A few questions.

[immanuel]

Yeah, i'm 90% sure I can indentify acacia maidenii's now, I just want a second opinion, to make sure i'm identifying the right tree. Here are some photo's I have taken of the tree I assume is Acacia Maidenii. It fits all the descriptions, the only thing missing is the pods non of the treese have pods? Does anyone know a reason for this? It also has these werid little brown ball things growing on it, I provided a picture, I think it is some sort of fungus which grows on Acacias. Also something strange, I noticed the 'larger' maidenii's seem to have heaps of flowers yet the smalle ones have little or none at all. I am assuming older ones flower earlier or longer than the younger ones, would I be correct?

Here are thos strange brown balls, disease?

Edited March 13, 2007 by mardybum

[immanuel]

Here's an example of how much more flower's the older maidenii's flower!

[Infinitee]

Looks exactly like a local tree i'm 99% sure is a maidenii. Don't know for sure though, someone here should.

Those same (disease?) brown balls appear on this tree as well and i've wondered what it is (i think they are susceptible to some sort of hole-boreing organism, not sure). Also, the one i've seen throws out seedpods but never with any seed inside. Do they require very close counterparts for pollination?

Beautiful tree methinks, hope it turns out well for you, mardybum.

[tonic]

Yes, that's Acacia maidenii. On the pods, I would just assume they have dropped off from last seasons flowering/fruiting cycle, it seeds after flowering. I have two conflincting flowering times in my reference though, as one states flowering is January-May and the other states autumn and winter, so a bit of conflicting information there. I'd say the former is more reliable.

The balls look to be from Gall Wasps and are know as galls [pronounced gaul]. The wasps make a small hole and lay their eggs in the hole and as the wasps grow so do the galls, then they escape and leave behind these freaky looking growths. Am no expert on insects, but you get the idea. Here is some further reading.

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/PlantNet/wattle/galls.html

On the flowers, it sounds like it's just a case of maturity, with the older ones flowering more readily than the un-mature specimens, which is pretty much the case with most tree and shrub species.

Edited March 13, 2007 by tonic

[immanuel]

Thankyou for being so helpful! Yes, I agree it is a magnificent tree!!!

My pet catfish keeps insisting to strip some bark of these trees, I am uncertain of his intentions. I don't want him to kill or even harm these trees and because there are so many of them he can take little amount thus minimising damage to the trees. How much would you suggest my cat fish takes off each tree in order not to harm the trees?

Edited March 13, 2007 by mardybum

[Infinitee]

hehe, not sure buddy.

Tonic, thanks. Do you know if it would be wise or at all helpful to the plant to knock off some of the gall wasps nests (what gall!)? I know it sounds cruel in itself, but i'm pretty sure the maidenii species is having a harder time surviving than the gall wasps.

[tonic]

Not a problem.

It would be my suggestion to this pet catfish that it finds bits of stem and branch that have fallen to the ground as it can be very detrimental to the health of Acacia ssp. to strip any amount of bark from them at all. Probably better to tell the catfish to collect bits when they fall off and keep them till there is enough to make some sort of research material, if that was the intention.

Otherwise I would also suggest that you search here:

Shaman Australis Botanicals

for seeds and growing plants that you may like to propagate or cultivate [or both], for your pet catfish.

[immanuel]

Thankyou, I don't want him to harm the tree in anyway, so this sounds like the best method for my catfish. He already is attempting to grow some clones of the maidenii, and will start collecting fallen branches etc, he wonders if the leaves contain any alkaloids and would be worth collecting aswell? Thankyou for your help I and my catfish are very thankful.

Edited March 13, 2007 by mardybum

[tonic]

hehe, not sure buddy.

Tonic, thanks. Do you know if it would be wise or at all helpful to the plant to knock off some of the gall wasps nests (what gall!)? I know it sounds cruel in itself, but i'm pretty sure the maidenii species is having a harder time surviving than the gall wasps.

No, I would just leave them Infinitee, though they may appear unsightly, they are a part of the ecology, the little symbiosis that occurs between the Acacia and the Gall Wasps and quite possibly other creatures [possibly microscopic]. It would be my opinion that removing the gall would actually do more damage to the plant than actually just leaving them there.

You should'nt try and interfere with nature.

The Earth Mother made these things like they are for a reason.

[tonic]

He already is attempting to grow some clones of the maidenii, and will start collecting fallen branches etc, he wonders if the leaves contain any alkaloids?

Clones will likely not work, have a read through this thread mardybum

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13360

I'm pretty sure that the leaves do not contain much or any alkaloids as DMT and NMT, in the stem bark, is the most common thing will likely see on this subject.

Your pet catfish will just have to be patient.

It is NEVER wise to rush into experimenting with tryptamines. It is better to do lots of research and reading before even considering a large step into other realities.

[immanuel]

I see, I think my catfish said if the clones don't work out he will wait until they have pod seeds then. In the meantime he will look for any bark or branches which have fallen off. We both thankyou again.

Edited March 13, 2007 by mardybum

[tonic]

Not a problem.

Also don't forget to check out:

Shaman Australis Botanicals

for what you are looking for

[Infinitee]

Thanks tonic. I wasn't sure if there was any symbiosis between the two, i presumed the wasps were introduced species, like so many to this country. But i'll happily leave them.

I think i recall reading on an old paper somewhere that the holes bored in the acacia makes them susceptible to stem-rot. If this occurs on a branch, my source said, it would be best for the plant to remove the rotting branch.

Sound right?

