 Description: Lantana is a perennial, evergreen, many branched, pleasant smelling, dense scrambling shrub to 2-4 m high with arched branches and young growth with small prickles and stiff hairs. Lantana is native to warm areas of both North and South America. It was introduced as an ornamental or hedge plant As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Very low Phosphorus, Very high Potassium, High Magnesium, High Manganese, Very high Iron, High Boron, Low humus in the soil, Good drainage, High Aluminum levels Life cycle: Seeds germinate at any time of the year that is warm and moist with most germinating after the first summer storms. Initial growth is slow as root systems are established. Establishment under dense infestations is usually poor. They grow for 2-3 season before flowering mainly in spring and summer. Growth is greatest in warm, wet weather and almost stops in cool weather or during dry periods. Detrimental: Serious bushland weed of eastern Australia infesting over 4 million hectares. Produces dense thickets that prevent recruitment of native species, alter soil chemistry and nutrient cycling. Potentially allelopathic. Weed of plantation crops and pastures, citrus, coconut, timber and rubber plantations. Listed a one of the "Worlds Worst Weeds" and a "Weed of National Significance" Toxicity: Toxic to stock and humans but no cases recorded for WA. Young animals and those not accustomed to the plant appear to be at greatest risk. 
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 Description: A sedge with brown seed heads subtended by 3-4 leaves at the top of a triangular stem with basal leaves and a creeping wiry rhizome with underground oval tubers or "nuts". As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, Low Phosphorus, High Potassium, High Magnesium, Very high Iron, Low humus in the soil, Compacted soils, Little biology Life cycle: Perennial grass. Seeds germinate in spring and the plant grows over summer forming rhizomes and tubers and flowers in autumn to winter. Tubers shoot in spring and extend to the surface to produce a basal bulb that produces the leaves. These grow over summer producing more tubers and rhizomes and flower in autumn to winter. Under good conditions plants may flower when they are 3-6 weeks old. Beneficial: Grazed to a limited extent by horses and cattle but of little forage value. Fragrant roots used in perfumes. Tubers are edible and were a source of food for aboriginals. Used to bind soil to prevent wind erosion. Detrimental: Can act as a host for nematodes and other insects. Not recorded as toxic
 Description: Erect, perennial shrub growing 1 to 3 m tall. Green, succulent, flattened stems with scattered warts and bright yellow flowers about 60 mm diameter in spring that form red, fleshy, edible fruit about 50 mm long. As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, High Potassium, High Copper, Low humus in the soil, Sandy soils, Little biology, little moisture Life cycle: Perennial. Seed germinates at any time of the year, producing a delicate bristly seedling that normally dies. After 3 years they may flower. Plants are very long lived and most new plants arise from stem segments that fall to the ground or are broken off. Drought tolerant. Beneficial: Edible fruit. Fruit used for jams and jellies. Stem segments can be candied to form a chewy sweet. Young segments can be boiled and eaten as a green vegetable. In all cases the bristles must be singed with flame then the eyes sliced out. Some people have been known to use it in herbal remedies for whooping cough and diabetes. Eaten by stock during droughts. Honey plant. Detrimental: Takes over areas excluding most other species. Sharp spines cause injury to stock especially the tongue and facial areas. The fruits are breeding grounds for fruit fly. Harbour vermin such as rabbits. Form dense impenetrable patches. Toxicity: Causes 'wooden tongue' in sheep. May cause fibre balls in the stomach. Excessive consumption of fruit may cause kidney disorders in humans.
