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Jonathan

Jonathan Clifford
Permaculture BIO 342
Professor Gamble
Plant Project
1013/07

Species List

All these trees are fantastic firewood and they all produce honey. They can be
found in mainly arid regions but some can be found in tropical highlands.

1. Avicennia nitida
2. Calliandra calothyrsus
3. Syzygium cumini
4. Eucalyptus globulus
5. Grevillea robusta
6. Inga vera
7. Acacia tortilis
8. Albizia lebbek
9. Albizia citriodora
10. Eucalyptus camaldulensis
11. Eucalyptus citriodora
12. Pithecellobium dulce

Plant Profile for Grevillea robusta a.k.a Silky Oak

Picture 1
Picture 2

Derivation

The genus Grevillea, honours, C. F. Greville (1749-1809) who was an English patron of botany. The species robusta from Latin meaning robust, referring to the large size attained by this species of a predominantly shrubby genus.

Origins

Commonly in Riverine rainforest but also in subtropical and dry rainforest on basaltic soils. It has distributed itself from the Guy Fawkes River, NSW to about Maryborough, Queensland and within 100 km of the coast of Australia.

Anthem, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Canoga Park, California
Chico, California
Menifee, California
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
San Juan Capistrano, California
San Marcos, California
Santa Maria, California
Bartow, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Ocala, Florida

Description of Form:

Habit

A tree attaining a height of about 35 metres and a stem diameter of 125 cm.

A beautiful fast growing tree and a fine species for avenue planting.

Trunk

Often straight, cylindrical, sometimes slightly flanged at the base.

Bark

Grey to dark greyish-brown, usually vertically fissured and ridged, often

with firm scales on the crest of the ridges.

Branchlets

Young branchlets green for up to 25 cm from the ends, often angular and
ridged, hairy, young shoots densely hairy, marked by rows of brownish lenticels.

Leaves

Alternate pinnate, divided into segments (eleven to twenty-four), which

are again divided into lobes that are entire or sometimes again divided, giving the
foliage a fernlike and silvery look. 15-30 x 8-12 cm long. Leaflets tapering at the
base and to a fine point at the tip. Upper surface dark green, glabrous or sprinkled
with appressed hairs, underside covered with a silky down.

Venation

Midrib distinct, lateral and net veins obscure, leaf rachis often hairy.

Flowers

Orange-yellow in branched toothbrush-like inflorescences consisting of

several racemes 8-10 cm long. Individual flowers 12-20 mm long on slender pedicels
12 mm long. Flowering period September to November.

Fruit

A follicle, brown, oblique or boat shaped, up to 20 mm long with a long

slender beak up to 25 mm long, seeds winged. Fruit ripe December to March.

Multiple Uses?

Tree is great for honey, firewood furniture and especially good

for instrument making.

Propagation

Seed, Cutting and Grafting.

Guild:

The guild will grow in many soil types because the tree can
I.e. Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;

1. Buffalo berry (Shepherdia argentea)
   1. Fixes Nitrogen and grows naturally in Australia next to the Silky oak. Likes well drained soil.
   2. Delicious berries.
2. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia - L.)
   1. a good ground cover.
   2. Also can be used to treat wounds and used for herbal mixtures.
3. Prickly Comfrey (Symphytum asperum - Lepech.)
   1. a good mulch
   2. can be eaten on Salads or made into tea.
4. African Marigold (Tagetes erecta - L.)
   1. This type of marigold is a natural insecticide. It creates a secretion from its roots that insects hate.
   2. It thrives in well drained soil just like the silky oak.

Bioneers Trip

When i first heard the bioneers trip described to me i thought
to myself, great a bunch of hippies and a church basement. And that is
was i got, however i also got something i had kind of forgot about,
intelligent speakers talking about some of the most important issues
facing the world today. One of my favorite speakers was John Abrams.
I loved his speach because it was not a speach at all, it was a story
told in the most elegant and humor hidden way. He opened with his story
about his old friend Lou and then wound up engrossing me by his story of
what small buisness really means.

Another speaker that truly intrigued me was Van Jones. He brought a totally different feeling to the day for me. He spoke about a group of people that i grew up sort of close to; inner city kids. What he said was true, these kids will get left behind in this movement unless we involve them.

International Permaculture Article