Every Encounter is Personal OK, yes, it is a native plant. But does that make it either useful or benign?!! Hardly! I am talking about that beautiful but deadly vine – poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans. Actually the name Toxicodendron says it all; toxicos is Greek for poison and dendron means tree. Radicans is Latin for […]
Beautiful But Dangerous – Poison Ivy Read More »
How Many Petals Does it Take to Make a Beautiful Flower? I could only find one plant with a single petal. That plant is a native of southeast Asia and a member of the Fabaceae family, Afzelia xylocarpa. Although calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica – Family Araceae) are frequently mentioned as having one petal, the
Fibonacci Numbers – We Are Not Done Read More »
Now to the Details Assorted Spirals Careful examination of the patterns of alternate leaves shows them spiraling around the stem. This pattern can be expressed as a fraction. The numerator – the upper number of the fraction – indicates the number of spirals needed to complete the pattern while the denominator – the lower number
Fibonacci Numbers – Are plants mathematicians?! Read More »
Math and Me I was only required to take one semester of math to fulfill my math requirement as I was a freshman in college. I spent that semester taking calculus I and was thrilled to finish and presumably never need to take another math course. Over the years, I found that I did occasionally
Fibonacci Numbers – Math and Nature Go Hand in Hand Read More »
Do We Care About the Philistine? Since we travel several times a year to Israel (before Covid), we are always on the lookout for something new to see. Several years ago we ended up at the Corinne Mamane Museum of Philistine Culture established in 1990. The Philistines were traditional enemies of the ancient Jews living
A Hat Made of Mushrooms Read More »
Still Reading Some Childhood Favorites One of my favorite books has been 1001 Nights – also known as the Arabian Nights – which I reread every now and again even as an adult. The cliff-hanging tales full of magic and fantasy, told by Scheherazade, were a device that, supposedly, kept her new husband tantalized. This
Did you ever walk down the street and see a stranger whose features remind you of someone else? Convergent Evolution The same is surprisingly true of plants. Because of convergent evolution – the evolution of similar structures by organisms of vastly different lineages – plants and animals occupying similar niches in widely separated geographical areas
The shape of things Read More »
We Need Something Interesting To Do This Winter It’s cold now and we are spending more time indoors. Walks are shorter and there is little greenery to lift our spirits. Having given much thought to the problem of how to deal with wintertime isolation, I have arrived at one particular solution that, I believe, can
EcoFlora can save us all Read More »
Is My Backyard Becoming a Zoo? Blame it on Little Red Riding Hood but I have always had a deep concern about any animal with teeth longer than mine! And while I expect to see potentially problematic wildlife in remote rural areas or national preserves, it is very unnerving to see them in my backyard.
Outdoor Guests – Coyotes! You Have Got To be Kidding!!! Read More »
Hello Chipmunks I don’t know if I went through a teddy bear stage but at six I was definitely thrilled by chipmunks. At that time we lived in a private house that backed onto a wooded area full of pine trees. It was a big enough space to feel like a forest to me. And
Outdoor guests – adorable chipmunks Read More »