Ancient Irises & Ancient Soils

Another intro with more drone footage and music sure to piss off the stiffs & zoomers, but it's imperative to film the habitat and landscape here you pr*cks.
Ancient Irises, Ancient Soils..
Isophysis tasmanica is the sole species in the genus Isophysis, and the sole species in the subfamily Isophysidoideae - an early-diverging lineage in the Iris Family, Iridaceae.
It grows on acidic, nutrient-poor, water-logged sands in the mountains of Western Tasmania along with Blandfordia punicea (a red-flowered, bird-pollinated monocot in its own family in orde Asparagales) and the extremely bizarre Dracophyllum milliganii, of the blueberry family, Ericaceae. The entire habitat here is dominated by the smallest Eucalyptus species in the world, Eucalyptus vernicosa and "buttongrass", Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus (Cyperaceae), which forms a peat-like mat with its many dead and living roots. The soils it grows in here are basically white sands weathered from billion-year-old sandstone.
Unlike all other members of the Iris Family, Isophysis tasmanica produces a superior ovary, meaning the ovary (aka the fruit) matures above the point of attachment of the tepals/perianth.
I had been wanting to see this weird and beautiful bastard for a few years, especially after seeing the incredible amount of Iris diversity in South Africa and then reading about how DNA sequencing had determined that this species, Isophysis tasmanica, was the oldest extant lineage of the family, which makes sense, because many ancient lineages of plants Gondwanan relicts seem to have Western Tasmania as the only current place that they can be found, presumably having gone extinct everywhere else in their former range.
Filming and photographing this day, we got dumped on with intermittent ice storms. It would clear up and the sun would come out for five minutes, then it would raining freezing drizzle or tiny hail pebbles the next minute. This occurred on and off the entire morning, which is perfectly normal Tasmanian mountain summer weather from what I understand. Thanks to my friend @isophysis for the lead on the phenology at this particular location. And thanks to Miguel de Salas for his friendship and help while in Tasmania.
Your contributions support this content. It sounds clichéd, but it's true. Whether it's travel expenses, vehicle repair, or medical costs for urushiol poisoning (or rockfalls, beestings, hand slices, toxic sap, etc), your financial support allows this content to continue so the beauty of Earth's flora can be made accessible to the rest of us in the degenerate public. At a time when so much is disappearing beneath the human footprint, CPBBD is willing to do whatever it takes to document these plant species and the ecological communities they are a part of before they're gone for good.
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Thanks, GFY.

[@publicutility]

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places-and there are so many-where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory." Howard Zinn

[@danielspoon1234]

as a Tasmanian born Queenslander Aussie i can not thank you enough for bringing light to one of my favorite places on earth i hope you have loved this special little island

[@brandondavis8381]

Deep purple was/is english hard rock band. "smoke on the water" is their song that will get you chucked from any guitar store

[@katiekane5247]

Another great group ruined by having a hit

[@SuperDjwasabi]

Coming from a life of Herpeteculture, botany is so appealing because they can't run and hide from you! Going out to find snakes you may spend an entire day and see nothing, I'm so jealous at the thought of just strolling through tons of diversity. In all seriousness I've always been a plant lover and you finally pushed me over the edge to take a more scientific approach

[@chuxmix65]

Herps eat bugs, bugs need plants. It's all connected. Botany has lead me on tangents into the ornithopters and inverts!

[@gmccrate]

I switched from herps to birds in undergrad for the reason that you mentioned. Field work in the amazon, digging pitfall traps in the rain. Nothing like setting up a mist net 4am in the tropics, way much fun

[@SuperDjwasabi]

@@themanwiththedogs yeah that's already a major part of field herping, and I've always been a plant guy just never went out seeking specifically plants until recently. A whole new scavenger hunt!

[@peterbernhardt4429]

The genus Sprengelia honors Christian Konrd Sprengel (1715-1816), a father of modern pollination biology who first proposed that streaks and spots on petals showed guided insects to the locations of nectar glands. It's worthwhile reading his wiki. .

[@Nobody-cw4wm]

Cold, wet…what a trooper! Thanks for the walk man.

[@Billdow00]

Do you do public speaking? I have a class (mycology) I'm teaching in the spring and would love to have you as an online guest speaker.

