Marri Ngarr & Magati Ke plants and animals

I was listening to AWAYE yesterday on Radio National  - the program on the Koori Heritage Trust also featured a story on the newly published book  - see post title - a "comprehensive book filled with bio-cultural knowledge of plants and animals in the Wadeye (Port Keats) and Daly River region was launched earlier this year, helping to keep culture alive. 

Awaye - which means 'listen up" in the Arrernte language of Central Australia is an aboriginal art and culture radio program has been going for over 17 years now:

Awaye! 15th anniversary season

5 July 2008 - 16 August 2008
Awaye! celebrates its 15th anniversary, with a selection of its best programs - ranging from the handback of Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park to its traditional owners to the extraordinary story of the Gija people of the north-east Kimberley, and their struggle to keep their community and culture alive. Learn about the history of Awaye! and its presenters over the years. [find out more...]

As soon as I hear the introductory call of this show it takes me somewhere and I have to stop and listen... think what I am doing... "listen up" indeed!

Why I was keen to feature this book on the Homage to the Seed Blog is that I am thinking it may be the first bilingual book of its kind... covering carefully accumulated knowledge from up to 40 different people...one of whom is said to be the last one to speak a particular language important to this book. As such it is an enormously important book. Something I have come to appreciate far more this year is that plants and people are intimately involved and often where a species is becoming endangered so may a language be disappearing ( or have gone).

From the start of the residency I was curious about the plants indigenous to this region...especially edible species for the fact they have been so ignored. We may know what is to be found commonly growing in this region that could be perhaps planted in the garden or at least identified on a walk - but far less focus has been on edible plants... early settlers may well have known more than we do now... but that curiosity did not last for the main...as food became more available it seems most sources of indigenous food were overlooked.

This book has renewed interest already it seems for certain plants... and I think will be well worth a read.

Aboriginal knowledge of flora and fauna from the Moyle River and Neninh areas, north Australia

Marri Ngarr & Magati Ke plants and animals is the largest ethnobiology ever published in the Northern Territory. It is the result of extensive work by over 40 people and contains the Marri Ngarr and Magati Ke traditional names and ecological knowledge for over 660 plants and animals. It also includes the scientific names, English common names and the Murrinhpatha names.

Author: 

 Ngarul Jimmy Nambatu

 Palibu Patrick Nudjulu

 Lungung Johnny Nama (deceased)

 Kurrangu James Munar (deceased)

 Dittin Aloysius Kungul (deceased)

 Larri Rex Munar

 Killinang Benedict Tchinburrurr

 Mawanyngu Jeannie Jongmin (deceased)

 Yilimu Bernadine Kungul

 Patricia Marrfurra McTaggart

 Mark Crocombe

 Glenn Wightman

Desktop Publisher: 

 Russell Hanna

Also available at this Publishing Company:

Kunjba wardan baki kunjba jingkal ngambalangi munji munji

Karrwa bush foods and medicines

A group of Borroloola women produced this book to share their knowledge of Karrwa bush foods and the Karrwa language with others. The book is bilingual in Karrwa and English and includes an audio CD of plant names in Karrwa.

Iwaidja shell poster

This poster of shells found on Croker Island and the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory features photos and names in Iwaidja and English

What species is that? Archidendron lucyi

This wonderful species Archidendron lucyi is found in the tropical rainforests of North Queensland as well as Melasia and the Solomon Islands. Also known commonly as scarlet bean it has the most fascinating structure - is about 70 to 120 mm long and 15 to 25 mm wide although the way it curls around disguises its length somewhat. On the following page of this excellent book below by Wendy and William Cooper is a very similar bean called the Salmon bean or Archidendron vaillantii. This is where the advice of staff at the gardens is critical due to the similarity between species - to an untrained eye its difficult to distinguish what is what. I like to double check wherever possible... as Jason Halford from the Seed lab (see post from april 19)  has stated at times plant identification can require quite a bit of cross-referencing for him to be sure. I expect I may have to edit posts over the year due to the limits to my knowledge. Already this has been the case after guided tours where so much is being taken in and notes and memory fail one. It's therefore reassuring to hear from experienced staff that they also can ocassionally make false readings first up.

You can appreciate the challenge in drawing some these forms. The colour is amazing and watching them opening truly spectacular. The seeds are a blue black and in a particular light can look satin-like which adds to the intrigue of this exotic fruit from the Nth Qld rainforest.

