POISONED MACDAMIA TREE- REMAINING MACADAMIAS EDIBLE? (forum)

Daniel12345 starts with ...
Gday, I recently purchased a house with three very large macadamia trees.. One half dead, the other in great condition and one that is a skeleton only- no leaves - initially i wondered why only one tree was growing well and the other two not so well..

Time: 3rd July 2015 8:22pm

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About the Author Daniel12345
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Manfred says...
Perhaps they were simply poisoned accidentally by application of phosphorus?

Why would anyone deliberately poison a large macadamia tree? Why would anyone who did want to poison a macadamia do it with anything more complicated than an overapplication of phosphorus eg by superphosphate.

The contrast between the three trees suggests an accidental poisoning rather than any deliberate action. You don't mention which of the three have holes at the base.

Irregardless, I agree with your friend and neighbour, a plant won't put anything into a seed which the seed doesn't need. It isn't a part of the plant's vascular system, and it won't substitute any poison (ie organic or inorganic contaminant) for any necessary nutrient. If you were eating the leaves, roots or stem it would be different.

Don't sue me if you die though!

(Confession- I have a sick macadamia because I was foolishly overenthusiastic with some crude chemical fertiliser one day a few years ago. Not malicious, just unthinking. It lives, it still has nuts, but it looks awful. It will eventually recover.)


Time: 3rd July 2015 8:50pm

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About the Author Manfred
tully
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Daniel12345 says...
Thanks heaps Manfred for the response

Time: 3rd July 2015 9:54pm

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Original Post was last edited: 3rd July 2015 9:49pm
About the Author Daniel12345
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Manfred says...
I can't see that the plant would transport any unnecessary substance to its seeds during their development. The seed is entirely a product of the plant unlike those parts of the plant that hold outside substances because they are included in the nutrients and water that the plant takes up from outside.

If an animal eats a contaminated fat it can store that contaminant in its own body fat, but a plant makes its own fats and oils in its seeds, and doesn't need to include any contaminants. Certainly, if it was forced to by the particular characteristics of the toxin, the amount would be minimal.

You need to distinguish between acute poisoning, which makes you sick immediately, and chronic poisoning, which encompasses a buildup of toxins. If you eat huge amounts of slightly poisonous substances you might eventually get sick. I think though, that the toxins normally available to the householder would be of the milder sort. You can't just wander into Bunnings and buy a litre of gramoxone, garlon or 2,4 D.

Diesel isn't all that toxic and works by foliar application, (not sure of the specific mechanism of toxicity) so I think you can discount that entirely.

I'd be comfortable about eating the nuts.

Time: 4th July 2015 10:12am

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