[@anagiuliaserra7051]

so confused how this question was posted four weeks ago but the video was posted 30 minutes ago?

[@billyfullwood4974]

@@anagiuliaserra7051 early vid access for patreon members

[@Billdow00]

@@anagiuliaserra7051 Don't be fooled. time travel is real. You only need to be elevated to the proper state of consciousness and also be subscribed to crime Pay's but botany doesn't on Patrion.

[@jaredknapp8886]

I might have to audit this lecture.

[@trip420]

Time doesn't exist..

[@pjk9225]

On a recent livestream, Beau of the Fifth Column mentioned you, and said he loved your vids. Collaboration on guerilla gardening and botanizing your local neighborhood when???

[@pansepot1490]

Man, KZbin is small! Or perhaps we are just in the same ECO-chamber…. 😅

[@nitahill6951]

Thank you for braving the crappy weather to share those incredible plants!

[@redbobby7361]

Re: The too pleasant guitar riffs problem. Reminds me of being on hold on a call. Its awful. I can help with that. I can supply you with recording of myself playing Lust For Life, on ukulele. The beauty part is, you won't get sued by Iggy, because the way I do it, no one is capable of recognizing the tune. I can also do Dire Straits Walk of Life on bagpipes. Again no royalties problem, as it will be unrecognizable.

[@katiekane5247]

Excellent ideas!

[@fancypuss]

Well there ya go, this sounds perfecto

[@jlzombiecat]

I got a nice laugh when that message about the junk guitar popped up just as I was frowning about the same. Love drone footage of beautiful places though. Those skeletal mini forests after a burn are beautiful in their own way as well.

[@benwinkel]

You can call me a 'Fancy Bastard' for i have to look sublime. A friend of mine can be fancy too but he's a slob most of the time. Not me, ima 'Fancy Bastard'! Botany is a virtue, not a crime!

[@X3R0D3D]

beautiful poetry

[@benwinkel]

@@X3R0D3D Inspired by a beautiful soul, i take no credit. But thank you!

[@andicarson1339]

Damn! That's mind-blowing diversity! I'm impressed! From a distance, I would have thought it was just a bunch of rocks and grass. Thanks for sharing it!

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

This is wonderful. What an iris! Thanks for climbing in the rain and stuff. Great views.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

More than once I was so grateful for him taking the hail so we get the pearls!

[@AndreaDingbatt]

Fantastic timing!! Thank You so Much for Sharing your amazing videos with us All, me and my Hubby are going to be watching this together, (No funny business, Lol!! ~Learning!!) Thank you Again, now we are going to watch!! 😎👍👍

[@The_Savage_Wombat]

This is so chill. The drone stuff with binomials is amazing. I had to watch it twice.

[@stonemunkyUK]

The weather reminds me of Scotland where they have a (somewhat ironic) saying. "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes."

[@placidpond]

Boston too!

[@RobertBardos]

Joeys got 44 minutes of plants to talk about ? Ok! I’m in. Ya pricks. ❤

[@jamielandis4606]

I travel vicariously through you, Tony! Thanks for doing these videos. Early fan!

[@chuxmix65]

Dude! That's a banger of an Asparagus! Supermarket asparagus is a pretty nice plant. I find it in fields sometimes. Nice to see Drosera representing. A carrot (Apiaciae just blew my mind!) Nice wrap on Tasmania. So glad there's habitat for hat Iris! Looking forwards to your Florida excursions.

[@AndPennyThought]

This place reminds me of my home in Newfoundland, all boggy with acidic soils and stuff, even has irises and carnivorous plants!

[@richardlynch1094]

I think you use the same theme music as Summer Rain Oakes. I'm expecting to learn how to report my golden pothos. Lol

[@BugBobsWildWorld]

Great job, as always! Thank you for suffering that nasty weather for us and sharing.

[@williampatrickfurey]

22:35 not just this obviously but you've got some great thoughts bro. 26:30 for example, great inference and question leading people to new amazing thoughts; (I'm trying to keep up with the terminology so it wasn't on my mind at all until you mentioned) Great video brother👍 Also, at 28:27, it looked like the sun had shown just a bit brighter on the flower you were trying to showcase right before you mentioned that they seemed relatively unaffected by the sporadic weather changes. I think you're blessed, thank you for continuing to teach. Also, my thoughts just now went to fungal polysaccharides in the soil acting as a plant "antifreeze" like they do in apple blossoms and other lifeforms.

