Acacia Trees

Although its Spring time over here the weather has not been great
here is two Acacia`s that are finally getting their full foliage

well well, nice! I especially like the second one but i dont know if that is really a naturel shape for an accacia? Anyway, great.

The air over there must be one toxic environment there... you know that Accacia produce chemical toxics through the leaves that spread in the air, when they are pruned/clipped regularely? Its a natural defense they have, as a repelliant against girafs and other animals that eat away at their leaves in the savanna. There are some nice National Geographic documentaries about that; there have been several investigated cases in the african natural reserves, that examined why so many animals died :d.

So dont eat any leaves ok, but i guess that wont be a problem

yves71277 wrote:well well, nice! I especially like the second one but i dont know if that is really a naturel shape for an accacia? Anyway, great.

The air over there must be one toxic environment there... you know that Accacia produce chemical toxics through the leaves that spread in the air, when they are pruned/clipped regularely? Its a natural defense they have, as a repelliant against girafs and other animals that eat away at their leaves in the savanna. There are some nice National Geographic documentaries about that; there have been several investigated cases in the african natural reserves, that examined why so many animals died :d.

So dont eat any leaves ok, but i guess that wont be a problem

Don't worry Yves, here in South Africa we pinch our trees with fingers or scissors. We don't use our teeth, specially on acacia's (vachellias) as the thorns tend to hurt our lips when we do it that way.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew Legg wrote:

yves71277 wrote:well well, nice! I especially like the second one but i dont know if that is really a naturel shape for an accacia? Anyway, great.

The air over there must be one toxic environment there... you know that Accacia produce chemical toxics through the leaves that spread in the air, when they are pruned/clipped regularely? Its a natural defense they have, as a repelliant against girafs and other animals that eat away at their leaves in the savanna. There are some nice National Geographic documentaries about that; there have been several investigated cases in the african natural reserves, that examined why so many animals died :d.

So dont eat any leaves ok, but i guess that wont be a problem

Don't worry Yves, here in South Africa we pinch our trees with fingers or scissors. We don't use our teeth, specially on acacia's (vachellias) as the thorns tend to hurt our lips when we do it that way.

Cheers,

Andrew

really?
well if you would pinch me, i would produce toxic gass too, so i suspect how you remove the foliage (pinching, eating or cutting) has the same triggering effect that induces the chemical balance to change within the accacia and to spread toxic 'warnings' to possible other neighbouring accacia, because that was the case in these reserves...they defended themselves but it also acted as a warning system for their 'friends'.

And now i'll shut up about the biology lesson i am just fascinated by those thing. Lucky for us bonsai folks they dont kick when we cut their branches

yves71277 wrote:
really?
well if you would pinch me, i would produce toxic gass too, so i suspect how you remove the foliage (pinching, eating or cutting) has the same triggering effect that induces the chemical balance to change within the accacia and to spread toxic 'warnings' to possible other neighbouring accacia, because that was the case in these reserves...they defended themselves but it also acted as a warning system for their 'friends'.

And now i'll shut up about the biology lesson i am just fascinated by those thing. Lucky for us bonsai folks they dont kick when we cut their branches

LOL - Yip. I too find it fascinating. Nature is so complex! I was not aware of the animals being killed. As I understood it, the chemicals released into the air cause the release of tannins (I think) in other plants. The tannins make the leaves very bitter so they are less likely to be eaten. One of the reasons that giraffes eat in an upwind direction!

Andrew Legg wrote:

yves71277 wrote:
really?
well if you would pinch me, i would produce toxic gass too, so i suspect how you remove the foliage (pinching, eating or cutting) has the same triggering effect that induces the chemical balance to change within the accacia and to spread toxic 'warnings' to possible other neighbouring accacia, because that was the case in these reserves...they defended themselves but it also acted as a warning system for their 'friends'.

And now i'll shut up about the biology lesson i am just fascinated by those thing. Lucky for us bonsai folks they dont kick when we cut their branches

LOL - Yip. I too find it fascinating. Nature is so complex! I was not aware of the animals being killed. As I understood it, the chemicals released into the air cause the release of tannins (I think) in other plants. The tannins make the leaves very bitter so they are less likely to be eaten. One of the reasons that giraffes eat in an upwind direction!

its a very complex and yet also 'simple' thing, nature has it all figured out. i googled a bit for you:
"Many acacias produce alkaloid chemicals as defensive compounds to deter insects and mammalian herbivores. Some of these alkaloids are toxic to livestock, while others have psychoactive properties".

Source: http://eol.org/pages/13650/details

bet you can google it and find lots more info easily.