tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365720982012-01-30T22:53:35.758+11:00<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>Australian flora and fauna, gardening, biological sciences and related joys.</b>Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.comBlogger1451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-38670688969808397762012-01-29T12:28:00.001+11:002012-01-29T12:29:12.453+11:00

Last night, we encountered this gorgeous creature on the other side of our sun-room window. It's Litoria phyllochroa, Leaf Green Tree Frog, family Hylidae. Not an uncommon species in this part of Sydney. That brings to five the number of frog species we've identified in our garden, listed in our garden census. The wet weather we've been having is such a joy!

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-6696853491692968152012-01-26T13:23:00.001+11:002012-01-29T19:52:40.496+11:00

Deep down on the forest floor, sunlight is the scarcest of all resources for plants. They struggle to reach it, lianas and vines climbing up to reach the top and seedlings exploit a gap in the canopy to shoot up and out-compete other plants. But some species have evolved a way to do without sunlight entirely. These plants don't photosynthesise at all. They have no (or very few non-functional)

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-9283357818507896162011-11-09T21:18:00.006+11:002011-11-13T21:10:24.649+11:00

Lane Cove National Park is a narrow, irregularly-shaped ecological reserve surrounded by Sydney suburbs. It is marked in dark green in the map below. Although it extends over 10 kilometres in length, it is only 6 sq kilometres in area. It surrounds the Lane Cover River, which begins in Hornsby to the north and opens into Sydney Harbour. Map from National Parks and Wildlife Service Its

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33082112559700467822011-10-17T22:10:00.000+11:002011-10-17T22:10:04.520+11:00

"I think that a failure of statistical thinking is the major intellectual shortcoming of our universities, journalism and intellectual culture. Cognitive psychology tells us that the unaided human mind is vulnerable to many fallacies and illusions because of its reliance on its memory for vivid anecdotes rather than systematic statistics. Yet pundits continue to hallucinate trends in freak events

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-28879121789491319092011-10-12T19:29:00.001+11:002011-10-12T19:29:38.546+11:00

One of my favourite blogs is Parasite of the Day, cowritten by Tommy Leung. Tommy lectures in parasitology and evolutionary biology at the University of New England (NSW, Australia). What I didn't know is that Tommy is also an artist who paints and draws various biological creatures, real and imaginary, exploring biological concepts. He's just been profiled in the Scientific American blog

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-24720240942702912292011-10-09T11:18:00.002+11:002011-10-09T11:45:46.314+11:00

I've previously posted about the Superb Lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) in our garden, with the promise that one day I'd upload audio. Today is that day! Since we've been living here, the lyrebirds have become increasing common and less fearful. Their increased abundance is probably due in part to cat and fox baiting in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park which anecdotally has increased

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-9402798204634193462011-09-22T09:00:00.001+10:002011-09-22T09:01:50.307+10:00

Yesterday, I returned from a field trip at Smiths Lake, around 250 kilometres north of Sydney on the Central Coast. Smiths Lake is salt water, and periodically naturally opens to the sea. View Smiths Lake Field Station in a larger map The annual field trip is a large component of a second year ecology unit run by Macquarie University, and I was there as the plant science tutor. As well as

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-81879217814821082512011-09-03T19:23:00.003+10:002011-09-22T17:31:45.357+10:00

It's a few years since I last visited Muogamarra Nature Reserve, which is just north of Sydney and on the southern side of the Hawkesbury River. But today returned with some fellow biologists from Macquarie Uni. The flora was as bogglingly diverse and plentiful as ever, but today a fascinating native bee caught my eye. This is the Peacock Carpenter Bee, also known as the Metallic Carpenter Bee,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4Muogamarra Nature Reserve, Sydney NSW 2081, Australia-33.5666526 151.1694511-33.619576099999996 151.0904871 -33.5137291 151.24841510000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-18541650412084997222011-06-11T13:05:00.000+10:002011-06-11T13:05:30.913+10:00

When I was a child, I was entranced by microcosms. For hours, I'd stare into my fish tank, imagining myself around an inch in height, swimming about among the fish. I constructed terrariums, seeing the  mosses and ferns as forests and jungles. My brother and I took our Matchbox cars on "safaris" in the garden. And of course, my dolls' house was a world in which I conjured epic tales of domestic

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-15179198852919449822011-05-11T11:03:00.001+10:002011-05-11T16:03:24.898+10:00

Bravo! A couple of familiar faces from Macquarie University here too. [Hungry Beast is a television program from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.] The lyrics.... Who's a climate scientist.. I'm a climate scientist.. Not a cleo finalist No a climate scientist Droppin facts all over this wax While bitches be crying about a carbon tax Climate change is caused by people Earth Unlike

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-22647253525754302452011-04-26T18:55:00.001+10:002011-04-26T19:00:58.130+10:00

I was gobsmacked by the diversity of terrestrial snails in Bali. Here are some I photographed. And some beetles I met: Rhinoceros beetle

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-90772185295322197012011-04-26T18:40:00.001+10:002011-04-26T18:42:07.907+10:00

I recently visited Bali, with husband and daughter, to spend some time with my brother- and sister-in-law who have started up a diving school in Sanur, Joe's Gone Diving. With the rest of my in-laws visiting from the Netherlands, it was a delightful family reunion. Husband Martien got his PADI diving certificate. I'll likely do the same at some point, but for this holiday, all I wanted to do was

