Wanted United Kingdom. Australian plants and seeds.

[Rangei]

Hi,

I've been fortunate enough to keep and breed various Australian species for many many years now here in the UK.

I would really appreciate it if someone was able/willing to send me some spinifex species and other plants or seeds over to me in the UK. Also is there any decent literature on growing and maintaining these plants and grasses? Can terrarium appropriate size pieces of mulga tree and bark or going trees themselves be shipped as well?
I want to try and add as natural plants to their habitats as possible.

Thank you

 

[Sdaji]

Wow. Growing Spinifex in the UK is quite ambitious! It's quite an extremophile, certainly hates the UK climate and soil types. It's also quite a large plant, although I suppose you could harvest it when it's small. It's also an absolute bastard of a plant in terms of providing you with an ample supply of regret when you're silly enough to touch it.

Mulga is tougher, it grows in reasonably similar conditions to Spinifex (extreme temperatures and moisture levels and nasty sandy soil depleted of nutrients) but will better cope with UK conditions and you might manage to get a tree growing there as long as you do things in a clever way (plant it against a south-facing wall etc). I was surprised to see one growing at my university campus in Melbourne, Australia, which has a similar climate to the UK. You wouldn't get Spinifex to grow in any normal place in Melbourne

Even in Australia few people bother using these plants in enclosures and if they do it's just for novelty. Unless you have a living Mulga tree it's quite pointless using Mulga - it looks sort of distinct as a living tree, but isn't especially pretty or anything, and as cut wood it's just basic wood, but, hey, if you're keen just for the fun of it, go for it!

You'll probably have more luck finding these seeds by talking to plant enthusiasts rather than reptile enthusiasts. Because Mulga and Spinifex grow in extreme conditions, the vast majority of Australians live nowhere near it, and the very few herpers who are into it (I've never heard of anyone bothering to use Mulga, a few people are keen to use Spinifex though only a few of that few keep bothering after trying it) just go collect it rather than grow it. Even in Australia, herpers sometimes ask me to collect Spinifex for them because I travel around and get to where it exists, while most Australians have never even seen it

Mulga was one of the food plants I used for my animals during my honours project at university, it didn't do well in the greenhouse and I had to use alternatives. Some of the other Acacia species from the same regions did much better. Spinifex... ugh, I wouldn't even try, but if you do, respect to you and I'd love to see how it goes!

 

[Rangei]

Wow. Growing Spinifex in the UK is quite ambitious! It's quite an extremophile, certainly hates the UK climate and soil types. It's also quite a large plant, although I suppose you could harvest it when it's small. It's also an absolute bastard of a plant in terms of providing you with an ample supply of regret when you're silly enough to touch it.

Mulga is tougher, it grows in reasonably similar conditions to Spinifex (extreme temperatures and moisture levels and nasty sandy soil depleted of nutrients) but will better cope with UK conditions and you might manage to get a tree growing there as long as you do things in a clever way (plant it against a south-facing wall etc). I was surprised to see one growing at my university campus in Melbourne, Australia, which has a similar climate to the UK. You wouldn't get Spinifex to grow in any normal place in Melbourne

Even in Australia few people bother using these plants in enclosures and if they do it's just for novelty. Unless you have a living Mulga tree it's quite pointless using Mulga - it looks sort of distinct as a living tree, but isn't especially pretty or anything, and as cut wood it's just basic wood, but, hey, if you're keen just for the fun of it, go for it!

You'll probably have more luck finding these seeds by talking to plant enthusiasts rather than reptile enthusiasts. Because Mulga and Spinifex grow in extreme conditions, the vast majority of Australians live nowhere near it, and the very few herpers who are into it (I've never heard of anyone bothering to use Mulga, a few people are keen to use Spinifex though only a few of that few keep bothering after trying it) just go collect it rather than grow it. Even in Australia, herpers sometimes ask me to collect Spinifex for them because I travel around and get to where it exists, while most Australians have never even seen it

Mulga was one of the food plants I used for my animals during my honours project at university, it didn't do well in the greenhouse and I had to use alternatives. Some of the other Acacia species from the same regions did much better. Spinifex... ugh, I wouldn't even try, but if you do, respect to you and I'd love to see how it goes!

Hello,

Thank you for your very informative reply. Yes I completely understand these plants so not grow in the UK climate, but neither do these wonderful animals . Phasmid species such as our Strophurus elderi naturally thrive in spinifex. I have successfully housed them with some tough grass species more available here, but I'm up for a challenge. Overall, I'm interested in any non toxic native species naturally found amongst their habitats which may work well in these hot australian microclimates/terrariums.

Thanks again

 

[dragonlover1]

Apart from what Sdaji said, I'm not sure anyone could post you seeds anyway. I think it might be seen as some sort of biological hazard and confiscated at the border

 

[Sdaji]

Apart from what Sdaji said, I'm not sure anyone could post you seeds anyway. I think it might be seen as some sort of biological hazard and confiscated at the border

There is zero issue to Australia as a biohazard/ecohazard to *export* seeds. I'm not sure about UK's laws, but unlike Australia being a biologically primitive, isolated island which hasn't been connected to either of the world's major landmasses for millions of years, the UK was naturally connected to the Old World recently in geological terms (about 10,000 years ago) and is effectively connected to it today, so biosecurity isn't anything like the same level of concern.

Even in Australia, plants aren't given the ecohazard status they should be and you can pretty much grow any plant species you want in your garden, which is highly questionable given how many invasive plants Australia has which start out as garden plants, but it is what it is. There is certainly absolutely no risk of Australian arid zone plants becoming invasive in the UK! You'll have quite a task providing controlled conditions just to keep them alive.

Without checking, I'm guessing it would be legal to send them (I'd obviously suggest confirming before actually doing it) and as a qualified ecologist I wouldn't have any concerns about risks of sending Spinifex or Mulga seeds to the UK or them being grown there. People routinely grow plants from all over the world in every other corner of the world (which is terrible and shouldn't happen) but these are among the lowest risk plants you could imagine in the UK.