[@emmahardesty4330]

Thanks for trekking in rain and hail. Thanks for your enthusiasm. I'm surprised but am sure you aren't at how similar many of these plants are to various plants in the Sonoran Desert. Good ole planet Earth.

[@emmaliknesbla]

Why is this the best thing I have listened to in my life? The noises over the bird pollinated flowers and " Jesus Christ! " You remind me of me, honestly. Love plants!

[@dethaddr]

That intro is so totally "Joy of Painting" CPBBD style! LOVE this Tasmanian Geology. The Botany is good too... but man, those aerial shots of the exposed strata... would love to get there some day!

[@MyKharli]

It is one of the most criminal underrated catastrophes of the modern era the destruction of ancient soils to agriculture , now finding a field mushroom is a rare event when all the old farmers i spoke to said once the fields were full of such. Nitrates in fertilizers mostly destroying the fungi. And now vast acerages are merely substrates to feed and water before they blow or wash away forever , or as bad used as animal storage areas and crops to feed them .

[@qwitchyy]

I’m an anthropologist, and I can honestly say I blame the rise of agriculture for many of the issues we deal with in our modern world. Environmental and societal.

[@raclark2730]

@@qwitchyy We still need it though unless you are cool with genocide.

[@raclark2730]

It is, but a lot of farmers and supporting scientists are working on ways to do it better. And or return to before, as you say the old farmers had mushrooms.

[@yfrontsguy]

I don't think I've ever seen quite so many amazing plants in just one video amongst the many you have been recording over these many years. The lycopod was the icing on the cake ! LOVE isophysis ! You never found the yellow-flowered form apparently? Anyone who gardens in cold wet climates on acidic soils could grow all of these stunners! Lucky bastards !!

[@sjmazzoli]

fantastic....every square inch of the planet is amazing...thank you tony joe....life...ain't it grand...

[@jjdawg9918]

Lovin that E. V.ernicosa! This series has got to be the best footage of Tasmania natural habitat ever made

[@Toddis]

That allocasuarina looks really cool Looks like the lovechild of a pine tree and an Ephedra

[@joelyons3713]

Pink Sheathing Bracks Nice

[@1Kent]

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood.

[@charlieewing1810]

My man we need to get you a Thinktank camera rain cover. Stupid good investment I made when I was doing more equestrian stuff on sand. Has helped in rain tremendously as well.

[@microwave_mayo1269]

That blue sky.... Great video. I could smell the wet dirt.

[@dogcalledholden]

The 2019 fires were savage, even for Australian standards. We had fires that year in places during the middle of winter, with one region experiencing a bush fire during a snowstorm.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

Woa! How was that last one not drowned in snow?!

[@dogcalledholden]

@@ulalaFrugilega It was extremely dry and extremely windy.

[@raclark2730]

Not enough controlled burns happening, we are going to need them even more after this wet period ends.

[@fluuufffffy1514]

How are there so few likes on this?! Just a god damn delightful romp in the swamp right here! ✌️

[@georgeb9586]

the drone stuff is great, dad guitar riff and all.

[@rebeccaketner816]

Love going on a Nature hike with you! You seem happier, traveling.

[@HappySnappyChappy]

Aye, you're a rough diamond right enough, but I love to watch your presentations because I feel we share a similar fascination with plants. Anyway, it is an unmatched opportunity to see so much incredible botany without spending all my money on plane tickets and freezing my nads off in the hailstones.

[@danielletranberg-yy4wb]

Im extremely impressed and i absolutely love how unrehearsed and unfiltered you are. People that are too nice and polite freak me out, and i dont trust them. This is perfect, PLUS im obsessed with nature. Yay ❤

[@manwithaporpoiseYTsucksD]

A description of the flavor of all the local lichen would have been nice. Kidding. Love these videos. It's pretty in sparse kinda way. Stay safe

[@metfraser303]

~22:00? Deep Purple is a rock band formed in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they pioneered hard rock and heavy metal. Their most well known track is probably "Smoke on the Water", but I like "Space Truckin'" and "Highway Star" too.