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-9028641631384549862011-04-23T09:29:00.009+10:002011-04-23T09:34:02.827+10:00

I'm delighted to welcome guest blogger, Julia Cooke, author of My Little World, a picture book for children. Julia is on tour in the blogosphere - see here for tour dates and places! Getting the science right in My Little World My Little World is the story of a child finding a world of tiny animals and plants when they can’t see the birds and mammals that the grown-ups see on a bush walk. The

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-37475888063343875042011-03-13T14:29:00.000+11:002011-03-13T14:29:42.067+11:00

Often we hear of the emotional impact felt by astronauts as they look down at earth from space, comprehending on a visceral level just how isolated and vulnerable our home is. The photo of earth taken from Apollo 17 has come to symbolise that sense. This image, according to a NASA archivist, is probably the most distributed image in human history. I had a poster of it on my wall, as a teenager in

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-74323352093515606142011-02-22T16:05:00.000+11:002011-02-22T16:05:08.904+11:00

A great blogging competition is afoot! Over at Tom Paine's Ghost, Kristopher Hite has announced the second annual Post with the Most event. From his blog: A $100 cash prize will be awarded for the most powerful blog post freely available out there on the interwebs. Post content is limited only by the bounds of imagination. Keep in mind Tom Paine's Ghost was founded amidst a battle to defend

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-79913799156387499172011-01-23T17:20:00.001+11:002011-01-25T10:23:35.585+11:00

Native ground orchids can be contrary beasts. Since I last blogged about Cryptostylis subulata (Large Tongue Orchid) growing in our garden four years ago, there have been none in flower here... till this week: Cryptostylis subulata This specimen is growing on the edge of a sandstone platform, the flowers hanging down over the cave beneath. There is much that is remarkable about C. subulata

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-58873679376740993182010-12-28T15:32:00.000+11:002010-12-28T15:32:40.829+11:00

Was just weeding in the garden, and encountered this, recently emerged from its shell: Psaltoda morens, the redeye cicada.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-64554111452618832642010-12-28T12:09:00.000+11:002010-12-28T12:09:59.691+11:00

Dotted through bushland in summer in Sydney is the New South Wales Christmas Bush, Ceratapetalum gummiferum, its distinctive red colouring contrasting with the greens of foliage and whites of Eucalypt flowers. It's frequently cultivated, and many people decorate their houses at Christmas with sprays of it. The red comes not from the flower petals though, but from the sepals. The small white

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-39940970741118686012010-11-26T17:07:00.001+11:002010-11-26T17:08:58.062+11:00

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-27813616026735363682010-11-15T18:41:00.002+11:002010-11-15T20:59:57.654+11:00

Three years ago, an Angophora costata landed on our roof during heavy rain. It's happened again, but this time it's a Corymbia gummifera. Once again, I'm waiting for the State Emergency Service to arrive with a tarpaulin. Lesson: don't grow large trees on rock platforms. :/ Heavy rain brings down trees that are poorly rooted. And it brings leeches. This afternoon, I was sitting at my desk

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-60505727793690023562010-11-12T18:49:00.002+11:002012-01-29T17:11:59.176+11:00

Earlier, I posted the Garden Bird Census. Here are the rest of the vertebrates. I might well be missing some, since many Australian mammals are nocturnal. I've never seen an echidna in our garden, for example, but would be surprised if we had none. And of course, bats aren't always easy to spot or identify! Reptiles: Pseudechis porphyriacus Red-bellied Black Snake Morelia spilota spilota 

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-77439846086793317112010-11-12T10:07:00.008+11:002011-07-17T11:10:50.159+10:00

Just for the fun of it, I've decided to do a census of all the vertebrates spotted (or heard!) in our garden, and in the case of some species, in the sky above our garden. I'll update these lists as I sight more. First up, birds! I've linked each to the Australian Museum's Birds in Backyards website. Zoothera lunulata Bassian Thrush Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris Eastern Spinebill Accipiter

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-80629153464741440872010-11-11T16:59:00.000+11:002010-11-11T16:59:41.964+11:00

Delighted to have just learned that I've won first prize in the inaugural Macquarie University Arboretum photo competition! And also delighted that the prize is $500 cash. Whoop! Here is the image: an Angophora I walk past every day from the railway station. Personally, the judges' choice rather surprises me, because I think that there are others among the finalists far better than this, but

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-59456055461260294802010-10-29T20:23:00.000+11:002010-10-29T20:23:26.181+11:00

I am up to my earballs in uni work/study at the moment and have been deliberately ignoring this poor forsaken blog, but couldn't resist posting this. In our backyard, this evening. Swamp Wallaby, Wallabia bicolor, with joey. (Happily, they were eating weeds.)

