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Acacia Mearnsii

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I suppose if you had allowed the piece(s) of Acacia Mearnsii bark to dry, before extracting the alkaloids
from it , the products may have been significantly cleaner. Allowing bark to dry in a warm, dry & dark
place should evaporate alot of water & oils present in the bark.




This A.Mearnsii specimen, from which you harvested the green bark... Is it a lonely tree?
Or is it surrounded by other A.Mearnsii trees? Here's an idea for a follow up study:

Find other A.Mearnsii specimens that grow in slightly different conditions:
-Collect material from an A.Mearnsii tree growing in full sunlight.
-Collect material from an A.Mearnsii tree growing in partial shade.
-" " in full shade.
-" " in very dry, well drained soil.
-" " in somewhat moist, earthy soil.
-" " alone, far away from others of it's kind.
-" " together, in a population of others of it's kind.

Then you could collect different plant parts for each tree: Trunk bark, Root bark, Leaves/Phyllodes, Flowers & Seeds.
You would probably do good to write down details of the conditions during harvest. Details like: Time of harvest, Temperature, sunlight levels, air-Humidity & soil-humidity(near roots)

You could then do this research 1once every month for an entire year. This could reveal if any particulair month/season is more desirable for harvesting in terms of spice-levels being highest.




If only I lived down under. I'd jump on my bicycle everyday. With a thermally insulated box on the back
I'd cruise all through the bush everyday in search of spicey Acacias. A patch of land there starts looking more
and more appealing to me every day.
 
i like your attitude SKA:)

WAGE..the positive result i know of had dark fissured bark..this is one way, when it's not flowering, that i know it's mearnsii..it can have green smoother bark when younger, but green bark is characteristic of A. decurrens and sometimes A. dealbata ( both species no claims of alkaloids)
these three are among the hardest acacias for most people to tell apart..

also note there are paler, cream flowered forms of A. mearnsii, as well as yellow..

only with fine examination of pinnae and rachis can these species be conclusively told apart from eachother..

to aid researchers i've attached below images of:

i) A. dealbata
ii) A. decurrens
iii) A. mearnsii yellow
iv) A. mearnsii blanco
 

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The suspected Acacia Mearnsii was a lone tree with no other for 100 metres.

I'll report back in this thread if I do any more work with Acacia Mearnsii.

Thanks for the replys Nen and SKA.
 
I think Acacia Mearnsii is very seasonal. Australian Autumn and Winter I suspect would be the best time to harvest from it. Also, different trees are different, you can taste the bark and the one that stings your mouths with alkaloids is the one to go for!
 
Hey nen888 just hoping you can clarify the names on picture 1 and picture 3 the first one you say is dealbata the third labelled mearnsii but upon close examination they are the same picture. I noticed because these very much resemble the tree im working with and hope to get a positive i.d
 
^..thank you for spotting that medicine man..it was an error..the 3rd photo has been corrected, the 1st one is dealbata..to really pin down the difference between these species close examination of the pinnae (small leaves) including their underside is required..the photos are a more general idea..
..you post some close ups to the acacia ID thread..
 
A shame there has been no more experiments with this tree seeing there has been a very positive result in the past (1.2%of actives!) as its abundant in most states and has been naturalised across the world.
Its started flowering in Vic now.
 
A not-so-good Acacia Confusa extract I made using old-pulled bark yielded a wax similar to that Mearnsii-extract you have a picture of and 3 different people did not feel anything, yet they said their dreams were intensified the next few nights.

It will be great if we find a method for these trees since they are extremely hardy and can survive up to Zone 7 with the right care and patience.
 
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