3rd TinT archive – Aug 2024 on

big old wilga in dead box host Gali gurranaa camp - Very old TinT

the wilga guest has outcompeted & killed the box host over time

within 50 yrs or so the wilga will be dead too - not as long lived as eucalypts

old peach bush in dead box Gali gurranaa camp

there were 2 guests in this box originally - one is dead

possibly a dead branch off the Peach bush? Not suckered, planted

another Peach bush in box but lower down the box trunk

the box tree crotch is at the bottom of an old scar I think

the peach bush has possibly suckered in here

this box has been cut down with a chainsaw not steel axe

the guest is this case is spiny fan flower aka Scaevola spinescens

chainsaws were in widespread use in the 1950s & 60s

hollow box trees are unsuitable for fence posts so who cut this?

this box tree host has also been chainsaw lopped

I think the guest may be a peach bush but not 100% sure

This box tree host has broken off at the base but not that long ago

same guest as the last TinT, Im guessing is a goat eaten Peach bush

this box trunk is also not suitable for a fence post and is chainsaw cut

the guest is a budda - Eremophila mitchellii - not too common

Not palatable for livestock so the goats have left it alone

In the same area is this very old dead wilga in a low live box crotch

the wilga guest has probably died of natural causes ie old age

plenty of bark means it hasnt been dead for decades

Unseen & unmissed - the culture behind these trees unprotected

this small wilga guest however is doing just fine thankyou

Its midtree crotch protects it from goats at Galigurranaa

size does not equal age - different growing conditions = different growth rates

same again here - this wilga guest did not come down in the last shower

too much shade in this box crotch restricts the size.

a few mtrs away is the dead twin - live box host but dead wilga guest

these box branches on this TinT have been cut with a stone axe

Peach bush in live box GG camp. Suckered in or planted?

the guest is growing in an old scar which creates a typical crotch

plenty of peach bush TinTs all around Cumborah

this is another peach bush TinT but both the host & guest are dead

the old bimblebox host has a coolamon on the other side

here is the dead peach bush guest. Think this TinT went over in a storm

this is one of those rare TinTs that is also a ringtree - GG camp

this is a very old bimblebox host but unfortunately the guest is dead

hard to tell what the guest was but most are Pimelea microcephelas in ringtrees

another peach bush in dead box host - again hard to know how it got there

close up view doesnt really help - need some research into Peach bush

I dont know about this guest? If its a bimblebox it would be a reshoot

looks more like a coolabah which would make it a TinT

another peach bush in box TinT but I think the guest is dying GG camp

It may just be goat attack - Peach bush is very palatable.

another Peach bush TinT about 50 mtrs away - box host is dead

more likely planted as the guest is in a stone axe cut stump

This is a wild/ native jasmine VinT (Vine in Tree) at GG camp

They are not counted as TinTs but I believe many are cultural plantings

Peach bush suckered into pine stump - not true TinT

the sandhills around the wells are full of suckering peach bush

this is a NEW GUEST SPECIES. Known as Eumong or Cooba

growing in a dead blackbox or coolabah along the Ginghet

The scientific name of this guest tree is Acacia stenophylla

This is a double dead further along the Ginghet - Wilga in Black box

Im assuming the dead host is a black box because its too wet for bimblebox

and wilga doesnt grow in coolabah hosts for whatever reason

the host is also scarred. This wilga guest was killed by artificially high water levels

the 2nd eumong in blackbox or coolabah is also a double dead.

Im not familiar with eumong so it may revive - not the host tho

Eumong are common along the waterways in western NSW

NEW 50:50 tree I found recently in the McDonalds sandhills.

half redgum & half bimblebox - its hard to tell host from guest.

This is the reverse side - 2 trees joined at the base at the camp entrance

Q; why did the old clever people join trees together A; because they could

this is the original 50:50 tree at this camp - about 200 metres away

here is the join/ junction of the 2 species in the original

another strange combo is the wilga in whitewood

this is the 3rd time Ive seen a whitewood act as host rather than well

will be interesting to see if the wilga is still alive next drought

further afield this lovely TinT is found between Gilgandra & Gulargambone

twin kurrajongs in yellow box (I think) along the Castlereagh Hway

Gulargambone is the new TinT hotspot with Sandra Winsor turning them up there

here she is with a big rosewood in huge box at Widgeewoo

We drove past this TinT a month or so ago without noticing it

Sandra & her friend Roger were showing me other CMTs at the time

there's a dead section of wood alongside the rosewood that may have been a 2nd guest?

this stunning old rosewood in box grows in the garden at Gulargambone station

Sandra lived here for years & never noticed there were 2 trees in 1

settlers built their houses at Aboriginal camps years ago

& the Aboriginal paths (songlines) became the roads - simple

tiny Capparis something in big blackbox about 20 mtrs from the huge wilga TinT

The guest would be bumble or nepine or possibly Capparis loranthifolia

huge old wilga in dead eucalypt just east of the Ginghet in the GNR

Im going to assume the dead host is a black box - Eucalyptus largiflorens

because 1- the nearby eucalypts are blackbox 2-too low & swampy for bimblebox

3-wilgas dont live in coolabahs. The logic of deduction my dear Watson ...

