El taguató común mide entre 34 y 38 cms. pesando aprox. 290-300 grs., de las cortas y redondeadas, cabeza y dorso gris parduzco, el pecho es gris mas claro u opaco. Pecho y vientre acanalado con barreteado grisáceo y rufo descolorido mas atrás. Las primarias son rojizas con barretas y puntos negros. Ojo amarillo claro o blanco. Patas amarillas. Los jóvenes con algo de blancuzco en la cabeza y marrón claro en el dorso.

Vive en sabanas, áreas de bosques chaqueños, pastizales, arboledas cultivadas y bordes de bosques. No son carroñeros, se alimentan de insectos (langostas, mariposas y escarabajos), reptiles como lagartijas y serpientes, mamíferos pequeños (roedores) y raras veces de aves. También vertebrados que son golpeados por automoviles y que aún se convulsionen. De vuelo muy batido, confiado, poco activo, solitario y sedentario. Suele posarse en los costados de los caminos y rutas en postes y árboles. Construye su nido a media altura de los árboles, lejos del tronco en forma de plataforma hecha con palitos. Coloca 2 huevos de color blanco opacos con manchas y puntitos marrón oscuro.

Hypholoma fasciculare, commonly known as the sulphur tuft or clustered woodlover, is a common woodland mushroom, often in evidence when hardly any other mushrooms are to be found. This saprotrophic small gill fungus grows prolifically in large clumps on stumps, dead roots or rotting trunks of broadleaved trees.

 

The "sulphur tuft" is bitter and poisonous; consuming it can cause vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions.

 

Photo by Nick Dobbs, Upton Country Park, Dorset 11-10-2025

El Cuerpo. Nuestros cuerpos,

enredados dándole al movimiento,

danzantes, danzan en caricias y besos, enredados el uno contra el otro.

Mientras nuestras lenguas hablando, hablantes, hablan el mismo lenguaje.

Para después entre besos besarse, gozarse.

Mezclando nuestras salivas y entre besos ellas dos gozando, gozan.

El Cuerpo, el cuerpo se agita,

se convulsiona va adoptando la forma amorosa de la pasión acelerada hasta

que llega la sudoración corporal y la paz invade los cuerpos, al final del alma.

Autora autodidacta Jade Bueno Morales poesía echa a partir de un sentimiento

Autora autodidacta Jade Bueno Morales Fotógrafa

El taguató común mide entre 34 y 38 cms. pesando aprox. 290-300 grs., de las cortas y redondeadas, cabeza y dorso gris parduzco, el pecho es gris mas claro u opaco. Pecho y vientre acanalado con barreteado grisáceo y rufo descolorido mas atrás. Las primarias son rojizas con barretas y puntos negros. Ojo amarillo claro o blanco. Patas amarillas. Los jóvenes con algo de blancuzco en la cabeza y marrón claro en el dorso.

Vive en sabanas, áreas de bosques chaqueños, pastizales, arboledas cultivadas y bordes de bosques. No son carroñeros, se alimentan de insectos (langostas, mariposas y escarabajos), reptiles como lagartijas y serpientes, mamíferos pequeños (roedores) y raras veces de aves. También vertebrados que son golpeados por automoviles y que aún se convulsionen. De vuelo muy batido, confiado, poco activo, solitario y sedentario. Suele posarse en los costados de los caminos y rutas en postes y árboles. Construye su nido a media altura de los árboles, lejos del tronco en forma de plataforma hecha con palitos. Coloca 2 huevos de color blanco opacos con manchas y puntitos marrón oscuro.

SN: Blighia Sapida, Sapindaceae Family

The ackee, also known as achee, ackee apple or akee (Blighia sapida) is a member of the Sapindaceae (soapberry family), as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It is the national fruit of Jamaica.

The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England in 1793 and introduced it to science. The common name is derived from the West African Akan akye fufo.

The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.[3] Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world.

 

El seso vegetal es la fruta nacional de Jamaica; crece en racimos en árboles siempre verdes. La hipoglicina A (la sustancia tóxica causativa en el seso vegetal) se encuentra en el arilo, las semillas y las cáscaras de la fruta del seso vegetal, durante diferentes etapas de su maduración.

La ingestión del seso vegetal inmaduro con propósitos medicinales o nutricionales puede dar lugar a un envenenamiento agudo llamado "enfermedad de vómito jamaiquino" o síndrome hipoglucémico tóxico. Entre los efectos adversos están la pérdida del tono muscular, vómito, convulsiones, coma y la muerte. Esta última se ha presentado luego de envenenamiento no intencional con seso vegetal, y la mayoría de las muertes ha ocurrido en niños pequeños con edades entre 2 y 6 años. Solamente cuando la fruta se madura y se abre naturalmente en el árbol puede comerse. Sin embargo, la membrana de la base se debe quitar.

 

Castanheiro-da-áfrica é o nome popular de uma ár -

vore da família das Sapindáceas. É a fruta nacional da Jamaica. Se ela não estiver devidamente madura, pode ser venenosa e fatal. Esta foto foi feita no Jardim Botânico de Tela, Honduras. Esta fruta parece um parente do jambo, conhecido no Brasil.

  

Calycanthus floridus, or commonly known as the eastern sweetshrub, Carolina all spice, or spicebush, is a species of flowering shrub in the family Calycanthaceae. It is identifiable by its dark red flowers and fragrant scent. It is non-invasive and is found in the Southeastern United States region. The Nature Conservancy considers its conservation status to be G5, globally secure, indicating it is at low risk of extinction. It is presumed to have been extirpated from Ohio.

 

Description

Calycanthus floridus is a shrub that grows to be around 6 to 9 ft (2 to 3 m) tall. Its leaves are a dark green with a pale underside. They are ovate or elliptical in shape and grow to be about 6 inches (15 cm) in length. The leaves are simple, entire, and arranged oppositely along the stem.

 

The flowers are solitary, featuring a reddish brown to reddish purple color when they bloom in spring. They are aromatic and so are the leaves when bruised. The flowers have a hypanthium that is more than 2 cm (0.8 in) long. The shape of the flowers can be cylindrical, ellipsoid, pyriform, or globose. The flowers have numerous tepals that can either be oblong-elliptic or obovate-lanceolate at maturity. The flowers are perfect, having both stamens and carpels on the flowers. The stamens are numerous, connective beyond the anthers. The carpels are numerous. They are free, with a single ovary in a locule.

 

The fruits are indehiscent pseudocarps that are about 8 cm (3 in) in length and 5 cm (2 in) in diameter at maturity. They are formed within the receptacle and contain numerous achenes that are roughly 10 mm (0.4 in) long with a 5 mm (0.2 in) diameter.

 

Calycanthus floridus was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759. It was the only species in his new genus Calycanthus. Linnaeus referred to an earlier illustration by Mark Catesby, contained in a work published from 1731 onwards.

 

Distribution and habitat

Calycanthus floridus is native to the eastern United States. It prefers sunny habitats but can tolerate moderate amounts of shade. It grows well in environments that feature moist substrate.

 

Uses

It is used in horticulture as the flowers are showy and fragrant. The bark of the plant is edible and is reportedly used as a substitute for cinnamon. The petals of the flower are also reportedly used in medicinal tea-making. Strong caution is advised however, as an alkaloid in the plant may lead to heart convulsions. The viscous substance within the plant is reportedly used as a disinfectant.

 

It is highly resistant to diseases and insects, although it is prone to infection by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which leads to the formation of crown galls on the stems.

 

This plant has been marked as a pollinator plant, supporting and attracting beetles.

Lavender

Mercury owns the herb; and it carries his effects very potently. Lavender is of a special good use for all the griefs and pains of the head and brain that proceed of a cold cause, as the apoplexy, falling-sickness, the dropsy, or sluggish malady, cramps, convulsions, palsies, and often faintings. It strengthens the stomach, and frees the liver and spleen from obstructions, provokes women's courses, and expels the dead child and after-birth. The flowers of Lavender steeped in wine, helps them to make water that are stopped, or are troubled with the wind or cholic, if the place be bathed therewith. A decoction made with the flowers of Lavender, Hore-hound, Fennel and Asparagus root, and a little Cinnamon, is very profitably used to help the falling-sickness, and the giddiness or turning of the brain: to gargle the mouth with the decoction thereof is good against the tooth-ache. Two spoonfuls of the distilled water of the flowers taken, helps them that have lost their voice, as also the tremblings and passions of the heart, and faintings and swooning, not only being drank, but applied to the temples, or nostrils to be smelled unto; but it is not safe to use it where the body is replete with blood and humours, because of the hot and subtile spirits wherewith it is possessed. The chymical oil drawn from Lavender, usually called Oil of Spike, is of so fierce and piercing a quality, that it is cautiously to be used, some few drops being sufficient, to be given with other things, either for inward or outward griefs.

 

Featured on Explore 10/21/2008

(Between a rock and a hard place)

 

Young Rock Hyrax (Dassie) trying to hide from the "Big Eye".

Best viewed full screen.

 

The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), also called rock badger, rock rabbit, and Cape hyrax, is commonly referred to in South African English as the dassie. It is one of the four living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only living species in the genus Procavia. Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized (~4 kg) terrestrial mammal, with short ears and tail.

 

The closest living relatives to hyraxes are the modern-day elephants and sirenians. The rock hyrax is found across Africa and the Middle East in habitats with rock crevices into which it escapes from predators. It is the only extant terrestrial afrotherian in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries: one or more animals take up position on a vantage point and issue alarm calls on the approach of predators.

 

The rock hyrax has incomplete thermoregulation and is most active in the morning and evening, although its activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.

 

Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. In Ethiopia, Israel and Jordan, it is a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite.

 

The rock hyrax is squat and heavily built, adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and weighing around 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a slight sexual dimorphism, males being approximately 10% heavier than females. Their fur is thick and grey-brown, although this varies strongly between different environments: from dark brown in wetter habitats, to light grey in desert living individuals. Hyrax size (as measured by skull length and humerus diameter) is correlated to precipitation, probably because of the effect on preferred hyrax forage.

 

Prominent in, and apparently unique to hyraxes, is the dorsal gland, which excretes an odour used for social communication and territorial marking. The gland is most clearly visible in dominant males.

 

The head of the rock hyrax is pointed, having a short neck with rounded ears. They have long black whiskers on their muzzles. The rock hyrax has a prominent pair of long, pointed tusk-like upper incisors which are reminiscent of the elephant, to which the hyrax is distantly related. The forefeet are plantigrade, and the hind feet semi-digitigrade. The soles of the feet have large, soft pads that are kept moist with sweat-like secretions. In males, the testes are permanently abdominal, another anatomical feature that hyraxes share with their relatives elephants and sirenians.

 

Thermoregulation in the rock hyrax has been subject to much research, as their body temperature varies with a diurnal rhythm. However, animals kept in constant environmental conditions also display such variation and this internal mechanism may be related to water balance regulation.

 

The rock hyrax occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the Congo basin and Madagascar. A larger, longer-haired subspecies is abundant in the glacial moraines in the alpine zone of Mount Kenya. The distribution continues into southern Algeria, Libya and Egypt, and the Middle East, with populations in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the Arabian peninsula.

 

A mammal of similar appearance by convergent evolution, but unrelated, is the rock cavy of Brazil.

 

Rock hyraxes build dwelling holes in any type of rock with suitable cavities such as sedimentary rocks and soil. In Mount Kenya, rock hyraxes live in colonies comprising an adult male, differing numbers of adult females and immatures. They are active during the day, and sometimes during moonlit nights. The dominant male defends and watches over the group. The male also marks its territory.

 

In Africa, hyraxes are preyed on by leopards, Egyptian cobras, puff adders, rock pythons, caracals, wild dogs, hawks, and owls. Verreaux's eagle in particular is a specialist hunter of hyrax. In Israel, the rock hyrax is reportedly rarely preyed upon by terrestrial predators, as their system of sentries and their reliable refuges provide considerable protection. Hyrax remains are almost absent from the droppings of wolves in the Judean Desert.

 

Hyraxes feed on a wide variety of different plants, including Lobelia and broad-leafed plants. They also have been reported to eat insects and grubs. The rock hyraxes forage for food up to about 50 metres from their refuge, usually feeding as a group and with one or more acting as sentries from a prominent lookout position. On the approach of danger, the sentries give an alarm call, and the animals quickly retreat to their refuge.

 

They are able to go for many days without water due to the moisture they obtain through their food, but will quickly dehydrate under direct sunlight. Despite their seemingly clumsy build, they are able to climb trees (although not as readily as Heterohyrax), and will readily enter residential gardens to feed on the leaves of citrus and other trees.

 

The rock hyrax also makes a loud grunting sound while moving its jaws as if chewing, and this behaviour may be a sign of aggression. Some authors have proposed that observation of this behaviour by ancient Israelites gave rise to the misconception given in Leviticus 11:4-8 that the hyrax chews the cud In fact, hyraxes are not ruminants.

 

Rock hyraxes give birth to between two and four young after a gestation period of 6–7 months (long, for their size). The young are well developed at birth with fully opened eyes and complete pelage. Young can ingest solid food after two weeks and are weaned at ten weeks. After 16 months, the rock hyraxes become sexually mature, they reach adult size at three years, and they typically live about ten years. During seasonal changes, the weight of the male reproductive organs (testis, seminal vesicles) changes due to sexual activity. A study showed that between May and January, the males were inactive sexually. From February onward, there was a dramatic increase to the weight of these organs, and the males are able to copulate.

 

Social behaviour

In a study of their social networks, it was found that hyraxes that live in more "egalitarian" groups, in which social associations are spread more evenly among group members, survive longer. In addition, hyraxes are the first non-human species in which structural balance was described. They follow "the friend of my friend is my friend" rule, and avoid unbalanced social configurations.

 

Captive rock hyraxes make more than 20 different noises and vocal signals. The most familiar signal is a high trill, given in response to perceived danger. Rock hyrax calls can provide important biological information such as size, age, social status, body weight, condition, and hormonal state of the caller, as determined by measuring their call length, patterns, complexity, and frequency. More recently, researchers have found rich syntactic structure and geographical variations in the calls of rock hyraxes, a first in the vocalization of mammalian taxa other than primates, cetaceans, and bats. Higher ranked males tend to sing more often, although the energetic cost of singing is relatively low.

 

The rock hyrax spends approximately 95% of its time resting. During this time, they can often be seen basking in the sun, which is thought to be an element of their complex thermoregulation.

 

Dispersal

Male hyraxes have been categorised into four classes: territorial, peripheral, early dispersers, and late dispersers. The territorial males are dominant. Peripheral males are more solitary and sometimes take over a group when the dominant male is missing. Early-dispersing males are juveniles that leave the birth site around 16 to 24 months of age. Late dispersers are also juvenile males, but they leave the birth site much later; around 30 or more months of age.

 

Names

They are known as dassies in South Africa, and sometimes rock rabbits. The Swahili names for them are pimbi, pelele and wibari, though the latter two names are nowadays reserved for the tree hyraxes. This species has many subspecies, many of which are also known as rock or Cape hyrax, although the former usually refers to African varieties.

 

In Arabic, the rock hyrax is called "wabr" or "tabsoun". In Hebrew, the rock hyrax is called "shafan sela", meaning rock "shafan", where the meaning of shafan is obscure, but is colloquially used as a synonym for rabbit in modern Hebrew. According to Gerald Durrell local people in Bafut, Cameroon, call the rock hyrax the n'eer.

 

Naturopathic use

Rock hyraxes produce large quantities of hyraceum—a sticky mass of dung and urine that has been employed as a South African folk remedy in the treatment of several medical disorders, including epilepsy and convulsions. Hyraceum is now being used by perfumers who tincture it in alcohol to yield a natural animal musk.

 

In culture

The rock hyrax is classified as non-kosher in the Jewish Torah. Nonetheless, it is also included in Proverbs 30:26 as one of a number of remarkable animals for being small, but exceedingly wise, in this case because "the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs".

 

In Joy Adamson's books and the movie Born Free, a rock hyrax called Pati-Pati was her companion for six years before Elsa and her siblings came along; Pati-Pati took the role of nanny and watched over them with great care.

 

The 2013 animated film Khumba features a number of rock hyraxes who sacrifice one of their own to a white black eagle.

 

The species was introduced to Jebel Hafeet, which is on the border of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Dikhololo

Rural Area

Brits

South Africa

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung

The temptation and TEMPTATION, a tiny temptation of discriminatory policies and the TEMPTATION of Antony, an Antonine linked to monasteries like hospitals, where the inside of the body is supposed magical and alchemical by an ecstatic state. St. Anthony’s fires are huge bonfires lit on the hills or in village squares to celebrate the light and the victory of the saint over the devils. The begging (described in the previous paragraph) also served to collect the firewood, the "wood of St. Anthony." ecstasy comes only in asceticism or resistance to the body and mainly to the stomach and sex, the Antonines with their Egyptian Tau crosses seek the key to life, the tau cross is a T-shaped cross all three ends of which are sometimes expanded through transcendental meditation, like the Taoists. So, forgive this comment which is a temptation to rediscover the role of the Antonines.The congregation spread still more during the 14th century, during which they also cared for those suffering from the Black Death, and at its height, in the 15th century, possessed about 370 hospitals. The congregation also produced a number of distinguished scholars and prelates. The other aspect of the folk tradition is the ability of the saint to heal many skin diseases such as shingles and St. Anthony’s Fire, also called “ignis sacer” or Holy fire. St. Anthony’s Fire was then classified medically as corresponding to the two different diseases: ergotism, caused by a fungus, and herpes zoster, caused by varicella-zoster virus. The latter is creating painful rashes in the shape of a belt (zoster means "belt"), but Ergotism was more spread in the Middle Ages. Ergotism is caused by a fungus, Ergot (Claviceps purpurea), a parasite of cereals and especially of rye, which, when affected by the fungus, gets a kind of cockspur, pending from the grasses. If this rye was not carefully cleaned but instead milled and used to produce a flour contaminated by this fungus, it caused serious intoxication to the people. The consequences were severe heartburns, spasms, convulsions, seizures, hallucinations, colic, vomiting, gangrene, mummification of fingers and toes and consequently the death, their privileges was that of caring for the sick of the papal household.The chronicler Sigiberto Genbloux wrote: "Human flesh fell to pieces, as men were burned by a sacred fire which devoured and gradually turned their body black as coal. They quickly died in agony or continued their life without the feet and hands, a life worse than death...". These cases, spread mainly in rural and poor areas, were attributed to the work of the devil. The fire brought by the saint was seen as a purifying element, while the fat of the pig was used to heal the sick, more precisely to isolate wounds and maintain the infection limited over the body; hence the vocation of the Antonian Order to the treatment of the Ergotism, or internal Temptation of stomacals pulsions....A very interesting photo and subject. Visions are of crucial importance - also in a society based on science and technology. However, the problem with visions is inevitably, and always has been, their interpretation. Talk to pentecostal pastors today and they will tell you that they are frequently forced to introduce a screening system as some of the visions in their congregation turned out to be destructive or just mad. It does help little to look inside when the looker is judge, policeman and governor in one person. We need to have our visions checked by others. St Anthony's visions are of little importance per se. Seen within a clerical system controlling the sexuality of the people they develop their importance.Their beneficent activities attracted generous gifts and endowments, but their income declined significantly after the Reformation, and more particularly once the connection was finally made between St. Anthony's Fire and the ergot fungus, and the incidence of the affliction fell sharply. In 1616 a reform was ordained and partially carried out. In 1777 the congregation, hugely reduced,was canonically united with the Knights of Malta. Only a tiny number of houses remained open, and the remnants of the order were finally suppressed in the French Revolution and the years immediately following. The last few German houses were dissolved during the secularisation of 1803. The part of shade of us even is thrown in a uniform, the morality is a dress to hide this reptilian consciousness of the Man, the internal fire burns as a dragon.St. Anthony is closely connected to the fire, in two very different senses. On one hand, the bonfire is meant, as large bonfires in winter have a symbolic purifying and healing function, on the other hand, the disease called "St. Anthony’s Fire" is to be mentioned. Anyway, St. Anthony mastered the fire and not surprisingly the iconography represents him often with the flame in the palm of his hand. A popular legend tells that Anthony went to hell with his faithful pig to redeem the souls of some dead. The piglet by running around created havoc among the demons, while Anthony recovered the damned souls. With his rod he caught some fire from the hell and brought it on the earth to heat and give light to humans.Antoine's fire is the revelation of this part into shade, it is the reptilian unconscious of the stomach or the sex, two navigators with the brain to travel with its body, astral or primary, every man for himself and in the black and invisible link which unites the Men.or the discerning caveman, the focus required to not die from ingesting the wrong thing—a leaf, a berry, a bug—must have absorbed considerable attention. As any wild plant expert would likely tell you, a case of mistaken botanical identity can be fatal; confuse poison hemlock for a wild carrot and it will probably be the last thing you do. Thankfully, the spread of agriculture and the emergence of cultivation soothed many of these fears, so that by the Renaissance the question of what was poisonous came to be chiefly the concern of medicine, where healing often came down to trial-and-error by toxicology. “What is there that is not poison?” once remarked the sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus. “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison: the dose alone makes a thing not poison.” Paracelsus’ advice on proper measurement has never ceased being a matter of importance to us—the modern truism “the dose makes the poison” is derived from him. But according to LSD users in the 1960s, the dose made the “trip.” Here, finally, was a poison that didn’t kill you, but instead seemed to expose the very core of existence. “There is no lethal dose known of LSD,” insisted the drug’s charismatic mascot Timothy Leary. The allure of nonlethal “acid” surely frustrated anti-drug advocates, who countered with a volley of myopic public service announcements spotlighting LSD’s potential to induce a mind-altering “bad trip.” Had they consulted the historical record, however, public health experts might have also revealed the drug’s dangerous botanical origins: Lysergic acid diethylamide is derived from ergot, a deadly fungus whose “bad trips” killed countless numbers of people during the Middle Ages and beyond. Ergot is the name given to a specific form of Claviceps purpurea, a parasitic European fungus. A purple, talon-like outgrowth, it is commonly found issuing from the ear of rye grains and, to a lesser extent, related cereals like wheat and barley. The French thought it was redolent of a rooster’s spur—hence its name, which is descended from “argot,” the Old French term for a cockspur. Each of these ergot kernels contains a number of alkaloids harmful to humans and animals. When ergot-infected grain is milled into flour and consumed, a host of troubles arise: convulsions and seizures, vivid hallucinations often of demons or animals, a restriction of blood flow to the extremities followed by a falling-off of gangrenous limbs. In many cases the hallucinations seize upon actual prickling or burning sensations arising from the loss of blood flow, leading the sufferer to believe he is crawling with insects or engulfed in flames. Among the few passing mentions of ergot in antiquity is from an Assyrian tablet, dated to around 660 BC, that warns of a “noxious pustule in the ear of grain.” More explicative accounts wouldn’t appear until the Middle Ages, however, when historians began chronicling a spate of bizarre epidemics, which they called ignis sacer (“holy fire”). Mezeray describes a gruesome outbreak in 994 in the south of France that swept away nearly 40,000 people: And when a plague of invisible fire broke out, cutting off limbs from the body and consuming many in a single night, the sufferers thronged to the churches and invoked the help of the Saints. The cries of those in pain and the shedding of burned-up limbs alike excited pity; the stench of rotten flesh was unbearable.

