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The Corroboree

Tas75

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About Tas75

  • Rank
    Day Tripper

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  • Country
    Australia

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  • Climate or location
    Tasmania
  1. Tas75

    a sign from the gods

    Yes, I agree it looks like a sub. But do you know how many people around the world die every year from the belief that "nothing else grows in this spot"? Fungi come and go mate, as Obtuse says, and I've seen patches of subs that had nothing else one year grow a few Galerina another year. Inspect each mushroom as if it could be a lethal look-alike, and treat on its own merits, not because of where it grows.
  2. Tas75

    blueing Inocybe & Pluteus in Tasmania

    Waterboy, I think Warra is diverse because it has a complicated fire history. Patches of it have not been burnt post-European colonisation, patches were burnt in 1898, others in 1934, others in 1967, and others different combinations of those fires. This gives a patchwork of vegetation types and so different coverages of coarse woody debris that the fungi feed on. But I'd be extremely surprised if that Pluteus occurs only in Warra. Broadly speaking other higher altitude alternatives are the Weld valley, the Styx valley and the Florentine valley. Myrtles are not exactly hard to find. T
  3. Tas75

    Leccinum scabrum

    If they are a bolete growing under a birch tree, tan on top with brown pores and a (relatively) fat, reticulate-textured foot, there's not much more they could be. IMO they're not as tasty as ceps, and they get spongy when they grow. I prefer them young and tight... ;) BTW expect them to turn black on cooking, that's normal.
  4. Tas75

    Leccinum scabrum

    They're not uncommon around Hobart, especially the higher suburbs. Some are out right now.
  5. Tas75

    blueing Inocybe & Pluteus in Tasmania

    Hey Ob, have you tried asking for the key at the Geeveston FT office? My experience has always been they are happy to supply a key for you to get there... Unless there's a good reason not to, it is after all public land. I just the other day got an area key to access part of the southern forests, and I jut had to pay a $100 deposit, fully refundable on return of the key. I you're interested in a research trip to the Styx valley sometime, drop me a PM. I'd b very interested to go get high quality photographs of them, and if they grow in Warra, chances are good they grow in the Styx. My experience in the Huon and Picton valleys is that they're not very biodiverse when it comes to fungi, though I havent been to Warra.
  6. Tas75

    Moving To Tasmania with some plants

    The worst pests? Humans! Not a single other species has been responsible for such extreme environmental degradation and extinction of fellow species. Other than that, take your pick: rabbits, sparrows, starlings, feral cats, rats, trout, gorse, willows, blackberries. My picks, since I work with plants, would be blackberries and gorse.
  7. Tas75

    Moving To Tasmania with some plants

    AQIS Tasmania do monitor the Bass Strait ferries. My car was checked by a detector dog when I came across a year ago. There are a heap of regulations on which plants you can bring and which ones you can't. I know that Alliums and Solanaceae are not allowed at all. Your plants will need a Plant Health Certificate. It's a pain in the arse, your best bet is to ring AQIS Tasmania and find out the process, the cost, and who can do it for you. For seeds the process is easier, only some plant families require fungicide treatment, others are totally unrestricted. Your plants will need to come labelled (with scientific names) and with an itemised list declaring what they are. It's up to you whether you want to chance it or not, many people do, and don't get caught. The maximum fine would be $10,000 per offence if you try to smuggle them in (in your case four plants are four offences, or $40,000, but that's just the maximum and they won't necessarily prosecute you for that much if you're caught).
  8. Tas75

    mucronata subsp mucronata?

    I'll go for A. floribunda. IME A. mucronata have stiffer phyllodes that more or less all point in the same direction. The presence/absence of a leaf gland and the degree of stiffness of the phyllodes are the easiest characters to go with. Question is, did it come from native bush, or from the side of the road near the Southern Outlet, Kingston end. If the latter, then it's almost guaranteed A. floribunda. Edit: A. mucronata tend to have more elliptical shaped leaves, and A. floribunda is usually more lanceolate, like your specimen. In any case the length of the phyllodes would almost put it into Acacia mucronata subsp. longifolia territory.
  9. Tas75

    Sub Variations in SW Victoria

    I think a lot of the variation you're seeing can be put down to cap moisture level, which changes the colour from bright caramel brown to pale tan, as the caps dry. Remember Psilocybe subaeruginosa are hygrophanous. The darker more olive coloured ones I have seen associated with frost in the past, as they oxidise. All your pictures show a quintessentially sub shape, with the typical umbo. Taxonomically speaking, shades of brown are not a useful character to differentiate species. All this is not to say that Ps. subaeruginosa are not a hugely variable species. Over the years I have seen many forms which may or may not be different species (officially they are not), but a lot of them are environment related. Here around Hobart we get a thing that looks almost exactly like Ps. cyanescens but might still be Ps. subaeruginosa.
  10. Tas75

    ID... Slippery Jack?

    They come up under pine trees in my property and I eat them every year. Not fresh, IMO they're a total waste of time fresh, but once you dry them the smell gets awesome and they taste almost like Boletus edulis. I use them sliced in risottos, and stews, and the powdered dry flesh in stews and soups. One thing to beware of is that they can have a slightly purgative effect. I always remove the sticky skin, but sometimes leave the pores on. If you eat enough of them, the ones with pores have a fairly noticeable laxative effect the morning after eating them!
  11. Tas75

    First subs of the 2011 season!

    Here are some of the Galerina I found today growing where Psilocybe grew only a few weeks ago. When we get a day or two of dry weather the cap, which is hygrophanous, is uncannily like a Psilocybe. If you're into eating them, it would pay to learn to tell them apart!
  12. Tas75

    First subs of the 2011 season!

    I'd say the same for the patches I walk past on my way to work. They're all black and dead with the (very) odd live mushroom still left. I did see a patch of Galerina marginata / G. autumnalis come up in the same woodchip bed that in May sported a HUGE Psilocybe flush. I'll see if any of my pictures came up...
  13. Tas75

    how can i help sustain my patch

    Someone else correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt blood and bone or any fertiliser would encourage wood-loving Psilocybe, if anything it would be more likely to kill them. They feed on wood. Spreading woody debris of a mix of sizes, like woodchips and wood shavings might help.
  14. Tas75

    a few local hunts (pics)

    The 10th picture, 4th from the bottom, look a lot like a Galerina. Not 100% sure though. Beautiful shots! I think the purple one is a Cortinarius that's also pretty common down here, and has been mistaken on occasion for Lepista nuda. The red ones with a white stem are Russula. I've eaten a few Russula in Europe, but never in Oz, and some can make you puke. Cortinarius I'd stay well clear of (some have orellanin and are deadly), and of course the Galerinas could also be deadly, with amatoxins.
  15. Tas75

    Acacia Falcata (maybe)

    Not so sure... A. melanoxylon has single spherical flowers in the leaf axils. The first lot of pictures clearly show elongated racemes.
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