[@petergomez6991]

Ain't nobody gonna take my car

[@STONEDay]

Show me the trichromes.

[@RobinMarks1313]

No crazy ad...? Then why am I watching? i guess the crazy environment will have to do. I'm going to lichen the video regardless.

[@richardbidinger2577]

You should invest in an umbrella hat, they come in large sizes and you wouldn't have to hold it while filming. It may look odd, but they come in handy when your hands are full.

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Fancy Joey...now THAT'S something I'd like to see

[@chiseldrock]

My dose of sanity has returned !

[@TokiWithCheese]

Yet another banger. Thanks

[@JennHawk]

It's seen a few videos, but I actually laughed out loud a couple of times through this one! 😂

[@missyflutter5562]

Every time I hear the intro I de stress. No question it’s my crack 😅 Sidenote for any Australians: loving him scratching his head over the amount of species it’s adorable welcome to… 🇦🇺

[@katiekane5247]

Damn if you don't find the coolest shit Joey! I just heard of a massive mud volcano going off in Java. The forces of nature are insane. There's worries about huge sinkholes because so much material has come up. Be interesting to see which plants re-establish there first. Nothing like feet of boiling mud to change the ecosystem.

[@junglie]

it was caused by an oil drilling rig, took out 4 villages & the locals are fighting for compensation.

[@spinningindaffodils]

@@junglie holy shit

[@urMom4sherriff]

Don't sweat the music Tony, I get a blast out of the drone footage.

[@c.rogers4394]

That Blandfordia reminds me much of a hybrid fuchsia, and one of the parents, and can't remember, but it's in the Random House book of shrubs, a great book, not required in my hort days, but it gave me help, where and when needed, so I could get a good grade.

[@hlessiavedon]

Hey Joey, absolute banger of a video as usual bro. I'm curious, what camera do you use to shoot your videos? If you don't mind sharing your trade secrets that is lol

[@seanshaw8321]

I’m heading to Tassie this weekend from Adelaide to ride the bike park in Maydena, pity it wasnt a month ago, it would have been amazing to bump into you there. Love ya work Joey 🤙

[@mkuc6951]

Banksia marginata is awesome as a large specimen.The fruit / cones have eyes / mouths on them, the flowers are a nice sunburnt yellow.

[@chezmoi42]

Whooo, the dreaded Banksia man!

[@c.rogers4394]

Being in California a bunch, you should know Iris purdyi, my all time favorite, because it doesn't just bloom, but makes dense clumps of evergreen grass like foliage, for those people that think they need clumpy shit. This plant is also as tough as they come, the first one I saw was just upstream of Orleans California, growing in the center of a crushed rock driveway, with bedrock underneath that. I paid a guy with fetal alcohol syndrome to pull weeds for me, and he pulled all my Purdy's Iris, so then I had to fish it out of the compose, and it did fine!

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Had no idea that stuff was a eucalypt...

[@joshuahymel9750]

that's one talented dad-jazz band.

[@robyngraham8075]

Four seasons in one day…

[@i-love-comountains3850]

Thanks Joey!

[@rosemaryahodgkinson8920]

Really enjoyed your very informative video and as a Tasmanian just loved the plants and their environment. You mentioned that many of these plants are bird pollinated - could you tell me the species of birds that are doing this very important job?

[@lucyb15]

so interesting! thank-you!!!

[@MrsLisaCrow]

Didn't you say that this place was on your bucket list? Glad you got to check it off. ❤️

[@brettlatulip67]

You should taste and spit and describe some things that you come across, after researching of course. Love learning from you.👍😎

[@brettlatulip67]

Does the carrot taste carroty.

[@AlAllerton]

The snozzberries taste like snozzberries! Not everything in Apiacea is worth a taste, poison hemlock is in the carrot family. ... just saying.

[@baltazarcrump]

Your opening song sounds cool. Reminds of a Mannix episode.

[@garyrebholz4139]

Pure enjoyment.

[@_NewtonMeter]

I liked the intro music xD

[@workerant7874]

Sometimes, when da world is chafin', Tony is like a soothing balm for my crazy ass. And I even learn stuff, which is nice.

[@patriciadean1649]

Love the snazzy opening-from an old Chicago ite

[@andginisin]

man, those monocots are so architectural.