 Description: Common Sow thistle is an erect, hairless, branched annual or biennial herb about 1 m tall with hollow stems which have a milky sap. The yellow dandelion-like flower heads are clustered, each about 2 cm in diameter. As A Soil Indicator: Low Calcium, Very High Potassium, Very low Phosphate, Very high Magnesium, High Manganese, High Iron, High Sulfur, High Copper, High Zinc, High Boron, High Aluminum Good drainage Life cycle: Annual or short lived perennial. Seeds germinate from autumn to spring and it grows mainly in the cooler months. It usually flowers in spring and dies after flowering finishes in summer. Beneficial: Palatable fodder. Stems and root have been known to be eaten. Leaves and shoots eaten as cooked vegetable. Family: Asteraceae which is known to attract beneficial insects like lady-beetles. Can be used as a sacrificial plant Detrimental: Considered a weed of crops, fallows, gardens, horticulture and disturbed areas. Increases in stubble mulching systems. Attracts aphids Toxicity: Plants affected by aphids may cause photo sensitisation in cattle
 Description: A creeping, aggressive, course, perennial lawn grass spreading by runners and with seed heads that are hidden within the leaf structure and only showing long, white, thread like stamens at flowering in summer. Native to eastern Africa, it is a common lawn grass and pasture As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Very low Phosphorus, High Potassium, Very high Magnesium, Very high Iron, Low humus in the soil, Compacted soils, Little bacteria Life cycle: Annual or short lived perennial. Seeds germinate from autumn to spring and it grows mainly in the cooler months. It usually flowers in spring and dies after flowering finishes in summer. Beneficial: Spring, summer and autumn fodder grass in coastal areas where frosts aren't too severe. Unpalatable if allowed to go rank. Used as a lawn grass. Used on race courses because of its quick recovery from hoof damage. Planted on irrigation channels to reduce erosion. Used as a soil stabiliser in sandy areas. Detrimental: Weed of vegetables, gardens, orchards, cultivation, fine lawns, rotation crops, perennial crops, grass lands, swamps, wetlands, dunes, riparian, bushland, and disturbed areas. Impedes water flows in drains. Fire hazard and it is difficult to extinguish old stands. It forms dense mats and smothers most other species and prevents recruitment of over-storey species. It is listed as one of the "Worlds worst weeds Toxicity: Usually safe to graze. It can contain potentially toxic levels of nitrates in lush growth under high nitrogen and good growing conditions. Contains oxalates. Horses and cattle are more susceptible than sheep.
 A guild, according to the Macquarie Dictionary, is an organisation of persons with common professional or cultural interests formed for mutual aid and protection, also, or more particularly, a guild is one of the associations, numerous in the middle ages, established for mutual assistance and protection or common purpose. Historically, a carpenter could pay tribute to join a carpenter's guild. He would then be protected by the society of fellow carpenters... protected from price gouging, unfair trade, etc. and protected from others stealing their "secrets". The carpenter could then focus on being the best carpenter he could be while making a good living for himself and his family. This term has been applied to Permaculture, describing a collection of plants (a polyculture) that individually could survive on their own, but perform much better when grouped together. The classic Permaculture Guild is called the "three sisters" named by the Iroquois (Native American tribe). The three sisters are corn, beans, and pumpkin. The corn provides support for the beans. The bean is a legume and pulls nitrogen from the air and puts (fixes) it in the soil with the help of bacteria and fungi. The nitrogen fertilises the corn and pumpkin. The pumpkin, with its large leaves, shades out weeds and prevents moisture evaporation, and has prickly leaves which deter animal pests. Finally, pumpkin, beans, and corn are nutritionally complementary. Polycultures (as opposed to monocultures like a field of corn) offer many benefits according to Dave Jacke (Edible Forest Gardens): •As a whole, yield more than comparable monocultures •Require less labour, energy, and material inputs •Minimise stress, competition, and herbivory •Maximise harmony and cooperation •Generate self-renewing fertility •Live within a sustainable water budget •Remain stable with little to no maintenance Ideally, a Permaculture Guild will provide the following: •Increase vital nutrients: main nitrogen with nitrogen-fixing plants, but also phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and other minerals with mineral accumulating plants, and general fertility plants. •Attract Beneficial Insects (like ladybugs, lacewings, mantises, predatory wasps, etc.) to reduce pests. •Attract Bees (including honey bees) through the use of honey plants (nectar-producing plants) to increase pollination. •Confuse pests with strongly aromatic plants (so pest can't find the one plant they usually prey on). •Give support to a diverse population of bacteria, fungi, insects, and animals, which increases diversity. •Contain plants with differing soil profiles (plants with different root patterns and systems, i.e. shallow vs tap roots... so the plants are not competing for the same soil space). •Contain ground cover plants that suppress unwanted species, i.e. "weeds". •Contain plants with the genetic diversity and/or selective breeding that resist pests and disease. Using these principles I was fortunate enough to be invited to design the polyculture for the Qld Garden Expo held in Nambour 2019. The design at the top is what I submitted after research and taking into consideration the needs of the various plants using a niche analysis and the forest gardening ecological design principles.   Along with these principles, we take into consideration what it is we are trying to achieve  Dave Jacke breaks guilds down to three different components  image courtesy of goodlife permaculture Resource-Partitioning Guild This type of guild is a group of plants that inhabit the same niche and have the same general needs, but which also partition the resources so that their competition is minimal.  Image courtesy of goodlife permaculture Mutual Support Guild This type of guild is made up of many kinds of species which form a network of mutual support, for the benefit of all. Aid in the forms of complementary nutrient requirements, growing condition, and how each plant interacts with the soil food web.  Image courtesy of goodlife permaculture Community Function Guild This guild is a group of elements that are grouped in the medieval sense of the word guild (i.e. a guild of craftspeople, all of the same skill type). It's a group of plants that achieve the same activity, which is grouped together in a design for their ability to back up, giving a level of redundancy. All this combined and taking into consideration context can really make something not only useful and multi-functional but also beautiful. All this combined and taking into consideration context can really make something not only useful and multi-functional but also beautiful     Description: A prostrate, succulent, running annual herb that often forms dense mats with spoon shaped, shiny leaves, red stems and 4-6 petalled, yellow flowers from August to March As A Soil Indicator: Very low Calcium, Very low Potassium, Very high Phosphate, Very high Magnesium, High Iron, High Copper, Little humus, Compacted soils, Low moisture, High Salt Life cycle: Annual. Seeds germinate from spring to summer and the plant grows over the warmer months and may form dense mats. Flowers August - March Beneficial: Palatable, nutritious fodder under most conditions. Used as a vegetable by pioneers and aboriginals. Toxicity: Nitrate and oxalate toxic to sheep and cattle. Most field cases of poisoning occur when hungry stock are released onto succulent stands growing in fertile conditions. Under normal conditions it usually causes no more than mild scouring. Don't expose hungry stock to heavy infestations. Don't stress or drive stock that have been grazing infested areas.
