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FLYING
FOXES,the BLACK BEAN TREE, CASTANOSPERMINE and HIV VIRUS |
In 1768 when wealthy Joseph Banks was 25 years old when he led a scientific delegation that sailed with Captain James Cook on a voyage around the world. On 10 June 1770 the ship, Endeavour, grounded off the east coast of Australia. The repairs took six weeks. During that time, for the first time, the scientists, artists and ship's crew were able to intensively explore the land.
WHAT DOES ALL THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FLYING FOXES AND THE BLACK BEAN TREE?
Both flying foxes and the black bean tree were seen for the first time by the people who travelled on the Endeavour. Joseph Banks recorded in his diary on 24 June 1770 that: "A seaman who had been out in the woods brought home the description of an animal he had seen composed in so seamanlike a stile that I cannot help mentioning it: it was (says he) about as large and much like a one gallon cagg, as black as the Devil and had 2 horns on its head, it went but slowly but I dard not touch it."(1)
In his book, The Fatal Impact, Alan Moorehead writes that that "extraordinary" creature was a flying fox.(2)
During the enforced time on land, leaves and pods from the black bean tree were collected and preserved.(3) No one knew what the tree's properties were or that its flowers were pollinated by the black devils with horns.
Now we know that four different kinds of flying foxes pollinate the black bean tree flowers in its native land of Australia.(4)
Spectacled flying fox pollinating black bean flowers
WHAT IS USEFUL ABOUT THE BLACK BEAN TREE?
Native people in Australia used to pound the black beans or seeds to a coarse powder and use it to make bread. Raw black beans are very poisonous so many steps had to be followed before the black bean flour was safe to eat.(5)
The tree is now valued for its timber. Beautiful furniture is made from the wood. If you go to London and visit the House of Commons, take a good look at the Speaker's Chair. It is made from black bean tree wood. The elaborately carved chair was given to Britain as a gift from Australia after World War II.(5) It is the only exotic wood in the Parliament buildings. All of the other wood features are made of native oak.(6)
Black bean leaves, seed pod, and black beans
The highest hope for the black bean tree was the very element that makes the seed so poisonous. That element is named castanospermine. In 1987 scientists in England discovered that castanospermine could fight against the HIV virus.(5)
For a variety of reasons castanospermine has never been widely used in the battle against AIDS, but research for that use is ongoing.(7)
The black bean tree is also popular as an ornamental tree and is even grown indoors.(8) The bright evergreen leaves are very thick, so the tree should be good for screening, protection against winds and helping to smother the sounds of road traffic.
SO THERE ARE JOBS AND INCOMES FOR HUMAN BEINGS BECAUSE BATS POLLINATE THE FLOWERS OF THE BLACK BEAN TREE.
Yes, everyone who makes money because the black bean tree exists can thank the flying foxes who help to pollinate its flowers. There are jobs in the timber business, in the sales of trees and seeds for ornamental purposes and in continuing scientific research.
Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus)
Photograph: Pam Thomas, Lubee Bat Conservancy
References:
(1)The Endeavour Journal of Sir Joseph Banks; http://www.gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0501141h.html
(2)Moorehead, Alan,
The Fatal Impact, An Account of the Invasion of the South Pacific 1767-1840,
Penquin Books,1968, p. 143
(3)Frawley, Kevin J., An Ancient assemblage:the Australian rainforests in
European conceptions of nature, The Australian Journal of Media and Culture,
v.3, no. 1, 1990;http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/3.1/Frawley.html
citing The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks 1768-1771, J.C. Beaglehole (ed.)
Angus and Robertson, Sydney, v. 2, page 115 and facing p. 206
(4)Fujita, M.S. 1991.Flying Fox (Chiroptera:Pteropodidae)Pollination, Seed
Dispersal and Economic Importance: A Tabular Summery of Current Knowledge,
Resource Publication No. 2, Bat Conservation International
(5)Lewington, Anna, Plants for People, Natural History Museum Publications,
1990, pages 166-167
(6)BBC News + In Depth + UK + Parliament Tour, click on Number 8, Commons
Chamber
(7)Search "castanospermine + research" on Google
(8)Dorrigo Nursery;http://www.dorrigonursery.com/777eh.html