⋆☽₊˚.𓋹.˚₊☾⋆

"All is turning... Trees and rocks with grinning faces All is whirling... Wandering lights that spin in mazes" .ᐟ

[bees-with-swords]

"Do you ever dream of land?" The whale asks the tuna.

"No." Says the tuna, "Do you?"

"I have never seen it." Says the whale, "but deep in my body, I remember it."

"Why do you care," says the tuna, "if you will never see it."

"There are bones in my body built to walk through the forests and the mountains." Says the whale.

"They will disappear." Says the tuna, "one day, your body will forget the forests and the mountains."

"Maybe I don't want to forget," Says the whale, "The forests were once my home."

"I have seen the forests." Whispers the salmon, almost to itself.

"Tell me what you have seen," says the whale.

"The forests spawned me." Says the salmon. "They sent me to the ocean to grow. When I am fat with the bounty of the ocean, I will bring it home."

"Why would the forests seek the bounty of the oceans?" Asks the whale. "They have bounty of their own."

"You forget," says the salmon, "That the oceans were once their home."

[great-and-small]

Saddest thing ever is reading an academic paper about a threatened or declining species where you can tell the author is really trying to come up with ways the animal could hypothetically be useful to humans in a desperate attempt to get someone to care. Nobody gives a shit about the animals that “don’t affect” us and it seriously breaks my heart

[great-and-small]

“No I can’t come out tonight I’m sobbing about this entomologist’s heartfelt plea for someone to care about an endangered moth”

[bogleech]

This is how I learn there's a moth whose tiny caterpillars live exclusively off the old shells of dead tortoises.

[thepastisaroadmap]

[Image description: text from a section titled On Being Endangered: An Afterthought that says:

Realizing that a species is imperiled has broad connotations, given that it tells us something about the plight of nature itself. It reminds us of the need to implement conservation measures and to protect the region of which the species is a part. But aside form the broader picture, species have intrinsic worth and are deserving of preservation. Surely an oddity such as C. vicinella cannot simply be allowed to vanish.

We should speak up on behalf of this little moth, not only because by so doing we would bolster conservation efforts now underway in Florida, [highlighting begins] but because we would be calling attention to the existence of a species that is so infinitely worth knowing. [end highlighting]

But is quaintness all that can be said on behalf of this moth? Does this insect not have hidden value beyond its overt appeal? Does not its silk and glue add, potentially, to its worth? Could these products not be unique in ways that could ultimately prove applicable?

End image description]

[headspace-hotel]

because we would be calling attention to the existence of a species that is so infinitely worth knowing

[flamingoinkart]

* | *

[conspectusargosy]

Dudleya cymosa ssp. pumila is a succulent native and endemic to California, meaning it cannot be found growing naturally anywhere else in the world. This plant is most often found on north-facing canyon walls and roadcuts throughout the transverse ranges (a series of mountains that run east-west through CA instead of the usual north-south.) Dudleya in general have special adaptations which allow them to survive challenging environments, in this case growing in the wet but coldest part of the year and surviving a long, very hot, and very dry summer. Even in this subspecies there are many included forms, with varying traits such as flower color, leaf farina, altitude, etc., which goes in hand with Dudleya being a genus of complicated and still-developing taxonomy with quite a lot of undescribed species. Molecular phylogeny is making this possible by sampling genetic material to determine evolutionary relationships. This process is further complicated by the fact that Dudleya is a highly poached genus and many populations of unique plants are threatened by sprawling human development and introduced herbivores before they even have a chance to be recognized. Dudleya is one of my favorite genera of plants, so expect to see more of them in my posts in the future!

[lichenaday]

Rhizocarpon lecanorinum

Crescent map lichen, moon map lichen

This crustose lichen has an areolate (tile-like) thallus that grow in large, crowded patches on the surface of siliceous rock, walls, and roofs in hilly and montane regions. It has bright yellow-green thallus areoles which arise from a black prothallus (base layer of fungal hyphae) in round or crescent shapes. Many of these crescent or horseshoe shaped areoles coalesce and surround sunken, black-disked apothecia, which I think looks like chubby little arms wrapping the apothecia in a hug. So cute! R. lecanorinum can be difficult to distinguish from other similar looking members of the genus, so it often has to be confirmed by looking at the spores under the microscope, which are brownish-black and muriform (brick-wall like).