not far from that big old wilga TinT is this small wilga in bimblebox

Im not saying its as old as the big one but its older than it looks

here is another 1 living in this same patch of scrub just up from the Ginghet

neither bimblebox nor wilga cope with prolonged wet root systems

this wilga guest in the same area is bigger-because the conditions are better

the scrub may be less dense so there is more sun, water & nutrients

It their proximity to other TinTs & CMTs & good water thats the key

further south along the Ginghet is a small whitewood in box TinT

cant remember if the host is a blackbox or bimblebox

whitewoods are versatile - can be host/ guest/ hold water/ make rings

further along is this interesting double guest in black box TinT

the closest guest is a gnarly old currant bush, behind is a Pimelea microcephala

pimelea is a mighty medicinal & is often found as a TinT guest

currant bush is a common guest too - its the combination that unusual!

this combination is the most common - wilga & thorny saltbush

the host, I think is a bimblebox, but could be a black box as well

this doesnt count as a TinT because the guests are a vine & a shrub

wilga in bimblebox TinT between St George & Dirranbandi, QLD

This is Kamilaroi/ Gomeroi country so TinTs are cultural creations

there is a small whitewood sharing this crotch as well

there will be plenty more TinTs in Kamilaroi country, southern QLD

nearby is a small whitewood in what looks like an axe cut crotch

there are similar sized whitewoods on the ground so may be natural

leafless cherry growing in a coolabah on the warrambool flood plains

Mirrii (Exocarpus aphyllus) is a root parasite & is low down the trunk in this case

I recognise small mirrii by the vertical bands on the older stems

Also in McDonalds paddock but living near the sandy camps is the wilga TinT

older than it looks the wilga guest is growing in a stone axe cut box crotch

living near the scattered artefact plain beside the big warrambool

this big supplejack in box is in a sandhill on the Walgett-Lightning ridge Rd

growing in the centre of a multitrunked box tree it looks at home

there will be other TinTs around here, I just haven't had time to look

maybe next winter? I will need to find out who owns this land first.

this old thorny saltbush in box lives in this sandhill as well

BinTs & VinTs arent counted but in my mind I know who put it there

way up the very northern end of Kamilaroi country is this budda in box

on a sandhill between St George & Dirranbandi with 3 other TinTs

there will be more here too & the property owner is interested & cooperative

this is a rosewood in box from this sandhill where the Carbeen tree live

again this rosewood has seen more summers than its size suggests

there is only a k or so between all 4 TinTs in this area - Qld

there is an empty box tree crotch here as well - the guest has died I suppose

here is the 2nd big wilga in box from this camp between St George & Dirranbandi QLD

I dont know why the Kamilaroi clans here chose to dig for water?

the Balonne river is only a few Ks away? Maybe that was Bigambul land?

this wilga in box TinT seems the same age as the other one from here

back in NSW in the sanctuary sandhill there is an old peach bush in box

there is a lot of peach bush here (Ehretia salinga) among the redgums

this one may have suckered into the middle of this old box tree

this lovely old wilga in box lives at the sanctuary too.

I would call this a 50:50 tree as the box-wilga junction is so low

the insertion of the wilga so low has caused 2 epicormic shoots

I dont know why I hadnt seen this TinT before - its a very special place

up away from the sunken sand is another small mirrii TinT

again you can see the vertical stripes on this root parasite guest

this branch has been cut with a stone axe & the mirrii trimmed up by goats

another Gingie songline TinT in Bonbon paddock near road

yes I know its small but rosewoods come & go - the Houdini of the guest trees

I have looked here before because there are many scarred trees at this place

The other thing about rosewoods is they are very difficult to germinate

another small guest I should have seen before on Wailwun country

Black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) is the 2nd most common host

this currant bush in black box is near a swamp with 3 wilga TinTs

10 mts away is the Prickly fan flower/ Scaevola spinecens/ Murrin Murrin BinT

This is prob the biggest TinT in existence if you combine guest & host circumference

'living its best life' up in the ridges of Cumborah - gali gurranaa camp

no mob. service so no geodata ( Lat. Long.) so will be hard to find again

the Kamilaroi mob & their kin were Australia's original tree changers

just hope there's are no more mega fires coming out of Parks & Wildlife

the most common guest in this place is the peach bush

peach bush suckers thru the old bimblebox scartrees up here

like a metastasizing tumour. Somebody had to plant it originally but

some of these peach bush TinTs seem to live in isolation

If the peach bush had suckered in here where has it come from?

there is no ground dwelling peach bush cluster anywhere near

this peach bush must have been planted in this bimblebox not suckered in

these 3 peach bush TinTs may be connected to each other

this ground dwelling peach bush is dead but the tree dwelling one is alive

here you can see it emerging high up in the neighbouring box

was it planted up there or did it sucker up thru the hollow bimblebox?

about 20 mtrs away is another scarred tree riddled with peach bush

peach bush leaves drop off when its dry & are palatable to livestock

so how did this peach bush get inside here - naturally or human assist.

