permaculture

[Rick Valley <bamboogrove@cmug.com>]

Robyn;
Here in the NW there is an abundant fossil flora full of things that are not
around now; Hickories, Locust, Ginko... the list goes on. So I'm just doing
restoration work! ;)
Do you or others in OZ know of "Ghost Flora", (plants that have lost their
animal partners (guild mates) & as a result were not doing so well) that
haven't made the more accessible literature this side of the pond? In
Australia they'd be ones that were associated with the marsupial megafauna
that was wiped out @ 50K y.b.p.
When we toured NZ I was intrigued to hear about how many trees and shrubs
grow all tangled and twisted until they've grown above the Moa browse line.
It's been fascinating me for awhile now, looking at these "Ghost" species in
this light. 
Some have now become associates of Homo sapiens.
Avocado, Asimina, Durian.
Some are now doing better (in N. Am.) now that we've brought back some
megafauna: Mesquite, Honey Locust, Osage Orange.
So many of these plants are important in permaculture applications...
-Rick