Does anyone know what plant this is

[Juliejet]

I know this is a native

 

[DallyTsuka]

i have little idea, but ive seen trees here like that, theyre not native to north america. maybe native to australia, so maybe some other aussies can help you. the flowers on it are gorgeous though

 

[KimKim]

Looks like eucalyptus??

 

[Betrisher]

Oh yes, it's definitely a Eucalyptus! Looks like Red-flowering Gum (Eucalyptus/Corymbia ficifolia). Where did you find it? There are other red flowered gums that grow natively in Sydney and environs (eg. various Ironbark species), but E.ficifolia is native to WA and only an introduced specimen plant here in the east. Why did you want to know? It's safe for parrots (at least Oz natives) and mature wood should provide hours of fun. It belongs to the Bloodwood group and has stringy, fibrous bark.

 

[Terry57]

I did not know that eucalyptus had flowers! Learned something new today

 

[Mike17]

I did not know that eucalyptus had flowers! Learned something new today

Gum trees have gorgeous flowers! Check out pics of Eucalyptus caesia, which is another red flowering gum from WA, less common than the Corymbia ficifolia (previously E. ficifolia) shown (probably)) above.

 

[Betrisher]

Mike, I spent most of my life dealing with E.ficifolia et.al. and then what do they do? They completely restructure the genus on me! Bloody Corymbia my eye! They only did it to spite me!

When I was in second year Botany, we had to collect fifty eucalyptus specimens, identify and present them as a herbarium collection and make labelled diagrams of them showing all the diagnostic features used to identify them. It was great fun and not as difficult as it might sound. There are over five hundred species in Australia and many of them occur within coo-ee of where I live. The sad part is that about ten years ago we were tidying up the shed where my collection was stored. Ants had gotten into it and were nesting between the leaves on which my specimens were attached. I had to burn it!!! Broke my heart!

Getting back to eucalypts, though, the Mottlecah (E.macrocarpa and if it's now Corymbia I don't care! Lalalalalaal - not listening!) has the largest and sexiest of the flowers in the genus. I've tried many times to grow one, but the humidity gets them every time. They're a dry-country plant. Have you seen them over in SW WA???

 

[Mike17]

Mike, I spent most of my life dealing with E.ficifolia et.al. and then what do they do? They completely restructure the genus on me! Bloody Corymbia my eye! They only did it to spite me!

When I was in second year Botany, we had to collect fifty eucalyptus specimens, identify and present them as a herbarium collection and make labelled diagrams of them showing all the diagnostic features used to identify them. It was great fun and not as difficult as it might sound. There are over five hundred species in Australia and many of them occur within coo-ee of where I live. The sad part is that about ten years ago we were tidying up the shed where my collection was stored. Ants had gotten into it and were nesting between the leaves on which my specimens were attached. I had to burn it!!! Broke my heart!

Getting back to eucalypts, though, the Mottlecah (E.macrocarpa and if it's now Corymbia I don't care! Lalalalalaal - not listening!) has the largest and sexiest of the flowers in the genus. I've tried many times to grow one, but the humidity gets them every time. They're a dry-country plant. Have you seen them over in SW WA???

Alas, I'm in western WA (Gascoyne) a long way from SW WA, Trish. How the temps at Albany look so nice at this time of year... 39C forecast for here today but only got to 33C- with 60-65% humidity. I tried growing caesia when I lived in western Sydney and it was doing great when I moved away & sold the house. I like caesia because of the heart-shaped juvenile leaves and the white bloom on the young red bark. A tree I gave a friend in Canberra died though- too frosty. I'm very much hoping I can a) obtain and b) grow a caesia in Tasmania.

I do feel for you with regard to species (and genus) name changes. Some bird books and even shops still have Bourke's parrots in with the Neophemas. DNA analysis is changing the way we think about genus/ species and there are some weird "distant cousins" on different continents being thrown up. I've never studied biology or botany in any depth, mainly biogeography and so didn't have to worry too much about species identification.

 

[strudel]

I did not know that eucalyptus had flowers! Learned something new today

Check out May Gibbs' "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie"

 

[Betrisher]

Mike, you did your degree at UNE, did you not? Biogeography? Did you have Prof. Jeremy Smith???

And - um - I thought Bourke Parrots were still Neophemas! Clearly, I have to be getting a new Field Guide. I'm still using my Slater's from 1976. LOL! What do you recommend as a good Field Guide for birds? I bought a Simpson & Day, but I really prefer Slater's illustrations. I also bought a Pizzey, but didn't like the layout. What do you use???

 

[Betrisher]

Oh yes! Homework for all Parrotforums members tonight is to find a copy of May Gibbs' 'Snugglepot and Cuddlepie' and write a review on it. It's a beautiful children's story and one I've loved since I was a baby. The illustrations are simply superb and obviously done by someone who had spent a lot of time hanging around in the Australian bush.