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-14777854679805552742010-09-17T09:03:00.000+10:002010-09-17T09:03:08.173+10:00

I thought I'd play with Flickr's slideshow embedding function. Rather cool, I think! These photos are from Macquarie University's Open Day earlier this month: Jonno and his Eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus. Interesting sexual dimorphism, probably related to their polygyny: the female is red, and the male green.  Adam Stow with an Olive python: Liasis olivaceus. Adam is a conservation

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-14859848090324643322010-08-28T11:01:00.000+10:002010-08-28T11:01:44.114+10:00

I've just cleaned and photographed three snail shells that I found in the rainforest floor in Bulburin. Shortly I hope to have an identification of them, and will post the results here. In the meantime, gaze in wonder! As you can see from the scale, these are mighty molluscs. The largest shell is 84 mm in length.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-31330432790629303512010-08-27T15:41:00.002+10:002010-08-27T17:31:48.737+10:00

In the final post of this series, some mosses of the subtropical rainforest. Mosses are plants that evolved well before the flowering plants (angiosperms), conifers and ferns. They have lack a vascular system, which means that they require constant moisture to avoid desiccation. Mosses reproduce by way of spores rather than seeds and have a fascinating life cycle in which haploid and diploid

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-39328139655075326712010-08-27T15:22:00.005+10:002010-08-27T20:19:48.717+10:00

The next of this series of posts on Bulburin National Park will look at some lichen I observed in the rainforest. Bryophytes and lichens have long fascinated me, possibly because once you look closely, they themselves can look like intricate forests of great complexity and beauty. The moisture level of rainforests allows them to flourish there. This enormous Ficus sp. is covered with an array

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-50014624302100443862010-08-27T14:59:00.003+10:002010-08-27T18:28:07.562+10:00

In this post, I'll concentrate on food. No, not the endless country pub meals of steak and chips, but the cuisine that consists of rainforest flora, both dead and alive. Of course, the substrate is alive with arthropods of huge diversity, but I wasn't digging down to find them. Insects made their appetite evident in the eaten leaves of many plants, but this is a particularly nice example of

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-76685320600363504872010-08-27T14:28:00.022+10:002010-08-28T20:30:29.302+10:00

For a politics junkie like me, finding yourself on Federal election night in a tiny Queensland outpost (pop.15, one pub, one single-cop police station and nothing else) can be somewhat of a shock. Normally I'm surrounded by like-minded Greens, browsers open on various election result sites, the TV being channel-hopped to find the juiciest snideries from the politicians commentating. This time I

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-87740193094837088402010-08-27T13:24:00.004+10:002010-08-27T20:24:05.723+10:00

Yesterday I flew home from a six day field trip to Bulburin National Park, in Queensland. It's just a touch south of the Tropic of Capricorn. View Bulburin National Park, Queensland in a larger map I was there as part of my role as research assistant to Chris Lusk, of Macquarie University's Department of Biology. Chris runs the Forest Ecology lab. He's researching the relationship between

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-34253709771558901982010-07-26T18:56:00.000+10:002010-07-26T18:56:39.977+10:00

I've recently purchased the domain, http://growingpassion.org, replacing my old blogspot address. This doesn't have any profound impact on any links or feeds you might have to this blog, because it's automatically redirected. But I thought I'd let you know. :) Although I've been theoretically on mid-semester break, I've actually been pretty busy doing my Advanced Biology internship in genetics,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-79348846158105354912010-06-27T16:10:00.006+10:002010-06-27T20:30:05.440+10:00

It's now three years since a large Angophora costata in our garden fell on our roof during a storm. As it fell, its enormous roots lifted from the sodden ground, leaving what appears from the surface to be capacious accommodation for sundry creatures. When I last saw our Red Bellied Black Snake at the end of summer, it appeared to have made its home there, conveniently located adjacent to the

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-1447444060989923142010-06-21T17:31:00.010+10:002010-07-01T21:19:25.242+10:00

I am so happy to let you know that my blog post on the evolution of chloroplasts has come third in the 2010 3 Quarks Daily Prize in Science, judged by Richard Dawkins! I am now the delighted recipient of the Charm Quark. Those of you who are regular readers will know that this is a pretty humble blog in the scheme of things. It's fantastic that 3 Quarks Daily is supporting bloggers like me who

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-71926526801574884902010-06-17T00:39:00.006+10:002010-06-17T11:47:50.800+10:00

Exams are nearly over for the semester, and once they're finished I'll find myself in the curious position of being free of them for some time. I'm taking a sabbatical, if that is something an undergraduate is entitled to call her break from the routine of exams and assignments and lectures and pracs. Next semester, I'm only taking one unit in my degree: the final half year of 3rd Year Advanced

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-79090581843008765312010-06-09T10:46:00.006+10:002010-06-17T10:27:46.108+10:00

I've made it to the next round! Thank you so much to those who voted for my blog entry. You can see the rest of the semifinalists here. The finalists will be announced in a couple of days, and then Richard Dawkins will judge the first, second and third prizewinners. Fingers crossed! Edit: 11 June. Well heck. I'm a finalist!! There are nine of us, the six who were voted by the public from all

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33566972288704774192010-06-03T08:02:00.003+10:002010-06-03T09:34:14.238+10:00

I'm so excited to have been nominated for the 3 Quarks Daily Science Prize for the best blog post in science writing! (Thanks, J!) The nomination is for my post on the Evolution of Chloroplasts, which was featured in a recent Carnival of Evolution. But now I need your help. Public voting is open for only four more days. It closes on June 7 at 11:59 PM (NYC time). If I make it to the top 20,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-3372205073361730902010-05-22T10:43:00.001+10:002010-05-22T14:11:14.347+10:00

Jason G. Goldman over at The Thoughtful Animal has written an excellent piece on science blogging and how it benefits both scientists and readers:  Blogging in Academia: What Can It Do For You? He notes a significant gap left by conventional science journalism which can be filled by science bloggers: When mainstream media does write about science, it is often (not always) unnecessarily

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-85883103060938213952010-05-15T15:06:00.001+10:002010-05-15T18:21:31.365+10:00

My recent post on the Evolution of Chloroplasts: endosymbiosis and horizontal gene transfer was featured in the May 2010 edition of Blog Carnival of Evolution, this month hosted by the official blog for Springer Verlag's journal, Evolution: Education and Outreach! I am delighted. Thanks to Bjørn Østman for the invitation to submit my article. 