Sigebert of Gembloux witnessed in 1089 a similar malady afflicting the people of Lorraine that “caused their limbs to become as black as coal, and from which the patients died miserably, or were reduced to an unhappy life, having lost hands and feet.” Another “plague of fire” near Paris forced victims to seek recourse in a church of St. Mary. A good many were cured, presumably owing to the church’s ergot-free stores of grain. Unfortunately, upon returning home to their contaminated crops they suffered a relapse of their condition, consigning them once more to the church. Some held that the burning affliction was a divine punishment requiring divine intervention. In 1093, a monastic order was founded to care for the beleaguered victims of ergotism. The confraternity chose as its patron St. Anthony of Egypt, venerated for his legendary sufferings—during his protracted struggle in the desert with Satan, the poor hermit was regularly tormented by malevolent visions. The disease thereafter took on the name St. Anthony’s Fire and sufferers flocked to the order’s monasteries, which were signified by detached gangrenous limbs hanging above the entrances. (Limbs were a common motif of ergotism in art as well; Hieronymus Bosch placed a severed foot among the shambolic unfortunates in his triptych The Temptation of St. Anthony.) Some of these hospices even claimed to store collections of mummified limbs for victims to retrieve on the Last Judgment. St. Anthony’s Fire would continue to cast a pall over Europe until the late eighteenth century, when scientific sleuthing finally pointed the finger at spurred rye. The pernicious fungus was little more than a historical footnote when a sudden recurrence in 1951 unexpectedly launched it into headlines worldwide. Doctors in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit, France, had initially been summoned to treat a few patients with indefinite symptoms: nausea, chills, pains, burning sensations. Soon, more townsfolk succumbed to the illness, including the advent of frightful hallucinations. Within weeks the village was gripped by a mad panic: a 68-year-old woman threw herself from a third-floor window to escape the flames she believed to be enveloping her; another man barricaded himself inside his home with a gun, ready to shoot a monster that was stalking him; a third man screamed, “My head is on fire! There are snakes in my belly!” and attempted to throw himself into the Rhone; still another believed “bandits with donkey ears” to be chasing him. By the time it was over, four people were dead and over two hundred more had been made ill. Around twenty-five of these had been placed in straitjackets and institutionalized. The eruption of the disease, which had mostly lain dormant for centuries, must have seemed like traveling back in time—if a medieval ergotism outbreak could unfold over daily news headlines—only this time nobody suspected the work of divine agency. The poisoning was initially rumored to be the plot of some “unknown criminal,” but the real culprit was confirmed later by autopsies performed on two of the victims and reported in the British Medical Journal. Following the revelation, newspapers dubbed the cause of the incident as le pain maudit, the cursed bread. One headline read, “St. Anthony’s Fire May Have Taken Last Victims.” Less than three weeks after symptoms first appeared, the New York Times reported that a miller and a baker had been charged with involuntary homicide. Bread—perhaps the most salient thread in the fabric of French society—had been fouled. A Parisian newspaper was left wondering: “The baker whom we visit every day, the grocer we go to regularly, are they not, after all, maniacs or potential killers of whom we must beware?” Meanwhile, a cadre of scientists at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals were following the incident at Pont-Saint-Esprit with interest, as the Swiss drug company had isolated a dozen ergot alkaloids to be used as remedial agents. (Sandoz was also implicated in a nebulous 2011 claim that the Pont-Saint-Esprit bread had been laced with LSD by the CIA.) In particular, the alkaloid ergonovine had garnered attention for its ability to precipitate childbirth in cases of lingering labor. (The heath benefits of ergot were a long held, but little-known fact; for centuries, ancient “wise women” used it as a nostrum for women in labor, compelling Arabic and European scholars of later eras to report similar findings.) Another alkaloid, the vasoconstrictor ergotamine that causes gangrene, had also been isolated and marketed by the company for use in alleviating postpartum hemorrhaging, and as a migraine remedy. With these and other ergot discoveries in the Sandoz lab, it was in 1938 that a budding company chemist named Albert Hofmann, fiddling with lysergic acid alkaloids in ergot, lit upon a curious new compound: lysergic acid diethylamide. Early research noted restlessness in the experimental animals, but nothing else of interest, and the study was quickly shelved. Five years later, however, Hofmann felt an inexplicable urge to reinvestigate lysergic acid diethylamide. Exactly how the young researcher was first exposed to its effects is unclear—perhaps a soupçon of the chemical had been on his finger when he rubbed his eye—but the “not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition” he later described from that day would not long remain a secret: Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours, this condition faded away.

Hofmann spent much of his life fascinated by ergot and LSD (which he would often repine was his “problem child”), and in later years he claimed in a book that the hallucinogenic brew imbibed during the Eleusinian Mysteries in ancient Greece likely contained ergot. In 1976, a behavioral psychologist argued that the fungus was involved in the Salem witch trials, provoking scores of lengthy, heated debates in academic and mainstream publications. Ergotism was also suspected (with little evidence) to be the cause of tarantism, a hysterical dancing disease primarily affecting Germany during the sixteenth century. But for whatever its past sins, the fungus exists in our modern world primarily as a valuable storehouse for remedies—and as the origin of an illicit pleasure. “Who despises poison, knows not what is in the poison,” wrote Paracelsus, as a caution to those who would denigrate nature’s harmful materials.

 

Laurent Merceron and more by Hughes Songe and Werner Ustorf for missed think in Wiki

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Anthony%27s_fire

All parts of the plant are poisonous, and can be lethal if consumed in excess. Symptoms of laburnum poisoning may include intense sleepiness, vomiting, convulsive movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. In some cases, diarrhea is very severe, and at times the convulsions are markedly tetanic. The main toxin in the plant is cytisine, a nicotinic receptor agonist. It is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the buff-tip.

Pretty poisionous then !!!

]

La historia de Cádiz es la propia de una ciudad marcada por su estratégica situación militar y comercial, a caballo entre el Océano Atlántico y el Mar Mediterráneo. Es el asentamiento fenicio más antiguo de occidente. Desde su fundación por los fenicios procedentes de la ciudad de Tiro, según la tradición clásica 80 años después de la Guerra de Troya (1104 a. C.)El motivo parece ser de tipo comercial,por la cercanía con el reino de Tartessos,rico en metales y por su cercanía con África y ser parte de la ruta del estaño que llegaba desde las Islas Británicas.Por otro lado los fenicios buscaban el lugar mítico donde Hércules realizó sus famosos trabajos y ellos localizaron aquí el lugar donde suponian que pasó buena parte de la historia mitológica de Hércules, para los fenicios "Melkart", El primer nombre que dieron los fenicios a Cádiz fué "Gadir".

Que significa. "Recinto amurallado".

 

Fue una ciudad volcada al mar y al comercio. De ella partió Aníbal para la conquista de Italia,de hecho fue tambien una de las ciudades más importantes del Imperio cartaginés,hasta que las guerras púnicas los expulsan y es conquistada de forma incruenta por los romanos. el propio Julio César le concedió el título de civitas federata al Senado Romano. La ciudad alcanza una gran prosperidad en la época romana,gracias a la riqueza comercial y a la influencia de antiguas familias gaditanas que deciden adherirse a la causa romana,la más conocida,la de "Los Balbo"que gracias a la amistad personal con Julio Cesar y a sus méritos militares y comerciales se convierten en los impulsores del progreso de Gades, se construyen anfiteatros, acueductos y se convierte en la segunda ciudad más poblada del Imperio durante un breve período. Durante esta época vivían en la ciudad más de quinientos equites (una casta de ciudadanos notables),rivalizando con Padua y la misma Roma.

 

Durante las crisis del siglo III del Imperio romano, la misma caída de éste y las conquistas visigodas, la ciudad entra en un declive importante; entrando en una época oscura y perdiendo la capitalidad de provincia y su importancia comercial y estratégica. El derrumbamiento de las redes comerciales del Imperio, tan necesarias para Gades como para cualquier urbe costera, hizo la mayor parte. El estilo de gran ciudad abierta de la antigüedad dio paso lentamente a una ciudad amurallada más pequeña, de estilo común en la Edad Media. Desesperados por la necesidad económica, muchos de estos antiguos habitantes de Gades, se vieron forzados a renunciar a derechos básicos para recibir protección de los grandes terratenientes y partir a pueblos del interior; por ejemplo a Asido Caesarina Augusta(Actualmente "Medina Sidonia") la cual se convirtió en capital de la provincia bizantina, siglos después. Los primeros se convirtieron en una clase de ciudadanos medio libres llamados colonus.

 

La ciudad es conquistada por los bizantinos en el año 522, reconquistada por los visigodos en el 620 y conquistada por las tropas de Tariq Ibn Ziyad en el 711, con la batalla del Guadalete. Durante esa época es demolida la estatua de Hércules, en el templo de Hércules.La esacased de información sobre la etapa musulmana hace pensar que Cádiz era poco más que una aldea de pescadores,pero hay indicios de llegar a tener cierta importancia,por ejemplo en el 772 Abderramán mandó construir una flota y asentarla en Jezira Kadis,nombre musulmán de Cádiz.Sin embargo parece seguro que la ciudad quedó en semiabandono desde 1230 a causa de un ataque naval castellano,que la destruyó en gran parte. Lo que si está constatado es que la ciudad sufrió un ataque normando en el año 844 y que fue el principio de una serie de ataques

en cadena por todo Al-Andalus,siendo saqueadas numerosas ciudades,entre ellas Sevilla.

 

La reconquista de Cádiz se engloba en la reconquista del Guadalquivir (1243-1262), incorporándose en 1264 a la corona de Castilla por Alfonso X "el Sabio".

Este decide repoblar la ciudad con gentes del norte de España,sobre todo de las montañas de Cantabria y de los pueblos de la costa de Santander.En 1265 recibe el título de cuidad y de silla episcopal.Desde el año 1470 se reconoce la ciudad bajo el señorío de Los Ponce de León,que reciben del rey los títulos de Marqueses de Cádiz.En 1493 Los Reyes Católicos consiguen mediante permuta el control de la ciudad,volcandose desde entonces a la carrera de indias. Se instaura en la Bahía de Cádiz los astilleros reales de la Corona de Castilla y el comienzo de la era de los descubrimientos y es cuando resurge la ciudad con gran impulso. Cádiz tambien sufrió importantes episodios de acoso y saqueos a consecuencia de los numerosos conflictos bélicos de la corona española y de guerras comerciales o religiosas.

 

En abril y mayo de 1587, en el contexto de la guerra anglo-española de 1585-1604, el corsario inglés Francis Drake dirigió una expedición militar contra las fuerzas navales que España estaba preparando para invadir Inglaterra.

La flota de Drake atacó la armada española anclada en la bahía de Cádiz destruyendo gran parte de la flota,

  

Cádiz tambien es saqueada en el año 1596 por una flota anglo/holandesa

capitaneada por el Duque de Essex, Robert Devereux.

Este saqueo se enmarcó dentro de las guerras que enfrentaba al Imperio español,con Felipe II al frente,contra Inglaterra y en especial con Isabel I, por motivos religiosos y comerciales.El conflicto supuso la postración de la ciudad durante años y la necesidad de fortalecer sus defensas.

Se tomaron muchos rehenes que terminaron en las mazmorras de la torre de Londres,algunos murieron y otros fueron liberados despues de la la muerte de Isabel I y el cambio de monarca.En 1625 tambien sufre otro intento de saqueo,pero en este caso es rechazado.

 

EL Siglo XVIII Cádiz vive su máximo desarrollo comercial y se convierte en una ciudad cosmopolíta y abierta,una de las ciudades más ricas de europa y del mundo,gracias a la carrera de indias.La ciudad se llena de palacios y torres,se embelleze cada vez más,se convierte en una ciudad elegante,adinerada y culta.

En esta época Cádiz posee muchos teatros y es habitual escuchar ópera y todo tipo de música en la ciudad.

Cádiz se convierte en una de las ciudadades españolas con más población extranjera y una de las que tiene un nivel cultural más alto.Frecuentada por gentes de todo el mundo: genoveses,venecianos,Ingleses,flamencos,armenios y de otras zonas de España,atraidos por el negocio y la riqueza comercial de la ciudad.

Grandes artistas como el poeta Lord Byron,halagan la belleza del Cádiz del XVIII y

de las mujeres gaditanas.

 

A mediados de este siglo sufre una catástrofe de la que se recupera bastante rápido

pero que causa gran conmoción. El 1 de Noviembre de 1755 se produce el terrible terremoto de Lisboa,que destruye dicha ciudad y se nota hasta en Andalucía causando

grandes desperfectos y gran pánico.Se produce un maremoto que llega a toda la costa atlantica andaluza y tambien a Cádiz. En Cádiz se viven auténticas escenas de pavor y ante el clamor popular varias iglesias y parroquias del casco antiguo de Cádiz decidieron sacar sus imágenes religiosas para intentar apaciguar las aguas.

 

Según una leyenda popular, de una Iglesia de barrio de la Viña, un fraile capuchino Bernardo de Cádiz y el párroco Francisco Macías, junto a algunos vecinos sacaron un estandarte de la Virgen de la Palma, junto a un pequeño crucifijo, con la esperanza que desde el cielo se obre el milagro. Y ante la mirada atónita de los presentes , el mar se detiene y retrocede como si se hallara ante un muro invisible, cuando se topa con la procesión y el grito del capuchino: “Hasta aquí, Madre mía”. El mar se repliega abandonando su impecable avance.

 

Una placa en la Calle de la Palma, exactamente en el mismo lugar del suceso, recuerda hoy cómo la Virgen obró el milagró y paró las aguas. A partir de entontes, cada 1 de noviembre sale en procesión la Virgen de la Palma desde la Iglesia viñera, la Virgen salvadora de Cádiz. Pudo ser una casualidad o no,pero lo cierto es que esta leyenda es conocida en la ciudad de Cádiz desde siempre.

  

Del puerto de Cádiz tambien partieron numerosos descubridores, como Cristóbal Colón o Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, y conquistadores en la época colonial lo que la enriqueció y posibilitó, siglos después, la creación de una sociedad burguesa, liberal y revolucionaria,sobre todo durante el siglo XVIII. Como ciudad que tuvo el monopolio comercial con América, sede de la Casa de Contratación y Flota de Indias, fue escenario de numerosas batallas navales.algunas muy cerca de Cádiz y otras en la misma ciudad.

 

La batalla de Trafalgar tuvo lugar el 21 de octubre de 1805, en el marco de la tercera coalición iniciada por Reino Unido, Austria, Prusia, Nápoles y Suecia para intentar derrocar a Napoleón Bonaparte del trono imperial y disolver la influencia militar francesa existente en Europa. Aconteció cerca del cabo Trafalgar (provincia de Cádiz), donde se enfrentaron los aliados Francia y España (al mando del vicealmirante francés Pierre Villeneuve, bajo cuyo mando estaba por parte española el teniente general del mar Federico Gravina) contra la armada británica al mando del vicealmirante Horatio Nelson.

 

Los acontecimientos históricos que precedieron a esta batalla se han de encontrar en el intento frustrado por parte de Napoleón de invadir las islas Británicas, en el que la escuadra franco-española debía distraer a la flota británica y alejarla del Canal de la Mancha para dirigirla hacia sus posesiones en las Indias Occidentales. Este plan de distracción fracasó, y se agravó con la consiguiente derrota de Finisterre (22 de julio de 1805). Tras esta derrota, la flota se dirigió al puerto de Cádiz, de donde zarparía el 19 de octubre hacia Trafalgar.

 

Allí finalmente transcurriría la Batalla que supuso el fin de la egemonía naval del imperio español en europa y la perdida de una cantidad enorme de marinos importantes,de los cuales muchos murieron en la misma ciudad de Cádiz.

Toda la costa gaditana está jalonada de barcos hundidos en la batalla de Trafalgar

y es muy común encontrar restos.

 

Cádiz tambien fué testigo y protagonista en este mismo siglo de la creación de la primera constitución española en 1812. Constitución de corte liberal que se enmarcó dentro de los acontecimientos deribados de la Invasión francesa y posterior acoso de Napoleón a la ciudad dentro de la Guerra de la Independencia española.

 

La Constitución española de 1812, también denominada La Pepa, fue promulgada por las Cortes Generales de España el 19 de marzo de 1812 en Cádiz. La importancia histórica de la misma es grande, al tratarse de la primera Constitución promulgada en España, además de ser una de las más liberales de su tiempo. Respecto al origen de su sobrenombre, la Pepa, fue promulgada el día de San José, de donde vendría el sobrenombre de Pepa.

 

Oficialmente estuvo en vigencia dos años, desde su promulgación hasta el 24 de marzo de 1814, con la vuelta a España de Fernando VII el cual había sido deportado a Francia por Napoleón,lo que facilitó que el gobierno liberal que residía en Cádiz "única ciudad española libre de la dominación francesa"pudiese tomar medidas reformistas de corte liberal para forzar un cambio en la España absolutista de Fernando VII.. Posteriormente estuvo vigente durante el Trienio Liberal (1820-1823), así como durante un breve período en 1836-1837, bajo el gobierno progresista que preparaba la Constitución de 1837. Sin embargo, apenas si entró en vigor de facto, puesto que en su período de gestación buena parte de España se encontraba en manos del gobierno pro-francés de José I, el resto en mano de juntas interinas más preocupadas en organizar su oposición a Jose I, y el resto de los territorios de la corona española (los virreinatos) se hallaban en un estado de confusión y vacío de poder causado por la invasión napoleónica.

 

La constitución establecía el sufragio universal, la soberanía nacional, la monarquía constitucional, la separación de poderes , la libertad de imprenta, acordaba el reparto de tierras y la libertad de industria,abolición de la santa Inquisición. entre otras cosas.

 

El producto de este intento de revolución fue una constitución con caracteres nítidamente hispanos. Los debates constitucionales comenzaron el 25 de agosto de 1811 y terminaron a finales de enero de 1812. La discusión se desarrolló en pleno asedio de Cádiz por las tropas francesas de Napoleón Bonaparte, una ciudad bombardeada, superpoblada con refugiados de toda España y con una epidemia de fiebre amarilla. El heroísmo de sus habitantes queda para la historia.

La Constitución vivió una corta vida ya que la vuelta de los Borbones a España suspuso su derogación.

 

A solicitud del rey Fernando VII de España, Francia intervino militarmente en España el 7 de abril de 1823 para apoyarlo frente a los liberales y restablecer el absolutismo y destruir todos los avances liberales de la Constitución de 1812,forzando la vuelta al antiguo régimen, en virtud de los acuerdos de la Santa Alianza. El ejército francés, denominado con el nombre de los Cien Mil Hijos de San Luis, fue encabezado por el duque de Angulema, hijo del futuro Carlos X de Francia.

 

El objetivo fundamental de la intervención francesa era terminar con los liberales en el gobierno desde tres años antes. Las fuerzas españolas leales se enfrentaron con los franceses en Cataluña al mando de Francisco Espoz y Mina, pero no hubo apenas reacción popular de apoyo y debieron retirarse. El ejército francés ocupó Madrid sin resistencia y siguió hacia Andalucía en persecución de los liberales, que se habían refugiado en Cádiz con Fernando VII como rehén.

 

Cádiz fue sitiada y bombardeada. La resistencia fue muy fuerte y los franceses no pudieron tomar la ciudad, aunque acabaron con las fortalezas que la protegían, como el fuerte de Trocadero. La situación de los sitiados era desesperada, pues no llegaban refuerzos de parte alguna. Al final se llegó a un pacto: Fernando VII saldría y prometería defender la libertad alcanzada por los españoles con la Constitución de 1812 y a cambio se rendiría la plaza.

 

Acordado con los franceses, Fernando VII salió de la ciudad, pero de forma inmediata se unió al invasor y el mismo 1 de octubre decretó la abolición de cuantas normas jurídicas habían sido aprobadas durante los tres años anteriores, dando fin al Trienio Liberal.De esa manera la vuelta de los Borbones supuso un terrible retroceso en los logros y libertades impulsados por la Constitución de 1812.

Los liberales españoles sufren una terrible represión y tienen que huir a

las tierras americanas y a otros paises europeos.Las ideas liberales maduradas en la Constitución de Cádiz,ejercen una gran influencia en América,impulsando la posterior independencia de las colonias americanas.

 

La ciudad vuelve a ser pionera en el levantamiento de 1868,con "La Gloriosa" Revolución liberal que tiene su inicio en Cádiz,de otro lado la ciudad conoce en este siglo la decadencia con la pérdida de lás últimas colonias,la guerra de África y el desastre de 1898,provocarán una gran quiebra en la ciudad.

 

Al principio del siglo XX se derriban parte de las murallas y la ciudad se expande a extramuros.La ciudad experimenta todas las convulsiones del siglo XX español,la Primera república,la dictadura de Primo de Rivera y la Segunda república.

 

En 1936,Cádiz comienza a sufrir las consecuencias de la terrible guerra civil española y aunque no es especialmente dañada,si sufre la represión y los enfrentamientos derivados de esta.

La llegada del franquismo supone una importante represión y fusilamintos en masa

que riegan la ciudad de sangre y cuesta la vida de importantes personajes de la ciudad vinculados al bando perdedor. Una potsguerra terrible en la que la ciudad

sufre una terrible hambruna y proliferan las enfermedades.La explosión de un polvorín en 1947 cuya detonación se oyó al menos hasta una distancia de 120 km, en Isla Cristina,provoca una tremenda catástrofe,justo cuando la ciudad está empezando a salir poco a poco de las penurias de la guerra.

 

La mayor parte del casco viejo se salva gracias a que la onda expansiva es amortiguada por las murallas,pero extramuros queda devastado.

Dese entonces la ciudad crece de forma diferente y aumenta de tamaño,ganando terreno al mar de forma sucesiva y urbanizando zonas que antes eran huertos.

 

La ciudad en los años 50 y 60 se centra en la Industria naval y se fomenta su valor

estratégico,aunque siempre fue bastión militar,el régimen dictatorial sigue militarizando la ciudad.

Tambien se fomenta el desarrollismo urbanístico similar al de la costa del sol,pero Cádiz nunca llega en ese momento a lograr los niveles de turísmo extranjero que Franco impulsa en la costa de Málaga.

 

Con la Muerte de Franco y el regreso de la democracia,Cádiz recupera alguno de sus

signos de identidad, como sus Carnavales que estaban prohibidos durante la dictadura.

Cádiz tambien tiene un importante papel en la consecución de la autonomía andaluza y de hecho su escudo es adoptado por Andalucía para formar parte de la bandera,La primera junta de Andalucía se reune y constituye por primera vez en Cádiz en el Palacio de la Diputación.

 

En las últimas décadas Cádiz a evolucionado a una ciudad mediana,básicamente de servicios,que no ha logrado mantener el protagonismo político que en el pasado

poseyó.Es una ciudad básicamente comercial y turística,pero su escased de espacio y su casi,"insularidad",la limita mucho.

 

En definitiva,Cádiz es una ciudad de historia inmensa y de una belleza deslumbrante y que vale la pena visitar e impregnarse se sus mas de 3000 años de historia.

 

Early afternoon on Mansour Street Egyptian CSF fire tear gas cannisters in to a large crowd of protesters gathered near the Ministry of Interior. The crowd flees northwards across Mohamed Mahmoud Street and towards Falaki Square. This area is situated about half a kilometre east of Tahrir Square in Downtown Cairo. There were many people very badly effected by the gas. I saw one man in convulsions. The next day, 5 February, I was arrested about 100 metres from this spot in an alleyway off Falaki Street. I spent the next 54 days in prison before being deported to the U.K.

 

My Egyptian Revolution photographs best viewed NOT on photostream but via my Egyptian Revolution set

 

I need your help for a book !

 

I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has participated in the initial uprising in January 2011 or in any of the subsequent protests or strikes.

 

You can email me at alisdare@gmail.com or contact me on my facebook page – www.facebook.com/alisdare.

 

Update April 2020 -. If anyone is interested in the forgotten history of British imperialism and how it impacted the lives of millions of people around the world including Egypt from the 1700s until today - I've posted over 600 short articles on the following website. roguenation.org/ including the following page where you can select from over 600 pages according to country - roguenation.org/choose-by-country

 

Hyoscyamus niger

 

Famiglia:Solanaceae

 

Distribuzione: Ampiamente diffusa in tutta l’America del Nord, in Europa è presente fino alla Scandinavia, in Italia è presente quasi dovunque, assente in Piemonte e nella Val Padana, in Sardegna è presente su tutto il territorio.

