What kind of tree is this?

[rb_in_va]

Here is a pic of the "vacant" lot next to the house. These are the kind of neighbors I like!

 

[Ekka]

Yeah, plenty of room to breathe. Looks like another big camphor laurel next door.

Hey Treeseer.

I don't put them on the weed list the government does. Lets see, there's another bad boy on the list called Chinese Elm, slaughter that weed too. See, when you come to Australia we want you to see our native trees and bushland, not some imported pest. Basically if it competes with our natives, propogates easily and spreads it's gonna cop it, just like that pampass grass of the 1970's. Greencorp is a semi govt funded company that get school leavers who are interested in hort to help eradicate pests in the bush. They teach them weed ID and strap a 15L backpack with injector on their backs and go bush in groups injecting and killing weeds. This is big deal op and around 400 recruits a year. They only stay in the program 6 months though.

Over here the Camphors even in sandy soil get surface roots etc. Actually I don't mind cutting them down, smells nice and when you grind the stump it sure cleans out the sinuses.

Casuarina and melaleuca are natives and not a problem. How have they become invasive over there? They tend to hang around lower lying areas and coastal areas ... what grows in those conditions over there?

 

[treeseer]

school leavers who are interested in hort to help eradicate pests , around 400 recruits a year."

How much are they paid? I don't know if they get that many to manage pests in florida. Most american students I meet don't want to get their hands dirty, or sweat.

Casuarina and melaleuca are natives and not a problem. How have they become invasive over there? They tend to hang around lower lying areas and coastal areas ... what grows in those conditions over there?

The west coast of florida is overrun with casuarina; forms monoculture along the beach. There is another low area known as the Everglades that Melaleuca found to its liking and took it over.Huge problems here, no problems there; your natives are our exotic invaders.

There may be natural pests or other reasons camphor is not such a big problem in florida.

 

[Ekka]

The west coast of florida is overrun with casuarina; forms monoculture along the beach. There is another low area known as the Everglades that Melaleuca found to its liking and took it over.Huge problems here, no problems there; your natives are our exotic invaders.

There may be natural pests or other reasons camphor is not such a big problem in florida.

OK, along the beach before casuarinas, what else grew?

And in the Everglades what else grows? Hmm maybe swamp cypress, you know Taxodium distichum.

Just interested, hard to imagine our trees invading another continent and pissing the locals off.

 

[treeseer]

hard to imagine our trees invading another continent and pissing the locals off.

Never mind the locals, it's thousands of years of evolution undone, and associated species disrupted and possibly wiped out. Hard to imagine? Just look at jackrabbits and camphor trees in australia. It is hard to imagine those cute bunnies being such a bother, until you're invaded by them.

 

[JeffE]

OK, along the beach before casuarinas, what else grew?

And in the Everglades what else grows? Hmm maybe swamp cypress, you know Taxodium distichum.

Just interested, hard to imagine our trees invading another continent and pissing the locals off.

Ekka, most of the Everglades was treeless, a sort of marsh grassland ecosystem. In addition to crowding out the native plants, Melaleuca quinquenervia alters the hydrology and fire regime where it invades. It's become a sort of poster child for invasive trees in the US.

Couple of links for you:
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/melainv.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW123

 

[Ekka]

Oh yeah. Nice links.

I must admit I had a chuckle when they tried burning them ... most Aussie trees love a BBQ and it helps them germinate and in eucs the seeds often don't disperse from the pod till they're heated. Bush fires do the job well.

Seed farmers dry them out then put them in the oven.

With the casuarinas the seed pods are a bit sharp on bare feet so around those you better wear your thongs!

 

[JeffE]

you better wear your thongs!

... I know what you meant by that, but it means something a little different to most yanks!

 

[treeseer]

... I know what you meant by that, but it means something a little different to most yanks!

I wouldn't want to sit on them while wearing a thong, that's for sure! Course I ain't got the bod to wear one in public anyway...

 

[Ekka]

Hey Treeseer

Have a look at the size of these jacarandas

 

[treeseer]

Great pics Ekka, didn't know jacs tolerated urban life so well.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Those Jacs are nice looking trees. I like the way they seem to corkscrew towards the light. I can't tell by the above pics, but was wondering if they have compound leaves.
John