Thank you for mentioning that, strudel!

 

[strudel]

I've got a bookmark that I sewed, I think they are even wearing the pink flowers in it, that's what made me think of it.

 

[Mike17]

Mike, you did your degree at UNE, did you not? Biogeography? Did you have Prof. Jeremy Smith???

And - um - I thought Bourke Parrots were still Neophemas! Clearly, I have to be getting a new Field Guide. I'm still using my Slater's from 1976. LOL! What do you recommend as a good Field Guide for birds? I bought a Simpson & Day, but I really prefer Slater's illustrations. I also bought a Pizzey, but didn't like the layout. What do you use???

I did, and yes, I came across Jeremy several times. He was co-ord for 2 or 3 of my units at UNE. I also knew people who were "down the ice" with him (he was station chief for several expeditions) since my department sends many staff to our 4 stations annually. Nice bloke... I also bought his book about his boat trip to Heard Island- which I got him to sign "Speck in the Southern Ocean" from memory.

As for field guides for birds, I'm not now and never have been much of a birdwatcher, my main guide is an ancient Caley (?) What Bird is That?. I did some in Scouts and then became a teenager where I was dorky enough without getting a reputation as a bird watcher (well, the feathered kind, I quite liked watching the other sort ).

 

[Betrisher]

Mike, you did your degree at UNE, did you not? Biogeography? Did you have Prof. Jeremy Smith???

I did, and yes, I came across Jeremy several times. He was co-ord for 2 or 3 of my units at UNE. I also knew people who were "down the ice" with him (he was station chief for several expeditions) since my department sends many staff to our 4 stations annually. Nice bloke... I also bought his book about his boat trip to Heard Island- which I got him to sign "Speck in the Southern Ocean" from memory.

Wow! Small world! Jeremy was one of my favourite teachers - he had the happy knack of knitting all the disciplines together so they all made great sense. I was lucky enough to go on a field expedition to Dorrigo National Park with Jeremy and Prof Milburn, the new Head of Botany. While we were there, Jeremy found an unusual ground orchid from the genus Cryptostylis. It turned out to be a brand new species and he hoped to have it called 'milburnii' in honour of Prof. I've never found such a species listed, so he can't have been successful.

Years later, the Bird Observers' Group I belonged to planned a trip to Heard Island under Jeremy's auspices to see the Royal Albatross and various petrels and storm petrels. Sadly, I was teaching school at the time and couldn't get the time off. I'll always regret missing that trip! Later on, though, I did get to visit Cabbage Tree Island and do some banding of the endangered Gould's Petrels that live there. One of our members stuck his hand down a burrow and pulled out a Fairy Penguin! On his next foray into the same burrow, he pulled out a Tiger Snake! On the third foray, he pulled out a petrel chick in perfectly OK condition!

As for field guides for birds, I'm not now and never have been much of a birdwatcher, my main guide is an ancient Caley (?) What Bird is That?. I did some in Scouts and then became a teenager where I was dorky enough without getting a reputation as a bird watcher (well, the feathered kind, I quite liked watching the other sort ).

LOL! You'd be well-advised to take up watching the feathery kind. I can recommend it as a fabulous hobby. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with being dorky. Some of my best friends are dorks!

 

[Mike17]

Wow! Small world! Jeremy was one of my favourite teachers - he had the happy knack of knitting all the disciplines together so they all made great sense. I was lucky enough to go on a field expedition to Dorrigo National Park with Jeremy and Prof Milburn, the new Head of Botany. While we were there, Jeremy found an unusual ground orchid from the genus Cryptostylis. It turned out to be a brand new species and he hoped to have it called 'milburnii' in honour of Prof. I've never found such a species listed, so he can't have been successful.

Years later, the Bird Observers' Group I belonged to planned a trip to Heard Island under Jeremy's auspices to see the Royal Albatross and various petrels and storm petrels. Sadly, I was teaching school at the time and couldn't get the time off. I'll always regret missing that trip! Later on, though, I did get to visit Cabbage Tree Island and do some banding of the endangered Gould's Petrels that live there. One of our members stuck his hand down a burrow and pulled out a Fairy Penguin! On his next foray into the same burrow, he pulled out a Tiger Snake! On the third foray, he pulled out a petrel chick in perfectly OK condition!


LOL! You'd be well-advised to take up watching the feathery kind. I can recommend it as a fabulous hobby. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with being dorky. Some of my best friends are dorks!

I had Jeremy for a field school in a pine forest up the Ebor Rd from Armidale, and with his permission took my daughter along. She was only 5 or 6 then (before she became disabled) and Jeremy handled her interjections well. We were camped for 4 days in the rain and I was pretty frazzled by the end! My ex was pretty adamant that I have my daughter in school holidays so she could get down to some serious drinking.

