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Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 11th, 2017, 8:13 am
by alpineart
These are a few of the collected trunks from an old abandoned test plot near Mt Emu ,
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A couple of years ago we located this plot which had been abandoned and has basically died off and been taken over by native vegetation . A few tree's still remain standing and close to 100 self sown tree's had grown so there is a viable seed source in there somewhere unfortunately the deer had destroyed all but 25 of the trunks located years ago . Another abandoned plot of the same species has been located 100 k's away .

Potted up and into the sheltered area
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We managed to collect around 15 trunks and a few seedings most have been damaged by deer making for truly unique yamadori some of the best material I have had the opportunity to collect .

Here are some pics of the bark , needles , shoots and cones
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It a very unusual 2 needle pine I have yet to identify .

Cheers Alpineart

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 11th, 2017, 8:47 am
by Watto
Yep, congratulations, I'm impressed.

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 11th, 2017, 12:34 pm
by Grant Bowie
If it looks almost like a black pine but isn't it could be P leucodermis.

Nice find.

Grant

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 11th, 2017, 1:32 pm
by alpineart
Hi Watto , mate if only i managed to collect them last season or before , there were some exceptional trunks out there far better than these few .

HI Grant , I did a lot of research many years ago and couldn't find a tree with all these characteristics .

The bark has deep fissures like a desert ash on older tree's , from these pics of the trunk the bark looks like a young 5-10 yo radiata having the red colour in the fissure however the bark grows in 20mm-30mm blocks not plates with the fissures being 15mm-20mm deep

The needle or be it 99 % of them have a distinct 360 degree spiral twist the longest being 70mm on 1 specimen , but average is 50mm or less , it looks more like a mugo /Muhgos.

The new shoot/candle is a very distinctive burgundy red colour and the last years shoot /growth is a red/brown colour changing to grey in its 2nd-3rd year very similar to the European red pines I have here

The cones are on average 40mm x 20mm opening up at 30mm diameter . .

Not sure on this one , I think there is a place in Canberra that does a DNA test on tree's . I did chase up somewhere when I first discovered the original plot 10 or so years ago however they needed new cones and at the time they were impossible to collect unless a tree was felled .

Thanks for the feedback .

Cheers Alpine

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 13th, 2017, 3:03 pm
by alpineart
Another couple of days exploring what was a test plot
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Same pine different location, some of the characteristics of the 2 needle pine , this tree is around 3.6m hight with a 4-5 trunk , estimated at around 15 years old . The tree's grow to around 15-20metres maximum average is around 12-15metres This plot along with most of the test plots was planted in 1919-23 by an old mate who's grandfather was the blacksmith here in the early 1900's
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A couple of more specimens
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and 120 seedlings collected from this clear felled site . I have found another 6 trunks that are worthy of collecting as they will be classed as a noxious weed and sprayed over the Spring/Summer season .
Yes fella's I have unrestricted access and full permission for the last 20 years to collect the self sown seedlings/wildlings throughout the N.E Vic plantations unfortunately most of the test plots have been burnt by wildfires of clear felled and burnt to make way for the Monterey plantation pines as in the case with this plot .

Cheers Alpineart

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 13th, 2017, 5:38 pm
by AirControl
Is that an old Greek coin you have there?


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Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 13th, 2017, 6:40 pm
by alpineart
Hi AirControl , mate bugger the coin :palm: I thought is was a 1 dollar Aussie , but you are right :yes: it's a 2009 Greek 50 cent euro . I used it for the size ratio of the cones 8-) . The tree has better details than the coin and worth a lot more to me , Knowing the history and a descendant of the original Pine planter makes them very special even more unique .

Cheers Alpineart

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 13th, 2017, 9:41 pm
by Piscineidiot
What fascinating bark. Could it be Pinus contorta? There seem to be a few variants/subspecies of them overseas.

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 14th, 2017, 2:50 am
by AirControl
You're right alpineart the pine does have better details. I just noticed the coin because I'm Greek.


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Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 14th, 2017, 5:52 pm
by alpineart
Hi Piscineidiot , the bark is absolutely a killer feature , when I first described it most thought I had lost the plot . It does look like the bark on an old Desert Ash . I have spent countless hours over many years trying to identify this particular pine however the bark doesn't suit any I have found . These are from the 1920's so I don't think too many variants existed way back then .

Hi AirControl , mate I figured you must have a Greek history in order to pick up on the coin . I didn't as I wasn't wearing glasses and it was a 1 dollar coin to me . Good conversion rate from 50 cent Euro to $ ! Auusie .

Cheers Guys . Alpine .

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 15th, 2017, 1:53 pm
by Piscineidiot
I know the bark isn't as square in these pictures, but it's the closest match I could find online:

http://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/ ... r-contorta

Have you tried sending photos to a botanist? It seems like a pine with such distinct features would belong to a pretty limited pool of possibilities (as obscure as it might be).

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 15th, 2017, 1:56 pm
by Piscineidiot
They're definitely in NZ, not too far a stretch to think they made the jump across some time in the 1920's.

http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=3075

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 15th, 2017, 5:25 pm
by alpineart
Piscineidiot wrote:They're definitely in NZ, not too far a stretch to think they made the jump across some time in the 1920's.

http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=3075
Hi mate , thankyou very much , the pic of the NZ topic is true to the features here . It does say Shore Pine - Pinus Contorta _ Lodgepole pine . The Pinus contorta var' contorta is a shrubby type growth , the Pinus Contorta var' Latifolia and Murrayana are both referred to as lodge pole pines being used for making log cabins , sheds and barns . The Maratima pines and there is a few different species were used in the ship building industry for ship mast's

In all my previous searches I didn't come across the 2 lodgepole variants to the Shore Pine - Pinus Contorta .

Thanks for your efforts , Cheers Alpine

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 15th, 2017, 11:59 pm
by Piscineidiot
Happy to help!

I'm super jealous that you have so many of these... Can't be too many people in this country with access to that species. They really seem to make fantastic bonsai, and with short needles, killer bark and a naturally contorted growing pattern, it's not hard to see why!

Owen

Re: Yamadori Hunting

Posted: September 16th, 2017, 1:31 am
by alpineart
HI Piscineidiot , mate the plantation tree's are vertical hence I believe they are the lodgepole variants , the collected trunks have been mangled and trampled by deer hence the contorted structure .

Mother nature and her beasts do a fantastic job in making natural bonsai be it deer , roo's , walabies , goats etc etc .

Cheers Alpine