Nome comune: Giusquiamo nero, distinto dal giusquiamo bianco, Hyoscyamus albus) è una pianta erbacea velenosa, annua o bienne, della famiglia Solanacee, la pianta in passato è stata usata per i suoi effetti farmacologici.

 

Nell'antichità e nel Medioevo aveva fama di erba magica ed era usato come narcotico o per favorire la pioggia.

 

Etimologia: il termine generico dal greco "hyòs-kiaos" = fava del porco. La tradizione vuole infatti che il maiale potesse cibarsene senza conseguenze, mentre l’uomo ne restasse avvelenato. Il termine specifico dal latino "niger" = nero, perché la corolla all'interno presenta un reticolo violaceo che tende sul fondo ad infittirsi e a creare una macchia scura.

Tutte le parti della pianta sono altamente tossiche, se ingerite possono provocare convulsioni, difficoltà respiratorie e addirittura la morte.

Curiosità: Nel XV secolo questa pianta veniva utilizzata come narcotico e analgesico nel corso delle operazioni chirurgiche.

 

Henbane

 

Family: Solanaceae

 

Distribution: Widely spread throughout North America, Europe is up to Scandinavia, Italy is present almost everywhere, absent in Piedmont and the Po Valley, Sardinia is present throughout.

Common name: black henbane, distinct from the white henbane, Hyoscyamus albus) is a poisonous herb, annual or biannual, of the family Solanaceae, the plant in the past has been used for its pharmacological effects.

 

In antiquity and the Middle Ages he had a reputation for magic herb and was used as a narcotic or to assist in the rain.

 

Etymology: the generic term from the greek "hyòs-kiaos" = bean pork. Tradition has it that the pig could eat it without consequences, while the man will remain poisoned. The specific term from the Latin "niger" = black, because the corolla inside presents a grid of blue on the bottom that tends to thicken and create a dark spot.

All parts of the plant are highly toxic when ingested can cause convulsions, breathing difficulties and even death.

 

Trivia: In the fifteenth century this plant was used as a narcotic and analgesic during surgery.

 

Hyoscyamus niger

Nombre comun: Beleño

 

Familia: Solanaceae

 

Distribución: Ampliamente extendido por toda América del Norte, Europa es hasta Escandinavia, Italia está presente en casi todas partes, ausente en el Piamonte y el Valle del Po, Cerdeña está presente en todas partes.

Nombre común: el beleño negro, distinto del beleño blanco, Hyoscyamus albus) es una hierba venenosa, anual o bianual, de la familia de las solanáceas, la planta en el pasado se ha utilizado por sus efectos farmacológicos.

 

En la Antigüedad y la Edad Media tenía una reputación de hierba mágica y fue utilizado como un narcótico o para ayudar en la lluvia.

 

Etimología: el término genérico deriva del griego "HYOS-kiaos" cerdo = frijol. La tradición dice que el cerdo podía comer sin consecuencias, mientras que el hombre permanecerá envenenado. El término específico de la "niger" América = negro, porque el interior de la corola presenta una cuadrícula de azul en la parte inferior que tiende a espesar y crear una mancha oscura.

Todas las partes de la planta son muy tóxicos cuando se ingiere puede causar convulsiones, dificultades e incluso la muerte para respirar.

 

Anécdota: En el siglo XV se utilizó esta planta como un narcótico y analgésico durante la cirugía.

 

Antes que pudesse se dar conta do que estava acontecendo ele foi acertado por um jato de agua fria seguido por um de água quente, ele sentia sua pele rachando, os tremores eram constantes quase convulsionando, em estado de torpor. Houve uma pausa na tortura, ele tentou cobrar o juízo e entender tudo aquilo, quando uma voz familiar falou.

 

- Vamos Harry, se ajude! Solte logo esse seu poder, ficar ai se fazendo de mocinho não vai dar em nada!

 

Só agora Harry se deu conta que estava pendurado e amarrado de cabeça para baixo, o galpão era bem estranho, gasto e escuro, parecia abandonado há anos, não se ouvia sinal de vida, apenas o homem que o arrastava pelo chão sem dó. Por que ele havia aceitado participar dessa loucura ele não sabia, mas logo mais ou ele mesmo morreria ou aquele corpo inútil seria destruído de vez... seus poderes não fluíam bem nele, se descontrolavam...

 

Houve um click, um som distorcido e então uma velha canção começou a tocar, ele conhecia ela, e nossa aquilo trazia lembranças de um tempo que não voltaria. O vinil estava tão gasto que a estática era insuportável, sem falar das constantes vezes que ficou preso em uma frase, devia estar bem arranhado.

 

The Platters - Only You

 

Only you, can make all this world seem right

Only you can make the darkness bright

Only you, and you alone, can thrill me like you do

And fill my heart with love for only you

  

Only you can make all this change in me

For it's true, you are my destiny

When you hold my hand, I understand

The magic that you do

You're my dream come true

My one and only you

  

Only you can make all this change in me

For it's true, you are my destiny

When you hold my hand, I understand

The magic that you do

You're my dream come true

My one and only you

  

One and only you....

  

Estranhamente a música fez ele lembrar de Midori, sorridente, como a luz que iluminava seus caminhos e uma dor imensa em seu peito voltou, essa dor o partiu ao meio, quebrando todo o seu ser, fazendo seu sangue correr como lava em suas veias. Dando um urro de fúria ele quebrou as amarras, a fera estava liberta e inesperadamente ele sabia que podia controla-la, ele lembrava de tudo. Os momentos em branco foram preenchidos por lembranças de seu outro eu, sentindo-se flutuar para dentro de se. Ele se reencontrou, como que encarando quem ele mais temia, ele mesmo. Aqueles olhos vermelhos conhecidos o fitavam, inesperadamente o espelho se fundiu com ele, e agora eram um só.

 

“Excelente”

 

SACRA CAPILLA DEL SALVADOR DEL MUNDO

 

La Sacra Capilla del Salvador del Mundo es un templo construido bajo patrocinio de Francisco de los Cobos como panteón anexo a su palacio de Úbeda (provincia de Jaén), en la actualmente llamada Plaza Vázquez de Molina.

Mandada construir en 1536, formaba parte de un extenso programa artístico (del que formaban parte su Palacio, una Universidad y un Hospital)​ destinado a encumbrar la fama, la fortuna y la gloria personal que había alcanzado el secretario personal de Carlos V; para lo que recurrió a artistas de primer nivel. El proyecto inicial se encargó a Diego de Siloé, mientras que la realización corrió a cargo de Andrés de Vandelvira a partir de 1540. El templo fue consagrado en 1559. Su primer capellán fue el Deán Ortega, para quien se construyó el gran palacio que hay a la izquierda de la fachada principal de la capilla.

La Sacra Capilla del Salvador junto al Parador del Condestable Dávalos, antiguo palacio del Deán Ortega.

El Salvador fue la empresa más ambiciosa de toda la arquitectura religiosa privada del Renacimiento español. Declarado monumento histórico-artístico en 1931, se ha convertido, a su vez, en uno de los más divulgados símbolos de esta ciudad cuyo conjunto monumental renacentista, que junto con el de Baeza, fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 2003.

Es un templo funerario. La compleja decoración escultórica de emblemas y escudos nobiliarios de la fachada principal y del interior (que contrasta con la rancia austeridad hispánica de palacio, de sobriedad castellana extrema, en la cercana calle de Francisco de los Cobos), encierra un simbolismo funerario que conduce a la finalidad del espacio centralizado de la cripta acogida en una grandiosa y simbólica rotonda de forma circular, la más perfecta para expresar la Unidad o esencia infinita emanada de la uniformidad y Justicia de Dios, según la tratadística arquitectónica renacentista (Palladio).

Siloé, siguiendo a Vitrubio, aplicó principios neo-pitagóricos a los planos, que determinaron para la nave central una longitud de ochenta pies de vara (algo más de 22 metros) y una anchura de 40 pies (unos once metros), y una altura de 100 pies (unos veintiocho metros).

Uno de los rasgos más interesantes de la decoración arquitectónica del Salvador, que hace escuela en toda la región y viene a ser de los más típicos de la escuela vandelviresca, es el uso de la figura humana en función de miembro arquitectónico: cariátides (figuras femeninas), atlantes o telamones (masculinas), hermas (desmembrados), etc. Estos motivos debieron de ser aportaciones de Esteban Jamete, natural de Orleáns, dado que estas figuraciones estaban en boga en la arquitectura francesa de la época.

Cuenta con una sola torre rematada en forma de cebolla, al estilo centroeuropeo.

Su portada plateresca, cuya profusa labra es de Esteban Jamete, ha sido especialmente ponderada, en especial por la forma en que destacan sus tonos dorados con la luz del sol poniente. En la fachada principal se representan los escudos de los Cobos (cinco leones rampantes sostenido por majestuosos atlantes) y los Mendoza (por María de Mendoza, su mujer). En la fecha de sus esponsales (1522) ella tenía sólo 14 años y él superaba los 40; tras la muerte del marido, la viuda continuó impulsando las obras de la Capilla hasta su inauguración (8 de octubre de 1555).

La puerta principal, planteada como arco de Triunfo, tiene representados en el intradós una serie de dioses clásicos: Eolo, Neptuno, Vulcano, Anteo, Diana, Mercurio, Venus, Febo, Marte, Júpiter y Saturno.

El friso está decorado con escenas del Éxodo.

En el segundo cuerpo aparecen referencias a los trabajos de Hércules, y en el punto central un relieve de la Transfiguración de Jesús en el Monte Tabor. Se establece un paralelismo entre las figuras de Hércules y Jesús (en ambos casos, el hijo del dios supremo tiene que vivir como mortal y superar penosas pruebas para, tras una muerte cruel debida a una traición, recuperar la posición que le corresponde junto a su padre).

En el tercer cuerpo, un ventanal de medio punto rematado con un frontón triangular. A los lados de la puerta, dos escudos sostenidos por tenantes, -elementos de la arquitectura renacentista muy frecuentes en Úbeda-, con las armas de los Cobos -siempre en el lado del Evangelio- y de los Mendoza; lo que se repite en lo más alto de los contrafuertes y en los óculos. En la parte baja de los contrafuertes a la izquierda, la lucha de Hércules y Gerión y, a la derecha, Hércules y los toros de Gerión. A los lados, otras dos portadas triunfales, diseñadas por Vandelvira y esculpidas por Esteban Jamete. La portada norte está dedicada a Santiago (el mecenas era caballero de Santiago) y la portada sur, a la Caridad.

El interior fue diseñado en su mayor parte por Diego de Siloé como templo funerario, con una gran rotonda y una nave añadida, quedando la rotonda para los nobles, y la nave para el pueblo. El altar mayor está presidido por un retablo de madera de Alonso Berruguete, que representaba la Transfiguración. Fue quemado por los milicianos en la Guerra Civil y solo se conserva el Cristo central. La restauración es de Juan Luis Vassallo.

El templo alojó un repertorio de esculturas, reliquias, orfebrería y pinturas, piezas de sumo valor adquiridas o regaladas a su fundador, como la famosa Piedad de Úbeda de Sebastiano del Piombo (luego llevada a la Casa de Pilatos de Sevilla y actualmente en préstamo en el Museo del Prado de Madrid); un cáliz de oro, regalo de Carlos V; una macolla de cruz procesional de Francisco Martínez de 1542; una cabeza relicario; un calvario de Pieter Coecke (hoy custodiado temporalmente también en la Casa de Pilatos de Sevilla) y un crucifijo de marfil del siglo XVI. Pero seguramente la pieza más comentada del conjunto es una estatua de San Juanito esculpida en mármol, que fue atribuida por Gómez-Moreno a Miguel Ángel; autoría que ha sido avalada por expertos posteriores. Seriamente dañada en 1936, los fragmentos conservados fueron enviados por la Casa de Medinaceli a Florencia en 1995, a fin de intentarse su reintegración; ardua labor completada en 2013. La escultura ya restaurada se expuso en Italia, y en 2015 en el Museo del Prado de Madrid.

La reja finísimamente trabajada que separa rotonda y nave es de Francisco de Villalpando, fundida en 1555, con dos tramos y tres cuerpos, el central más elevado y esbelto.

En la crestería hay cuatro medallones con las Virtudes y en el centro el escudo nobiliario de los Cobos, cerrándola una cruz. La bóveda central está sostenida por columnas corintias adosadas; sobre su entablamento una galería corrida a la que dan tribunillas que en la embocadura del arco llevan cariátides. La decoración de las bóvedas es más sobria que el resto, intentando asemejar las nervaduras del estilo Isabel.

La sacristía está considerada como una de las principales obras del renacimiento español, con una riquísima decoración escultórica que simboliza vicios y virtudes, de Esteban Jamete, sobre un diseño realizado completamente por Vandelvira, precedente del que luego construiría en la Catedral de Jaén. Con arcos que dejan hornacinas para alojar las cajoneras donde se guardaran los ternos del culto, está decorada con toda clase de figuras, bustos y alegorías corpóreas. El entablamento está sostenido por cariátides que, a su vez, descansan en cabezas humanas. Las figuras que están en las enjutas de los arcos son las Sibilas. En la Sacristía hay restos de tablas del coro alto, sillerías del coro bajo, orfebrería de gran valor histórico y artístico, una arqueta-relicario, macolla y cañón de cruz, y algunas pinturas de distintas escuelas.

 

Destaca su originalísima puerta, realizada en una esquina, como una de las soluciones arquitectónicas más atrevidas y bellas de Vandelvira. Se dice que representa la Puerta del Eden. En lugar de columnas, hay cariátides con cestos de flores en la cabeza, que sostienen un doble entablamento separado por grutescos, sobre el cual, bajo dosel de piedra, está la Virgen de la Paz proclamando la concordia entre el poder y el pueblo, personificados por un emperador y un siervo que se arrodillan a su lado, completándose la decoración con dos angelotes.

Dentro del campo de la estereotomía, la solución de puerta en esviaje de esquina y rincón demuestra el alto grado de conocimiento arquitectónico por parte de Vandelvira.

 

UBEDA

  

Úbeda es una ciudad española y un municipio de la provincia de Jaén, capital de la comarca de La Loma de Úbeda, en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía. La ciudad, junto a la cercana Baeza, fue declarada Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 3 de julio de 2003, debido a la calidad y buena conservación de sus numerosos edificios renacentistas y de su singular entorno urbanístico.

  

La leyenda dice que Úbeda fue fundada por Túbal, un descendiente de Noé. Del mítico torreón del Rey Ibiut derivaría el nombre de la ciudad.

 

Si nos restringimos a la arqueología, los primeros asentamientos en Úbeda se remontan a la Edad del Cobre, en el actual Cerro del Alcázar. De hecho, las últimas investigaciones arqueológicas han arrojado seis mil años de antigüedad; Úbeda es la «ciudad más vieja —científicamente documentada— de Europa occidental». Lo asegura el equipo dirigido por el catedrático Francisco Nocete a la luz de los resultados que han arrojado 35 dataciones de Carbono-14 en el yacimiento de las Eras del Alcázar.

 

Existen restos calcolíticos, argáricos, oretanos, visigodos y tardorromanos, en el solar actual donde se asienta. A su vez había con anterioridad un importante oppida ibero de población autóctono, llamado Iltiraka en lengua íbera, y después dependiente de la Colonia romana de Salaria, es conocido como Úbeda la Vieja (o Ubeda Vethula), estando situado frente a la desembocadura del río Jandulilla en el Guadalquivir. En busca de intercambios llegan a Úbeda los griegos y más tarde los cartagineses con propósitos imperialistas, siendo vencidos por los romanos tras largas guerras.

 

Bajo el imperio romano, a partir de la Batalla de Ilipa en 206 a. C., la antigua ciudad-estado íbera se romaniza, ya sería conocida como La Betula (Baetula), siendo el centro de numerosa población diseminada. En tiempos de godos, los vándalos destruyeron la región al completo y sus moradores pasaron a concentrarse al sitio que hoy conocemos, llamado de Bétula Nova, por motivos más bien ignorados.

 

La ciudad como entidad con una cierta importancia reaparece con la llegada de los árabes, en particular con Abderramán II, quien la refunda con el nombre de Ubbada o Ubbadat Al-Arab (Úbeda "de los árabes"), con la intención de controlar desde aquí a los revueltos mozárabes de Baeza. En el siglo xi es objeto de disputa entre los reinos de taifa de Almería, Granada, Toledo y Sevilla, hasta su conquista por los almorávides. Como ciudad musulmana, se rodeó de más murallas defensivas y se convirtió en una de las ciudades de mayor importancia de Al-Ándalus, debido a su artesanía y comercio. Así llegó a convertirse en un rico e importante bastión que poseer.

 

Edad Media

 

Durante el año 1091 el rey de Toledo, Al-Mamún, lucha contra la rebelión interna de los moros andalusíes siendo Úbeda rendida por la fuerza a manos de Alfonso VI. A partir del siglo xii los reyes castellanos aumentan progresivamente la presión sobre el Alto Guadalquivir y Úbeda solo es mencionada en las fuentes escritas como escenario de episodios bélicos, por ejemplo cuando la región fue objeto de los ataques de Alfonso VII de León, primero en 1137 y posteriormente en 1147, momento en el que se apoderó de Úbeda, Baeza y Almería. Durante diez años la ciudad permaneció en manos de los castellanos, hasta que la contraofensiva almohade les obligó a retirarse en 1157. Reconquistada y devastada por Alfonso VIII tras la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, o Batalla de Úbeda, es perdida al poco tiempo. Entretanto la ciudad es saqueada y arrasada en varias ocasiones más, siendo definitivamente su población masacrada por los cruzados en la batalla de 1212.

 

En el año 1233, Úbeda es definitivamente conquistada por Fernando III de Castilla tras largo asedio, convirtiéndose en ciudad realenga y titular de un arciprestazgo:

Un hecho destacable es que la toma de Úbeda se realizó mediante capitulación, evitando una nueva matanza y posibilitando la coexistencia de distintas etnias que formaban una población de varias culturas (árabe, judía y cristiana). Durante más de dos siglos la ciudad participa activamente en la lucha contra los musulmanes, gozando de amplia autonomía en su gobierno local, regido por el Concejo apoyado por la veinticuatría.

 

Factor decisivo en este período es su importante valor geoestratégico. Durante casi tres siglos fue población fronteriza, primero de avanzada y luego muy cercana a la frontera entre los reinos de Granada y Castilla. Este hecho determina que los sucesivos reyes castellanos le otorguen numerosos privilegios y concesiones, como el Fuero de Cuenca, para favorecer la fijación de una población, formada por castellanos y navarro-aragoneses, que permanezca frente a circunstancias de vida adversas propias de una zona fronteriza. Así llegó a ser una de las 4 «ciudades mayores de la reconquista de el Andalucía».

 

Episodios como el de 1368, en el que la ciudad es asolada con motivo de la guerra civil entre Pedro I de Castilla y Enrique II de Trastámara, y el posterior saqueo de Pero Gil y los ejércitos de Muhammed V de Granada avivó la rivalidad entre los bandos locales, Traperas contra Arandas primero, luego Cuevas contra Molinas, tiñen de sangre su historia hasta las postrimerías del siglo xv. De hecho dieron lugar a que, a semejanza de lo ocurrido en Baeza, las murallas y torres del Alcázar fuesen demolidas en 1506 por orden real, a fin de poner paz entre dichos bandos.

 

La provincia de la jurisdicción de Úbeda se extendía desde Torres de Acún (Granada) hasta Santisteban del Puerto, pasando por Albánchez de Úbeda, Huesa y Canena, y a mitad del siglo xvi también incluía en su partido jurisdiccional a las villas de Cabra del Santo Cristo, Jimena, Quesada, Peal, Sabiote y Torreperogil.

 

Esplendor

 

Este cúmulo de factores —situación geográfica y consiguiente dominio de vías de comunicación, su extensa y rica jurisdicción, gran alfoz y presencia de una nobleza cada vez más poderosa— sentó las bases a lo largo de los siglos xiv y xv del esplendor de la Úbeda del siglo xvi. Al finalizar la conquista de Granada, asistimos a un desarrollo económico de la ciudad basado en la agricultura y en una importante ganadería caballar y mesta propia, que fundamenta el periodo de mayor esplendor de la ciudad, siendo muy importante la roturación de bosques y puesta en valor de nuevas tierras. La paz y el desarrollo económico lleva consigo un aumento demográfico, alcanzando la ciudad una población de 18 000 habitantes, siendo una de las más populosas de toda España. Comenzando con Ruy López Dávalos, Condestable de Castilla con Enrique III y Beltrán de la Cueva, valido de Enrique IV, sus nobles encuentran acomodo en altos cargos de la administración imperial.

 

Tras la nobleza ubetense, y las órdenes de caballería, el siguiente gran estamento privilegiado es el clero. La diócesis de Jaén es enormemente rica, su mitra, posiblemente, fuera una de las más ricas de España, y el clero ubetense tenía altos cargos en ella. También hallamos un colectivo de vecinos que han prosperado —judíos o muladíes mayormente— y que genéricamente hubieran sido el germen de una incipiente burguesía. Se trata de profesionales, tales como médicos, sastres, escribanos, boticarios y, naturalmente, un estimable número de mercaderes ricos. Más abajo, existía todo un variado repertorio gremial propio de un núcleo de población rico y expansivo, mención especial al gremio de los pastores y ganaderos. El ejército y la milicia cerraban este grueso estamento. El tercer estamento era un número basto de labriegos de las tierras de los nobles y pequeños campesinos.

 

Especialmente destacable es el papel de Francisco de los Cobos, secretario del Emperador Carlos I. Con él entra el gusto por el arte en Úbeda, y como si fuera una pequeña corte italiana, de manos del arquitecto Andrés de Vandelvira y sus seguidores, Úbeda se llena de palacios. Su sobrino, Juan Vázquez de Molina, secretario de Estado de Carlos I, y de su hijo, Felipe II, continúa lo iniciado. En toda Úbeda arraigan fuerte las corrientes humanistas del Primer Renacimiento.

 

En 1526 el Emperador Carlos visita la ciudad y jura guardar los privilegios, fueros y mercedes concedidas a Úbeda.

 

Declive

 

Los siglos xvii y xviii son de decadencia para la ciudad, inmersa en la crisis general de España, que ve cómo su pasado esplendor se apaga. La falta de una política proteccionista para la artesanía, las importaciones de la lana de Burgos, la subida de los precios por las malas cosechas, la injusta presión fiscal para las guerras, la corrupción, el poder del Clero, el proceso inflacionista por abundancia de metales, las continuas levas militares, las epidemias, y la emigración a Indias son algunos de los factores que contribuyeron a esa merma. Úbeda perdió hasta el control del tráfico de madera de los robles y pinos del Segura, en favor de comerciantes sevillanos. Todo ello va descapitalizando a la ciudad, agudizando las diferencias sociales e incrementando la miseria de la mayoría. Algunas fechas de los desastres que asolaron la ciudad en esta etapa fueron las pestes de 1585 y 1681 y el terremoto de Lisboa de 1755, que quebranta bastantes casas de la ciudad. Para rematar, la persecución de los cristianos nuevos y la expulsión de los moriscos en 1609 va a ser seriamente lamentado por el Concejo, por el impacto económico al perder su más valioso tejido económico.

 

La cruda decadencia se hace manifiesta a partir de 1700 con la larga Guerra de Sucesión. Los vecinos de Úbeda vivirán la Guerra de Sucesión con intensidad creciente. Sus aportaciones en caballos, armas, municiones, dinero o tropas son continuas, resultando difícil en ocasiones comprender de dónde provienen tales fuerzas en un pueblo debilitado por el hambre y la enfermedad. Tal fue la presión impositiva y la injusticia al quedar exentas las clases poderosas, que la población hambrienta se amotinó el 19 de marzo de 1706, contra los cobradores de las rentas reales. Como consecuencia de la guerra, Úbeda se empobreció en extremo y aumentó la conflictividad a límites desconocidos. El concejo tuvo que vender sus mejores fincas de propios para afrontar urgentes pagos de milicias. Sin duda hubo recesión demográfica, al coincidir la guerra con crisis de hambre y enfermedades generalizadas. En estos años, muchas villas de su territorio se independizan. Se puede concluir, que Úbeda sufre uno de los peores momentos de su historia, solo tocando fondo hacia 1735. Pero el mal en Úbeda y otros lugares estaba hecho, y era difícil dar marcha atrás al reloj de la Historia.

