"torres strait weed" bioassay

[Thelema]

approx 1.5 cones worth of torres strait weed "buds" was pyrolized and held for a count of 10 seconds.

Noticeable relaxation feeling after 1 minute was felt, tailing after 20minutes.

The buds of this weed are comparable to MJ, as is the smoke, but at least 7 times weaker.

Thanks to the Lorax for the material.

[ 13. March 2005, 23:08: Message edited by: Thelema ]

[Torsten]

can we see a picture so we can get some idea of what this might be please????

[Amulte]

yes, what is this?

[teonanacatl]

i will get some more and take some pics of the plant.

[apothecary]

Get seeds!

[teonanacatl]

haha no no seeds till i know wat it is, i was told about this plant about a year ago by a friend but just passed it off as rumour. it looks similar to Macaranga tanarius in leaf structure but the inflorescens is smaller and quite hard and bud like. also looks similar to mallotus sp, this tells me one thing, that we should be carful as both of these are in the euphorbiaceae family. also looks like endospermum sp lol, i will do a euphorbiaceae test on it tomorrow, see if it contains white sap.

[Entheo]

Might it be a Grewia species? Grewia polygama has a history of useage from the the Gulf of Carpentaria.

[Torsten]

Originally posted by teonanacatl:

i will do a euphorbiaceae test on it tomorrow, see if it contains white sap.

OK so it's been a week......

[teonanacatl]

lol its not a grewia sp. i didnt think anyone was interested. no sap was present but im sure this doesnt rule it out of the family. ive been searching through the australia tropical rain forest trees and shrubs sofware ive got but cant find it. its quite common around here so large amounts of leaf is easy done. the problem is the buds they seem to only grow at the top of the trees and they arnt fun to climb. i try get some more bud off one tomorrow for you thelma. for those who are interested i could come up with a list of botanical features.

[apothecary]

Just some photos would be nice.

If it's seeding, get some of that too, for posterities sake.

[teonanacatl]

as promised here are some pics they are very dark and sorry to all dial up users very large. the only thing is im not sure this is actually the plant. lol wft u say it looks very similar except the leaves dont seem to have any serrated bits. ive also got some more bud material if people are interested, i will only send a small amount to each person though. if anyone wants leaves pm me.

http://www.shaman-australis.com.au/lorax/i...es/Imag0080.jpg

http://www.shaman-australis.com.au/lorax/i...es/Imag0083.jpg

http://www.shaman-australis.com.au/lorax/i...es/Imag0085.jpg

http://www.shaman-australis.com.au/lorax/i...es/Imag0086.jpg

you can see the necteries on the leaf. ive left quite a few flowers on the plant to get seed.

[teonanacatl]

bump bump bump

yeah yeah call me impatient i want a id lol

[apothecary]

Any chance I could ask you to put some buds and leaf aside, and send with seeds all at once? :D

I know you don't have seeds now, but if it does seed I'd love some.

[teonanacatl]

my guess is there wont be seeds for a while cos i will be planting them all :D i can send some buds though just pm me your addy :D thelma there is more coming your way:D

[Benzito]

So, have buds been sent to any other people yet?

What were their experiences?

[teonanacatl]

no only thelma has tried it sofar. fuck i better id this thing quick :D

[Amulte]

wow, lok at that. i wouldn't mind some seeds either if i can? i reminds me of a waxxy Marrubium Vuigare. looks nothing like it but the fur, stem groth and leaves almost to the horehound ive got.

[apothecary]

Also, you say buds.

I assume that means similarity with MJ buds.

Is this a dioceous plant?

[teonanacatl]

i had a close look at the flowers and i think i can see stamens and stigma's on them all. as for bud they are actually quite mj bud like just smaller.

[Torsten]

what habitat does it grow in? soil, sand? rainforest? beach?

what is the size of the mature plant? I presume it is perennial? etc etc. give us some info so we can try and ID it.

[teonanacatl]

well it grows in just about any habitat, ive seen it in all of them. it gorw to about5-6m high and about 6m wide. perennial, has necteries on the top of the leaf near where the petiole joins(you could see this in one of the pics). opposite simple leaves. it appears to have stipules present. umm flowers are panicle. pubescent. im sure its a native to up here.

[Torsten]

the whole thing (incl the flower/fruit thing) looks like Dendrocnide, but if that was it I am sure you would have noticed. My tropicals key does not give many other options. Something doesn't match up.

Tetrameles nudiflora and Gyrocarpus americanus had at least one feature that matched, but there wasn't enough info in my key to compare all.

Darcy, any ideas? Could this be a dendrocnide? are any of them stingless?

[teonanacatl]

nope its none of those torsten, though i do plan on growing some dendrocnide :D

darcy thats exactly what i thought about macaranga tanarius (btw there is heaps of them here as well). Macaranga involucrata var. mallotoides could be it, it has the glands under and on the leaf but there is somthing about the pic i have of that sp that doesnt look right.

Mallotus nesophilus lol there is somthing about this one that doesnt look right to, leaves seem to small. yeah i should send a sample to the one on the tablelands.

i will try and get a photo of the one where the buds came from as it looks slightly different, i think.

ive never been this unsure about a plant id in my life......

[ 03. April 2005, 10:10: Message edited by: teonanacatl ]

[Barking Lotus]

yeah a pic of the tree itself would be nice.

So any feedback from ur guinea pigs yet about the effects etc?

cheers from the pit,

BL

[apothecary]

When the guinea pigs get some, the guinea pigs will post feedback :D