Pity you missed the Heard Is trip- Jeremy's was pretty hairy as they ran out of fuel (and cigarettes, and food ), luckily that rigged a sail to get them to somewhere near Albany, from memory. I knew a weather observer who was stationed on Heard Is back when we mannned the weather station there- two blokes died on that expedition.

 

[Betrisher]

I know that pine forest! I've crawled over most of it wielding a square quadrat and counting soil insects. Well, maybe not most of it, but a fair whack of it. LOL! Good on you for taking your daughter - I used to take my Matt everywhere I went too, when he was little. When we lived in Armidale, Jeremy's daughter was in Matt's class at school. His wife was one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever seen and their little girl was clearly going to be just as stunning as her Mum. And very, very bright.

Did you ever make it out to Ebor? They had the most unique pub I've ever visited. It was made entirely of corrugated iron and was open 24/7. Everyone was welcome and the night I was there we had a terrific bush dance with what seemed like the entire population of Ebor dancing to a violin, a guitar and a bloke playing the spoons. Little kids and dogs shared the dance floor and a marvellous time was had by all, way into the night/morning. I was told this was a normal Saturday night for Ebor Pub and always meant to go back for another visit. I doubt it's quite the same these days, though.

Yeah, some of our offshore islands can be pretty hairy, eh? Even Cabbage Tree (which is only a couple of hours outside Port Stephens) was touch and go to land on. It has no beach, only a couple of rocky, shingle-covered slopes so you have to virtually leap for your life from your boat to the rocks. I can't imagine how it would be to take part in an expedition where someone was killed! What on earth would you do? Fancy having to decide what to do about people's bodies and whether or not it was safe to proceed?

Getting back to Jeremy and his ilk, there were so very many fascinating people at UNE back then. I count myself lucky to have been there at a time when our Zoo and Botany departments rivalled even Holy Sydney's. In fact, I'd re-live those years several times over if I could. What fun they were!

 

[Mike17]

I know that pine forest! I've crawled over most of it wielding a square quadrat and counting soil insects. Well, maybe not most of it, but a fair whack of it. LOL! Good on you for taking your daughter - I used to take my Matt everywhere I went too, when he was little. When we lived in Armidale, Jeremy's daughter was in Matt's class at school. His wife was one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever seen and their little girl was clearly going to be just as stunning as her Mum. And very, very bright.

Did you ever make it out to Ebor? They had the most unique pub I've ever visited. It was made entirely of corrugated iron and was open 24/7. Everyone was welcome and the night I was there we had a terrific bush dance with what seemed like the entire population of Ebor dancing to a violin, a guitar and a bloke playing the spoons. Little kids and dogs shared the dance floor and a marvellous time was had by all, way into the night/morning. I was told this was a normal Saturday night for Ebor Pub and always meant to go back for another visit. I doubt it's quite the same these days, though.

Yeah, some of our offshore islands can be pretty hairy, eh? Even Cabbage Tree (which is only a couple of hours outside Port Stephens) was touch and go to land on. It has no beach, only a couple of rocky, shingle-covered slopes so you have to virtually leap for your life from your boat to the rocks. I can't imagine how it would be to take part in an expedition where someone was killed! What on earth would you do? Fancy having to decide what to do about people's bodies and whether or not it was safe to proceed?

Getting back to Jeremy and his ilk, there were so very many fascinating people at UNE back then. I count myself lucky to have been there at a time when our Zoo and Botany departments rivalled even Holy Sydney's. In fact, I'd re-live those years several times over if I could. What fun they were!

As I recall Jeremy had split from his wife (I saw the kids when they were middling teenagers)... Anglo-Indian or something like that. Jeremy himself looked Anglo-Indian (and I knew another Smith who definitely was). He was born in Singapore as I recall.

For that particular field school he had along a Geography dept admin assistant for a tent companion.

I never made it to the Ebor Pub... sounds like fun.

I've lived on a couple of islands (Norfolk and Lord Howe) and yes, the coasts can be VERY hairy Only on LHI for 14 weeks, and all I could take for fishing was my pair of workboots, which were quite scary climbing down cliffs to get to kingfish spots.

I've been with my dept for over 3 decades, and of course I came across many people who'd been to the Antarctic. I applied myself but failed the medical. The ship I would have been on was sunk (but it took some time to do so, there were no personnel losses, it was very close to Macquarie Island). Over the years there were several deaths- one you may recall was a biologist who fell off a cliff on Macquarie Island, wasn't found for several days, then the Navy sent one of the DDGs down with a wooden helicopter deck built onto the quarterdeck (few of our ships carried helis then) the guy was gotten to Hobart, then he died.