the next peach bush TinT is about 10 mtrs further on

again living high up in the box tree away from nibbling goats

Are these 3 TinTs connected undergroud & genetically identical?

another peach bush in box but away on its own

I thought it was a budda guest at first as the leaves are similar

also away from any conventional living peach bush trees

this is a wilga in a totally debarked bimblebox with reshoots

the epicormic shoots have grown up around the trunk to save the tree

wilga trees do not sucker - was this pay back for the bark?

if so the wilga guest & the reshoots would be the same age

another peach bush TinT but the guest(s) are dead

I think the dead guests are branches of a single peach bush tree

could be separate guests but less likely - no nearby peach bush

the box host is alive but struggling - should do better without competition

this is a big double scarred box with a supplejack guest

the supplejack has been layered into one of the scars I think

It could have climbed in itself as supplejacks start off life as climbers

but it seems to have preferred to live in the boxtree not beside

this is a wilga living in the space left by the removal of box trunk

a very cosy crotch but I expect the guest gets trimmed up by goats

I expect the wilga guest to be the same age as the epicormic shoots

plenty of trimmed up hopbush in this country - strong medicinal

Peach bush suckered up thru box in Telinebone

here you can see it emerging out thru a broken scar

a few meters away is another high Peach bush in box TinT

peach bush is flowering now & you can see it up above the wild Orange

this is another Peach bush in box TinT but up near Cumborah this time

the box tree host appears to be dead but sometimes they reshoot

the guest peach bush looks quite old - possibly its killed its host

close to Gingie rd at this huge GG camp is an old wilga in dead box

again, I wonder did the wilga guest kill the bimblebox host?

the old dead box is carrying some scars as well

people have been living at Gali gurranaa for a very long time!

this tiny wilga is growing in a small old box near the Gingie rd as well

there is a big wilga growing right next to this TinT as you can see

wilga doesnt really sucker so Im assuming they are separate individuals?

more suckering peach bush in a big, scarred box at GG camp

I think there are at least 5 TinTs like this involving big box scars up there

how did the Peach bush gut inside the scarred hosts?

although this wilga is not completely surrounded by its box host ..

Im calling it a TinT. Firstly the wilga seems to have died of old age

Secondly the box host is only living on thru its epicormic shoot

Both host & guest are very old but the combo is still intact - GG camp

nearby is a much younger wilga in box TinT. Not only is the wilga small

but the stump is cut with a steel axe & the epicormic shoots smallish

There maybe a couple of centuries between this wilga TinT & the last one

also in this place there is a high Currant bush in a dead scarred box

this is unusually high for a guest and makes this TinT easy to spot

I think the old scarred box is dead but the Currant bush guest is fine

this is a BinT (Bush in Tree) but probably natural

the bush/burr has been there awhile but I dont know the longevity of the species

we may never know what the Wailwan ancestors intended here?

it looks like they were protecting this old wilga in blackbox TinT

Pine stakes held with wire & chicken wire around the wilga guest

why were they protecting this TinT beside a deep black box swamp?

the wilga has grown over the chicken wire so this 'barricade' been in place for a long time

there are other TinTs & Ringtrees at this swamp in Marungle paddock

the use of 'colonial' materials to guard a spiritual tree has never been found before ..

across the swamp from the guarded TinT is another wilga in blackbox

This wilga? guest looks small & I wonder how it will survive the inundation?

another wilga in blackbox TinT at this old camp - with fungus!

only a medium size wilga guest but growing conditions vary

as Ive said before, size DOES NOT = age. The fungus is the important thing

Aboriginal people in this area were growing fungus on trees for some reason

next swamp along in Marungle paddock is another TinT cluster

this is a small whitewood in black box that also appears young

whether the whitewood guest is a reshoot or just stunted I dunno

this small wilga is living in a multitrunked blackbox not far away

I think the dead cross trunk was cut & fell into, not out of the tree

I think it was cut with a stone axe just here where the wilga emerges

this wilga in black box is much bigger than the others in this swamp

Although bigger the wilga guest may be the same age as others

close up you can see a black box trunk has been removed as well

this is a supplejack growing in a bimble box. nearby

there has been a bimblebox trunk removed here too

is the guest a replacement for the trunk? Pure permaculture

the next 3 wilga in black box TinTs are about 20 mtrs apart

this one lives on the edges of the swamp and is much taller

the guest wilga's leaves are more wilted because its sunnier here

this wilga guest is hanging out the side of the blackbox to catch the rays

guest trees survive anyway they can given their unusual circumstances

this blackbox crotch is more open so the wilga guest is more centered

3 small wilga TinTs close together at the southern side of the swamp

on the northern side of the swamp is a very small wilga in blackbox

on the northern side of the swamp

again this wilga in blackbox is taller because its on the outer edge of the swamp

the wilga guest is snuggled in between the 4 blackbox trunks

the crotch was created by the removal of the central trunk I think

also on the northside of the swamp is another wilga in blackbox

very tedious all these wilga in black box wailwan TinTs

the wilga's trunk looks older than many of the others I think

this is a peach bush in a bimblebox on the eastern side of this swamp

the peach bush is only just inside its host - borderline TinT at best