images: source | source | source

info: source | source | source

[botanyshitposts]

you know it’s been a hot minute since I last saw a moss carpet. like not just a patch of moss but like a swath of area that’s JUST mosses having a fantastic time. like I remember in college our moss and lichen class went to a state park to do collections and there was a huge moss carpet like a square yard of it and it was a huge species so it was extra plush and we took a handful for identification in class and it was so WEIGHTY it was insane and it wasn’t even that much of it, like did not scratch the surface of the sheer mass of the original moss blanket. I think seeing that again would fix me

[lichenaday]

A few years ago I moved from the western US to Munich, Germany, and I was not used to so much GREEN. Moss everywhere! One day I went walking in the woods by my house, and came across a perfect moss carpet--thick and plush and unbroken, a perfect shaft of sunlight breaking through the trees right across it like a trap laid out by the Queen of the Fey herself. So of course I did what any person who has little regard for their mortal life would do and laid down on it. AND . . . It was wet. And surprisingly prickly. And honestly disappointing. I laid there for a few minutes truly hoping to get kidnapped by the fairies so I didn't have to go home and fill out job apps, but no such luck. So I got up and went about my day.

Later my partner and I were getting hot and heavy, and he decided it'd be sweet to kiss my freckles, and I was enjoying it, totally in the moment--until I felt him kiss a spot I didn't have a freckle. I looked down and yep, that's a tick. Partner was disgusted, I was disgusted, and our intimate time became a tick screening. There were more. I will not reveal where.

All this to say, moss carpets are beautiful but also a trap and not the kind worth the trouble. Look but don't lay.

[cedar-glade]

(Not comprehensive) What to expect for riparian zones in orv confluence.

it’s the best time of year to fen hop here in Ohio but before anyone does that a pilgrimage to a less addressed habitat is necessary and fun, its check on mudflats in western Ohio time;

I just spent a few solid days botanizing some of Ohio’s most classic habitats.

Two mudflat locations: Little Miami meets ORV and Great Miami meets ORV. (though a weirder one is the ancient oxbow flats of the Great Miami. BTW ORV is Ohio River Valley.

 A group of really good friends and I got together and tried to hit the Shawnee lookout giant ragweed thickets(15 foot tall this year with native amaranth mixed in at similar height)  Each year a few people check this spot earlier and than a few later for a tricky plant not seen since 2010 called Orobanche riparia

which may or may not be state extirpated from TN WV VA and OH. these are only affiliated with confluence zones and specifically Ancient ragweed thicket communities. Normally Ragweed is 7 foot max, and dies every year, falluvium(alluvium displaced by frequent floods), buries these past frost lines and their roots are insulated. and the stems are more supported at the base.

while being a classic rare species, Japanese hops have now made it extremely problematic to spot and so it remains elusive.

while the 3 giant amaranth and 8 species of Persicaria are present with the cockerburl and ragweed along with florida and giant lettuce; It’s also notable that rough barnyard grass and two other river bank giant ragweed thicket rarities are also present. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155128/Ripariosida_hermaphrodita  virginia riverbank mallow and ….

Nabalus crepidineus

Flood plain woods: wood nettle, greenheaded cone flower, panicled fall phlox, cup plant, Jerusalem artichoke, 2 Persicaria spp., more angry hops, 2 common Rubus spp. (black cap and Alleghany), Monarda serotina, more lettuce, both of Ohio’s jewel weed.

Silt formed Mudflats:

It’s ok though because the disturbance is still frequent in some sections and many rare sedges and rushes exist as well as mud flat species can be seen as preserved. These are very small species that thrive on silt

the map above is for a species that recently got split again after already being split from drummunds’ bull rush. Now called dwarf bull rush and went through a new genera name too. River dwarf bull rush is no longer Hemicarpha micrantha and is now Lipocarpha micrantha.

Others of notable interest in flat: Kyllinga pumila,  Paspalum fluitans,  Myosurus minimus(adventive), Cyperus acuminatus,

both toothleafs are present too. Ammania coccinea(sessile peduncle and least common) and Ammania robusta(most common) for ohio.,

another classic forbe thats pretty darn common is obi wan conobea usually with carolina geranium not far apart,

green, dentate, davids, prostrate, true spotted, and Phyllanthus caroliniensis along with multiple copper leaves are present.

