do we have a native pepper?

[eataust]

btw, am sad to report the [/lanceolata/] never recovered. I have NO idea what was going on there. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. The other one's perfectly fine.

Does anyone know how big one's [/stipitatatatata/] (how do you stop spelling it?? :) ) need to be before you can snaffle the odd leaf for cooking? Mine's still definitely a small plant rather than a bush, but it's put out a whole bunch of new growth (pale green with ruby middles - goegeous) and I'm dying to give it a go :)

[Bluetongue]

EA, I snaffle one or two of the older leaves at a time, after growth flushes.

[eataust]

Oooo, goody .. I might grab a couple of the older leaves then and donate them to my mother's planned beef bourginogne (er, can't spell) for this weekend :)

[Rimbaud]

EA i have seen "sudden tasmannia death syndrome" (STDS) before. In a period of 2 days or something, these achingly slow-growing beauties just go brown and cark it. Gone, kapput - shazam! I would be interested to know of an explanation. Fungus of some kind?

On the related topic of Tasmannia glaucifolia, here is an update of my collection... first to propagate in the world, possible! Slaps face.



hopefully available for sale later this year. We'll see.

[darcy]

love the thongs and socks

good work Rimbaud, my 15-20 seedlings are doing ok but not as good as yours.

[Rimbaud]

good to hear yours are going well too D, and thank you for the fashion compliment, my usual attire is a non-matching pair of socks but i thought i would tone it down for this ultraconservative forum

[Rimbaud]

i was actually trying to think of a good "common name" for T.glaucifolia too. Fragrant pepperbush is ok, but if i am going to sell it for the first time, i feel i am entitled to whack a change onto the common name if marketing demands since a common name is only that

it looks like this:





and the underside of the leaves look like this:


i wanted something like "aquamarine velvet heaven shrub" you know

maybe "Fragrant Pepperbush" IS the best common name. It sure is fragrant. But it is also rather spectacularly beautiful in its setting, and the glaucosity of the leaves are prominent. any ideas??!?

[clare_b74]

They look great Rimbaud

While I'm not adverse to fragrant, what about "ambrosial"?! (going on the heaven-shrub tangent...)

[Rimbaud]

thanks Clare, ambrosial... The Ambrosial Peppershrub of the misty forests.. sounds good

[Bluetongue]

Heck that sounds so good that I'd even venture to Darwin for one!

[clare_b74]

Darwin?!!

[Rimbaud]

well i'm hoping people will at least travel to Hornsby for one

thr Fragrant Ambrosial Glaucous Forest Safrole Myristicin Croweacin Polygodial Gondwana Peppershrub at Hornsby train station

[Bluetongue]

Hornsby sounds ok i guess...
Darwin was kind of a private joke amongst myselves.. it would have to be right up there with Port Hedland as one of my least favourite places to revisit. Ahem. Sorry if I've offended anyone.

[Rimbaud]

if it wasnt for the heavy industry and mining stuff that goes on, Hedland would be one of my fave places BT! there or broome....

i remember staying at a caravan park in port hedland, the temp was 45 degrees in the day, the atmosphere was weird and sweet @ night, as if i was on the wrong continent, or another one... love it

but hornsby takes the cake, it's a true treasure island here, a real getaway NOT!

[eataust]

I'm just bumping this to cross-reference the lemon myrtle thread that's suddenly talking about Tasmannias, and esp. where Peter Hardwick outs himself as having named stipitata. How COOL is that??

(Yes, I'm easily impressed :) ).

I was thinking ... do you reckon Tasmannias are bushy enough to form a hedge/driveway edging? Can you imagine a row of various types of pepperbush forming a windbreak?

Does anyone know if they actually release peppery scent on their own, or is it only released when crushed or cooked? I wouldn't want to sudddenly make everyone sneeze when the wind went the wrong way ...