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-44119840956009471602010-05-15T13:54:00.004+10:002010-05-27T19:23:45.848+10:00

The Forest of Sabine is growing apace. There have been a few casualties, alas, among the Angophora hispida. Sabine tells me that she's had this problem elsewhere: they don't take kindly to transplantation. Still, there is much new growth among all the other species, in particular with the Acacia parvipinnula. Tender new shoots, and in the last couple of days, flowers! To give you a sense of

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-82263813947728193702010-05-01T10:32:00.003+10:002010-05-15T14:09:36.978+10:00

I have a confession to make. Over the last year or so, the demands of study and work plus my allergies to ticks, leeches and many pollens have kept me from giving the attention to our garden that it needs and deserves. My negligence has been compounded by a higher-than-normal rainfall over summer. The result? Bracken. Vast tracts of bracken. From verandah. That disc-shaped object in the

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-79649609809389845962010-04-11T12:40:00.013+10:002010-07-01T21:23:49.489+10:00

Chloroplasts are the machines of life, upon which we heterotrophs (organisms which can't create their own food, but instead rely on eating other organisms) depend. Their evolution massively transformed the earth itself, changing the air by dramatically increasing atmospheric oxygen essential for animal life, and providing an energy source. Micrograph of the cells of a moss species, 

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-68114596276023495492010-03-26T17:24:00.000+11:002010-03-26T17:24:52.189+11:00

"Nestlé, the world's largest food and drink company, is making some of your favourite chocolate bars using palm oil from destroyed Indonesian rainforests. As a result, threatened species like orang-utans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gas are being released, accelerating climate change." -- Greenpeace UK. Have a break? from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo. Follow the

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-70951547198585400602010-02-14T17:07:00.003+11:002010-02-14T18:35:19.893+11:00

I confess that one of my pleasures as I read each day's feeds from various science blogs and news sites is to post sundry bits on Facebook. I figure that if I've found it interesting, others will too. A couple of my friends on Facebook have asked me if I provide these links elsewhere. The answer was no, but there seemed no good reason why I shouldn't do exactly that. So here's the first in a

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-60601325088747009562010-01-31T10:57:00.001+11:002010-01-31T10:58:03.215+11:00

For Christmas, my husband gave me a digital subscription to Science, one of the world's  top peer-reviewed science journals, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. While reading the current issue, I came upon an article about this site: Learn Genetics by the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah. It's an interactive site covering the basics of

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-55547334178235987922010-01-10T17:47:00.004+11:002010-01-10T18:23:58.201+11:00

It ferociously guards the wasp pupae, protecting them from threats by flinging itself at predators, and it will sacrifice its life to nurture the wasps to adulthood. Another example of a parent subjugating its own interests, to pass on its genes for subsequent generations? No. This isn't the parent of the pupae. This protector is not even of the same species. It's a caterpillar that has been

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-89802019252259188722009-12-18T12:53:00.000+11:002009-12-18T12:53:39.360+11:00

The warm weather is really bringing out the insects! I took this photo of a male mantid a couple of nights ago. The mantid was on the ceiling (hmm, needs cleaning) when I shot this while precariously standing on a chair. (The image has been inverted.) Mantids are from the Order Mantodea, and are excellent predators of other invertebrates. This photo is of a female, shot through a window (

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-67901668734730810442009-12-03T20:42:00.002+11:002009-12-03T20:45:58.565+11:00

No particular theme today, but two animals that caught my fancy. The first is a black house spider, Badumna insignis. It's a common sight in Australian gardens and houses. While not too dangerous, it is poisonous and can badly affect sensitive folk. I'm trying to improve my skills in photographing arthropods, but it isn't easy! Focus, lighting.... The second species is becoming a frequent

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-86203814237558150382009-11-29T15:11:00.002+11:002009-11-29T21:50:47.189+11:00

The Sydney Red Gum, Angophora costata, is a particularly beautiful tree, especially in spring when its normally smooth bark flakes away to expose the new season's pinky-grey bark beneath. Angophora costata is found across a range of eastern coastal regions in Australia, and they are common in the sandstone soil of the Hawkesbury area. They are not of the genus Eucalyptus, but are closely

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-51670463094073183322009-11-11T15:59:00.000+11:002009-11-11T15:59:26.490+11:00

I often wax lyrical in this blog about the flora and fauna in our garden, but some species are less welcome than others. Here are a couple of invertebrates that can make gardening a little hazardous. This is a paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus. It's only tiny when it hasn't been feeding: this specimen is only 1.5mm in body length.When they're engorged with blood, they increase in size by many

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-13186523328236255822009-10-25T11:13:00.001+11:002009-10-25T11:15:44.542+11:00

