No.76 April 2003 Notes from Toxic tales the It is extremely dangerous to experiment with bush tucker. Botanist and bush Editor tucker enthusiast Tony Irvine recalls an incident which reminded him of the importance of being cautious. Welcome to the new look “Fellow botanist, Bernie Hyland, and I examined my heart beat and Tropical Topics. From now on those issues dealing with wet had just returned to the laboratory at immediately gave me an injection of tropics material will feature the CSIRO in Atherton with a collection of atropine to stimulate my heart muscle new design which includes a Triunia erythrocarpa fruit. The as the effect of the toxin in the seed special ‘Fact sheet’ in the species is related to macadamia; it is in was to slow my heart beat down. I was centre pages. the same family, Proteaceae. The fruit sent straight to hospital where they is spherical, 18-40 mm in diameter, and monitored my condition. I received As mentioned in last year’s survey, the format of the orange red with a longitudinal groove one more injection overnight when newsletter has also changed on one side. The flesh is white and they felt that my heart rate had and now includes a greater contains an ovoid brown seed, about dropped too low for safety. The next variety of articles, rather than 15 mm wide. morning when I woke up, I walked the most material relating to a three kilometres home. specific theme (although “Bernie nibbled a small part of the ‘orange’– dry tropics – issues seed, said it tasted okay and then spat “The total amount of the seed that I will remain theme-based). it out. I also nibbled a small part of the ate was equivalent to about nine cubic Material included reflects the seed. It had a similar taste to millimetres or 0.3 grams in weight. I interests of readers who macadamia. I rolled it around in my was very fortunate the sampling had returned their survey forms and mouth for a few minutes and decided, occurred at the office. If I had indicated topics on which they as it had a pleasant taste, to swallow it. consumed it in the bush, I could have would like more information. been in severe trouble. Imagine what There was a strong interest in “I then went to do some sowing of would have happened if I had ingested bush tucker and bush seed in the potting shed. While I was a whole seed on the basis of its medicine, so this newsletter working, I began belching a bit and features a ‘Fact sheet’ on bush pleasant taste. tucker in the centre as well as a then felt that I needed to go to the special warning on page one. toilet but I didn’t perform. I felt briefly “The plant is commonly known as The next green issue will that I wanted to vomit but again didn’t ‘spice bush’, a name that is also feature a fact sheet on bush perform. So I continued my seed applied to Triunia youngiana, a medicine. sowing. It was an overcast day and a species from southern Queensland comfortable temperature but I noticed and northern New South Wales with Contents: that my arms were beginning to sweat. which it was confused. This is a Page 1: Toxic tales I thought that was strange as it wasn’t dangerously misleading name for both Page 2: Death on the roads very hot. Within minutes, sweating species as it suggests edibility and Creature feature: Bandicoots began to increase over all parts of my human use. A far better common name Page 3: Palms body and shortly my clothes became for T. erythrocarpa, based on the Weed corner: Limnocharis Pages 4&5: Bush tucker saturated. I looked as though I had above experience, would be ‘toxic seed Page 6: Questions & answers dived fully clothed into water for a tree’. On looking through an array of Sideline: The acid-eaters swim. It was at this time, that I thought references on common names, I cannot Tourist Talk I should seek some medical attention. find any other plant in Australia with Page 7: Out and about this common name, which makes the Page 8: Bookshelf “While waiting at the doctor’s case for its use more compelling. It surgery I was sweating so much I goes to show that pleasant tastes can began to shiver from loss of heat. As be deceptive.” soon as the doctor saw me, he Cutting the road toll How many animals die on our roads? Dr Miriam Goosem of the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre set out to put a figure on it. She chose four stretches of road, each half a kilometre long. Two of them were straight and the other two had curves, which served to slow down traffic. She walked along these roads every week for over three years, picking up dead vertebrates. Just 2km of roads yielded more than 4000 dead vertebrates calling cards – footprints on patches of sand in the middle. during the 38-month study. Of these, 500 were mammals, 3060 So far, possums, pademelons, rodents and a number of amphibians, 450 reptiles and about 90 birds. More deaths ground birds have been recorded. Feral cat prints have been occurred near gullies and creeks which are presumably found but, thankfully, they are rare and these predators don’t popular gathering and crossing points – and potentially good seem to be frequenting the tunnels. places to provide underpasses. Mortality also increased on roads with narrow clearings – animals are more inhibited On the Mission Beach to El Arish road, where too many about crossing wide roads. cassowaries are hit by vehicles, the Department of Main Roads has used optical illusion to slow traffic. The road has Although it would seem that animals are therefore safer next been widened, but a red colouring in the bitumen at the edges to wide roads, there are also serious disadvantages. Both gives the impression of a dirt shoulder. Believing the road is wide roads and powerline corridors act as barriers, preventing narrower than it is, drivers go more slowly. However, if animals, particularly small mammals, from moving to other necessary, they have plenty of room to pull over. Paler territories to breed. Populations then become increasing bitumen marks cassowary crossings and rumble strips across isolated from each other and the animals may fail to breed and the road on either side encourage drivers to slow down. On die out, or they may inbreed, reducing genetic diversity. the Mission Beach to Tully road diagonal bars at each side of the road give the impression that it is narrower than it is. In A number of strategies are being tried to allow animals to addition, white lines across the road near cassowary cross roads safely. In several places rope bridges have been crossings serve to slow traffic. Occurring at decreasing built across roads and are being used by arboreal animals intervals, they give drivers the impression of speed and have such as possums (see Tropical Topics 74 p7). been shown to slow traffic by up to 11kmh. When the East Evelyn road, near Millaa Millaa, was being upgraded the Department of Main Roads included three special underpasses. They have been furnished with logs, rocks, branches and ropes to provide cover from predators and off-ground comfort for arboreal species. Areas adjacent to the entrances are being revegetated to give animals a safe, covered approach. Users of the tunnels are leaving their Creature feature: bandicoots Bandicoots are often mistaken for rats – but actually more closely resemble rabbits. They are about the size of rabbits, they hop like rabbits and they breed even faster than rabbits. Unlike rabbits, however, bandicoots are native marsupials. population found at the tip of Cape York. (Southern brown Their fur is brown, their noses long and their tails short – or bandicoots, (I. obesulus) are found in southern Australia.) often missing, bitten off during aggressive encounters between the rather territorial and solitary adults. Bandicoots breed often and have the shortest pregnancy of any animal. The young are born just 12 and a half days after Bandicoots forage at night, digging conical holes in the their parents mate (rabbits are born after 30 days), two to four ground with their strong, clawed forefeet. They then probe the tiny newborns finding their way into their mother’s pouch to holes with long noses in search of invertebrates such as continue their development. During this journey they are beetle grubs and worms. They also eat soft roots, berries, attached by long umbilical cords to a rudimentary placenta grass seed and other vegetable matter. By day they snooze in within the mother’s womb – an unusual feature in marsupials, leafy nests on the ground. found only in bandicoots and koalas. The mother’s pouch opens backwards, a design which prevents it from becoming Three species are found in the wet tropics. The commonly filled with dirt while she is digging for food. Females can seen northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) (below) produce their first litter at the age of four to five months, is at home in cleared areas, lawns and cane fields. The long- repeating the production every seven weeks. nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) (right) prefers rainforest and higher areas but also frequents gardens and compost Rapid reproduction is necessary because bandicoots appear heaps. The southern brown bandicoot (I. obesulus on the menu of a number of predators including peninsulae) has recently been pythons, dingos, goshawks and discovered in sclerophyll owls. They are also a favoured woodland at Lamb Range, host of ticks, but are west of Cairns.