[tonic]

Will have to do a bit of research and get back to you Infinitee. Alternatively you could do the research and get back to me

[immanuel]

Yeah, I have looked at the seeds for sale there, it is what led me to this forum. They are very cheap, I will have to check out the climate of which obtusifolia grows in and i may order some along with maidenii.

Edited March 13, 2007 by mardybum

[Infinitee]

Sorry mate, allergic. The only research getting done by me is a pyrolitic bioassay of whatevers within arm reach (pillow stuffing = NOT psychoactive!).

Jk, I'll have a gander, but i find getting knowledge specific to australian fauna/flora often a hard job. Everything on the net seems european or american (hehe, except our aussie ethno forums, ofc ).

[tonic]

Yeah, I have looked at the seeds for sale there, it is what led me to this forum. They are very cheap, I will have to check out the climate of which obtusifolia grows in and i may order some along with maidenii.

Should'nt be a problem. What part of NSW are you from roughly?

[tonic]

Sorry mate, allergic. The only research getting done by me is a pyrolitic bioassay of whatevers within arm reach (pillow stuffing = NOT psychoactive!).

Jk, I'll have a gander, but i find getting knowledge specific to australian fauna/flora often a hard job. Everything on the net seems european or american (hehe, except our aussie ethno forums, ofc ).

It's a race to the information then is it Infinitee??

On your marks....

Get set....

Go......

Well maybe later

Will see what I can turn up.

[Infinitee]

Hrmm, well i can't find any evidence of symbiosis, it looks more like a parasitic organism, but that's not to say there is none.

It IS native and species of gall-wasp are found worldwide. It's also not commonly liked and considered a pest by many (means nothing, i know.)

Gardening Australia (who i really do trust) has this to say about them:

The wasp causes the stems of the infected trees to swell up significantly forming distinctive woody galls. The swellings are caused when the female wasp lays her eggs between the bark and wood of the stem. This generally occurs in September. By December, the swellings will have become quite pronounced as the woody tissue begins to form the characteristic gall.

Action should be taken to prevent the eggs from developing into adults as soon as the swellings are noticed.

One method to control these pests is to prune out the infected wood and destroy the galls containing the eggs.

And that's not to say you couldn't use the pruned and uninfected parts of the wood for any other research or analysis.

But really, no one is entirely sure of just what symbiotic or relational connection every organism has with every other one and removing populations of insect in their native environment doesn't sound wise. (then again, tell me where have all the 'interesting' acacias gone? lost, lost to what cause? nm me)

Sorry that was a bit vague, but all i could find, nothing sufficient to make me kill or give life support to these infestatious bugs.

EDIT: Just forgot to add that an abc news report mentions this:

These wasps aren't the best fliers. Sometimes the wind picks them up, but often they just hang about and reinfect the same tree.

So do they actually do any harm? Well, if a tree is attacked year after year, it eventually weakens the tree to the point where it becomes unproductive.

Links:

http://www.abc.net.au/northcoast/stories/s1700686.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s348319.htm

Edited March 13, 2007 by Infinitee

[immanuel]

im from critical. well slightly north.

Edited July 19, 2019 by manuel

[tonic]

So pretty much it is just a matter of aesthetics. I would'nt be too concerned about it, after all it is nature and nature has her own special ways that we do not always necessarily understand.

[tonic]

im from sydney. well slightly north.

Same as me.

Sounds like you are up near where I am. Whilst I have not personally found any of the A. obtusifolia in my exact area, I know they are around. It sounds like you are in a perfect area for cultivating A. obtusifolia.

[immanuel]

My pet catfish found a fairly large branch that had fallen off an a. maidenii and he brought it home. It's now in my backyard, he plans to cut off all the bark which isn't twigs or leaves. How should he store the bark once he has cut it off, so it doesn't lose alkaloid content or degrade etc?

[tonic]

I'm not an expert in this area, as I have not done any processing etc. with the Acacia spp. I would suggest putting in a large sized glad baggy and freezing it though.

I just know about the plants as I am a bit of a native buff. Sydney region anyway.

Anyone know the best way to store the research material for Acacia?

Edited March 16, 2007 by tonic

[Vertmorpheus]

Bloody wattles... acacia from the latin acacium meaning "will you please wear names tags it'd make life a lot easier" sorry...plant joke. Har Har.

Re: flowering times, where I am (nw of nw brissie but not by that much) maidenii only seem to flower all that regularly if they have moderately damp feet, and seem to be autumn/winter flowering ... around now its mainly the hickory wattles, the leiocalyxes etc, some scant remains of last seasons blossoms on melanoxylons... some maidens starting to gear up though, been cooler overnight of late.

gall wasps are a bastard and only some of them are produced by native species... but only a complete CSIRO type would be able to suss which ones are which or so I hear. they only seem to bother the trees if they start attacking tip growth or developing flowers, or if the galls break off or go rank, tends to attract these scary white ant critters that eat the tree in a fairly vicious way. Oak galls used to be harvested and prized for making ink (yknow the stuff on doco's eating the old texts and books from the inside out, thats the gear). there is one on a ghost gum near me that is easily two feet across hanging from the underside of a branch...always think itd make an interesting little tabletop if you sectioned it and polished.. but gods know what's living in it now.

They can be superhard and wreck sawblades anyway, like a knot on roids.

Seed pods can sometimes be found caught up in growth or on other trees nearby, and being tough things they sometimes survive in the litter underneath the tree. Hell is looking at a clump of 4 or 5 wattle species that have all dropped seeds on the ones next to em.grrrr.They do it deliberately I reckon :D

trees, glorious trees...

GD