 

Posteriormente, con la guerra de la independencia española, durante la que los franceses permanecen entre 1810 y 1813 en la ciudad, se trunca la recuperación, las penalidades vuelven, se ocasionan saqueos y grandes perjuicios económicos. La situación llevó a Úbeda a un estado de "ruina económica", que la había conducido a extremos tales como la absoluta carencia de ganados para laborear el campo, de semillas para efectuar la siembra y aún de los medios más precisos para la subsistencia de la población.

 

Las desamortizaciones eclesiásticas de 1820 y 1836, supondrían que todos los conventos de la ciudad —con excepción de Santa Clara y las Carmelitas— fueran expropiados y vendidos en subasta pública. Ello significaría la total transformación de espacios urbanos de la ciudad, cambiando de uso algunos de estos edificios para albergar colegios, cuarteles, cárceles, etcétera y, en el peor de los casos, que fueran demolidos sus viejos inmuebles por amenaza de ruina. En suma, la ciudad vuelve a recuperarse hasta finales del siglo xix; es cuando comenzó a experimentar un pequeño resurgir con la mejora en avances técnicos, que llegan con retraso a la ciudad, que sigue siendo un medio rural no afectado apenas por la revolución industrial y cada vez más alejado de los centros de poder.

 

Úbeda continúa una larga existencia anodina, y sus palacios ya vacíos de lujos, permanecen abandonados.

 

Recuperación

 

Quedaban aún por sufrir los efectos de las guerras carlistas y las sucesivas revoluciones liberales que convulsionaron la vida de la ciudad. Las bases del liberalismo en Úbeda se basan en el predominio en la política de los grandes propietarios agrarios, y se instaura el caciquismo y el falseamiento electoral. A finales del siglo xix la pequeña burguesía con algunos terratenientes ubetenses hacen renacer la actividad en la ciudad gracias a la agricultura y la industria. Durante los años 20 del siglo xx, la retórica regeneracionista, cuya ambiciosa idea era lanzar a Úbeda a un nuevo Renacimiento, pone en práctica numerosos proyectos de reformas y mejoras en la ciudad. En éstos años, se extiende la educación y los servicios básicos. Fue también en esta época cuando empezaron las obras de la línea ferroviaria Baeza-Utiel, que habría llevado el ferrocarril a Úbeda y habría supuesto una importante conexión por ferrocarril con el Levante. Las obras de la ferrocarril, sin embargo, se alargaron durante tres décadas y la línea sería finalmente abandonada hacia 1964, cuando su construcción se encontraba ya muy avanzada.​ Por esta época fue también muy destacada la actividad del general Leopoldo Saro Marín,​ que aunque no era jienense, estaba emparentado con la provincia y con Úbeda por vínculos familiares. Además del nonato ferrocarril, la influencia del general Saro facilitó la construcción de la Biblioteca municipal, el Parador de Turismo, la Escuela de Artes y Oficios o la reconstrucción de la Casa de las Torres.

 

Úbeda llegó a contar con un periódico diario editado en la localidad, La Provincia, entre 1921 y 1936.​

 

Durante la Guerra civil, la violencia, represión y venganza política sumieron a Úbeda en una larga fase de depresión. La ciudad no fue frente de guerra, pero sufrió las sacas de presos de uno y otro bando. Así, empezó en la noche del 30 al 31 de julio de 1936, cuando las milicias republicanas sacaron a los presos políticos que, en número de 47 se encontraban en la cárcel de Partido, y los asesinaron. La posguerra es aún recordada por sus contemporáneos como «los años del hambre».

 

Durante los años 60 y 70 la industria local tiene un fuerte repunte gracias al tirón desarrollista, pero insuficiente para absorber el fuerte incremento de población, avocada a la emigración. Lentamente, la que fue «la Florencia de la Alta Andalucía», va a ir alcanzando el lugar actual como referente provincial, cabecera de la comarca y como un centro de industria y servicios a nivel regional de importancia creciente.

 

El 3 de julio de 2003 es nombrada, junto con su vecina Baeza, Patrimonio de la Humanidad.

  

Hyoscyamus niger

 

Famiglia:Solanaceae

 

Distribuzione: Ampiamente diffusa in tutta l’America del Nord, in Europa è presente fino alla Scandinavia, in Italia è presente quasi dovunque, assente in Piemonte e nella Val Padana, in Sardegna è presente su tutto il territorio.

Nome comune: Giusquiamo nero, distinto dal giusquiamo bianco, Hyoscyamus albus) è una pianta erbacea velenosa, annua o bienne, della famiglia Solanacee, la pianta in passato è stata usata per i suoi effetti farmacologici.

 

Nell'antichità e nel Medioevo aveva fama di erba magica ed era usato come narcotico o per favorire la pioggia.

 

Etimologia: il termine generico dal greco "hyòs-kiaos" = fava del porco. La tradizione vuole infatti che il maiale potesse cibarsene senza conseguenze, mentre l’uomo ne restasse avvelenato. Il termine specifico dal latino "niger" = nero, perché la corolla all'interno presenta un reticolo violaceo che tende sul fondo ad infittirsi e a creare una macchia scura.

Tutte le parti della pianta sono altamente tossiche, se ingerite possono provocare convulsioni, difficoltà respiratorie e addirittura la morte.

Curiosità: Nel XV secolo questa pianta veniva utilizzata come narcotico e analgesico nel corso delle operazioni chirurgiche.

 

Henbane

 

Family: Solanaceae

 

Distribution: Widely spread throughout North America, Europe is up to Scandinavia, Italy is present almost everywhere, absent in Piedmont and the Po Valley, Sardinia is present throughout.

Common name: black henbane, distinct from the white henbane, Hyoscyamus albus) is a poisonous herb, annual or biannual, of the family Solanaceae, the plant in the past has been used for its pharmacological effects.

 

In antiquity and the Middle Ages he had a reputation for magic herb and was used as a narcotic or to assist in the rain.

 

Etymology: the generic term from the greek "hyòs-kiaos" = bean pork. Tradition has it that the pig could eat it without consequences, while the man will remain poisoned. The specific term from the Latin "niger" = black, because the corolla inside presents a grid of blue on the bottom that tends to thicken and create a dark spot.

All parts of the plant are highly toxic when ingested can cause convulsions, breathing difficulties and even death.

 

Trivia: In the fifteenth century this plant was used as a narcotic and analgesic during surgery.

 

Hyoscyamus niger

Nombre comun: Beleño

 

Familia: Solanaceae

 

Distribución: Ampliamente extendido por toda América del Norte, Europa es hasta Escandinavia, Italia está presente en casi todas partes, ausente en el Piamonte y el Valle del Po, Cerdeña está presente en todas partes.

Nombre común: el beleño negro, distinto del beleño blanco, Hyoscyamus albus) es una hierba venenosa, anual o bianual, de la familia de las solanáceas, la planta en el pasado se ha utilizado por sus efectos farmacológicos.

 

En la Antigüedad y la Edad Media tenía una reputación de hierba mágica y fue utilizado como un narcótico o para ayudar en la lluvia.

 

Etimología: el término genérico deriva del griego "HYOS-kiaos" cerdo = frijol. La tradición dice que el cerdo podía comer sin consecuencias, mientras que el hombre permanecerá envenenado. El término específico de la "niger" América = negro, porque el interior de la corola presenta una cuadrícula de azul en la parte inferior que tiende a espesar y crear una mancha oscura.

Todas las partes de la planta son muy tóxicos cuando se ingiere puede causar convulsiones, dificultades e incluso la muerte para respirar.

 

Anécdota: En el siglo XV se utilizó esta planta como un narcótico y analgésico durante la cirugía.

 

Person Getting Tasered.

Passions unbound,αθώος unsound all alone,

thoughts thunder, mutable screams 'tis a weapons aim,

tempered convulsions, cradle to a slumbers end,

desolation, is thou attainment thee hast caught,

deplorable struggle, crushing thy will of wrong'd gloom,

justice enslaves, a wish, thoust wills not heard,

plunge forward, thee pain thoust wears to thy ground,

thou shattered frailties, turns to grief of tears spread,

strain'd to dreary piercing shakes desolation roll,

right or iniuriam, thy taser understands nay,

permanent tales of tyrannies powers fear'd!

Steve.D.Hammond.

The Pus caterpillars are nearing maturity at this point, but will turn gray or dark brown in full maturity... AVOID THEM AT ALL COST... they are North America's most venomous caterpillars and their sting can cause nausea, low blood pressure, muscle spasms, and even convulsions in more susceptible people!

El taguató común mide entre 34 y 38 cms. pesando aprox. 290-300 grs., de las cortas y redondeadas, cabeza y dorso gris parduzco, el pecho es gris mas claro u opaco. Pecho y vientre acanalado con barreteado grisáceo y rufo descolorido mas atrás. Las primarias son rojizas con barretas y puntos negros. Ojo amarillo claro o blanco. Patas amarillas. Los jóvenes con algo de blancuzco en la cabeza y marrón claro en el dorso.

Vive en sabanas, áreas de bosques chaqueños, pastizales, arboledas cultivadas y bordes de bosques. No son carroñeros, se alimentan de insectos (langostas, mariposas y escarabajos), reptiles como lagartijas y serpientes, mamíferos pequeños (roedores) y raras veces de aves. También vertebrados que son golpeados por automoviles y que aún se convulsionen. De vuelo muy batido, confiado, poco activo, solitario y sedentario. Suele posarse en los costados de los caminos y rutas en postes y árboles. Construye su nido a media altura de los árboles, lejos del tronco en forma de plataforma hecha con palitos. Coloca 2 huevos de color blanco opacos con manchas y puntitos marrón oscuro.

The genus Pulsatilla contains about 33 species of herbaceous perennials native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Common names include pasque flower (or pasqueflower), wind flower, prairie crocus, Easter flower, and meadow anemone. Several species are valued ornamentals because of their finely-dissected leaves, solitary bell-shaped flowers, and plumed seed heads. The showy part of the flower consists of sepals, not petals.

The flower blooms early in spring, which leads to the common name Pasque flower, since Pasque refers to Easter (Passover). In South Dakota in the center of North America, the flower sprouts from late March through early June.

 

Pulsatilla is highly toxic, and produces cardiogenic toxins and oxytoxins which slow the heart in humans. Excess use can lead to diarrhea, vomiting and convulsions, hypotension and coma. It has been used as a medicine by Native Americans for centuries. Blackfoot Indians used it to induce abortions and childbirth. Pulsatilla should not be taken during pregnancy nor during lactation.

 

Extracts of Pulsatilla have been used to treat reproductive problems such as premenstrual syndrome and epididymitis. Additional applications of plant extracts include uses as a sedative and for treating coughs. It is also used as an initial ingredient in homeopathic remedies

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

El taguató común mide entre 34 y 38 cms. pesando aprox. 290-300 grs., de las cortas y redondeadas, cabeza y dorso gris parduzco, el pecho es gris mas claro u opaco. Pecho y vientre acanalado con barreteado grisáceo y rufo descolorido mas atrás. Las primarias son rojizas con barretas y puntos negros. Ojo amarillo claro o blanco. Patas amarillas. Los jóvenes con algo de blancuzco en la cabeza y marrón claro en el dorso.

Vive en sabanas, áreas de bosques chaqueños, pastizales, arboledas cultivadas y bordes de bosques. No son carroñeros, se alimentan de insectos (langostas, mariposas y escarabajos), reptiles como lagartijas y serpientes, mamíferos pequeños (roedores) y raras veces de aves. También vertebrados que son golpeados por automoviles y que aún se convulsionen. De vuelo muy batido, confiado, poco activo, solitario y sedentario. Suele posarse en los costados de los caminos y rutas en postes y árboles. Construye su nido a media altura de los árboles, lejos del tronco en forma de plataforma hecha con palitos. Coloca 2 huevos de color blanco opacos con manchas y puntitos marrón oscuro.

“Laughter is an interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarticulate noises. It is infectious and, though intermittent, incurable.” ~Ambrose Bierce

Que la Pascua nos traiga en este mundo convulsionado

PAZ

AMOR

FE

ESPERANZA

SOLIDARIDAD

RECONCILIACION

youtu.be/9EfgDQKBjSo

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Monasterio de Piedra Enya Watermark & Marble Halls

  

Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. It is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red or black bands, and ostentatious dorsal fins tipped with venomous spines. Pterois radiata, Pterois volitans, and Pterois miles are the most commonly studied species in the genus. Pterois species are popular aquarium fish. P. volitans and P. miles are recent and significant invasive species in the west Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

 

Taxonomy

Pterois was described as a genus in 1817 by German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist Lorenz Oken. In 1856 the French naturalist Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest designated Scorpaena volitans, which had been named by Bloch in 1787 and which was the same as Linnaeus's 1758 Gasterosteus volitans, as the type species of the genus. This genus is classified within the tribe Pteroini of the subfamily Scorpaeninae within the family Scorpaenidae. The genus name Pterois is based on Georges Cuvier's 1816 French name, “Les Pterois”, meaning "fins" which is an allusion to the high dorsal and long pectoral fins.

 

Description

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “lionfish have distinctive brown or maroon, and white stripes or bands covering the head and body. They have fleshy tentacles above their eyes and below the mouth; fan-like pectoral fins; long, separated dorsal spines; 13 dorsal spines; 10-11 dorsal soft rays; 3 anal spines; and 6-7 anal soft rays. An adult lionfish can grow as large as 18 inches.”

 

Juvenile lionfish have a unique tentacle located above their eye sockets that varies in phenotype between species. The evolution of this tentacle is suggested to serve to continually attract new prey; studies also suggest it plays a role in sexual selection.

 

Ecology and behavior

Pterois species can live from 5 to 15 years and have complex courtship and mating behaviors. Females frequently release two mucus-filled egg clusters, which can contain as many as 15,000 eggs.

 

All species are aposematic; they have conspicuous coloration with boldly contrasting stripes and wide fans of projecting spines, advertising their ability to defend themselves.

 

Prey

Pterois prey mostly on small fish, invertebrates, and mollusks, with up to six different species of prey found in the gastrointestinal tracts of some specimens. Lionfish feed most actively in the morning. Lionfish are skilled hunters, using specialized swim bladder muscles to provide precise control of their location in the water column, allowing them to alter their center of gravity to better attack prey. They blow jets of water while approaching prey, which serves to confuse them and alter the orientation of the prey so that the smaller fish is facing the lionfish. This results in a higher degree of predatory efficiency as head-first capture is easier for the lionfish. The lionfish then spreads its large pectoral fins and swallows its prey in a single motion.

 

Predators and parasites

Aside from instances of larger lionfish individuals engaging in cannibalism on smaller individuals, adult lionfish have few identified natural predators, likely due to the effectiveness of their venomous spines: when threatened, a lionfish will orient its body to keep its dorsal fin pointed at the predator, even if this means swimming upsidedown. This does not always save it, however: Moray eels, bluespotted cornetfish, barracuda and large groupers have been observed preying on lionfish. Sharks are also believed to be capable of preying on lionfish with no ill effects from their spines. Park officials of the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras have attempted to train sharks to feed on lionfish to control the invasive populations in the Caribbean. The Bobbit worm, an ambush predator, has been filmed preying upon lionfish in Indonesia.[31] Predators of larvae and juvenile lionfish remain unknown, but may prove to be the primary limiting factor of lionfish populations in their native range.

 

Parasites of lionfish have rarely been observed, and are assumed to be infrequent. They include isopods and leeches.

 

Interaction with humans

Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, which makes them hazardous to other marine animals, as well as humans. Pterois venom produced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects when tested in both frog and clam hearts and has a depressive effect on rabbit blood pressure. These results are thought to be due to nitric oxide release. In humans, Pterois venom can cause systemic effects such as pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, numbness, paresthesia, diarrhea, sweating, temporary paralysis of the limbs, respiratory insufficiency, heart failure, convulsions, and even death. Fatalities are more common in very young children, the elderly, or those who are allergic to the venom. The venom is rarely fatal to healthy adults, but some species have enough venom to produce extreme discomfort for a period of several days. Moreover, Pterois venom poses a danger to allergic victims as they may experience anaphylaxis, a serious and often life-threatening condition that requires immediate emergency medical treatment. Severe allergic reactions to Pterois venom include chest pain, severe breathing difficulties, a drop in blood pressure, swelling of the tongue, sweating, or slurred speech. Such reactions can be fatal if not treated.

 

Native range and habitat

The lionfish is native to the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean. They can be found around the seaward edge of shallow coral reefs, lagoons, rocky substrates, and on mesophotic reefs, and can live in areas of varying salinity, temperature, and depth. They are also frequently found in turbid inshore areas and harbors, and have a generally hostile attitude and are territorial toward other reef fish. They are commonly found from shallow waters down to past 100 m (330 ft) depth, and have in several locations been recorded to 300 m depth. Many universities in the Indo-Pacific have documented reports of Pterois aggression toward divers and researchers. P. volitans and P. miles are native to subtropical and tropical regions from southern Japan and southern Korea to the east coast of Australia, Indonesia, Micronesia, French Polynesia, and the South Pacific Ocean. P. miles is also found in the Indian Ocean, from Sumatra to Sri Lanka and the Red Sea.

 

Invasive introduction and range

Two of the 12 species of Pterois, the red lionfish (P. volitans) and the common lionfish (P. miles), have established themselves as significant invasive species off the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. About 93% of the invasive population in the Western Atlantic is P. volitans.

 

The red lionfish is found off the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean Sea, and was likely first introduced off the Florida coast by the early to mid-1980s. This introduction may have occurred in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium in southern Florida, releasing six lionfish into Biscayne Bay. A lionfish was discovered off the coast of Dania Beach, south Florida, as early as 1985, before Hurricane Andrew. The lionfish resemble those of the Philippines, implicating the aquarium trade, suggesting individuals may have been purposely discarded by dissatisfied aquarium enthusiasts. This is in part because lionfish require an experienced aquarist, but are often sold to novices who find their care too difficult. In 2001, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documented several sightings of lionfish off the coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Bermuda, and Delaware. In August 2014, when the Gulf Stream was discharging into the mouth of the Delaware Bay, two lionfish were caught by a surf fisherman off the ocean side shore of Cape Henlopen State Park: a red lionfish that weighed 1 pound 4+1⁄2 ounces (580 g) and a common lionfish that weighed 1 pound 2 ounces (510 g). Three days later, a 1-pound-3-ounce (540 g) red lionfish was caught off the shore of Broadkill Beach which is in the Delaware Bay approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Cape Henlopen State Park. Lionfish were first detected in the Bahamas in 2004. In June 2013 lionfish were discovered as far east as Barbados, and as far south as the Los Roques Archipelago and many Venezuelan continental beaches. Lionfish were first sighted in Brazilian waters in late 2014. Genetic testing on a single captured individual revealed that it was related to the populations found in the Caribbean, suggesting larval dispersal rather than an intentional release.

  

P. volitans is the most abundant species of the invasive lionfish population in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Adult lionfish specimens are now found along the United States East Coast from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Florida, and along the Gulf Coast to Texas. They are also found off Bermuda, the Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Belize, Honduras, Colombia and Mexico. Population densities continue to increase in the invaded areas, resulting in a population boom of up to 700% in some areas between 2004 and 2008.

 

Pterois species are known for devouring many other aquarium fishes, unusual in that they are among the few fish species to successfully establish populations in open marine systems.

 

Pelagic larval dispersion is assumed to occur through oceanic currents, including the Gulf Stream and the Caribbean Current. Ballast water can also contribute to the dispersal.

 

Extreme temperatures present geographical constraints in the distribution of aquatic species, indicating temperature tolerance plays a role in the lionfish's survival, reproduction, and range of distribution. The abrupt differences in water temperatures north and south of Cape Hatteras directly correlate with the abundance and distribution of Pterois. Pterois expanded along the southeastern coast of the United States and occupied thermal-appropriate zones within 10 years, and the shoreward expansion of this thermally appropriate habitat is expected in coming decades as winter water temperatures warm in response to anthropogenic climate change. Although the timeline of observations points to the east coast of Florida as the initial source of the western Atlantic invasion, the relationship of the United States East Coast and Bahamian lionfish invasion is uncertain. Lionfish can tolerate a minimum salinity of 5 ppt (0.5%) and even withstand pulses of fresh water, which means they can also be found in estuaries of freshwater rivers.

 

The lionfish invasion is considered to be one of the most serious recent threats to Caribbean and Florida coral reef ecosystems. To help address the pervasive problem, in 2015, the NOAA partnered with the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute to set up a lionfish portal to provide scientifically accurate information on the invasion and its impacts. The lionfish web portal is aimed at all those involved and affected, including coastal managers, educators, and the public, and the portal was designed as a source of training videos, fact sheets, examples of management plans, and guidelines for monitoring. The web portal draws on the expertise of NOAA's own scientists, as well as that of other scientists and policy makers from academia or NGOs, and managers.

 

Mediterranean

Lionfish have also established themselves in parts of the Mediterranean - with records down to 110 m depth. Lionfish have been found in Maltese waters and waters of other Mediterranean countires, as well as Croatia. Warming sea temperatures may be allowing lionfish to further expand their range in the Mediterranean.

 

Long-term effects of invasion

Lionfish have successfully pioneered the coastal waters of the Atlantic in less than a decade, and pose a major threat to reef ecological systems in these areas. A study comparing their abundance from Florida to North Carolina with several species of groupers found they were second only to the native scamp grouper and equally abundant to the graysby, gag, and rock hind. This could be due to a surplus of resource availability resulting from the overfishing of lionfish predators like grouper. Although the lionfish has not expanded to a population size currently causing major ecological problems, their invasion in the United States coastal waters could lead to serious problems in the future. One likely ecological impact caused by Pterois could be their impact on prey population numbers by directly affecting food web relationships. This could ultimately lead to reef deterioration and could negatively influence Atlantic trophic cascade. Lionfish have already been shown to overpopulate reef areas and display aggressive tendencies, forcing native species to move to waters where conditions might be less than favorable.

 

Lionfish could be reducing Atlantic reef diversity by up to 80%. In July 2011, lionfish were reported for the first time in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Louisiana. Sanctuary officials said they believe the species will be a permanent fixture, but hope to monitor and possibly limit their presence.

 

Since lionfish thrive so well in the Atlantic and the Caribbean due to nutrient-rich waters and lack of predators, the species has spread tremendously. A single lionfish, located on a reef, reduced young juvenile reef fish populations by 79%.

 

Control and eradication efforts

Red lionfish are an invasive species, yet relatively little is known about them. NOAA research foci include investigating biotechnical solutions for control of the population, and understanding how the larvae are dispersed. Another important area of study is what controls the population in its native area. Researchers hope to discover what moderates lionfish populations in the Indo-Pacific and apply this information to control the invasive populations, without introducing additional invasive species.

 

Two new trap designs have been introduced to help with deep-water control of the lionfish. The traps are low and vertical and remain open the entire time of deployment. The vertical relief of the trap attracts lionfish, which makes catching them easier. These new traps are good for catching lionfish without affecting the native species that are ecologically, recreationally, and commercially important to the surrounding areas. These traps are more beneficial than older traps because they limit the potential of catching noninvasive creatures, they have bait that is only appealing to lionfish, they guarantee a catch, and they are easy to transport.

 

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are being developed to help hunt the lionfish. The Reefsweeper ROV uses a harpoon gun to snag it's target. The vehicle is able to hunt fish that may not otherwise be obtainable through human intervention alone.

 

Rigorous and repeated removal of lionfish from invaded waters could potentially control the exponential expansion of the lionfish in invaded waters. A 2010 study showed effective maintenance would require the monthly harvest of at least 27% of the adult population. Because lionfish are able to reproduce monthly, this effort must be maintained throughout the entire year.