Again, I've been lax with my poor untended blog. I've been very busy of late, with studies, research and now, being president of Macquarie University Biological Society (MUBS). We've launched a new website and newsletter, mRNA. If you're interested in biology, I hope you'll go and take a look! As well as these innovations, we're planning monthly lunchtime biology talks and a competition and

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-48914123413223970132009-07-03T16:28:00.004+10:002009-07-03T16:46:27.268+10:00

In May, I collected some seeds, including Hakea sericea and Allocasuarina littoralis. They have now germinated, and what pretty little things they are.In both cases, the contrast between the cotyledons (embryonic leaves) and the first "true leaves" is stark. In dicotyledons, the two cotyledons form inside the embryo inside the seed and emerge after germination. They are soon replaced by leaves

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-32075328302708303202009-05-30T16:00:00.011+10:002009-05-30T18:58:00.203+10:00

Pottering in the garden on a weekend is great when it's fine, but today it's raining so I did my gardening in the kitchen, propagating the seeds I recently collected as well as doing some cuttings from plants in the garden.This tray is something I picked up a few years ago, and it is brilliant for propagating both seed and cuttings. The pots have lids (see top right) that allow you to keep the

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-90307540403294779582009-05-20T15:26:00.007+10:002009-05-20T16:09:23.303+10:00

Persoonia pinifolia is a notoriously difficult species to propagate by seed. So I've set myself the challenge!Image: Australian National Botanic GardensAlso known as the Pine-leaved Geebung, this species of shrub is indigenous to a small region of Australia, between Broken Bay to the Royal National Park and the lower Blue Mountains. The difficulty in germinating appears to be caused by the hard,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-41562426003025993682009-05-18T15:43:00.012+10:002009-05-19T13:28:16.232+10:00

A couple of days ago, we went for a walk in the Berowra Valley Regional Park near our home, and I collected a few seeds of local plants for propagating. It's a stunning nature reserve situated on the Hawkesbury Sandstone Plateau from the Middle Triassic period, and has a great variety of flora.One of the trees common to our local sclerophyll forests is Allocasuarina littoralis, Black Sheoak:Image

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-40253996332992343432009-05-09T15:16:00.008+10:002009-05-10T09:11:22.406+10:00

Now that the weather's cooling down, I'm so enjoying pottering about the garden. We've done quite a bit of weeding (mainly bracken) and most of the plants we've put in are doing well. There were a few casualties during the summer heat, but nothing heart-breaking. Here are some photos of recent blooms.This is Epacris longiflora, or Fuchsia Heath. It loves shady sandstone cliff faces in

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-26863918884994175712009-04-24T17:21:00.014+10:002009-04-26T09:45:22.028+10:00

Eighteen months ago, we put a pond into our garden. As I was working on it today, cleaning out algae and overgrown pond plants, I wondered what it would be like to compare then and now. It's quite a contrast!September 2007April 2009 -- It's a jungle out there.Edited to add: This is the link to my old website, in which I follow the process of building the pond. Lots of trial and error!We have a

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-82196798940719263422009-04-24T12:55:00.010+10:002009-04-24T17:59:10.641+10:00

This morning, while walking the dogs at our local park, my husband spied what he initially thought was a ridiculously long worm rivalling the dimensions of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm.But on closer inspection, he realised it was a procession of caterpillars....These are Ochrogaster lunifer, commonly and sensibly known as Processionary Caterpillars and found across much of Australia. The

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-27392952836154019682009-04-14T16:40:00.003+10:002009-04-14T17:04:23.114+10:00

Another garden visitor, but one far more common than last post's diamond python. This is a swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor.I took this photo from my study, overlooking the driveway. By the look of her, she's carrying a joey in her pouch.Swamp wallabies are found throughout the east coast of Australia, their range extending around the coast to south-western Victoria. Their conservation status is

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-8199269520339726492009-03-29T18:07:00.002+11:002009-03-29T18:20:11.743+11:00

This beautiful creature I just met in our garden: a diamond python, Morelia spilota spilota.Diamond pythons are found in bushland around the east coast of New South Wales and Victoria. In Victoria, it is considered endangered due to loss of habitat. They grow up to 4 metres long, and this one, I'd estimate, is around 2 metres.It was basking next to our compost bin, probably because at night it

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-87189473323220106822009-03-26T21:46:00.006+11:002009-04-14T17:25:29.228+10:00

A few days ago, PZ Myers of the blog Pharyngula posted my photo of two amorous Red Triangle Slugs (Triboniophorus graeffei). Pharyngula is one of the most popular science blogs online, so needless to say, the link brought more traffic to my humble blog than it is accustomed to...That image (from my Statcounter) is a little blurry, but it shows that My Growing Passion leapt from a daily twenty or

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33494224942409456522009-02-09T16:12:00.004+11:002009-02-09T16:37:29.250+11:00

I really like this particular game of Blog-Tag, because it relates to one of my favourite subjects: science books. Thanks to Christie at Observations of a Nerd for tagging me.Imagine: YOU are asked to assign a half-dozen-or-so books as required reading for ALL science majors at a college as part of their 4-year degree; NOT technical or text books, but other works, old or new, touching upon the

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-65280647910377114802009-02-03T19:28:00.006+11:002009-02-03T20:27:05.257+11:00