This single pod is typical of the way they curl around - taking up the space of the palm of one's hand.

This post was in response to the gardener/photographer Em from the wonderful weblog Garden Fool based in the state of New York. Thanks for your query Em which I will take up further this week at the Gardens with staff there.

When researching on this species I came across a remarkable website that contains a huge archive of images taken under the microscope of inside the wood of a diverse range of trees from around the globe. I have yet to read about this site in detail from North Carolina State University. Here is the image for the wood from this rainforest species above.

Click on this below to enlarge for reading:

This particular emtry comes from the Insidewood Images collection of North Carolina State University. The site was found through google but I am finding the links dont work to this when I try and enter them. You might find a way into  NCSU and then all collections  at:

 http://images.lib.ncsu.edu:8180/luna/servlet/allCollections?pgs=50&res=1

Aristolochia griffithii

As you can see the images from the inside wood collection are stunning and remind me of abstract 
forms not unlike ones I have been drawn to paint from time to time.





Thottea siliquosa




Daphnandra repandula



Gaura sinuata

The Seed Lab at the Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-Tha - Millennium Seed bank and Seeds for Life joint project

This post is an introduction to an important hub for the project and its Principal Seed Collector and Technologist since 2006  Jason Halford who can be found at the Seed Lab when not out in the field or working on freelance projects involved with managing and utilising resources in sustainable and environmentally sound ways.

The Millennium Seed bank Project project can be read about here at length and its local version Seeds for Life here on the Greening Australia website. A solid volunteer team has been associated with the project since its inception and in this way certain tasks in the Lab can be shared around a group of volunteers. I first became involved mid last year, once a week for a time... and then later in the year as well. The project fluctuates according to whether work is focused in the Lab, out in the field or due to  funding phases. The photo of Jason Halford below is from last year after a slight mishap with a sharp knife and a tricky seed pod if i recall properly.

above: seed sorting 

below: journal notes on one of the seeds being cleaned 

above: some visitors all the way from north QLD climbing out of the seed cases - aqua blue grubs

below: Jason Halford on the task of cleaning seeds from pods. Such labour intensive tasks lead to fascinating dialogue on related topics - an ideal moment to be schooled in practices of the Lab, fieldwork, biodiversity, how seed banks work, QLD specific issues around conservation and so on.

Working on the Acacia Midgeli from Iron Range, Cape York. This made a great subject for sketching.

Below: this vacuum separator known as an aspirator is a device used to separate the heavier seeds from the lighter processed plant waste (chaff).

Below: A rather sophisticated weighing machine that aids recording of data for project analysis methods.

Packaging seeds ready to send to Kew Gardens MSB and the Seeds for Life collection for QLD.

These seeds kept in the freezer form part of the Queensland collection where they are banked in a frozen state at around -22 deg C.

A recent day in the lab involved a very long, drawn out process of cleaning these seeds first by soaking for an extensive period before hand, then scraping the fleshy olive-like flesh off the seed ready for the next stages before it is added to the formal collection. Denise, an experienced volunteer with Greening Australia was also hard at work on these when I arrived for an afternoon session. It was almost 5pm when Jason was able to pull up his chair and call it a day after more than a day spent on this one seed cleaning job.

Once seeds are 'cleaned' and separated they are ready to be counted into a series of containers each with 50 seeds - (you will appreciate the smaller the seeds the more exacting the work) then they are weighed and various data recorded before being divided into the section for dispatch to the MSB and those that will be banked for the Qld collection.

Chionanthus ramiflora

As you can perhaps imagine this particular species required  persistence to process... one of the messier, more time consuming seeds to work with. However  Jason and others in his team speak of the degree of difficulty those with very fine fibres present - like discomfort on the lungs if precautions aren't taken. The stickiness of a capsule holding seeds or the poisonous nature of some also require degrees of persistance and care when handling. One learns to behold each individual specimen for their uniqueness - broad range in size, shape, composition and structure. An experienced eye would no doubt a list of other attributes that I am overlooking here. Seed viability - now that is something for another post altogether!