 

Even to accomplish these numbers seems unlikely, but as populations of lionfish continue to grow throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, actions are being taken to attempt to control the quickly growing numbers. In November 2010, for the first time the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary began licensing divers to kill lionfish inside the sanctuary in an attempt to eradicate the fish

 

Conservation groups and community organizations in the Eastern United States have organized hunting expeditions for Pterois such as the Environment Education Foundation's 'lionfish derby' held annually in Florida. Divemasters from Cozumel to the Honduran Bay Islands and at Reef Conservation International which operates in the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve off Punta Gorda, Belize, now routinely spear them during dives.[citation needed] While diver culling removes lionfish from shallow reefs reducing their densities, lionfish have widely been reported on mesophotic coral ecosystems (reefs from 30 to 150 m) in the western Atlantic and even in deep-sea habitats (greater than 200 m depth). Recent studies have suggested that the effects of culling are likely to be depth-specific, and so have limited impacts on these deeper reef populations. Therefore, other approaches such as trapping are advocated for removing lionfish from deeper reef habitats.

 

Long-term culling has also been recorded to cause behavior changes in lionfish populations. For example, in the Bahamas, lionfish on heavily culled reefs have become more wary of divers and hide more within the reef structure during the day when culling occurs. Similar lionfish responses to divers have been observed when comparing culled sites and sites without culling in Honduras, including altered lionfish behaviour on reefs too deep for regular culling, but adjacent to heavily culled sites potentially implying movement of individuals between depths.

 

While culling by marine protection agencies and volunteer divers is an important element of control efforts, development of market-based approaches, which create commercial incentives for removals, has been seen as a means to sustain control efforts. The foremost of these market approaches is the promotion of lionfish as a food item. Another is the use of lionfish spines, fins, and tails for jewelry and other decorative items. Lionfish jewelry production initiatives are underway in Belize, the Bahamas, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.

 

In 2014 at Jardines de la Reina National Marine Park in Cuba, a diver experimented with spearing and feeding lionfish to sharks in an effort to teach them to seek out the fish as prey. By 2016, Cuba was finding it more effective to fish for lionfish as food.

 

"Lionfish as Food" campaign

In 2010, NOAA (which also encourages people to report lionfish sightings, to help track lionfish population dispersal) began a campaign to encourage the consumption of the fish. The "Lionfish as Food" campaign encourages human hunting of the fish as the only form of control known to date. Increasing the catch of lionfish could not only help maintain a reasonable population density, but also provide an alternative fishing source to overfished populations, such as grouper and snapper. The taste is described as "buttery and tender". To promote the campaign, the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia agreed to have their clergy's sermons suggest to their parishioners (84% of the population) eating lionfish on Fridays, Lent, and Easter, which proved highly successful in decreasing the invasive fish problem.

 

When properly filleted, the naturally venomous fish is safe to eat. Some concern exists about the risk of ciguatera food poisoning (CFP) from the consumption of lionfish, and the FDA included lionfish on the list of species at risk for CFP when lionfish are harvested in some areas tested positive for ciguatera. No cases of CFP from the consumption of lionfish have been verified, and published research has found that the toxins in lionfish venom may be causing false positives in tests for the presence of ciguatera. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation provides advice to restaurant chefs on how they can incorporate the fish into their menus. The NOAA calls the lionfish a "delicious, delicately flavored fish" similar in texture to grouper. Cooking techniques and preparations for lionfish include deep-frying, ceviche, jerky, grilling, and sashimi.

 

Another initiative is centered around the production of leather from lionfish hides. It seeks to establish a production chain and market for high-quality leather produced from the hides. The goal is to control invasive lionfish populations while providing economic benefits to local fishing communities.

UBEDA

  

Úbeda es una ciudad española y un municipio de la provincia de Jaén, capital de la comarca de La Loma de Úbeda, en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía. La ciudad, junto a la cercana Baeza, fue declarada Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 3 de julio de 2003, debido a la calidad y buena conservación de sus numerosos edificios renacentistas y de su singular entorno urbanístico.

  

La leyenda dice que Úbeda fue fundada por Túbal, un descendiente de Noé. Del mítico torreón del Rey Ibiut derivaría el nombre de la ciudad.

 

Si nos restringimos a la arqueología, los primeros asentamientos en Úbeda se remontan a la Edad del Cobre, en el actual Cerro del Alcázar. De hecho, las últimas investigaciones arqueológicas han arrojado seis mil años de antigüedad; Úbeda es la «ciudad más vieja —científicamente documentada— de Europa occidental». Lo asegura el equipo dirigido por el catedrático Francisco Nocete a la luz de los resultados que han arrojado 35 dataciones de Carbono-14 en el yacimiento de las Eras del Alcázar.

 

Existen restos calcolíticos, argáricos, oretanos, visigodos y tardorromanos, en el solar actual donde se asienta. A su vez había con anterioridad un importante oppida ibero de población autóctono, llamado Iltiraka en lengua íbera, y después dependiente de la Colonia romana de Salaria, es conocido como Úbeda la Vieja (o Ubeda Vethula), estando situado frente a la desembocadura del río Jandulilla en el Guadalquivir. En busca de intercambios llegan a Úbeda los griegos y más tarde los cartagineses con propósitos imperialistas, siendo vencidos por los romanos tras largas guerras.

 

Bajo el imperio romano, a partir de la Batalla de Ilipa en 206 a. C., la antigua ciudad-estado íbera se romaniza, ya sería conocida como La Betula (Baetula), siendo el centro de numerosa población diseminada. En tiempos de godos, los vándalos destruyeron la región al completo y sus moradores pasaron a concentrarse al sitio que hoy conocemos, llamado de Bétula Nova, por motivos más bien ignorados.

 

La ciudad como entidad con una cierta importancia reaparece con la llegada de los árabes, en particular con Abderramán II, quien la refunda con el nombre de Ubbada o Ubbadat Al-Arab (Úbeda "de los árabes"), con la intención de controlar desde aquí a los revueltos mozárabes de Baeza. En el siglo xi es objeto de disputa entre los reinos de taifa de Almería, Granada, Toledo y Sevilla, hasta su conquista por los almorávides. Como ciudad musulmana, se rodeó de más murallas defensivas y se convirtió en una de las ciudades de mayor importancia de Al-Ándalus, debido a su artesanía y comercio. Así llegó a convertirse en un rico e importante bastión que poseer.

 

Edad Media

 

Durante el año 1091 el rey de Toledo, Al-Mamún, lucha contra la rebelión interna de los moros andalusíes siendo Úbeda rendida por la fuerza a manos de Alfonso VI. A partir del siglo xii los reyes castellanos aumentan progresivamente la presión sobre el Alto Guadalquivir y Úbeda solo es mencionada en las fuentes escritas como escenario de episodios bélicos, por ejemplo cuando la región fue objeto de los ataques de Alfonso VII de León, primero en 1137 y posteriormente en 1147, momento en el que se apoderó de Úbeda, Baeza y Almería. Durante diez años la ciudad permaneció en manos de los castellanos, hasta que la contraofensiva almohade les obligó a retirarse en 1157. Reconquistada y devastada por Alfonso VIII tras la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, o Batalla de Úbeda, es perdida al poco tiempo. Entretanto la ciudad es saqueada y arrasada en varias ocasiones más, siendo definitivamente su población masacrada por los cruzados en la batalla de 1212.

 

En el año 1233, Úbeda es definitivamente conquistada por Fernando III de Castilla tras largo asedio, convirtiéndose en ciudad realenga y titular de un arciprestazgo:

Un hecho destacable es que la toma de Úbeda se realizó mediante capitulación, evitando una nueva matanza y posibilitando la coexistencia de distintas etnias que formaban una población de varias culturas (árabe, judía y cristiana). Durante más de dos siglos la ciudad participa activamente en la lucha contra los musulmanes, gozando de amplia autonomía en su gobierno local, regido por el Concejo apoyado por la veinticuatría.

 

Factor decisivo en este período es su importante valor geoestratégico. Durante casi tres siglos fue población fronteriza, primero de avanzada y luego muy cercana a la frontera entre los reinos de Granada y Castilla. Este hecho determina que los sucesivos reyes castellanos le otorguen numerosos privilegios y concesiones, como el Fuero de Cuenca, para favorecer la fijación de una población, formada por castellanos y navarro-aragoneses, que permanezca frente a circunstancias de vida adversas propias de una zona fronteriza. Así llegó a ser una de las 4 «ciudades mayores de la reconquista de el Andalucía».

 

Episodios como el de 1368, en el que la ciudad es asolada con motivo de la guerra civil entre Pedro I de Castilla y Enrique II de Trastámara, y el posterior saqueo de Pero Gil y los ejércitos de Muhammed V de Granada avivó la rivalidad entre los bandos locales, Traperas contra Arandas primero, luego Cuevas contra Molinas, tiñen de sangre su historia hasta las postrimerías del siglo xv. De hecho dieron lugar a que, a semejanza de lo ocurrido en Baeza, las murallas y torres del Alcázar fuesen demolidas en 1506 por orden real, a fin de poner paz entre dichos bandos.

 

La provincia de la jurisdicción de Úbeda se extendía desde Torres de Acún (Granada) hasta Santisteban del Puerto, pasando por Albánchez de Úbeda, Huesa y Canena, y a mitad del siglo xvi también incluía en su partido jurisdiccional a las villas de Cabra del Santo Cristo, Jimena, Quesada, Peal, Sabiote y Torreperogil.

 

Esplendor

 

Este cúmulo de factores —situación geográfica y consiguiente dominio de vías de comunicación, su extensa y rica jurisdicción, gran alfoz y presencia de una nobleza cada vez más poderosa— sentó las bases a lo largo de los siglos xiv y xv del esplendor de la Úbeda del siglo xvi. Al finalizar la conquista de Granada, asistimos a un desarrollo económico de la ciudad basado en la agricultura y en una importante ganadería caballar y mesta propia, que fundamenta el periodo de mayor esplendor de la ciudad, siendo muy importante la roturación de bosques y puesta en valor de nuevas tierras. La paz y el desarrollo económico lleva consigo un aumento demográfico, alcanzando la ciudad una población de 18 000 habitantes, siendo una de las más populosas de toda España. Comenzando con Ruy López Dávalos, Condestable de Castilla con Enrique III y Beltrán de la Cueva, valido de Enrique IV, sus nobles encuentran acomodo en altos cargos de la administración imperial.

 

Tras la nobleza ubetense, y las órdenes de caballería, el siguiente gran estamento privilegiado es el clero. La diócesis de Jaén es enormemente rica, su mitra, posiblemente, fuera una de las más ricas de España, y el clero ubetense tenía altos cargos en ella. También hallamos un colectivo de vecinos que han prosperado —judíos o muladíes mayormente— y que genéricamente hubieran sido el germen de una incipiente burguesía. Se trata de profesionales, tales como médicos, sastres, escribanos, boticarios y, naturalmente, un estimable número de mercaderes ricos. Más abajo, existía todo un variado repertorio gremial propio de un núcleo de población rico y expansivo, mención especial al gremio de los pastores y ganaderos. El ejército y la milicia cerraban este grueso estamento. El tercer estamento era un número basto de labriegos de las tierras de los nobles y pequeños campesinos.

 

Especialmente destacable es el papel de Francisco de los Cobos, secretario del Emperador Carlos I. Con él entra el gusto por el arte en Úbeda, y como si fuera una pequeña corte italiana, de manos del arquitecto Andrés de Vandelvira y sus seguidores, Úbeda se llena de palacios. Su sobrino, Juan Vázquez de Molina, secretario de Estado de Carlos I, y de su hijo, Felipe II, continúa lo iniciado. En toda Úbeda arraigan fuerte las corrientes humanistas del Primer Renacimiento.

 

En 1526 el Emperador Carlos visita la ciudad y jura guardar los privilegios, fueros y mercedes concedidas a Úbeda.

 

Declive

 

Los siglos xvii y xviii son de decadencia para la ciudad, inmersa en la crisis general de España, que ve cómo su pasado esplendor se apaga. La falta de una política proteccionista para la artesanía, las importaciones de la lana de Burgos, la subida de los precios por las malas cosechas, la injusta presión fiscal para las guerras, la corrupción, el poder del Clero, el proceso inflacionista por abundancia de metales, las continuas levas militares, las epidemias, y la emigración a Indias son algunos de los factores que contribuyeron a esa merma. Úbeda perdió hasta el control del tráfico de madera de los robles y pinos del Segura, en favor de comerciantes sevillanos. Todo ello va descapitalizando a la ciudad, agudizando las diferencias sociales e incrementando la miseria de la mayoría. Algunas fechas de los desastres que asolaron la ciudad en esta etapa fueron las pestes de 1585 y 1681 y el terremoto de Lisboa de 1755, que quebranta bastantes casas de la ciudad. Para rematar, la persecución de los cristianos nuevos y la expulsión de los moriscos en 1609 va a ser seriamente lamentado por el Concejo, por el impacto económico al perder su más valioso tejido económico.

 

La cruda decadencia se hace manifiesta a partir de 1700 con la larga Guerra de Sucesión. Los vecinos de Úbeda vivirán la Guerra de Sucesión con intensidad creciente. Sus aportaciones en caballos, armas, municiones, dinero o tropas son continuas, resultando difícil en ocasiones comprender de dónde provienen tales fuerzas en un pueblo debilitado por el hambre y la enfermedad. Tal fue la presión impositiva y la injusticia al quedar exentas las clases poderosas, que la población hambrienta se amotinó el 19 de marzo de 1706, contra los cobradores de las rentas reales. Como consecuencia de la guerra, Úbeda se empobreció en extremo y aumentó la conflictividad a límites desconocidos. El concejo tuvo que vender sus mejores fincas de propios para afrontar urgentes pagos de milicias. Sin duda hubo recesión demográfica, al coincidir la guerra con crisis de hambre y enfermedades generalizadas. En estos años, muchas villas de su territorio se independizan. Se puede concluir, que Úbeda sufre uno de los peores momentos de su historia, solo tocando fondo hacia 1735. Pero el mal en Úbeda y otros lugares estaba hecho, y era difícil dar marcha atrás al reloj de la Historia.

 

Posteriormente, con la guerra de la independencia española, durante la que los franceses permanecen entre 1810 y 1813 en la ciudad, se trunca la recuperación, las penalidades vuelven, se ocasionan saqueos y grandes perjuicios económicos. La situación llevó a Úbeda a un estado de "ruina económica", que la había conducido a extremos tales como la absoluta carencia de ganados para laborear el campo, de semillas para efectuar la siembra y aún de los medios más precisos para la subsistencia de la población.

 

Las desamortizaciones eclesiásticas de 1820 y 1836, supondrían que todos los conventos de la ciudad —con excepción de Santa Clara y las Carmelitas— fueran expropiados y vendidos en subasta pública. Ello significaría la total transformación de espacios urbanos de la ciudad, cambiando de uso algunos de estos edificios para albergar colegios, cuarteles, cárceles, etcétera y, en el peor de los casos, que fueran demolidos sus viejos inmuebles por amenaza de ruina. En suma, la ciudad vuelve a recuperarse hasta finales del siglo xix; es cuando comenzó a experimentar un pequeño resurgir con la mejora en avances técnicos, que llegan con retraso a la ciudad, que sigue siendo un medio rural no afectado apenas por la revolución industrial y cada vez más alejado de los centros de poder.

 

Úbeda continúa una larga existencia anodina, y sus palacios ya vacíos de lujos, permanecen abandonados.

 

Recuperación

 

Quedaban aún por sufrir los efectos de las guerras carlistas y las sucesivas revoluciones liberales que convulsionaron la vida de la ciudad. Las bases del liberalismo en Úbeda se basan en el predominio en la política de los grandes propietarios agrarios, y se instaura el caciquismo y el falseamiento electoral. A finales del siglo xix la pequeña burguesía con algunos terratenientes ubetenses hacen renacer la actividad en la ciudad gracias a la agricultura y la industria. Durante los años 20 del siglo xx, la retórica regeneracionista, cuya ambiciosa idea era lanzar a Úbeda a un nuevo Renacimiento, pone en práctica numerosos proyectos de reformas y mejoras en la ciudad. En éstos años, se extiende la educación y los servicios básicos. Fue también en esta época cuando empezaron las obras de la línea ferroviaria Baeza-Utiel, que habría llevado el ferrocarril a Úbeda y habría supuesto una importante conexión por ferrocarril con el Levante. Las obras de la ferrocarril, sin embargo, se alargaron durante tres décadas y la línea sería finalmente abandonada hacia 1964, cuando su construcción se encontraba ya muy avanzada.​ Por esta época fue también muy destacada la actividad del general Leopoldo Saro Marín,​ que aunque no era jienense, estaba emparentado con la provincia y con Úbeda por vínculos familiares. Además del nonato ferrocarril, la influencia del general Saro facilitó la construcción de la Biblioteca municipal, el Parador de Turismo, la Escuela de Artes y Oficios o la reconstrucción de la Casa de las Torres.

 

Úbeda llegó a contar con un periódico diario editado en la localidad, La Provincia, entre 1921 y 1936.​

 

Durante la Guerra civil, la violencia, represión y venganza política sumieron a Úbeda en una larga fase de depresión. La ciudad no fue frente de guerra, pero sufrió las sacas de presos de uno y otro bando. Así, empezó en la noche del 30 al 31 de julio de 1936, cuando las milicias republicanas sacaron a los presos políticos que, en número de 47 se encontraban en la cárcel de Partido, y los asesinaron. La posguerra es aún recordada por sus contemporáneos como «los años del hambre».

 

Durante los años 60 y 70 la industria local tiene un fuerte repunte gracias al tirón desarrollista, pero insuficiente para absorber el fuerte incremento de población, avocada a la emigración. Lentamente, la que fue «la Florencia de la Alta Andalucía», va a ir alcanzando el lugar actual como referente provincial, cabecera de la comarca y como un centro de industria y servicios a nivel regional de importancia creciente.

 

El 3 de julio de 2003 es nombrada, junto con su vecina Baeza, Patrimonio de la Humanidad.

   

Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. It is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red or black bands, and ostentatious dorsal fins tipped with venomous spines. Pterois radiata, Pterois volitans, and Pterois miles are the most commonly studied species in the genus. Pterois species are popular aquarium fish. P. volitans and P. miles are recent and significant invasive species in the west Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

 

Taxonomy

Pterois was described as a genus in 1817 by German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist Lorenz Oken. In 1856 the French naturalist Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest designated Scorpaena volitans, which had been named by Bloch in 1787 and which was the same as Linnaeus's 1758 Gasterosteus volitans, as the type species of the genus. This genus is classified within the tribe Pteroini of the subfamily Scorpaeninae within the family Scorpaenidae. The genus name Pterois is based on Georges Cuvier's 1816 French name, “Les Pterois”, meaning "fins" which is an allusion to the high dorsal and long pectoral fins.

 

Description

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “lionfish have distinctive brown or maroon, and white stripes or bands covering the head and body. They have fleshy tentacles above their eyes and below the mouth; fan-like pectoral fins; long, separated dorsal spines; 13 dorsal spines; 10-11 dorsal soft rays; 3 anal spines; and 6-7 anal soft rays. An adult lionfish can grow as large as 18 inches.”

 

Juvenile lionfish have a unique tentacle located above their eye sockets that varies in phenotype between species. The evolution of this tentacle is suggested to serve to continually attract new prey; studies also suggest it plays a role in sexual selection.

 

Ecology and behavior

Pterois species can live from 5 to 15 years and have complex courtship and mating behaviors. Females frequently release two mucus-filled egg clusters, which can contain as many as 15,000 eggs.

 

All species are aposematic; they have conspicuous coloration with boldly contrasting stripes and wide fans of projecting spines, advertising their ability to defend themselves.

 

Prey

Pterois prey mostly on small fish, invertebrates, and mollusks, with up to six different species of prey found in the gastrointestinal tracts of some specimens. Lionfish feed most actively in the morning. Lionfish are skilled hunters, using specialized swim bladder muscles to provide precise control of their location in the water column, allowing them to alter their center of gravity to better attack prey. They blow jets of water while approaching prey, which serves to confuse them and alter the orientation of the prey so that the smaller fish is facing the lionfish. This results in a higher degree of predatory efficiency as head-first capture is easier for the lionfish. The lionfish then spreads its large pectoral fins and swallows its prey in a single motion.

 

Predators and parasites

Aside from instances of larger lionfish individuals engaging in cannibalism on smaller individuals, adult lionfish have few identified natural predators, likely due to the effectiveness of their venomous spines: when threatened, a lionfish will orient its body to keep its dorsal fin pointed at the predator, even if this means swimming upsidedown. This does not always save it, however: Moray eels, bluespotted cornetfish, barracuda and large groupers have been observed preying on lionfish. Sharks are also believed to be capable of preying on lionfish with no ill effects from their spines. Park officials of the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras have attempted to train sharks to feed on lionfish to control the invasive populations in the Caribbean. The Bobbit worm, an ambush predator, has been filmed preying upon lionfish in Indonesia.[31] Predators of larvae and juvenile lionfish remain unknown, but may prove to be the primary limiting factor of lionfish populations in their native range.

 

Parasites of lionfish have rarely been observed, and are assumed to be infrequent. They include isopods and leeches.

 

Interaction with humans

Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, which makes them hazardous to other marine animals, as well as humans. Pterois venom produced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects when tested in both frog and clam hearts and has a depressive effect on rabbit blood pressure. These results are thought to be due to nitric oxide release. In humans, Pterois venom can cause systemic effects such as pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, numbness, paresthesia, diarrhea, sweating, temporary paralysis of the limbs, respiratory insufficiency, heart failure, convulsions, and even death. Fatalities are more common in very young children, the elderly, or those who are allergic to the venom. The venom is rarely fatal to healthy adults, but some species have enough venom to produce extreme discomfort for a period of several days. Moreover, Pterois venom poses a danger to allergic victims as they may experience anaphylaxis, a serious and often life-threatening condition that requires immediate emergency medical treatment. Severe allergic reactions to Pterois venom include chest pain, severe breathing difficulties, a drop in blood pressure, swelling of the tongue, sweating, or slurred speech. Such reactions can be fatal if not treated.

 

Native range and habitat

The lionfish is native to the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean. They can be found around the seaward edge of shallow coral reefs, lagoons, rocky substrates, and on mesophotic reefs, and can live in areas of varying salinity, temperature, and depth. They are also frequently found in turbid inshore areas and harbors, and have a generally hostile attitude and are territorial toward other reef fish. They are commonly found from shallow waters down to past 100 m (330 ft) depth, and have in several locations been recorded to 300 m depth. Many universities in the Indo-Pacific have documented reports of Pterois aggression toward divers and researchers. P. volitans and P. miles are native to subtropical and tropical regions from southern Japan and southern Korea to the east coast of Australia, Indonesia, Micronesia, French Polynesia, and the South Pacific Ocean. P. miles is also found in the Indian Ocean, from Sumatra to Sri Lanka and the Red Sea.

 

Invasive introduction and range

Two of the 12 species of Pterois, the red lionfish (P. volitans) and the common lionfish (P. miles), have established themselves as significant invasive species off the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. About 93% of the invasive population in the Western Atlantic is P. volitans.