Thirty years ago, I was a law student. I lived in the inner city of Sydney, next door to a lovely fellow, who was young, pretty and gay. I'll call him Carl.Carl liked the odd toke of the odd joint, and one day, he'd just bought a generous deal of cannabis. He was busted, arrested and sent to court. I accompanied him. I was only in second year at law school, so couldn't do much apart from

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-66664151844256534352009-01-25T12:30:00.009+11:002009-01-25T16:41:55.453+11:00

As I've previously mentioned, some Superb Lyrebirds, Menura novaehollandiae frequent our garden. They're remarkably beautiful birds, their common name reflecting the the male's tale, which resembles an ornate musical lyre. Even more extraordinary than the plumage, however, is their famous song. Or songs....Image: John Gould,The birds of Australia 1840-48This morning, we were delighted to hear one

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-2696118310039785852009-01-22T10:20:00.010+11:002009-01-23T13:34:50.114+11:00

A break from uni and work has allowed me the delight of reading science just for fun. Two books (one I've finished, the other I've just started) are particularly recommended.The first is "Microcosm: E. coli and the new science of life" by Carl Zimmer. Zimmer is a blogger (The Loom, associated with Discover Magazine) and science journalist, whose previous books include "Evolution: The Triumph of

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-44213258427385623172009-01-19T10:00:00.002+11:002009-01-19T10:45:33.213+11:00

Christie Lynn, at Observations of a Nerd (a wonderful science blog.... do check it out!) has "tagged me".Here are the rules:1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.2. Post the rules on your blog.3. Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself.4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog6

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-53740347561693548002009-01-11T07:54:00.006+11:002009-01-11T16:50:55.398+11:00

Sounds a little disciple-like, doesn't it? Mind you, "fan" isn't much better.Anyway, you'll see on the top left of this page a little widget that allows blog readers to indicate (either anonymously or using their online name) they're following the blog. The idea is that by showing that this is a screamingly popular site (not that it is, but I do have plans to rule the world), I can get scads more

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-1683861789503132532009-01-10T18:34:00.006+11:002009-01-11T16:55:48.766+11:00

I've come home from freezing temperatures to days of over 30C, and over the last few weeks there's been little rain here. So I spent early Wednesday morning trying to cheer up a few of my more vulnerable plants with some deep watering. (Of course, as is in the nature of gardening, we had a thunderstorm that afternoon and everything got a good drink the old-fashioned way.)The contrast between Here

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-89667772474386894732009-01-09T14:04:00.009+11:002010-06-17T09:41:13.817+10:00

I just took these shots (not the best, but the birds were high up!) of Glossy Black-Cockatoos in our garden. They were a family with a squawking baby, feeding on the fruits of an Allocasuarina, their preferred diet. Calyptorhynchus lathami is variously listed as threatened and vulnerable, in large measure because its Allocasuarina habitat has been substantially reduced. The female has

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-49845156838860516722009-01-06T12:39:00.007+11:002009-01-06T12:53:07.034+11:00

We've just returned from a few weeks in Europe, visiting family in the Netherlands and London, and pottering about in Belgium and France. A highlight of the trip was a visit with my sister-in-law, Mirjam, to the Natural History Museum in London. It is hosting a magnificent and comprehensive exhibition on the life and work of Charles Darwin, Darwin: Big Idea, Big Exhibition, celebrating the 200th

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-29799969597667692312008-12-05T12:22:00.000+11:002008-12-05T12:23:26.218+11:00

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-64907154444027684922008-11-05T17:31:00.008+11:002008-11-05T18:29:26.015+11:00

Today was the inaugural Macquarie University Annual Evolution Lecture, given by Professor Paul Ehrlich, based on his latest book (co-authored by Anne Ehrlich), The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment. It's an excellent innovation by the university, deliberately instigated to raise awareness of evolutionary theory and combat the force of darkness that is "intelligent design".His

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33910539849270306522008-11-05T09:16:00.004+11:002008-11-05T09:18:14.941+11:00

...in the US elections. I know many of us think we should be able to, given the international stakes.If you can't vote because of the trivial fact that you're not American, vote here: http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/The results thus far are perhaps unsurprising...

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33538517881475738522008-10-26T10:49:00.007+11:002008-10-26T11:30:56.137+11:00

At the end of November, my contract with Australia's Virtual Herbarium at the National Herbarium of NSW expires as a result of that great constant in the world of science: funding running out. So I've been quietly hunting for new work, and verily, it has come to pass! Next year I'll be starting a job at Macquarie University as a part-time research assistant for six months or so, working with

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-28328118750642030582008-09-05T22:46:00.007+10:002011-09-03T18:51:58.008+10:00

I notice that I've been a bit lax with the blog again. For those twisted folk who come to read it, my apologies. But I've been busy on the side of the angels, working hard at university, up to my eyebrows in protein synthesis, stomatal guard cells and sexual self-incompatibility in plants (which I guess stops them from getting hairy palms). Last weekend, we did take some time out, however, to

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-52699750194937632092008-07-30T10:42:00.028+10:002008-07-30T20:53:49.166+10:00

For my birthday (Happy Birthday, me!) my parents gave me some money to spend as I wished, so I ordered three native bird nesting boxes from La Trobe University and they arrived today. Of course, there are plenty of tree hollows out in the National Park and we do have lots of birds visiting our garden, but I'm keen to have them nesting here so we can watch them.One's for rosellas or lorikeets; one