 Description: An annual plant, it grows to 1-2 m high and spreads to 1 m across. The stem is erect, succulent and without hairs and they often have soft mealy lumps which can be rubbed off. The leaves are simple, with one at each node, and occurring alternately up the stem. The leaves are oval and wedge shaped with saw like edges, 5-12 cm long by 3-10 cm wide. The leaf stalk is usually shorter than the leaf blade. As A Soil Indicator: Very low phosphorous, Very high Potassium, High Sulphur Life cycle: Annual. Germination occurs from spring to autumn depending on soil moisture. It grows rapidly through summer and autumn especially in irrigated crops or moist areas. It then dies quickly after maturity. Very small plants may flower. Beneficial: Relatively palatable fodder. Vegetable, young leaves eaten raw or boiled in prehistoric times and during the famine of World War 2 in Europe. Flour from the seeds was used for baking. A green dye is obtained from the young shoots. The crushed fresh roots are a mild soap substitute. Toxicity: May contain high levels of oxalate and nitrate. Seed Biology and Germination: 2.5 % of buried seed was viable after 9.7 years .Buried seed can remain viable in soil for 30-40 years. Fluctuating temperatures are required to break dormancy.
 Description: A short-lived herbaceous plant growing to 1 m tall. Its leaves are light green and often have notched tips. Its tiny greenish or reddish flowers are borne in dense elongated clusters at the tips of the branches. As A Soil Indicator: Low calcium,, Very low phosphorous, Very high Potassium, Very high manganese. High Magnesium, High Iron, High Zinc, High Boron, High Chloride, Little organic matter, Low soil bacteria Life cycle: A short-lived (annual) herbaceous plant. Flowers November to March in southern areas and April to June in northern areas Beneficial: Relatively palatable fodder but potentially toxicity in areas affected by high nitrates.. Grazed sparingly by stock. Can be used as a substitute for spinach. Best eaten raw, i.e. in salads. Green amaranths are eaten in Greece, India and Africa, as a leafy vegetable, and are also used medicinally for a variety of purposes. Toxicity: Suspected to be toxic to poultry and stock and High nitrate levels have been recorded in areas that have been artificially fertilised Habitats: Disturbed areas. Cultivated areas
 Description: Somewhat hairy and produce roots at their joints. Its paired leaves usually differ in size. Its greenish or greenish-yellow flowers are grouped together in small clusters (8-12 mm long) in the leaf forks. Some of the flower parts become hardened and form sharp prickles as they mature. As A Soil Indicator: ow calcium, High manganese. High Magnesium, High Iron, High Zinc, High Boron, High Chloride, Little organic matter, anaerobic soil conditions, high moisture content, compacted, pour drainage Life cycle: Annual stems, perennial rootstock. Seeds germinate in spring and summer after rain and produce creeping stems and a stout rootstock over summer. Stems take root at the nodes forming a dense mat. Flowering occurs from March to April and the top growth dies in winter. New shoots emerge from the rootstock in spring. Beneficial: Fodder plant, moderately palatable when young. Detrimental: Forms competitive dense mats with prickly burrs that may injure the feet and mouths of stock and dogs. Readily dispersed by adhering to stock and tyres. Weed of Lucerne, orchards, turf, recreational areas, sale-yards, pastures, cultivated areas and roadsides. Toxicity: May cause hay fever, dermatitis and asthma in some people. Toxic to stock but not usually eaten. Sheep will graze young plants without any apparent ill effect. Causes a skin ailment in cattle.
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