 

The red lionfish is found off the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean Sea, and was likely first introduced off the Florida coast by the early to mid-1980s. This introduction may have occurred in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium in southern Florida, releasing six lionfish into Biscayne Bay. A lionfish was discovered off the coast of Dania Beach, south Florida, as early as 1985, before Hurricane Andrew. The lionfish resemble those of the Philippines, implicating the aquarium trade, suggesting individuals may have been purposely discarded by dissatisfied aquarium enthusiasts. This is in part because lionfish require an experienced aquarist, but are often sold to novices who find their care too difficult. In 2001, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documented several sightings of lionfish off the coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Bermuda, and Delaware. In August 2014, when the Gulf Stream was discharging into the mouth of the Delaware Bay, two lionfish were caught by a surf fisherman off the ocean side shore of Cape Henlopen State Park: a red lionfish that weighed 1 pound 4+1⁄2 ounces (580 g) and a common lionfish that weighed 1 pound 2 ounces (510 g). Three days later, a 1-pound-3-ounce (540 g) red lionfish was caught off the shore of Broadkill Beach which is in the Delaware Bay approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Cape Henlopen State Park. Lionfish were first detected in the Bahamas in 2004. In June 2013 lionfish were discovered as far east as Barbados, and as far south as the Los Roques Archipelago and many Venezuelan continental beaches. Lionfish were first sighted in Brazilian waters in late 2014. Genetic testing on a single captured individual revealed that it was related to the populations found in the Caribbean, suggesting larval dispersal rather than an intentional release.

  

P. volitans is the most abundant species of the invasive lionfish population in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Adult lionfish specimens are now found along the United States East Coast from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Florida, and along the Gulf Coast to Texas. They are also found off Bermuda, the Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Belize, Honduras, Colombia and Mexico. Population densities continue to increase in the invaded areas, resulting in a population boom of up to 700% in some areas between 2004 and 2008.

 

Pterois species are known for devouring many other aquarium fishes, unusual in that they are among the few fish species to successfully establish populations in open marine systems.

 

Pelagic larval dispersion is assumed to occur through oceanic currents, including the Gulf Stream and the Caribbean Current. Ballast water can also contribute to the dispersal.

 

Extreme temperatures present geographical constraints in the distribution of aquatic species, indicating temperature tolerance plays a role in the lionfish's survival, reproduction, and range of distribution. The abrupt differences in water temperatures north and south of Cape Hatteras directly correlate with the abundance and distribution of Pterois. Pterois expanded along the southeastern coast of the United States and occupied thermal-appropriate zones within 10 years, and the shoreward expansion of this thermally appropriate habitat is expected in coming decades as winter water temperatures warm in response to anthropogenic climate change. Although the timeline of observations points to the east coast of Florida as the initial source of the western Atlantic invasion, the relationship of the United States East Coast and Bahamian lionfish invasion is uncertain. Lionfish can tolerate a minimum salinity of 5 ppt (0.5%) and even withstand pulses of fresh water, which means they can also be found in estuaries of freshwater rivers.

 

The lionfish invasion is considered to be one of the most serious recent threats to Caribbean and Florida coral reef ecosystems. To help address the pervasive problem, in 2015, the NOAA partnered with the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute to set up a lionfish portal to provide scientifically accurate information on the invasion and its impacts. The lionfish web portal is aimed at all those involved and affected, including coastal managers, educators, and the public, and the portal was designed as a source of training videos, fact sheets, examples of management plans, and guidelines for monitoring. The web portal draws on the expertise of NOAA's own scientists, as well as that of other scientists and policy makers from academia or NGOs, and managers.

 

Mediterranean

Lionfish have also established themselves in parts of the Mediterranean - with records down to 110 m depth. Lionfish have been found in Maltese waters and waters of other Mediterranean countires, as well as Croatia. Warming sea temperatures may be allowing lionfish to further expand their range in the Mediterranean.

 

Long-term effects of invasion

Lionfish have successfully pioneered the coastal waters of the Atlantic in less than a decade, and pose a major threat to reef ecological systems in these areas. A study comparing their abundance from Florida to North Carolina with several species of groupers found they were second only to the native scamp grouper and equally abundant to the graysby, gag, and rock hind. This could be due to a surplus of resource availability resulting from the overfishing of lionfish predators like grouper. Although the lionfish has not expanded to a population size currently causing major ecological problems, their invasion in the United States coastal waters could lead to serious problems in the future. One likely ecological impact caused by Pterois could be their impact on prey population numbers by directly affecting food web relationships. This could ultimately lead to reef deterioration and could negatively influence Atlantic trophic cascade. Lionfish have already been shown to overpopulate reef areas and display aggressive tendencies, forcing native species to move to waters where conditions might be less than favorable.

 

Lionfish could be reducing Atlantic reef diversity by up to 80%. In July 2011, lionfish were reported for the first time in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Louisiana. Sanctuary officials said they believe the species will be a permanent fixture, but hope to monitor and possibly limit their presence.

 

Since lionfish thrive so well in the Atlantic and the Caribbean due to nutrient-rich waters and lack of predators, the species has spread tremendously. A single lionfish, located on a reef, reduced young juvenile reef fish populations by 79%.

 

Control and eradication efforts

Red lionfish are an invasive species, yet relatively little is known about them. NOAA research foci include investigating biotechnical solutions for control of the population, and understanding how the larvae are dispersed. Another important area of study is what controls the population in its native area. Researchers hope to discover what moderates lionfish populations in the Indo-Pacific and apply this information to control the invasive populations, without introducing additional invasive species.

 

Two new trap designs have been introduced to help with deep-water control of the lionfish. The traps are low and vertical and remain open the entire time of deployment. The vertical relief of the trap attracts lionfish, which makes catching them easier. These new traps are good for catching lionfish without affecting the native species that are ecologically, recreationally, and commercially important to the surrounding areas. These traps are more beneficial than older traps because they limit the potential of catching noninvasive creatures, they have bait that is only appealing to lionfish, they guarantee a catch, and they are easy to transport.

 

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are being developed to help hunt the lionfish. The Reefsweeper ROV uses a harpoon gun to snag it's target. The vehicle is able to hunt fish that may not otherwise be obtainable through human intervention alone.

 

Rigorous and repeated removal of lionfish from invaded waters could potentially control the exponential expansion of the lionfish in invaded waters. A 2010 study showed effective maintenance would require the monthly harvest of at least 27% of the adult population. Because lionfish are able to reproduce monthly, this effort must be maintained throughout the entire year.

 

Even to accomplish these numbers seems unlikely, but as populations of lionfish continue to grow throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, actions are being taken to attempt to control the quickly growing numbers. In November 2010, for the first time the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary began licensing divers to kill lionfish inside the sanctuary in an attempt to eradicate the fish

 

Conservation groups and community organizations in the Eastern United States have organized hunting expeditions for Pterois such as the Environment Education Foundation's 'lionfish derby' held annually in Florida. Divemasters from Cozumel to the Honduran Bay Islands and at Reef Conservation International which operates in the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve off Punta Gorda, Belize, now routinely spear them during dives.[citation needed] While diver culling removes lionfish from shallow reefs reducing their densities, lionfish have widely been reported on mesophotic coral ecosystems (reefs from 30 to 150 m) in the western Atlantic and even in deep-sea habitats (greater than 200 m depth). Recent studies have suggested that the effects of culling are likely to be depth-specific, and so have limited impacts on these deeper reef populations. Therefore, other approaches such as trapping are advocated for removing lionfish from deeper reef habitats.

 

Long-term culling has also been recorded to cause behavior changes in lionfish populations. For example, in the Bahamas, lionfish on heavily culled reefs have become more wary of divers and hide more within the reef structure during the day when culling occurs. Similar lionfish responses to divers have been observed when comparing culled sites and sites without culling in Honduras, including altered lionfish behaviour on reefs too deep for regular culling, but adjacent to heavily culled sites potentially implying movement of individuals between depths.

 

While culling by marine protection agencies and volunteer divers is an important element of control efforts, development of market-based approaches, which create commercial incentives for removals, has been seen as a means to sustain control efforts. The foremost of these market approaches is the promotion of lionfish as a food item. Another is the use of lionfish spines, fins, and tails for jewelry and other decorative items. Lionfish jewelry production initiatives are underway in Belize, the Bahamas, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.

 

In 2014 at Jardines de la Reina National Marine Park in Cuba, a diver experimented with spearing and feeding lionfish to sharks in an effort to teach them to seek out the fish as prey. By 2016, Cuba was finding it more effective to fish for lionfish as food.

 

"Lionfish as Food" campaign

In 2010, NOAA (which also encourages people to report lionfish sightings, to help track lionfish population dispersal) began a campaign to encourage the consumption of the fish. The "Lionfish as Food" campaign encourages human hunting of the fish as the only form of control known to date. Increasing the catch of lionfish could not only help maintain a reasonable population density, but also provide an alternative fishing source to overfished populations, such as grouper and snapper. The taste is described as "buttery and tender". To promote the campaign, the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia agreed to have their clergy's sermons suggest to their parishioners (84% of the population) eating lionfish on Fridays, Lent, and Easter, which proved highly successful in decreasing the invasive fish problem.

 

When properly filleted, the naturally venomous fish is safe to eat. Some concern exists about the risk of ciguatera food poisoning (CFP) from the consumption of lionfish, and the FDA included lionfish on the list of species at risk for CFP when lionfish are harvested in some areas tested positive for ciguatera. No cases of CFP from the consumption of lionfish have been verified, and published research has found that the toxins in lionfish venom may be causing false positives in tests for the presence of ciguatera. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation provides advice to restaurant chefs on how they can incorporate the fish into their menus. The NOAA calls the lionfish a "delicious, delicately flavored fish" similar in texture to grouper. Cooking techniques and preparations for lionfish include deep-frying, ceviche, jerky, grilling, and sashimi.

 

Another initiative is centered around the production of leather from lionfish hides. It seeks to establish a production chain and market for high-quality leather produced from the hides. The goal is to control invasive lionfish populations while providing economic benefits to local fishing communities.

Don Elliott was a pseudonym used by Robert Silverberg.

 

Cover art by W.H. McCauley.

 

In 1958 there was a major convulsion in the science fiction world and most of the magazines on which writers relied to publish their stories ceased publication. This was a particular problem for younger writers. Writers like Robert Silverberg, who although only in his early twenties was already making a name for himself. Fortunately his pal Harlan Ellison came to the rescue, offering him a contract to write cheap paperback erotic novels for Nightstand Books. He’d have to write a couple of such novels a month which sounds daunting but Silverberg was sure he’d have no problems. And he was correct - in the next five years he churned out 150 sleaze paperbacks under the name Don Elliott.

(desculpem-me prefiro em portugues mas pra todos saberem da minha favorita Hilda.)

 

from ten songs for a friend

 

This mournfulness, this restlessness

the inner convulsions, an endless island,

solitude within, body dying —

all this I owe to you. And they were vast,

these plans — ships

great walls of ivory, fine words,

promises, promises. And it would be December,

a jade horse above the water,

doubly transparent, a line in mid-air —

all this undone by the trapdoor of time

in perfect silence. Some glass mornings

wind, the hollowed soul, a sun I can't see —

 

this too I owe to you.

 

Hilda Hilst

Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs) in the Tulipa genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colours). They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium, and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae.

 

There are about seventy-five species, and these are divided among four subgenera. The name "tulip" is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, which it may have been thought to resemble by those who discovered it. Tulips were originally found in a band stretching from Southern Europe to Central Asia, but since the seventeenth century have become widely naturalised and cultivated (see map). In their natural state, they are adapted to steppes and mountainous areas with temperate climates. Flowering in the spring, they become dormant in the summer once the flowers and leaves die back, emerging above ground as a shoot from the underground bulb in early spring.

 

Growing wild over much of the Near East and Central Asia, tulips had probably been cultivated in Persia from the 10th century. By the 15th century, tulips were among the most prized flowers; becoming the symbol of the later Ottomans. Tulips were cultivated in Byzantine Constantinople as early as 1055 but they did not come to the attention of Northern Europeans until the sixteenth century, when Northern European diplomats to the Ottoman court observed and reported on them. They were rapidly introduced into Northern Europe and became a much-sought-after commodity during tulip mania. Tulips were frequently depicted in Dutch Golden Age paintings, and have become associated with the Netherlands, the major producer for world markets, ever since. In the seventeenth-century Netherlands, during the time of the tulip mania, an infection of tulip bulbs by the tulip breaking virus created variegated patterns in the tulip flowers that were much admired and valued. While truly broken tulips are not cultivated anymore, the closest available specimens today are part of the group known as the Rembrandts – so named because Rembrandt painted some of the most admired breaks of his time.

 

Breeding programmes have produced thousands of hybrid and cultivars in addition to the original species (known in horticulture as botanical tulips). They are popular throughout the world, both as ornamental garden plants and as cut flowers.

 

Description

Tulip morphology

Collection of tulip bulbs, some sliced to show interior scales

Bulbs, showing tunic and scales

Flower of Tulipa orphanidea, showing cup shape

Cup-shaped flower of Tulipa orphanidea

Photograph of Tulipa clusiana, showing six identical tepals (petals and sepals)

Star-shaped flower of Tulipa clusiana with three sepals and three petals, forming six identical tepals

Tulips are perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes that bloom in spring and die back after flowering to an underground storage bulb. Depending on the species, tulip plants can be between 10 and 70 cm (4 and 28 inches) high.

 

Tulip stems have few leaves. Larger species tend to have multiple leaves. Plants typically have two to six leaves, some species up to 12. The tulip's leaf is cauline (born on a stem), strap-shaped, with a waxy coating, and the leaves are alternate (alternately arranged on the stem), diminishing in size the further up the stem. These fleshy blades are often bluish-green in colour. The bulbs are truncated basally and elongated towards the apex. They are covered by a protective tunic (tunicate) which can be glabrous or hairy inside.

 

Flowers

The tulip's flowers are usually large and are actinomorphic (radially symmetric) and hermaphrodite (contain both male (androecium) and female (gynoecium) characteristics), generally erect, or more rarely pendulous, and are arranged more usually as a single terminal flower, or when pluriflor as two to three (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica), but up to four, flowers on the end of a floriferous stem (scape), which is single arising from amongst the basal leaf rosette. In structure, the flower is generally cup or star-shaped. As with other members of Liliaceae the perianth is undifferentiated (perigonium) and biseriate (two whorled), formed from six free (i.e. apotepalous) caducous tepals arranged into two separate whorls of three parts (trimerous) each. The two whorls represent three petals and three sepals, but are termed tepals because they are nearly identical. The tepals are usually petaloid (petal-like), being brightly coloured, but each whorl may be different, or have different coloured blotches at their bases, forming darker colouration on the interior surface. The inner petals have a small, delicate cleft at the top, while the sturdier outer ones form uninterrupted ovals.

 

The flowers have six distinct, basifixed introrse stamens arranged in two whorls of three, which vary in length and may be glabrous or hairy. The filaments are shorter than the tepals and dilated towards their base. The style is short or absent and each stigma has three distinct lobes, and the ovaries are superior, with three chambers.

 

Colours

The "Semper Augustus" was the most expensive tulip during the 17th-century tulip mania. “The colour is white, with Carmine on a blue base, and with an unbroken flame right to the top” – wrote Nicolas van Wassenaer in 1624 after seeing the tulip in the garden of one Dr Adriaen Pauw, a director of the new East India Company. With limited specimens in existence at the time and most owned by Pauw, his refusal to sell any flowers, despite wildly escalating offers, is believed by some to have sparked the mania.

 

Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colours, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue), and have absent nectaries. Tulip flowers are generally bereft of scent and are the coolest of floral characters. The Dutch regarded this lack of scent as a virtue, as it demonstrates the flower's chasteness.

 

While tulips can be bred to display a wide variety of colours, black tulips have historically been difficult to achieve. The Queen of the Night tulip is as close to black as a flower gets, though it is, in fact, a dark and glossy maroonish purple - nonetheless, an effect prized by the Dutch. The first truly black tulip was bred in 1986 by a Dutch flower grower in Bovenkarspel, Netherlands. The specimen was created by cross-breeding two deep purple tulips, the Queen of the Night and Wienerwald tulips.

 

Fruit

The tulip's fruit is a globose or ellipsoid capsule with a leathery covering and an ellipsoid to globe shape. Each capsule contains numerous flat, disc-shaped seeds in two rows per chamber These light to dark brown seeds have very thin seed coats and endosperm that do not normally fill the entire seed.

 

Phytochemistry

Tulipanin is an anthocyanin found in tulips. It is the 3-rutinoside of delphinidin. The chemical compounds named tuliposides and tulipalins can also be found in tulips and are responsible for allergies. Tulipalin A, or α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone, is a common allergen, generated by hydrolysis of the glucoside tuliposide A. It induces a dermatitis that is mostly occupational and affects tulip bulb sorters and florists who cut the stems and leaves. Tulipanin A and B are toxic to horses, cats and dogs. The colour of a tulip is formed from two pigments working in concert; a base colour that is always yellow or white, and a second laid-on anthocyanin colour. The mix of these two hues determines the visible unitary colour. The breaking of flowers occurs when a virus suppresses anthocyanin and the base colour is exposed as a streak.

 

Fragrance

The great majority of tulips, both species and cultivars, have no discernable scent, but a few of both are scented to a degree, and Anna Pavord describes T. Hungarica as "strongly scented", and among cultivars, some such as "Monte Carlo" and "Brown Sugar" are "scented", and "Creme Upstar" "fragrant".

 

Taxonomy

Main article: Taxonomy of Tulipa

Tulipa is a genus of the lily family, Liliaceae, once one of the largest families of monocots, but which molecular phylogenetics has reduced to a monophyletic grouping with only 15 genera. Within Liliaceae, Tulipa is placed within Lilioideae, one of three subfamilies, with two tribes. Tribe Lilieae includes seven other genera in addition to Tulipa.

 

Subdivision

The genus, which includes about 75 species, is divided into four subgenera.

 

Clusianae (4 species)

Orithyia (4 species)

Tulipa (52 species)

Eriostemones (16 species)

Etymology

The word tulip, first mentioned in western Europe in or around 1554 and seemingly derived from the "Turkish Letters" of diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, first appeared in English as tulipa or tulipant, entering the language by way of French: tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulipa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend ("muslin" or "gauze"), and may be ultimately derived from the Persian: دلبند delband ("Turban"), this name being applied because of a perceived resemblance of the shape of a tulip flower to that of a turban. This may have been due to a translation error in early times when it was fashionable in the Ottoman Empire to wear tulips on turbans. The translator possibly confused the flower for the turban.

 

Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq stated that the "Turks" used the word tulipan to describe the flower. Extensive speculation has tried to understand why he would state this, given that the Turkish word for tulip is lale. It is from this speculation that tulipan being a translation error referring to turbans is derived. This etymology has been challenged and makes no assumptions about possible errors. At no point does Busbecq state this was the word used in Turkey, he simply states it was used by the "Turks". On his way to Constantinople Busbecq states he travelled through Hungary and used Hungarian guides. Until recent times "Turk" was a common term when referring to Hungarians. The word tulipan is in fact the Hungarian word for tulip. As long as one recognizes "Turk" as a reference to Hungarians, no amount of speculation is required to reconcile the word's origin or form. Busbecq may have been simply repeating the word used by his "Turk/Hungarian" guides.

 

The Hungarian word tulipan may be adopted from an Indo-Aryan reference to the tulip as a symbol of resurrection, tala meaning "bottom or underworld" and pAna meaning "defence". Prior to arriving in Europe the Hungarians, and other Finno-Ugrians, embraced the Indo-Iranian cult of the dead, Yima/Yama, and would have been familiar with all of its symbols including the tulip.

 

Distribution and habitat

Map from Turkmenistan to Tien-Shan

Eastern end of the tulip range from Turkmenistan on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to the Pamir-Alai and Tien-Shan mountains

Tulips are mainly distributed along a band corresponding to latitude 40° north, from southeast of Europe (Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Southern Serbia, Bulgaria, most part of Romania, Ukraine, Russia) and Turkey in the west, through the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Jordan) and the Sinai Peninsula. From there it extends eastwards through Jerevan (Armenia), and Baku (Azerbaijan) and on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea through Turkmenistan, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), to the eastern end of the range in the Pamir-Alai and Tien-Shan mountains in Central Asia, which form the centre of diversity. Further to the east, Tulipa is found in the western Himalayas, southern Siberia, Inner Mongolia, and as far as the northwest of China. While authorities have stated that no tulips west of the Balkans are native, subsequent identification of Tulipa sylvestris subsp. australis as a native of the Iberian peninsula and adjacent North Africa shows that this may be a simplification. In addition to these regions in the west tulips have been identified in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans. In the south, Iran marks its furthest extent, while the northern limit is Ukraine. Although tulips are also throughout most of the Mediterranean and Europe, these regions do not form part of the natural distribution. Tulips were brought to Europe by travellers and merchants from Anatolia and Central Asia for cultivation, from where they escaped and naturalised (see map). For instance, less than half of those species found in Turkey are actually native. These have been referred to as neo-tulipae.

 

Tulips are indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates, where they are a common element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation. They thrive in climates with long, cool springs and dry summers. Tulips are most commonly found in meadows, steppes and chaparral, but also introduced in fields, orchards, roadsides and abandoned gardens.

 

Ecology

 

Variegation produced by the tulip breaking virus

Botrytis tulipae is a major fungal disease affecting tulips, causing cell death and eventually the rotting of the plant. Other pathogens include anthracnose, bacterial soft rot, blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii, bulb nematodes, other rots including blue molds, black molds and mushy rot.

 

The fungus Trichoderma viride can infect tulips, producing dried leaf tips and reduced growth, although symptoms are usually mild and only present on bulbs growing in glasshouses.[citation needed]

 

Variegated tulips admired during the Dutch tulipomania gained their delicately feathered patterns from an infection with the tulip breaking virus, a mosaic virus that was carried by the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. While the virus produces fantastically streaked flowers, it also weakens plants and reduces the number of offsets produced. Dutch growers would go to extraordinary lengths during tulipomania to make tulips break, borrowing alchemists’ techniques and resorting to sprinkling paint powders of the desired hue or pigeon droppings onto flower roots.

 

Tulips affected by the mosaic virus are called "broken"; while such plants can occasionally revert to a plain or solid colouring, they will remain infected and have to be destroyed. Today the virus is almost eradicated from tulip growers' fields. The multicoloured patterns of modern varieties result from breeding; they normally have solid, un-feathered borders between the colours.

 

Tulip growth is also dependent on temperature conditions. Slightly germinated plants show greater growth if subjected to a period of cool dormancy, known as vernalisation. Furthermore, although flower development is induced at warmer temperatures (20–25 °C or 68–77 °F), elongation of the flower stalk and proper flowering is dependent on an extended period of low temperature (< 10 °C or 50 °F). Tulip bulbs imported to warm-winter areas are often planted in autumn to be treated as annuals.

 

The colour of tulip flowers also varies with growing conditions.

 

Cultivation

History

Islamic World

 

Tulipa sylvestris subsp. australis[a] with seedpod by Sydenham Edwards (1804)

Cultivation of the tulip began in Iran (Persia), probably in the 10th century. Early cultivars must have emerged from hybridisation in gardens from wild collected plants, which were then favoured, possibly due to flower size or growth vigour. The tulip is not mentioned by any writer from antiquity, therefore it seems probable that tulips were introduced into Anatolia only with the advance of the Seljuks. In the Ottoman Empire, numerous types of tulips were cultivated and bred, and today, 14 species can still be found in Turkey. Tulips are mentioned by Omar Kayam and Jalāl ad-Dīn Rûmi. Species of tulips in Turkey typically come in red, less commonly in white or yellow. The Ottoman Turks had discovered that these wild tulips were great changelings, freely hybridizing (though it takes 7 years to show colour) but also subject to mutations that produced spontaneous changes in form and colour.

 

A paper by Arthur Baker[31] reports that in 1574, Sultan Selim II ordered the Kadi of A‘azāz in Syria to send him 50,000 tulip bulbs. However, John Harvey points out several problems with this source, and there is also the possibility that tulips and hyacinth (sümbüll), originally Indian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) have been confused. Sultan Selim also imported 300,000 bulbs of Kefe Lale (also known as Cafe-Lale, from the medieval name Kaffa, probably Tulipa schrenkii) from Kefe in Crimea, for his gardens in the Topkapı Sarayı in Istanbul.

 

It is also reported that shortly after arriving in Constantinople in 1554, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, ambassador of the Austrian Habsburgs to the court of Suleyman the Magnificent, claimed to have introduced the tulip to Europe by sending a consignment of bulbs west. The fact that the tulip's first official trip west took it from one court to the other could have contributed to its ascendency.