(plenty of other sedges but I can’t think of all the ones Dan Boone has tried to teach me there.)

Broken bank( sand cut banks):

alleghany monkey flower, blue siphilis lobellia, indian tobacco inflated lobellia, common milkweed, 3 uncommon Rubus spp. all adventive except for one that looks like a glaberous prickily virginia creeper vine Rubus trivialis . We also see both swamp and ciliate margin loose strife, two figworts, and cockerburl again along with 4 native persicaria, 2 native day flower(Commelina spp.), 3 seedbox/ludwigs (Ludwigia spp.), waterspeedwell Veronica catenata ,

mints are well represented: 3 Stachys spp. water hoarhound, american germander, 3 potential Monarda spp. (bubblegun, basal white, and M. serotina), both ciliate and hairy wood mints.

  Classic creeping fabaceae are: Amphicarpaea bracteata and Apios americana.

Gravel point bar:

lance leaf frog fruit, smooth scouring rush, verticilate scouring rush, and rough scouring rush, smooth rush, green bull rush, the brown tall giant one, 3 sided rush, big bluestem? some how?,  button bush, both the common hibiscus, sand bar and black willows, water willow(not a willow), lizard tail(the fruitloop smelling one).

Note:

If you want someone who knows more about this habitat than anyone else, Dan Boone is probably the person to ask.

[catchymemes]

[madamelesfressange]

                                 Foglie Tropicale Series 3 (Papaya)

1. Papaya Blossoms and Tree Antique Botanical Print from Kohler’s Medizinal Pflanzen circa 1883

2. Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s Phytanthoza Iconographia, “Papaya

3. Plant and fruit, from Koehler’s Medicinal-Plants (1887)

4. Berthe Hoola van Nooten, Papaya

5. Pierre Joseph Buchoz (1731-1807), Papaya

6. Batavian Travels - GF Müller von Ruffach, 1681, Papaya

[ousia-poetica]

A shadow in the dark can never hide it's true nature. Paintings of alina_anila "Alina Grasmann".

[aurorepeuffier]

more gardening journal pages !

[die-rosastrasse]

Sky & Clouds painted by Théodore Gudin ☁️

[cosmonautlesbian]

gem samples

[wastelesscrafts]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report

(You might want to sit this one out if eco-anxiety is an issue for you.)

IPCC sixth assessment report: part 2

The report:

Remember the climate change report the IPCC published back in August 2021?

The IPCC recently released the second part of their sixth assessment report, pertaining to impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

You can read the full report and its summaries on the IPCC's website. A corresponding press conference was held on the 3th of March.

Further resources:

Want an easier way to get the gist of this report? Check out the following links:

The latest IPCC report explained in under 7 minutes (Zentouro)

IPCC shows Climate Change hurting us... Today (Climate Adam)

Climate impacts & the cryosphere: what the latest IPCC report tells us (Dr Gilbz)

Why the sixth mass extinction is here. Now. (Simon Clark)

6 Big Findings from the IPCC 2022 Report on Climate Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (The City Fix)

[theoreticalpermaculture]

[sunkeepersolarpunkmusic]

Leaving this for myself if not others because someday I want to be able to grow my own food

[heywriters]

This is, ofc, a very basic little list, but I’m surprised it’s missing one major subject: watering.

Some of these veggies, specifically the cucumbers and tomatoes, require more water more often than the others! Think about it, those two vegs are the juiciest, no? They thirsty little plants, so make sure you have the needed h2o to sustain them. Squash is also a big water guzzler, and from an arid climate dweller, chilis and peppers need lots of water too.

One more tip I’ve learned from experience, kale tastes BEST when harvested in cold months. If it’s warm out, kale has that strong bitter taste we’re all familiar with. But if it’s chilly overnight and most of the day, kale has a much milder, almost sweet taste! It will also be leafier in cold months.

Finally, because spring is here and I’m getting excited for fresh food, some varieties of weeds that pop up in gardens are edible and dang tasty. My family eats the edible pigweed/lambs quarters and purslane as side dishes with many summer meals. There’s a lot of it there, may as well eat it!

[lichenaday]

Lobaria linita

images: source | source | source

[nemfrog]

Column headers. Science Gossip. 1900.

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