Jason Halford brings a very broad work profile and wide-ranging experience to this fascinating role at the Lab. Here is a breakdown of the range of tasks he performs in this work with MSB and Seeds for Life:

There are pages of notes I have made about this important conservation work including Governmental planning, funding, the collaborative bodies behind the initiative, the intiatives from the UK MBS organisation. It is as complex as it is fascinating, rewarding as it is to an outsider confounding in part.

I will add to this post in subsequent posts. Interviewing Jason Halford informally about his work out in the field brought forward extraordinary stories touching naturally on Indigenous Australians and their vast heritage, the gradual urbanisation of the land and numerous other topics - little is left unexamined. His work experience over many years as a Bush Regenerator, Gardener, Park Ranger, and formerly Landscaper and Draftperson, and his less known competence as a visual artist bring together an extraordinary wealth of experience with a considerable talent for observation, recording and documentation. Adept at seeing things simultaneously more deeply and more broadly through the lens of both scientist and artist is what makes him an excellent tutor for a visiting artist-in-residence who frequents the Lab when its operating.

I look forward to posting more on this - and following up also with stories on some of the wonderful volunteers also to be found at the Lab.

So you know I am not in jest when I refer to the natural artistic skills of Jason Halford here is one of the ink drawings I was delighted to photograph from the engaging porfolio he recently brought to the Lab. More soon on this too! 

From Rainbow beach: Xanthorrhoea Johnsonii

With sincere thanks to Jason Halford for agreeing to be interviewed and included in the Weblog documentation process this year. These dialogues and the Lab experience are effectively the foundation  for the residency in homage to the seed at the Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha! Conversations here spark off further lines of inquiry and lead to the Library, different planting sections of the Gardens to see various species in their growth cycles, to conversations with those working on the grounds, in education, in volunteering as guides and at the lab, and of course beyond the garden gates. One year is a very brief time when considering all that is there at one's feet -  a somewhat sobering fact countered by the rich opportunity it affords and the delight to be found in the process!

Do-It-Yourself Herbarium

these images with text above are from a 25 page pdf you can download by clicking on the highlghted text below!

  This excellent 'how-to' guide is available on the University of Melbourne Herbarium: School of Botany website under 'make your own Herbarium Specimen'. This comprehensive guideline will provide you with all you need to know about this exacting process. If you get enthused to try this dont forget to collect and save seeds whilst on your mission. Together this could make a memorable gift for someone! Just remember to check the viability of any seeds you collect and the precise location where they will be planted as australian natives, for example, like to be planted in their natural bio-geographical region. I'm told by experienced green fingers if you get the right species for the location then the plants will thrive magnificently. There are guidebooks available for various regions that will point you towards good specimen to collect and plant and also help you to avoid weeds posing as attractive plants in some cases!
Good collecting!

WHAT SPECIES IS THIS?

Onsite at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha there are 2 facilities involved in the work of plant identification. The Queensland Herbarium, Biodiversity Sciences is the centre for research and information on the Queensland flora, vegetation and plant communities.It is part of the State Govt's Environment and Management portfolio and as such deals with the concerns of the entire State.

The other facility is the Garden's specific plant identification unit at the Administration Centre where I was pleased to be able to meet with the Senior Botanical Officer Phil Cameron last week. His recently published document 'Plant Census 2010'  is the current listing of all species to be found in the Gardens. Establishing the Bio-geographical context of plants is the main work of this unit - with a focus on South East Qld being of primary concern.

Involvement in the International Seed Exchange Program has been a part of the unit's activities over many years. However participation in the Kew Garden's Millennium Seed Bank Project in recent years has stepped up to become quite a focus for this Unit.

This is the data sheet above to be filled out for each specimen being collected.

Phil Cameron explaining the process of researching and cross-referencing to determine the precise origin, name and characteristics of a specimen. An interesting discussion ensued on the role high quality, scientific botanical art can play in aiding this process.

Scanning this interesting room I took in maps, compendiums of various kinds, books, magazines, plant species and containers with piles of data.  Not unlike my current art studio in some ways only on a much larger scale and less chaotic by far! Apologies for the poor image of what was actually a most engaging workspace.

Under the microscope - having spent some time in the seed lab where seeds can be miniscule I well understand how useful this equipment must be in this line of work.

These elegant canoe shaped pods were lying on a bench where they caught my eye. One can imagine children being very drawn to these....reminiscent of a time when such found objects would have been automatically utilised. 

Thank you to Phil Cameron for kindly taking me through this fascinating facility!