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-12036335290459938262008-07-27T10:00:00.006+10:002008-07-27T12:41:57.188+10:00

This clever image, "Species-scape", I found on one of my favourite blogs, Catalogue of Organisms (but it's also to be found here and here. I don't know who created the original.)It's a graphical image of various groups of organisms represented at sizes relative to the number of described species in that group.It reminds me of the delightful quotation attributed to J.B.S. Haldane: God, if he

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-29320041507573491052008-07-23T13:13:00.004+10:002008-07-23T13:25:46.103+10:00

I've set up a little terrarium in an old aquarium--yes, also squeezed into the bathroom, along with the propagating ferns. There is something fascinating about them, the way they form microcosms. I've planted an Asplenium bulbiferum (hen and chicken fern, on the top left of this image) which grew from an adult plant in my garden, mosses, liverworts, lichens, and some Utricularia gibba in the "

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-64127653805690002652008-07-17T17:00:00.015+10:002008-07-17T18:45:56.908+10:00

I am feeling thoroughly guilty about having neglected my blog for so long. I plead work, uni exams, post-uni exams relaxation, and generalised pottering and time wasting. At least I'm feeling relaxed. (And my uni results have made me a very happy person! Biology is bliss.)A couple of bits of news. Firstly, I have a CD coming out this month. It's from my previous incarnation as a playwright/

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-42797915775878078172008-04-13T12:17:00.003+10:002008-04-13T12:28:15.406+10:00

These fungi, Earth Stars, are of the genus Geastrum. They popped up in our garden this week. It's a fine time of year for fungi at the moment. We've counted ten or so different species within a few square metres of our front door.The star-like structure at the base of the fruiting body originally covered the ball, but then splits open. It's a type of puffball. The ball holds the spores, and when

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-62847733218349242102008-03-01T16:42:00.007+11:002008-03-02T10:23:07.884+11:00

I collected some Utricularia gibba ssp. exoleta--Floating Bladderwort--from a dam in Wyee on the NSW Central Coast over a year ago, and have been cultivating it in an open fish-tank in the back garden ever since. Looking at the bladders under the microscope is a wonderful experience, because they're such delicate and efficient structures. They open and draw in some of the surrounding water, then

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-82942344315600752202008-02-25T21:21:00.005+11:002008-02-25T21:29:14.487+11:00

I've been playing around with templates for my blog. One of the lovely things about Blogspot is that nice people design blog templates and you can adopt them. This one I like because it's wider than most, so I don't have to squish my photos quite as much.The new image at the top of the screen is a photo I took at the Herbarium of a moss specimen, Hypnodenron comosum, collected in Tasmania in 1985

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-90018383757880847982008-02-24T10:03:00.013+11:002008-02-25T21:49:21.953+11:00

On Friday, the Interns completed their Plant Science Program. They were just as enthused as we were this time last year.On far right: Dr Tim Entwistle, Executive Director of the Botanic Gardens.Sixth from right: Caro Webster, President of the Friends of the Gardens.The Media Release from the Gardens:The science of plants opens new doorsA group of 10 plant scientists of the future have been

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-87303052397383095422008-02-19T20:15:00.004+11:002008-02-19T20:29:17.569+11:00

Virginia Woolf wrote about it nearly a century ago: the importance of having a room of one's own. She was writing specifically for women, who rarely had such a luxury at the time. Perhaps too few of us have one still.But I do. I now have the room I've dreamed of for years. I have my books, some beautiful furniture, prints on the wall, plants, my desk, my computer (sorry Virginia, a bit of a shock

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-62570010383021658292008-02-09T22:42:00.000+11:002008-02-09T23:45:54.537+11:00

This is a question being asked of gardening bloggers across the world by Blooming Writer. So I thought I'd join the fray.I am on the northern outskirts of Sydney, in the botanical district of Australia's NSW Central Coast. It's a temperate climate here, not too hot, not too cold. For certain definitions of hot and cold that is.... I consider below 15C to be too cold, and over 30C to be too hot.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-5743793664911034972008-02-07T14:23:00.000+11:002008-02-07T18:46:32.007+11:00

I've started up some fern propagation in my bathroom along the window ledge. It's brightly lit and warm there but at this time of year it gets no direct sunlight, which is pretty much ideal.The spores I've sown are of:Dicksonia antarctica Soft Tree Fern, grows to 4.5 m high.Cyathea australis Rough Tree Fern, grows to 20 m high.Blechnum nudum Fishbone Water Fern, trunk to 1 m.Todea barbara King

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-33523941847643216502008-02-03T17:39:00.000+11:002008-02-04T00:11:10.808+11:00

Strickland State Forest encompasses an extraordinarily diverse environment, ranging from dry sclerophyll forest, to heathland, to lush temperate rainforest, and is home to a range of endangered and rare plant species. MAPLast year we visited the rainforest and I have never seen more leeches in my life (and that's including my front garden!) so while the interns and a few members of staff walked

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-63311286374405245862008-01-28T18:11:00.001+11:002008-02-03T18:23:19.330+11:00

Me making sandwiches for the interns' lunch in the field....There have been a couple of requests for the recipes of some of the food I prepared for the field trip, so I'll post them here. Rather than give the quantities for 20 people, which no one in their right mind could possibly want (!), these are for four servings.Vegie CurryIngredients:Sauce (can be made ahead, can be frozen. Make lots to

