Re: Silk Floss tree in flower
- To: v*@iafrica.com, m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Silk Floss tree in flower
- From: A* C*
- Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 02:43:36 GMT
Dear Glenn,
I really loved your pissed parrot story.
Anne Conlon
>From: Glenn Breayley <valhalla@iafrica.com>
>Reply-To: valhalla@iafrica.com
>To: medit-plants <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
>Subject: Re: Silk Floss tree in flower
>Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 08:43:21 +0200
>
> >This sounds so wonderful- I really must make a North trip to see this and
> >other lovely Bay Area gardens! Today we were looking out at our young
>(but
> >remarkably tall) Silk Floss tree. Planted out from a five gallon
>container
> >five years ago it's at least 26' high. It's not yet flowering that much,
>and
> >I may have found out why. A flock of screeching green parrots just came
> >through and ate what few blossoms we had! Ahh Los Angeles. Mutant Ninja
> >Parrots, escapees no doubt.
>
>
>Hi All
>
>I once worked for a while in the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens which is right
>on the Tropic of Capricorn in Australia. There were two enormous, mature
>specimens of this there & a wonderous sight in full flower. With the cup
>arrangement of the flowers, the nectar would accumulate & start to ferment.
>The local parrots & lorrikeets would come in & start feeding in the early
>morning & get progressively more inebriated through the day. By nightfall
>they'd be really noisy & quarralsome, ripping the flowers apart & fighting
>amongst themselves. Definitely liked it though as they'd be back each day
>for more.
>The South African Boerbean - Schotia brachypetala - was also used as a
>street tree there, with similar results. Known locally as the pissed parrot
>tree. The brew must have been far more lethal though as the birds could sup
>it up to the point of incapacity & fall out of the trees dead drunk. The
>neighbourhood kids & cats would cruise around the trees at the end of the
>day to see what they could find.
>
>Regards
>
>Glenn Breayley. Ragnarok & Valhalla Research.
>POBox 26158, Hout Bay, 7872, Capetown, South Africa
>Ph/Fax SA 021 7904253 E-mail valhalla@iafrica.com
>Wholesale nurseryman & Tillandsia specialist wholesale & retail grower.
>
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