 

Sultan Ahmet III maintained famous tulip gardens in the summer highland pastures (Yayla) at Spil Dağı above the town of Manisa. They seem to have consisted of wild tulips. However, of the 14 tulip species known from Turkey, only four are considered to be of local origin, so wild tulips from Iran and Central Asia may have been brought into Turkey during the Seljuk and especially Ottoman periods. Also, Sultan Ahmet imported domestic tulip bulbs from the Netherlands.

 

The gardening book Revnak'ı Bostan (Beauty of the Garden) by Sahibül Reis ülhaç Ibrahim Ibn ülhaç Mehmet, written in 1660 does not mention the tulip at all, but contains advice on growing hyacinths and lilies. However, there is considerable confusion of terminology, and tulips may have been subsumed under hyacinth, a mistake several European botanists were to perpetuate. In 1515, the scholar Qasim from Herat in contrast had identified both wild and garden tulips (lale) as anemones (shaqayq al-nu'man), but described the crown imperial as laleh kakli.

 

In a Turkic text written before 1495, the Chagatay Husayn Bayqarah mentions tulips (lale). Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, also names tulips in the Baburnama. He may actually have introduced them from Afghanistan to the plains of India, as he did with other plants like melons and grapes. The tulip represents the official symbol of Turkey.

 

In Moorish Andalus, a "Makedonian bulb" (basal al-maqdunis) or "bucket-Narcissus" (naryis qadusi) was cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens. It was supposed to have come from Alexandria and may have been Tulipa sylvestris, but the identification is not wholly secure.

 

Introduction to Western Europe

 

Tulip cultivation in the Netherlands

 

The Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands

Although it is unknown who first brought the tulip to Northwestern Europe, the most widely accepted story is that it was Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq, an ambassador for Emperor Ferdinand I to Suleyman the Magnificent. According to a letter, he saw "an abundance of flowers everywhere; Narcissus, hyacinths and those in Turkish called Lale, much to our astonishment because it was almost midwinter, a season unfriendly to flowers." However, in 1559, an account by Conrad Gessner describes tulips flowering in Augsburg, Swabia in the garden of Councillor Heinrich Herwart. In Central and Northern Europe, tulip bulbs are generally removed from the ground in June and must be replanted by September for the winter.[citation needed] It is doubtful that Busbecq could have had the tulip bulbs harvested, shipped to Germany and replanted between March 1558 and Gessner's description the following year. Pietro Andrea Mattioli illustrated a tulip in 1565 but identified it as a narcissus.

 

Carolus Clusius is largely responsible for the spread of tulip bulbs in the final years of the 16th century; he planted tulips at the Vienna Imperial Botanical Gardens in 1573. He finished the first major work on tulips in 1592 and made note of the colour variations. After he was appointed the director of the Leiden University's newly established Hortus Botanicus, he planted both a teaching garden and his private garden with tulips in late 1593. Thus, 1594 is considered the date of the tulip's first flowering in the Netherlands, despite reports of the cultivation of tulips in private gardens in Antwerp and Amsterdam two or three decades earlier. These tulips at Leiden would eventually lead to both the tulip mania and the tulip industry in the Netherlands. Over two raids, in 1596 and in 1598, more than one hundred bulbs were stolen from his garden.

 

Tulips spread rapidly across Europe, and more opulent varieties such as double tulips were already known in Europe by the early 17th century. These curiosities fitted well in an age when natural oddities were cherished especially in the Netherlands, France, Germany and England, where the spice trade with the East Indies had made many people wealthy. Nouveaux riches seeking wealthy displays embraced the exotic plant market, especially in the Low Countries where gardens had become fashionable. A craze for bulbs soon grew in France, where in the early 17th century, entire properties were exchanged as payment for a single tulip bulb. The value of the flower gave it an aura of mystique, and numerous publications describing varieties in lavish garden manuals were published, cashing in on the value of the flower. An export business was built up in France, supplying Dutch, Flemish, German and English buyers. The trade drifted slowly from the French to the Dutch.

 

Between 1634 and 1637, the enthusiasm for the new flowers in Holland triggered a speculative frenzy now known as the tulip mania that eventually led to the collapse of the market three years later. Tulip bulbs had become so expensive that they were treated as a form of currency, or rather, as futures, forcing the Dutch government to introduce trading restrictions on the bulbs. Around this time, the ceramic tulipiere was devised for the display of cut flowers stem by stem. Vases and bouquets, usually including tulips, often appeared in Dutch still-life painting. To this day, tulips are associated with the Netherlands, and the cultivated forms of the tulip are often called "Dutch tulips". The Netherlands has the world's largest permanent display of tulips at the Keukenhof.

 

The majority of tulip cultivars are classified in the taxon Tulipa ×gesneriana. They have usually several species in their direct background, but most have been derived from Tulipa suaveolens (today often regarded as a synonym with Tulipa schrenkii). Tulipa ×gesneriana is in itself an early hybrid of complex origin and is probably not the same taxon as was described by Conrad Gessner in the 16th century.

 

The UK's National Collection of English florists' tulips and Dutch historic tulips, dating from the early 17th century to c. 1960, is held by Polly Nicholson at Blackland House, near Calne in Wiltshire.

 

Introduction to the United States

 

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

It is believed the first tulips in the United States were grown near Spring Pond at the Fay Estate in Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts. From 1847 to 1865, Richard Sullivan Fay, Esq., one of Lynn's wealthiest men, settled on 500 acres (2 km2; 202 ha) located partly in present-day Lynn and partly in present-day Salem. Mr. Fay imported many different trees and plants from all parts of the world and planted them among the meadows of the Fay Estate.

 

Propagation

 

Tulip pistil surrounded by stamens

 

Tulip stamen with pollen grains

The reproductive organs of a tulip

The Netherlands is the world's main producer of commercial tulip plants, producing as many as 3 billion bulbs annually, the majority for export.

 

"Unlike many flower species, tulips do not produce nectar to entice insect pollination. Instead, tulips rely on wind and land animals to move their pollen between reproductive organs. Because they are self-pollinating, they do not need the pollen to move several feet to another plant but only within their blossoms."

 

Tulips can be propagated through bulb offsets, seeds or micropropagation. Offsets and tissue culture methods are means of asexual propagation for producing genetic clones of the parent plant, which maintains cultivar genetic integrity. Seeds are most often used to propagate species and subspecies or to create new hybrids. Many tulip species can cross-pollinate with each other, and when wild tulip populations overlap geographically with other tulip species or subspecies, they often hybridise and create mixed populations. Most commercial tulip cultivars are complex hybrids, and often sterile.

 

Offsets require a year or more of growth before plants are large enough to flower. Tulips grown from seeds often need five to eight years before plants are of flowering size. To prevent cross-pollination, increase the growth rate of bulbs and increase the vigour and size of offsets, the flower and stems of a field of commercial tulips are usually topped using large tractor-mounted mowing heads. The same goals can be achieved by a private gardener by clipping the stem and flower of an individual specimen. Commercial growers usually harvest the tulip bulbs in late summer and grade them into sizes; bulbs large enough to flower are sorted and sold, while smaller bulbs are sorted into sizes and replanted for sale in the future.

 

Because tulip bulbs don't reliably come back every year, tulip varieties that fall out of favour with present aesthetic values have traditionally gone extinct. Unlike other flowers that do not suffer this same limitation, the Tulip's historical forms do not survive alongside their modern incarnations.

 

Horticultural classification

 

'Gavota', a division 3 cultivar

 

'Yonina', a division 6 cultivar

 

'Texas Flame', a division 10 cultivar

In horticulture, tulips are divided into fifteen groups (Divisions) mostly based on flower morphology and plant size.

 

Div. 1: Single early – with cup-shaped single flowers, no larger than 8 cm (3 inches) across. They bloom early to mid-season. Growing 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 inches) tall.

Div. 2: Double early – with fully double flowers, bowl shaped to 8 cm (3 inches) across. Plants typically grow from 30–40 cm (12–16 inches) tall.

Div. 3: Triumph – single, cup shaped flowers up to 6 cm (2.5 inches) wide. Plants grow 35–60 cm (14–24 inches) tall and bloom mid to late season.

Div. 4: Darwin hybrid – single flowers are ovoid in shape and up to 6 cm (2.5 inches) wide. Plants grow 50–70 cm (20–28 inches) tall and bloom mid to late season. This group should not be confused with older Darwin tulips, which belong in the Single Late Group below.

Div. 5: Single late – cup or goblet-shaped flowers up to 8 cm (3 inches) wide, some plants produce multi-flowering stems. Plants grow 45–75 cm (18–30 inches) tall and bloom late season.

Div. 6: Lily-flowered – the flowers possess a distinct narrow 'waist' with pointed and reflexed petals. Previously included with the old Darwins, only became a group in their own right in 1958.

Div. 7: Fringed (Crispa) – cup or goblet-shaped blossoms edged with spiked or crystal-like fringes, sometimes called “tulips for touch” because of the temptation to “test” the fringes to see if they are real or made of glass. Perennials with a tendency to naturalize in woodland areas, growing 45–65 cm (18–26 inches) tall and blooming in late season.

Div. 8: Viridiflora

Div. 9: Rembrandt

Div. 10: Parrot

Div. 11: Double late – Large, heavy blooms. They range from 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 inches) tall.

Div. 12: Kaufmanniana – Waterlily tulip. Medium-large creamy yellow flowers marked red on the outside and yellow at the centre. Stems 15 cm (6 inches) tall.

Div. 13: Fosteriana (Emperor)

Div. 14: Greigii – Scarlet flowers 15 cm (6 inches) across, on 15-centimetre (6 in) stems. Foliage mottled with brown.

Div. 15: Species or Botanical – The terms "species tulips" and "botanical tulips" refer to wild species in contrast to hybridised varieties. As a group they have been described as being less ostentatious but more reliably vigorous as they age.

Div. 16: Multiflowering – not an official division, these tulips belong in the first 15 divisions but are often listed separately because they have multiple blooms per bulb.

They may also be classified by their flowering season:

 

Early flowering: Single Early Tulips, Double Early Tulips, Greigii Tulips, Kaufmanniana Tulips, Fosteriana Tulips, § Species tulips

Mid-season flowering: Darwin Hybrid Tulips, Triumph Tulips, Parrot Tulips

Late season flowering: Single Late Tulips, Double Late Tulips, Viridiflora Tulips, Lily-flowering Tulips, Fringed (Crispa) Tulips, Rembrandt Tulips

Neo-tulipae

Tulip Bulb Depth

Tulip bulb planting depth 15 cm (6 inches)

A number of names are based on naturalised garden tulips and are usually referred to as neo-tulipae. These are often difficult to trace back to their original cultivar, and in some cases have been occurring in the wild for many centuries. The history of naturalisation is unknown, but populations are usually associated with agricultural practices and are possibly linked to saffron cultivation[clarification needed]. Some neo-tulipae have been brought into cultivation, and are often offered as botanical tulips. These cultivated plants can be classified into two Cultivar Groups: 'Grengiolensis Group', with picotee tepals, and the 'Didieri Group' with unicolourous tepals.

 

Horticulture

Tulip bulbs are typically planted around late summer and fall, in well-drained soils. Tulips should be planted 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) apart from each other. The recommended hole depth is 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) deep and is measured from the top of the bulb to the surface. Therefore, larger tulip bulbs would require deeper holes. Species tulips are normally planted deeper.

 

Culture and politics

Iran

The celebration of Persian New Year, or Nowruz, dating back over 3,000 years, marks the advent of spring, and tulips are used as a decorative feature during the festivities.

 

A sixth-century legend, similar to the tale of Romeo and Juliet, tells of tulips sprouting where the blood of the young prince Farhad spilt after he killed himself upon hearing the (deliberately false) story that his true love had died.

 

The tulip was a topic for Persian poets from the thirteenth century. The poem Gulistan by Musharrifu'd-din Saadi, described a visionary garden paradise with "The murmur of a cool stream / bird song, ripe fruit in plenty / bright multicoloured tulips and fragrant roses...". In recent times, tulips have featured in the poems of Simin Behbahani.

 

The tulip is the national symbol for martyrdom in Iran[62] (and Shi'ite Islam generally), and has been used on postage stamps and coins. It was common as a symbol used in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and a red tulip adorns the flag redesigned in 1980. The sword in the centre, with four crescent-shaped petals around it, create the word "Allah" as well as symbolising the five pillars of Islam. The tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is decorated with 72 stained glass tulips, representing 72 martyrs who died at the Battle of Karbala in 680CE. It was also used as a symbol on billboards celebrating casualties of the 1980–1988 war with Iraq.[60]

 

The tulip also became a symbol of protest against the Iranian government after the presidential election in June 2009, when millions turned out on the streets to protest the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After the protests were harshly suppressed, the Iranian Green Movement adopted the tulip as a symbol of their struggle.

 

The word for tulip in Persian is "laleh" (لاله), and this has become popular as a girl's name. The name has been used for commercial enterprises, such as the Laleh International Hotel, as well as public facilities, such as Laleh Park and Laleh Hospital, and the tulip motif remains common in Iranian culture.

 

Iranian 20 rial coin

Obverse with 22 tulips

Obverse with 22 tulips

 

Reverse with three tulips

Reverse with three tulips

In other countries and cultures

 

Turkish Airlines uses a grey tulip emblem on its aircraft

Tulips are called lale in Turkish (from the Persian: لاله, romanized: laleh from لال lal 'red'). When written in Arabic letters, lale has the same letters as Allah, which is why the flower became a holy symbol. It was also associated with the House of Osman, resulting in tulips being widely used in decorative motifs on tiles, mosques, fabrics, crockery, etc. in the Ottoman Empire.[6] The tulip was seen as a symbol of abundance and indulgence. The era during which the Ottoman Empire was wealthiest is often called the Tulip era or Lale Devri in Turkish.

 

Tulips became popular garden plants in the east and west, but, whereas the tulip in Turkish culture was a symbol of paradise on earth and had almost a divine status, in the Netherlands it represented the briefness of life.

 

In Christianity, tulips symbolise passion, belief and love. White tulips represent forgiveness while purple tulips represent royalty, both important aspects of Easter.[citation needed] In Calvinism, the five points of the doctrines of grace have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP.

 

By contrast to other flowers such as the coneflower or lotus flower, tulips have historically been capable of genetically reinventing themselves to suit changes in aesthetic values. In his 1597 herbal, John Gerard says of the tulip that "nature seems to play more with this flower than with any other that I do know". When in the Netherlands, beauty was defined by marbled swirls of vivid contrasting colours, the petals of tulips were able to become "feathered" and "flamed". However, in the 19th century, when the English desired tulips for carpet bedding and massing, the tulips were able to once again accommodate this by evolving into "paint-filled boxes with the brightest, fattest dabs of pure pigment". This inherent mutability of the tulip even led the Ottoman Turks to believe that nature cherished this flower above all others.

 

The Black Tulip (1850) is a historical romance by Alexandre Dumas, père. The story takes place in the Dutch city of Haarlem, where a reward is offered to the first grower who can produce a truly black tulip.[citation needed]

 

The tulip occurs on a number of the Major Arcana cards of occultist Oswald Wirth's deck of Tarot cards, specifically the Magician, Emperor, Temperance and the Fool, described in his 1927 work Le Tarot, des Imagiers du Moyen Âge.

 

Find sources: "Tulip" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Tulip festivals are held around the world, for example in the Netherlands and Spalding, England. There is also a popular festival in Morges, Switzerland. Every spring, there are tulip festivals in North America, including the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, Washington, the Tulip Time Festival in Orange City and Pella, Iowa, and the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tulips are also popular in Australia and several festivals are held in September and October, during the Southern Hemisphere's spring. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden hosts an annual tulip festival which draws huge attention and has an attendance of over 200,000.

 

Consumption

Tulip petals are edible. The taste varies by variety and season, and is roughly similar to lettuce or other salad greens. Some people are allergic to tulips.

 

Tulip bulbs look similar to onions, but should not generally be considered food. The toxicity of bulbs is not well understood, nor is there an agreed-upon method of safely preparing them for human consumption. There have been reports of illness when eaten, depending on quantity. During the Dutch famine of 1944–45, tulip bulbs were eaten out of desperation, and Dutch doctors provided recipes.

 

Animals

As with other plants of the lily family, tulips are poisonous to domestic animals including horses, cats and dogs. In cats, ingestion of small amounts of tulips can include vomiting, depression, diarrhoea, hypersalivation, and irritation of the mouth and throat, and larger amounts can cause abdominal pain, tremors, tachycardia, convulsions, tachypnea, difficulty breathing, cardiac arrhythmia, and coma. All parts of the tulip plant are poisonous to cats, while the bulb is especially dangerous. A veterinarian should be contacted immediately if a cat has ingested tulip. In the American East, White-tailed Deer eat tulip flowers ravenously, with no apparent ill effects.

I was in Bluff ,Utah three years ago and stopped at the Museum . Up till then I had never heard of the saga of the Mormon pioneers building a wagon road between established communities in southwestern Utah and the Four Corners area. After watching a short film and purchasing a book ( that I read several times ) about their journey I just had to go see this Hole -In The - Rock for myself ! One hundred plus miles of the roughest dirt and slick rock road as I ever want to travel . Round trip from Escalante to Hole -In The - Rock took the better part of a day.

  

In 1879-80, Mormon pioneers built a wagon road between established communities in southwestern Utah and the Four Corners area. They were fulfilling an assignment from their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to establish a settlement in the area. Their journey turned into an ordeal of unparalleled difficulty as they blazed a route across some of the most broken and rugged terrain in North America.

 

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thefurtrapper.com/home-page/hole-rock/

The Smith Expedition had taken five months to travel over one thousand miles—roughly five hundred miles either way. With a favorable report, the San Juan Mission was established, but it was decided to search for a more direct route. Charles Hall of Escalante was sent to find a wagon route to the Colorado River. Fifty-five miles southeast of Escalante, Hall found a narrow cleft in the canyon rim.

 

Hole in the Rock

Hole in the Rock Fissure

 

Charles Hall reported to Church Authorities he had found a fissure in the canyon wall that widened into a series of steep benches to the Colorado River. He estimated the distance to the river as three quarters of a mile with a two thousand foot drop—the first forty-five feet of the cleft was virtually perpendicular.

 

Andrew Schow and Reuben Collett were sent to explorer a possible trail on the other side of the Colorado River. A few miles above the Hole-in-the-Rock opening, the two men lowered a wagon box off the cliff. Using the wagon box to cross the river, the explorers climbed up high enough to see the San Juan and Colorado River junction. Satisfied, the two men returned to Escalante and reported it could be done.

 

The canyon rim route was chosen because it was shorter than the northern alternative and safer than the southern route through Navajo lands. The distance from Escalante to the San Juan was estimated at two hundred and fifty miles and would require about six weeks.

 

A missionary call to fill the San Juan Mission was issued by the Mormon Church. Settlers from Utah’s Iron, Washington, Millard, and Garfield counties answered the call, including several non-Mormons wanting safe passage to the Colorado gold fields.

 

The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints assigned to the San Juan Mission were carefully selected. The average age of the adults was twenty-eight. Wagons carried plows and seed grains—tied to the sides of the wagons were water barrels, cages of ducks, chickens, rabbits, and boxed bee hives. These settlers did not plan to return—the San Juan country was their new home.

 

On October 22, 1879, men, women, and children started for Escalante. The wagons were pulled primarily by horses, but a few had oxen. The first company consisted of Mormons from Cedar City, with Jens Nielson the leader. Other groups joined the Cedar City group from Parowan and Paragonah. Wagon groups from various place met southeast of Escalante at Forty-mile Spring. A road would have to be built from Forty-mile Spring to the Colorado Rim.

 

By the twentieth of November, two hundred and thirty-six men, women, and children with eighty-three wagons and well over a thousand head of horses and cattle were at Forty-mile Spring. While camped at Forty-mile Spring, dances were often held at nearby Dance Hall Rock.

 

Jens Nielson sent four men to explorer from the Colorado River to the San Juan River. Gone a week, only one of them, George C. Hobbs, thought it was possible to continue with wagons. The other three men believed wagons could not reach the San Juan area.

 

A meeting was held on the fourth of December, and after a long deliberation, the vote to continue was nearly unanimous. By the tenth of December, the Forty-mile camp had moved to Fifty-mile Spring.

 

On the seventeenth of December, a scouting party was sent to Montezuma with two horses and two pack mules. Enough food was packed for eight days. By the time the party reached present-day Bluff, the men had not eaten for four days. The men were surprised to find a Mormon family there from Colorado. The Harris family was not much better off than the weary travelers. All they had left to eat was a small sack of wheat.

 

The next morning, the explorers continued on to the Harriman and Davis families on Montezuma Creek—they were as bad off as the Harris family. Due to the heat and not being able to irrigate the semi-arid land…ditches and head gates washed out in the sandy soil. Unable to irrigate their crops, the settlers had not grow enough to feed their families.

 

The Hole-in-the-Rock scouting party obtained forty-eight pounds of flour for twenty dollars from Peter Shirts—an old trapper that had lived on Montezuma Creek since 1877. Leaving Montezuma Creek, the party followed an ancient Indian trail around Grand Gulch. Thirty miles beyond the Grand Gulch, they climbed onto Grey Mesa—the men marked the trail with rock cairns. The exploratory party returned on the ninth of January to report a road would be difficult, but possible.

 

The men were divided into five work groups: one to work at the crevice—one to build a road from the crevice to the river—one to build the ferry—one to cross the river and work on the Cottonwood Gulch road—another small group to herd the horses and cattle. The animals ranged up to fifty miles from the camp to find enough feed and water. Two new camp sites were established–one at Fifty-mile Spring and the other on the rim of the Colorado River. Half of the men stayed at Fifty-mile spring and the other half established the camp near the rim.

 

While workers carved out the Hole-in-the-Rock road, Charles Hall worked on the ferry. Lumber for the ferry was cut in Escalante and hauled to the Rim—by this time, the opening was wide enough to lower and carry timber to the river. The ferry built by the Charles Hall workers was wide enough to carry two wagons with the teams at one time. A pair of oars moved the ferry across the slow water of the Colorado River.Part of the ferry workers helped the Fifty-mile camp workers build the road from the river up a two hundred and fifty foot rock bank into Cottonwood canyon.

 

The Fifty-mile workers walked about six miles to the rim, crossed the river, worked on the road during the week, and returned on Saturday. At both camps, especially the rim camp, water was always a problem, but worse was lack of firewood.

 

With two blacksmith forges at the rim camp, the blacksmiths kept the tools sharp for drilling into the solid rock. Standing in half-cut barrels, the workers were lowered with ropes over the rim. Dangling in midair, they drilled holes in the cliff and filled them with blasting powder. In areas of sandstone, the holes were filled with water, and when the water froze, chunks of rock broke off.

 

Not far below the first vertical drop of forty feet was another shear wall of fifty feet. Below this drop, the workers tacked a road to the cliff wall. This section of road was called Uncle Ben’s Dugway for the Welch miner, Benjamin Perkins. A narrow ledge for the inside wagon wheels was chiseled out along the wall. Below this narrow ledge, workers drilled holes every foot and a half parallel and about five feet below the ledge. The holes were two and a half inches in diameter and about ten inches deep. Cedar stakes from Kaiparowits Plateau were pounded into holes. Covered with logs and brush then rocks and gravel, the stakes provided the support for a wagon road; with only picks and shovels, the work was slow and tedious.

 

With a square and level, it was determined the angle of decent for the first two steep sections varied from forty-five to fifty degrees with the overall grade off the upper portion dropping one foot for every two feet forward…or thirty-three degrees. Below Uncle Ben’s Dugway, the road to the river was on a steep talus slope.

 

Afraid of the deep dark crevice, the wagon teams had to be forced into the slot—the first team down was a pair horses blinded by pinkeye. With the back wheels locked and up to twenty men and boys holding back with long ropes, the first wagon started down on the twenty-sixth of January. Jens Nielson’s son-in-law, Kumen Jones is generally credited with driving the first wagon down.

