View allAll Photos Tagged Magnifica
Native to Mexico, Oxalis magnifica grows quite well in Thailand. I've just been collecting Oxalis and now I really love them!
Adaxial petiole with dense indument.
This stately palm is one of my favourites. It rather resembles an Archontophoenix but is far more beautiful. Aside from its beautiful silhouette and long lavender-grey crownshaft, the petioles and rachises are densely covered in attractive rusty-brown felt-like indument. It is the tallest palm species endemic to New Caledonia and at 25m towers over forest canopy. Visible from great distances from its habitat in a 10 x 17 km area in Col d'Amos and the Pam Peninsula ridge, 300-600m elev in NE Caledonia it grows gregariously on soils derived from schistose rocks. Rare in cultivation due to its slow growth and great dislike of low humidity but it is well worth the patience necessary. The largest and oldest specimen outside of NC is at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden. This species thrives in the moist windward areas of the Hawaiian archipelago but struggles in the semi-arid leeward areas.
I donated this seedling to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lāwa'i, Kaua'i.
Ref: Hodel, D.R, & Pintaud, J.C. (1998). The Palms of New Caledonia / Les Palmiers de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Lawrence Kansas: Allen Press.
This magnificent Oxalis is native to Mexico. Last year it produced only a single flowering spike. This is quite a bit of a change from that.
This machine is aptly named the Magnifica, by DeLonghi. It's an automatic espresso machine (frothing is manual, which I prefer). But I never thought I'd like an automatic machine, but this one is incredible. Produces a magnificent crema with each and every cup. Pics of the perfect espresso to come. :-)
We got such a deal on this one. It was in the "As Is" section because they were discontinuing it in the store. It didn't have a box and didn't come with the scoop you would use if measuring out pre-ground coffee (who cares?). It was a $900.00 machine. We got it for....$99.00!
I like it for its performance, but it's much cleaner than the Breville. It has a built-in grinder and grinds fresh beans as you need them, then tamps them down with the prefect pressure and delivers the shot(s) of espresso, with adjustable strengths and cup sizes, then disposes of the grounds. Not having to use a separate burr grinder and tamp down the grounds makes the area stay a lot cleaner.
We had just bought a new Breville Die Cast 800ESXL, and I loved it. We didn't need a new one but couldn't pass up the bargain. We packed up the Breville and it's stored away safely for future use.
Large Pansy Orchid
(According to the sign it was leaning against!)
King's Park, Perth, Western Australia.
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