest are Sonchus (sowthistles). If the flower stalks turn out to be smooth they are Sonchus oleraceus, but if they have knobby glandular hairs on them it is Sonchus asper. Given the prickly looking leaves they're probably S. asper

Was the retaining wall around a veggie patch? Have you grown carrots there before? Methinks they're carrot seedlings.

A good starting point would be to get some books about local wildflowers - ones with photos, diagrams etc. Or you could phone up your national parks & wildlife service and ask to speak to a botanist for some guidance.