spiraleyes Posted July 27, 2008 hi guys a friend has spent some time with some indigenous australians and discussions led to some talk of certain xanthorroea species being used as an maoi. anybody have any information about this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t st tantra Posted July 27, 2008 lomandra is a related sp,iron weed is s a native,i mistook one for some cyperacea and found similar activities to spider grass. t s t . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vertmorpheus Posted July 28, 2008 Lots of uses for grass trees, like duct tape of the bush or something. So a lot of fiddling has been done with it for al ong time esp after fire damage etc. One groovy product is the skanky resin that can be collected (if you're into dismembering something that takes a year to grow 7 or 8mm in IDEAL conditions, that is) after fire has burnt its extremities off... used to bond spearheads to shafts, etc. Dunno if there'd be anything "good" in that stuff but it's a similar ethic to what leads Centralians to make spinifex and acacia resin and use it for the same stuff. The resin is hardened oncei n place by fire hardening, which when done iwth some desert resins can evolve whitish-brown vapour (sign its getting too hot, apparently... I use tarzans grip, personally) so if someone has got a good lungful of that stuff, who knows what might happen. Bad idea to go smoking or eating resin found on artifacts, some mobs include gijigiji (Abrus sp) dust to stop bugs eating the resin out and makign things fall apart.. others use whole seeds as embedded ornament, dunno how well the toxins in em would leach out but I wouldn't risk it. Like ricin, that stuff. Aborigines in a traditional setting make much of various tubers and roots, almost anything that fattens and stores and can be pulled up in dry times has probably had a nibble or two... lots of Ipomoea and grass species get eaten. Microseris etc in mallee country. I dunno how you'd go sourcing material though... anyone lucky enough to have em on private secure land should feel priveledged to have em there, and otherwise they're mostly protected as hell. I know where there's a few nice runs of them that are going to succumb to road widening in the next couple of years, I'll keep an eye on em for you. But yeah, don't like to think of anyone hauling out with a machete next time they see one in the scrub. Even then, when the council buggered around with that road near Trouts Road/Raven St in Brisbane, they moved a couple hundred specimens and rerooted them, most took ok. Seed can be had but at 8mm a year tops, that's some patient gardening... I know there's sites that sell em, some jungle place in the UK has em for a couple thousand They are a plant that occupies moist lil pockets in otherwise dryish areas so I guess if any local microlife wants to cohabitate, they'd be a good choice... they like the underground trickledown areas leading to streams, etc. Interesting stuff, if I see the cowboys down the road have flatted any for trailbike tracks I'll ask for one to have to look at. VM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t st tantra Posted July 28, 2008 abrus is apparently not as deadly as thought. should be an interesting post from torsten on that subject somewhere here! t s t . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Bit of trivia I found of interest: My geologist friend involved in the research of asbestos deposits went on a trip recently, and informed me that the easiest way to find asbestos is to follow the grass trees. The exact area mapped out by the xanths was directly above the asbestos deposits (in the area they were surveying, of course - not every grass tree around Oz is sitting on asbestos). Seems grass trees really like that kind of soil. I thought that was quite cool, a perhaps a good way to track down trees (geological data is readily available throughout Australia). It is an awesome sight to see a forest of mature specimens. I agree with Vert, given the incredibly long time they take to grow big, I'm not at all in favour of "harvesting" wild trees. However, large specimens can be purchased quite cheap if you find the right nursery. Mind you, you're still forking out a couple hundred bucks, but at least its legit as they're tagged specimens Edited July 28, 2008 by Alice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spiraleyes Posted July 28, 2008 hmmm, a few interesting facts. i was just interested in traditional use of the plants after hearing it mentioned, i am no way interested in harvesting at all, i know how slow growing and sacred they are, they're one of my favorite green beingz just curious Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted July 28, 2008 By thunderideal, shot with N95 at 2007-12-18 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhoenixSon Posted August 2, 2008 Overseas at the moment, but when i get back in two months i have some baby grass tree's that i'll put up for swaps, when i left they were about 15 to 20 cm's tall just single grass blades. Think i have about 5 of them in my garden bed. Pretty sure they are x.australis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Airbender Posted August 2, 2008 when the leaves of this plant are burnt (bush fire) they release xylene gas in the same way ripening banana leaves do. this stimulates flowering... the flower spikes are used traditionally as spears for hunting these trees live around 600 yrs or so....retail nursery plants are licenced nowadays like fisheries quotas e.t.c. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhoenixSon Posted August 3, 2008 Mine are grown from harvested seed collected from my property where they thrive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vertmorpheus Posted August 3, 2008 Yeah the flower shafts make good spears for fish in waterways, as they float pretty well but are still strong enough to give a decent lengthwise jab (shutup I heard that). Young boys of a colour that shall remain undiscussed (don't get me started...) also used the fluff covered heads as "training spears" or toy spears... the ballistics arent entirely different but they don't hurt, and also a favourite for stickfighting (what kid doesnt like belting his brother with a stick?)...hundredthousand year old paintball... they also smoulder really well when lit and make an excellent punk or tinder, incendiary spear (hide in the gully all you want, we'll just torch it...vegetables of mass destruction!.....or if left smoking, mozzie repellant smoke screen. Leaves have been used to weave baskets, to provide fibre to make fishing nets and dilly bags, bracelets and armlets etc were made from braided leaves with a bit of give left in the weave, to tuck flowers etc into. (some rites even called for live butterflies to be resined onto the skin... how beautiful is that, in a kind of macabre way?) and the resin from them was used as an adhesive. Interesting asbestos link there... wonder if its a matter of drainage points etc, or if they're that cunning a species they even get their roots into insulation ahead of the bushfires? Smart people, those plants! VM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