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-26680323684133121102008-01-28T14:29:00.000+11:002008-01-28T16:10:37.683+11:00

Adjoining the Research Station where we stayed on the field trip is the Crommelin Arboretum, around 6 hectares of natural and cultivated native bushland, rainforest and wetland. It's a very peaceful place....An old and well-established Xanthorrhoeaspecies, with a flower spike and blackened trunk.Eustrephus latifolius. Unusually for a climber, it's amonocot. Both the berries and tubers are edible.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-60159313839486359002008-01-27T18:19:00.000+11:002008-01-27T19:54:42.825+11:00

Last week was the Herbarium 2008 Plant Science Interns' field trip to the Central Coast, specifically to Warrah Reserve. We stayed at the Crommelin Biological Field Station, owned by Sydney University and which backs onto Warrah and is about a kilometre up from Pearl Beach.As I mentioned, I was the cook, so my botanising was limited although I managed to take some photos, some of which I'll be

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-75860802627452087662008-01-04T17:12:00.000+11:002008-01-05T11:23:06.078+11:00

There is a section of our front garden which some people might consider potential "lawn" (ugh, spit!) or just a big pile of weeds. But it holds treasures within. It's not so long since it was bushland, so the soil still contains seeds of the original flora either dormant or recently dispersed, and there are tiny seedlings struggling to find their way out of the invasive plants (both exotic and

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-34198338651694272822007-12-31T09:54:00.000+11:002007-12-31T10:48:25.939+11:00

The recent rain and summer warmth have coaxed the plants I've cultivated in what were beds full of nasty exotics, into magnificent flower. These are specimens I either grew from cuttings or bought as tubestock. Looks like they're as happy as I am.Goodenia ovata Boronia filifoliaHibbertia vestitaBrachyscome angustifoliaCrowea exalata (Pink form)So with that, my last post for 2007. Happy new year,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-60120530488373813632007-12-30T18:35:00.000+11:002007-12-30T19:13:22.642+11:00

Today I harvested my potatoes, and got nearly four kilos of Pink Fir Apple and Otway Pink, which isn't bad. The tomatoes, alas, fell victim to possums, so they've ended up in the compost bin. When I build another bed, probably as a no dig patch, I'll try to make it more animal proof.Instead of more vegies, I've decided to plant this bed out with herbs. I know that the wallabies like eating them,

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-82584584506909944672007-12-28T14:02:00.000+11:002007-12-28T19:38:39.960+11:00

A few weeks ago, I posted photos of inflorescences of Banksia serrata and Ceratopetalum gummiferum from our garden, with the promise of updated images as they matured.Here they are:The small flowers within the banksia inflorescences are hugely attractive to local birds, particularly tiny pardalotes and wrens. In a few months, they'll have formed into follicles on the woody axis. They'll

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-45054074721853782152007-12-22T10:18:00.000+11:002007-12-22T12:21:36.299+11:00

Yesterday, Louisa and Peta--a couple of my Herbarium colleagues--and I went to Pearl Beach on the NSW Central Coast to check out the place we're staying during the upcoming Plant Science Internship field trip in January. Since I'm going to be cook, I needed to know how well equipped the kitchen is. It's got a big old stove that should happily serve our needs. I just hope my culinary skills do too

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-75995810587957052462007-12-19T21:51:00.001+11:002010-06-03T10:02:25.992+10:00

The photo I posted here a while back of the flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) I'm growing has been chosen for today's Botany Photo of the Day published by UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research. Which is nice. Just as jolly is that I've sold my first photo. The Herbarium had an art exhibition over recent weeks, "Our Hidden Talents", to which the staff were encouraged to

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-26731076683483503272007-12-01T14:54:00.000+11:002007-12-01T16:50:49.211+11:00

Finally, a frog has moved into my pond! It's a Limnodynastes peronii (Striped Marsh Frog) and okay, it's as common as muck, but it's wonderful that finally someone's got the hint.No photos as yet (I've indeed yet to see him, having only heard his less than dulcet call), but here's a image to go on with (Creative Commons, of course!): Source.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-69618683044861231912007-11-24T13:53:00.000+11:002007-12-19T22:13:21.496+11:00

The sandstone rock platform that runs along one side of our property is proving to be a wondrously diverse and relatively undisturbed piece of habitat. As the weather warms up, I'm discovering increasing numbers of plant species, which is such a joy. This is where I found the Cryptostylis subulata I recently blogged about, and there are also Lomandra longifolia, Lomandra filiformis, Lomandra

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-39742427202113301902007-11-11T20:46:00.000+11:002007-11-12T11:35:22.244+11:00

Today, after a few days of solid and very appreciated rain, I ventured into the garden, where I took some photos of spring fare.This is Elaeocarpus reticulatus, also known as Blueberry Ash, Ash Quandong, Blue Olive berry, Fairy Petticoats, Fringe Tree, Koda, Lily of the valley Tree and Scrub Ash. Obviously when it's been observed by white folk, they've been rather taken with it and have coined

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36572098.post-38756287618971216682007-11-08T19:28:00.000+11:002007-11-08T19:31:17.079+11:00

Pass it on.

Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15456006889868172386noreply@blogger.com1