[@andersnrregren9087]

Its like math

[@pvtpain66k]

"Fancy Bastard" t-shirt, when?

[@BubuH-cq6km]

"cutting grass"❓did you try giving it therapy when you were there❓

[@thedudegrowsfood284]

Ahhh, Tony, about that rain, I wanna refund.

[@MizMissiB]

Listening to you is like going to a family reunion. Are you sure you’re not my cousin?? It’s like going to the Amante/Caruso reunion

[@SoNoFTheMoSt]

New Caledonia was just awesome!

[@turtlesturtlesturtles]

I wish you would have visited us at Flamingo Gardens while you were here in So Fla. We have a large collection of exotic Champion trees dating back to the 1930s.

[@wolfofaspen]

happy to see a place without snow

[@hadhad69]

Nice of them to let you wear the prison coat on this one Seriously though I am in complete awe of your knowledge

[@dixietenbroeck8717]

WHAT was the dark, rounded, little berry-looking thing, that was bobbing in the breeze (left side of the picture) about 12 minutes in to this video? Intriguing, especially that you didn't bother to mention it! Love your videos; you know so much about plants it's phenomenal! It's almost funny, but for many decades I've felt that those who repeatedly resort to rude vocabulary (remind you of anyone?) do so due to an extremely limited vocabulary. Yet here YOU are, with a truly vast set of words right "on the tip of your tongue," using those "same old, same old," rude, potty-mouth words _ALL THE TIME!_ Just goes to show how useless drawing a "rigid" conclusion - like mine - really is. Please, keep traveling and showing the plants of the world to those open to see, and learn! Thanks, Tony. 👍😉

[@robyngraham8075]

Maybe it was a button grass flower/ fruit

[@dixietenbroeck8717]

@@robyngraham8075 Maybe... but at around 21:40 Tony touched what appears to be the fruiting body of a button grass, and that one is TINY, 1/4 inch ? The one I asked about was much larger, about an inch across, and darker colored, as well as apparently encapsulated in a papery (?) covering!

[@enchilado]

He does mention it! At 11:45 he says it's a spent button grass inflorescence.

[@Toddis]

I wonder what kind of camera he uses 🤔

[@ArchvicGames]

I'm a newish gardener in Spokane WA, zone 6a. One of my clients has a clump around her other iris species she called them Tasmanian purple stars if I remember right. Seeing their native habitat I'm impressed they do okay here... I liked them before but now I might ask if I can propagate a few for myself they're so fckn cool

[@ShunNiikura]

The branches of Allocasuarina spp. and Casuarina spp. look like Equisetum and that's what confuses me... 🙂

[@michaelhagan9678]

In Colorado we say If you don't like the weather just turn around. Guaranteed it's different in the next valley.

[@jfu5222]

You're a lucky bastard if you ask me.

[@jesnoggle13]

I thought I saw Frodo and Sam wandering around that landscape.

[@c.rogers4394]

That Alocasuarina reminds me much of Ephedra

[@ThomasSmith-os4zc]

We have Iris in Jawja and Alabama that only grow on racks in Rapids.

[@raphlvlogs271]

a lot of Casuarinas are very drought and wind tolerant and can survive in windy deserts

[@s.k.3891]

Cool drone work! No orchids there huh?

[@s.k.3891]

p.s. look for Corybas sps.

[@dianetheone4059]

Oh, that's pretty!

[@sagebrushrepair]

I want to do close up specimen videos of common species around me now. I've a good camera but a shit mic. You using a camera mic? Lav? I can always understand you and that's a good thing. I want that too.

[@HypaBumfuzzle]

Oooo a nice long one. Noice.

[@Maritafeb15]

And for something completely different I hope you got to see the Sydney Sandstone flora

[@cassianocauepossasporto9373]

The intro music reminds me of some sort of erotic movie soundtrack from the 70's.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Exactly the vibe I was going for

[@josephgreenwell6467]

You should do some Appalachian Botanizing, if that's something you'd be interested in

[@PermanentMass]

Cooooooooool , Come to Aotearoa (New Zealand) oi!

[@bebecatanzaro9362]

Deep Purple - My WomanFrom Tokyo My favorite - Hush