Save a species

These wonderful images, and many more, come from Black Diamond Images :
           This set is Seeds/Fruit of the Australian Rainforest

see more images here  

Do yourself a favour and go see the wonderful sets of images at the sites above or here at Black Diamond images - Zenfolio.

Black Diamond Images:

Castanospermum australe - Black Bean, Morton Bay Chestnut

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT  All Rights Reserved.  Contact -bdimages(at)wc.net.au

Family : Fabaceae    The seeds should be regarded as poisonous and not eaten as there are numerous well documented cases of poisoning. Aborigines have been reported as eating the seeds but only after careful preparation involving leaching in water and roasting. Everist (1974). More info here.

A great collections page is here at Australian Rainforest Plants, Trees and Funghi.

The wonderful people at Wild Mob whom I wrote about in last week's post: sent me this link to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney website today where there are some excellent plant science programs in place.  Thanks Randall!

Science

• Evolutionary ecology research
• Horticultural research
  • Save a Species
  • NSW Seedbank
  • Seed biology
  • Seeds for the Future
  • Terrestrial orchids
• Plant diversity research
• Plant pathology research
• Herbarium & resources
• Scientific publications

Having spent a large part of my life living in NSW I've some familiarity with species from that State. That said ... the northern NSW coastal area where I grew up is sub-tropical and somewhat similar to the south-east Qld region where I am now. Borders dont count for much in one sense... in other ways they do.

Last year, based at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, I was interested to discover that during World War II the Qld State Govt's funding pressures were such that they handed over the running of the Gardens to the City Council... an unusual arrangement for such a large institution. An obvious resulting challenge is the Gardens have not exactly been the funding priority of State Govt in the way they might have been. Where the Herbarium is State Govt run and located on the grounds of Mt Coot-tha alongside the Garden's Administration buildings ... its a completely separate entity.  Facilities and programs a Govt might undertake differ to those a Council will determine necessary nor have the capacity to fund. The Qld Seeds for Life project and Seed Lab would be an obvious area that could benefit greatly from  Government involvement...  especially as the collections come from across Queensland and are shared between the Millennium Seed Bank in the UK and the Qld Seed bank.

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney is where I will focus this post. It appears to be an excellent facility on many levels... not the least of which is the extensively well-developed programs for Plant Science - if you click on the categories listed above under the Science heading you can read more on what is taking place there.

This is a lively and important campaign from the RBG in Sydney:

It is estimated that worldwide up to 50% of plant species face extinction. That's a significant threat to our planet. Every plant performs vital functions that make life on  earth possible.  How you can help Donations will help us to protect an endangered plant species. By joining the Save a Species  campaign today, you will help us protect our planet. Get sponsored for a challenge or activity and raise funds with friends and family or donate now  and give a gift to someone special. However you decide to get involved, you will be helping to preserve plants and the important  roles they perform. How does it work? Save a Species is supporting the NSW Seedbank - an amazing way of storing seeds and plant  DNA to prevent the loss of plant species from ecological habitats. The NSW Seedbank is part of the Millennium Seed Bank project described by Sir  David Attenborough as 'perhaps the most important conservation initiative ever.' Through this network the NSW Seedbank has helped bank 10% of the world's plant species and  is committed to reaching 25% by 2020. Our Seedbank is targeting plants most at risk from climate change and human activities to  ensure the powerful blueprints contained in plant DNA aren't lost forever. Eremophila maculata, Spotted Emu Bush                     Acacia salicina, Native Willow  The Royal Botanic Gardens,  Domain Trust would like to thank the Geddes Group for their  support of the NSW Seedbank and the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation. Anne Geddes' latest  book is Beginnings - an exploration of new life. Images: Anne Geddes

To read more about one of the conservation adventure programs from Wild Mob click here and see what they invite you to join in with! Image below is a group who have volunteered with Wild Mob...

invasive weed removal on Brampton Island



snorkelling along Brampton island's reefs