Fagus watch 2012

[Nick S]

I remember the Tyndalls had lots of red fagus in the past 2 years I've been there..

[Tortoise]

Wow, thanks, guys. Will appreciate any other input, but i think i might need to check out Murchison next April, maybe with a better camera in hand

[tas-man]

The red leaf colour seems to be limited to no more than a small branch, down to perhaps only a couple of leaves on a bush.

I thought this also Ian, however last year on Mt Murchison a found a full shrub of rusty leaf fagus. I only took this rather bad photo of the top quarter of the bush
Perhaps someone who has been there this year can confirm if it is red again this year?

I am now sorry I did not take a reference photo of the two bushes I photographed on my iPhone so I would have a GPS reference for their location for future years. The bush you saw on Murchison is in an obvious location and should be easy to relocate to check if there is a similar display this year or in future years. I am wondering if the deep red colouring appears only on specific bushes or is a function of the microclimate of they experience ie a specific combination of temperature, sun exposure, wind exposure, soil conditions? etc.

[redrock]

The red leaf colour seems to be limited to no more than a small branch, down to perhaps only a couple of leaves on a bush.

I thought this also Ian, however last year on Mt Murchison a found a full shrub of rusty leaf fagus. I only took this rather bad photo of the top quarter of the bush
Perhaps someone who has been there this year can confirm if it is red again this year?

I am wondering if the deep red colouring appears only on specific bushes or is a function of the microclimate of they experience ie a specific combination of temperature, sun exposure, wind exposure, soil conditions? etc.

I'm also very curious as to the how and why of the red fagus. I'm a complete noob when it comes to deciduous flora but I wonder if there must be other species which experience similar phenomena. A photographer I hiked with on the Overland said it was to do with the sudden changes in temperature.

Anyhow, here's a pic of the deep red around the Labyrinth lakes, magnificent to see! This was the best focused pic from my phone unfortunately after my camera batteries died. Excuse the jacket sleeve, i still had my backpack on.

[img]F:/Images/Camera/201204/201204A1/19042012501.jpg[/img]

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

This was south of Cradle a couple of weeks ago. Was better around the Labyrinth and plateau below the Acropolis but didn't get any photos.

[north-north-west]

Hi avid Fagus watchers. Is it normal for bits of fagus to turn mega early? I was surprised to see several little clusters of leaves turned like the ones in this photo on a walk in February. Has anyone else seen this? I must remember to keep an eye out next year.

Murchison always seems to start turning early - both my visits were in February and both times the fagus was already turning. Same with the Tyndalls. Not great swathes of colour, but a noticeable number of leaves on every shrub.