 

In his journal, Milton Dailey describes going down the Hole-in-the-Rock road:

 

The first 40 feet down, the wagon stood so straight in the air it was no desirable place to ride. (The) channel was so narrow the barrels had to be removed from the sides of the wagon to (let it) pass through.

 

Twenty-six wagons went down the first day. As the wagons went down the steep slope dirt and gravel was scraped off the road. David Miller claimed a chain tied around the blocked rear wheels dug in the ground—Lee Reay claimed this was tried, but discontinued–the chain drug off to much dirt. In places, the roadbed became like a toboggan run. On the steepest slopes, horses fell and were dragged, or pushed, but none of the horses were seriously injured.

 

When Stanford Smith went back after his wagon, no one noticed him leave. He reached the top of the gorge alone. Smith left his children on the rim and drove the last wagon down with his wife and one horse tied on backwards to help hold back the wagon. His wife and the horse were dragged down the chute for about one hundred and fifty feet. Other than scrapes and bruises neither his wife nor the horse was seriously hurt.

 

In small bunches, the cattle and horses were forced into the steep narrow Hole-in-the-Rock road crevice. One rider reported crossing the river twenty times before all of the cattle, oxen, and horses were swam across the river.

 

By the thirtieth of January, all of the wagons had reached a level area with cottonwood trees and a good stream. This was the first opportunity for the women to wash clothes. The wagons remained in the Cottonwood Canyon camp for ten days while the road was built out of the canyon—it was still five miles to the top of Grey Mesa.

 

By the tenth of February, the Cottonwood Hill road was ready. It took seven teams to pull wagons up the steep grade. Despite men above the road with ropes attached to the wagons, two wagons tipped over in areas with blown sand on the trail. On one wagon, a box with a hive of bees was broken. The cold lethargic bees were gathered up and put back into the repaired box.

 

The road out of Cottonwood Canyon followed a “relatively” flat ridge before dropping into Wilson Canyon. The wagons waited on the road crews at what was later called Cheese Camp—supplies from Panguitch contained forty pounds of cheese along with two hundred pounds of pork. George Hobbs left Cheese Camp with a pack string to haul supplies to the Harris family at Bluff and the Harriman and Davis families on Montezuma Creek…Mrs. Harriman was Hobb’s sister.

 

At Cheese Camp, the cattle owners wanted to send the cattle on ahead. This was agreed to after the herders promised to push the cattle across Grey Mesa as fast as possible—wagon owners were afraid there would not be enough feed left for the draft animals.

 

From Cheese Camp at the bottom of Wilson Canyon, the wagons started up the Chute onto Grey Mesa.

 

From the bottom of the Chute to the top is approximately 290 feet. The change in elevation is 238 feet. Taken from Delorme Topo 9 software, the distance is hard to accurately measure over such a short distance. The point is it was steep…81 degrees based on the Delorme map. Sand spread on the slick rock provided better traction for the six to seven span of horses required to pull one wagon up the Chute.

 

At the top of the Chute, a two mile ridge covered with a foot of snow led to Grey Mesa.

 

The “road” across the ridge is now followed by black skid marks on slick rock. The present-day “road” is probably close to the Hole-in-the-Rock trail because deep canyons and gullies prevented going anywhere else.

 

The settlers wagons crossed the sandy Grey Mesa with little difficulty until they reached a steep sandstone cliff. Workers created a series of steps and grooves to hold sand to provide better footing for the teams. The smooth, oily, sandstone surface become known as the Slick Rocks—a third of the road was carved out before road workers from Panguitch gave up and went home with the belief a road could not be built on the slick surface.

 

Below the Slick Rocks, the wagons stopped at Lake Pagahrit. Drifting sand had blocked off Lake Canyon forming a lake behind the sand dam. The lake was a half-mile long and about a quarter mile wide with good feed around it. The sand dam washed out Lake Pagahrit in 1915. The lake provided a resting place for the people and grass for the livestock. The wagon train camped there several days while work crews worked on the Clay Hills Pass road.

 

The thousand foot drop off of Clay Hills Pass required a three mile switchback road. Once off of Clay Hills Pass, the trail paralleled what is now State Highway 276 and then around the north end of Grand Gulch. The trail proceeded east between Owl and Road Canyons…Snow Flat Road

  

This area of the trail was washes and juniper trees that ended in Comb Ridge Wash. Wagons traveled several miles down Comb Wash before locating a place to build a road over Comb Ridge.

 

A road was built between the south end of Comb Ridge and the San Juan River. The pioneers called it San Juan Hill.

  

Charles Redd, whose father Lemuel Redd was a member of the mission group, wrote about the climb up San Juan Hill:

 

Aside from the Hole-in-the-Rock, itself, this was the steepest crossing on the journey. Here again seven span of horses were used, so that when some of the horses were on their knees, fighting to get up to find a foothold, the still-erect horses could plunge upward against the sharp grade. On the worst slopes the men were forced to beat their jaded animals into giving all they had. After several pulls, rests, and pulls, many of the horses took to spasms and near-convulsions, so exhausted were they.

 

By the time most of the outfits were up San Juan Hill, the worst stretches could easily be identified by the dried blood and matted hair from the forelegs of the struggling teams. One of Jens Nielson’s oxen struggling to get over San Juan Hill collapsed and died.

 

Off of Comb Ridge and across Butler Wash, the settlers reached the Bluff area on April 6, 1880. Though several miles short of the original destination on Montezuma Creek, the weary travelers wanted to go no farther. The settlers had found their new homes—a six week journey had taken six months. Remarkably, no lives were lost and two babies were born…another was stillborn.

 

After arriving in Bluff City, Platte Lyman returned to Escalante for flour and other supplies. Westward traffic up the Hole-in-the-Rock road required each wagon to have a six-horse hitch (12 horses). The road created by this pioneer company served as the route in and out of the San Juan area for about one year.

 

The settlement of Bluff is near the Navajo Twin Peaks.

  

The Charles Hall family built a cabin and remained at the Hole-in-the-Rock ferry crossing. When an easier route was found from Escalante down Harris Wash to the Colorado River, Charles Hall moved the ferry upriver to present-day Hall’s Crossing on Lake Powell. Hall’s Crossing is across the lake from Bullfrog Basin.

 

The Hole-in-the-Rock article was written by O. Ned Eddins of Afton, Wyoming.

 

Permission is given for material from this site to be used for school research papers.

 

Citation: Eddins, Ned. (article name) Thefurtrapper.com. Afton, Wyoming. 2002.

  

Sulphur Tuft fungus found on a dead oak tree in teh New Forest, Hampshire.

 

Hypholoma fasciculare, commonly known as the sulphur tuft, sulfur tuft or clustered woodlover, is a common woodland mushroom, often in evidence when hardly any other mushrooms are to be found. This saprophagic small gill fungus grows prolifically in large clumps on stumps, dead roots or rotting trunks of broadleaved trees.

 

The "Sulphur Tuft" is bitter and poisonous; consuming it can cause vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions. The principal toxic constituents have been named fasciculol E and fasciculol F.

 

The specific epithet is derived from the Latin fascicularis 'in bundles' or 'clustered',[2] referring to its habit of growing in clumps. Its name in Japanese is Nigakuritake (苦栗茸, means "Bitter kuritake").

 

The hemispherical cap can reach 6 cm (2⅓ in) diameter. It is smooth and sulphur yellow with an orange-brown centre and whitish margin. The crowded gills are initially yellow but darken to a distinctive green colour as the blackish spores develop on the yellow flesh. It has a purple brown spore print.[3] The stipe is up to 10 cm (4 in) tall and 1 cm (⅓ in) wide, light yellow, orange-brown below, often with an indistinct ring zone coloured dark by the spores. The taste is very bitter, though not bitter when cooked, but still poisonous.

 

Hypholoma fasciculare grows prolifically on the dead wood of both deciduous and coniferous trees. It is more commonly found on decaying deciduous wood due to the lower lignin content of this wood relative to coniferous wood. Hypholoma fasciculare is widespread and abundant in northern Europe and North America. It has been recorded from Iran, and also eastern Anatolia in Turkey. It can appear anytime from spring to autumn.

 

Toxicity symptoms may be delayed for 5–10 hours after consumption, after which time there may be diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, proteinuria and collapse. Paralysis and impaired vision have been recorded. Symptoms generally resolve over a few days. The autopsy of one fatality revealed fulminant hepatitis reminiscent of amatoxin poisoning, along with involvement of kidneys and myocardium. The mushroom was consumed in a dish with other species so the death cannot be attributed to sulfur tuft with certainty.

See also: www.albelli.nl/onlinefotoboek-bekijken/66948188-f350-4898...

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And, as Apollo punished him (Marsyas), he cried, “Ah-h-h! why are you now tearing me apart? A flute has not the value of my life!”

 

Even as he shrieked out in his agony, his living skin was ripped off from his limbs, till his whole body was a flaming wound, with nerves and veins and viscera exposed.

 

But all the weeping people of that land, and all the Fauns and Sylvan Deities, and all the Satyrs, and Olympus, his loved pupil—even then renowned in song, and all the Nymphs, lamented his sad fate; and all the shepherds, roaming on the hills, lamented as they tended fleecy flocks.

 

And all those falling tears, on fruitful Earth, descended to her deepest veins, as drip the moistening dews,—and, gathering as a fount, turned upward from her secret-winding caves, to issue, sparkling, in the sun-kissed air, the clearest river in the land of Phrygia,—through which it swiftly flows between steep banks down to the sea: and, therefore, from his name, ’tis called “The Marsyas” to this very day.

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Apamea Cibotus, Apamea ad Maeandrum (on the Maeander), Apamea or Apameia (Ancient Greek: Ἀπάμεια, Ancient Greek: κιβωτός) was an ancient city in Anatolia founded in the 3rd century BC by Antiochus I Soter, who named it after his mother Apama. It was in Hellenistic Phrygia, but became part of the Roman province of Pisidia. It was near, but on lower ground than, Celaenae (Kelainai).

 

The site is now partly occupied by the city of Dinar (sometimes locally known also as Geyikler, "the gazelles," perhaps from a tradition of the Persian hunting-park, seen by Xenophon at Celaenae), which by 1911 was connected with İzmir by railway; there are considerable remains, including a theater and a great number of important Graeco-Roman inscriptions. Strabo (p. 577) says, that the town lies at the source (ekbolais) of the Marsyas, and the river flows through the middle of the city, having its origin in the city, and being carried down to the suburbs with a violent and precipitous current it joins the Maeander after the latter is joined by the Orgas (called the Catarrhactes by Herodotus, vii. 26).

 

The original inhabitants were residents of Celaenae who were compelled by Antiochus I Soter to move farther down the river, where they founded the city of Apamea (Strabo, xii. 577). Antiochus the Great transplanted many Jews there. (Josephus, Ant. xii. 3, § 4). It became a seat of Seleucid power, and a center of Graeco-Roman and Graeco-Hebrew civilization and commerce. There Antiochus the Great collected the army with which he met the Romans at Magnesia, and two years later the Treaty of Apamea between Rome and the Seleucid realm was signed there. After Antiochus' departure for the East, Apamea lapsed to the Pergamene kingdom and thence to Rome in 133 BCE, but it was resold to Mithridates V of Pontus, who held it till 120 BCE. After the Mithridatic Wars it became and remained a great center for trade, largely carried on by resident Italians and by Jews. By order of Flaccus, a large amount of Jewish money – nearly 45 kilograms of gold – intended for the Temple in Jerusalem was confiscated in Apamea in the year 62 BCE. In 84 BCE Sulla made it the seat of a conventus, and it long claimed primacy among Phrygian cities. When Strabo wrote, Apamea was a place of great trade in the Roman province of Asia, next in importance to Ephesus. Its commerce was owing to its position on the great road to Cappadocia, and it was also the center of other roads. When Cicero was proconsul of Cilicia, 51 BCE, Apamea was within his jurisdiction (ad Fam. xiii. 67), but the dioecesis, or conventus, of Apamea was afterwards attached to Asia. Pliny the Elder enumerates six towns which belonged to the conventus of Apamea, and he observes that there were nine others of little note.

coin of Kibotos

 

The city minted its own coins in antiquity. The name Cibotus appears on some coins of Apamea, and it has been conjectured that it was so called from the wealth that was collected in this great emporium; for kibôtos in Greek is a chest or coffer. Pliny (v. 29) says that it was first Celaenae, then Cibotus, and then Apamea; which cannot be quite correct, because Celaenae was a different place from Apamea, though near it. But there may have been a place on the site of Apamea, which was called Cibotus.

 

The country about Apamea has been shaken by earthquakes, one of which is recorded as having happened in the time of Claudius (Tacit. Ann. xii. 58); and on this occasion the payment of taxes to the Romans was remitted for five years. Nicolaus of Damascus (Athen. p. 332) records a violent earthquake at Apamea at a previous date, during the Mithridatic Wars: lakes appeared where none were before, and rivers and springs; and many which existed before disappeared. Strabo (p. 579) speaks of this great catastrophe, and of other convulsions at an earlier period.

 

Apamea continued to be a prosperous town under the Roman Empire. Its decline dates from the local disorganization of the empire in the 3rd century; and though a bishopric, it was not an important military or commercial center in Byzantine times. The Turks took it first in 1080, and from the late 13th century onwards it was always in Muslim hands. For a long period it was one of the greatest cities of Asia Minor, commanding the Maeander road; but when the trade routes were diverted to Constantinople it rapidly declined, and its ruin was completed by an earthquake.

 

Apamea in Jewish tradition

 

Apamea is mentioned in the Talmud. The passages relating to witchcraft in Apamea (Ber. 62a) and to a dream in Apamea (Niddah, 30b) probably refer to the Apamea in Phrygia which was looked upon as a fabulously distant habitation. Similarly the much-discussed passage, Yeb. 115b, which treats of the journey of the exilarch Isaac, should also be interpreted to mean a journey from Corduene to Apamea in Phrygia; for if Apamea in Mesene were meant (Brüll's Jahrb. x. 145) it is quite impossible that the Babylonians should have had any difficulty in identifying the body of such a distinguished personage.

 

Christian Apamea

 

Apamea Cibotus is enumerated by Hierocles among the episcopal cities of the Roman province of Pisidia. Lequien gives the names of nine of its bishops. The first is a Julianus of Apamea at the Maeander who, Eusebius records, was in about 253 reported by Alexander of Hierapolis (Phrygia) to have joined others in examining the claims of the Montanist Maximilla. The list of bishops from Pisidia who participated in the First Council of Nicaea (325) includes Tharsitius of Apamea. It also gives a Paulus of Apamea, but Lequien considers that in the latter case "Apamea" is a mistake for "Acmonia". A Bishop Theodulus of Apamea (who may, however, have been of Apamea in Bithynia) witnessed a will of Gregory of Nazianzus. Paulinus took part in the Council of Chalcedon (451) and was a signatory of the letter from the bishops of Pisidia to Emperor Leo I the Thracian concerning the killing in 457 of Proterius of Alexandria. In the early 6th century, Conon abandoned his bishopric of Apamea in Phrygia and became a military leader in a rebellion against Emperor Anastasius. The acts of the Second Council of Constantinople (553) were signed by "John by the mercy of God bishop of the city of Apamea in the province of Pisidia". Sisinnius of Apamea was one of the Pisidian bishops at the Second Council of Nicaea (787). The Council held at Constantinople in 879–880 was attended by two bishops of Apamea in Pisidia, one appointed by Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople the other by Photios I of Constantinople (Wikipedia).

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By N.S. Gill

 

Updated December 09, 2019

01

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Apollo and Marsyas

 

Time and again in Greek mythology, we see mere mortals foolishly daring to compete with the gods. We call this human trait hubris. No matter how good a pride-filled mortal may be at his art, he can't win against a god and shouldn't even try. Should the mortal manage to earn the prize for the contest itself, there will be little time to glory in victory before the angered deity exacts revenge. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that in the story of Apollo and Marsyas, the god makes Marsyas pay.

It's Not Just Apollo

 

This hubris/revenge dynamic plays out again and again in Greek mythology. The origin of the spider in Greek myth comes from the contest between Athena and Arachne, a mortal woman who boasted that her weaving skill was better than that of the goddess Athena. To take her down a peg, Athena agreed to a contest, but then Arachne performed as well as her divine opponent. In response, Athena turned her into a spider (Arachnid).

 

A little later, a friend of Arachne and a daughter of Tantalus, named Niobe, boasted about her brood of 14 children. She claimed she was more fortunate than Artemis and Apollo's mother Leto, who only had two. Angered, Artemis and/or Apollo destroyed Niobe's children.

www.thoughtco.com/apollo-and-marsyas-119918

   

Though the Cat's Eye Nebula was one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered, it is one of the most complex such nebulae ever seen. Planetary nebulae form when Sun-like stars gently eject their outer gaseous layers, creating amazing and confounding shapes. The Cat's Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543, is a visual "fossil record" of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star. It is estimated to be 1,000 years old.

 

In 1994, initial Hubble observations revealed the nebula's surprisingly intricate structures, including gas shells, jets of high-speed gas, and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. Subsequent Hubble images showed a bull's-eye pattern of eleven or more concentric rings, or shells, of dust around the Cat's Eye. Each "ring" is actually the edge of a spherical bubble seen projected onto the sky — that's why it appears bright along its outer edge.

 

Observations suggest the star that created the Cat's Eye Nebula ejected its mass in a series of pulses at 1,500-year intervals. These convulsions created dust shells, each of which contains as much mass as all of the planets in our solar system combined (still only one percent of the Sun's mass). These concentric shells make a layered, onion-skin structure around the dying star. The view from Hubble is like seeing an onion cut in half, where each skin layer is discernible.

 

For more information, visit:

hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2004/news-2004-27.html

 

Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs) in the Tulipa genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colours). They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium, and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae.

 

There are about seventy-five species, and these are divided among four subgenera. The name "tulip" is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, which it may have been thought to resemble by those who discovered it. Tulips were originally found in a band stretching from Southern Europe to Central Asia, but since the seventeenth century have become widely naturalised and cultivated (see map). In their natural state, they are adapted to steppes and mountainous areas with temperate climates. Flowering in the spring, they become dormant in the summer once the flowers and leaves die back, emerging above ground as a shoot from the underground bulb in early spring.

 

Growing wild over much of the Near East and Central Asia, tulips had probably been cultivated in Persia from the 10th century. By the 15th century, tulips were among the most prized flowers; becoming the symbol of the later Ottomans. Tulips were cultivated in Byzantine Constantinople as early as 1055 but they did not come to the attention of Northern Europeans until the sixteenth century, when Northern European diplomats to the Ottoman court observed and reported on them. They were rapidly introduced into Northern Europe and became a much-sought-after commodity during tulip mania. Tulips were frequently depicted in Dutch Golden Age paintings, and have become associated with the Netherlands, the major producer for world markets, ever since. In the seventeenth-century Netherlands, during the time of the tulip mania, an infection of tulip bulbs by the tulip breaking virus created variegated patterns in the tulip flowers that were much admired and valued. While truly broken tulips are not cultivated anymore, the closest available specimens today are part of the group known as the Rembrandts – so named because Rembrandt painted some of the most admired breaks of his time.

 

Breeding programmes have produced thousands of hybrid and cultivars in addition to the original species (known in horticulture as botanical tulips). They are popular throughout the world, both as ornamental garden plants and as cut flowers.

 

Description

Tulip morphology

Collection of tulip bulbs, some sliced to show interior scales

Bulbs, showing tunic and scales

Flower of Tulipa orphanidea, showing cup shape

Cup-shaped flower of Tulipa orphanidea

Photograph of Tulipa clusiana, showing six identical tepals (petals and sepals)

Star-shaped flower of Tulipa clusiana with three sepals and three petals, forming six identical tepals

Tulips are perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes that bloom in spring and die back after flowering to an underground storage bulb. Depending on the species, tulip plants can be between 10 and 70 cm (4 and 28 inches) high.

 

Tulip stems have few leaves. Larger species tend to have multiple leaves. Plants typically have two to six leaves, some species up to 12. The tulip's leaf is cauline (born on a stem), strap-shaped, with a waxy coating, and the leaves are alternate (alternately arranged on the stem), diminishing in size the further up the stem. These fleshy blades are often bluish-green in colour. The bulbs are truncated basally and elongated towards the apex. They are covered by a protective tunic (tunicate) which can be glabrous or hairy inside.

 

Flowers

The tulip's flowers are usually large and are actinomorphic (radially symmetric) and hermaphrodite (contain both male (androecium) and female (gynoecium) characteristics), generally erect, or more rarely pendulous, and are arranged more usually as a single terminal flower, or when pluriflor as two to three (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica), but up to four, flowers on the end of a floriferous stem (scape), which is single arising from amongst the basal leaf rosette. In structure, the flower is generally cup or star-shaped. As with other members of Liliaceae the perianth is undifferentiated (perigonium) and biseriate (two whorled), formed from six free (i.e. apotepalous) caducous tepals arranged into two separate whorls of three parts (trimerous) each. The two whorls represent three petals and three sepals, but are termed tepals because they are nearly identical. The tepals are usually petaloid (petal-like), being brightly coloured, but each whorl may be different, or have different coloured blotches at their bases, forming darker colouration on the interior surface. The inner petals have a small, delicate cleft at the top, while the sturdier outer ones form uninterrupted ovals.

 

The flowers have six distinct, basifixed introrse stamens arranged in two whorls of three, which vary in length and may be glabrous or hairy. The filaments are shorter than the tepals and dilated towards their base. The style is short or absent and each stigma has three distinct lobes, and the ovaries are superior, with three chambers.

 

Colours

The "Semper Augustus" was the most expensive tulip during the 17th-century tulip mania. “The colour is white, with Carmine on a blue base, and with an unbroken flame right to the top” – wrote Nicolas van Wassenaer in 1624 after seeing the tulip in the garden of one Dr Adriaen Pauw, a director of the new East India Company. With limited specimens in existence at the time and most owned by Pauw, his refusal to sell any flowers, despite wildly escalating offers, is believed by some to have sparked the mania.

 

Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colours, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue), and have absent nectaries. Tulip flowers are generally bereft of scent and are the coolest of floral characters. The Dutch regarded this lack of scent as a virtue, as it demonstrates the flower's chasteness.

 

While tulips can be bred to display a wide variety of colours, black tulips have historically been difficult to achieve. The Queen of the Night tulip is as close to black as a flower gets, though it is, in fact, a dark and glossy maroonish purple - nonetheless, an effect prized by the Dutch. The first truly black tulip was bred in 1986 by a Dutch flower grower in Bovenkarspel, Netherlands. The specimen was created by cross-breeding two deep purple tulips, the Queen of the Night and Wienerwald tulips.

 

Fruit

The tulip's fruit is a globose or ellipsoid capsule with a leathery covering and an ellipsoid to globe shape. Each capsule contains numerous flat, disc-shaped seeds in two rows per chamber These light to dark brown seeds have very thin seed coats and endosperm that do not normally fill the entire seed.

 

Phytochemistry

Tulipanin is an anthocyanin found in tulips. It is the 3-rutinoside of delphinidin. The chemical compounds named tuliposides and tulipalins can also be found in tulips and are responsible for allergies. Tulipalin A, or α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone, is a common allergen, generated by hydrolysis of the glucoside tuliposide A. It induces a dermatitis that is mostly occupational and affects tulip bulb sorters and florists who cut the stems and leaves. Tulipanin A and B are toxic to horses, cats and dogs. The colour of a tulip is formed from two pigments working in concert; a base colour that is always yellow or white, and a second laid-on anthocyanin colour. The mix of these two hues determines the visible unitary colour. The breaking of flowers occurs when a virus suppresses anthocyanin and the base colour is exposed as a streak.

 

Fragrance

The great majority of tulips, both species and cultivars, have no discernable scent, but a few of both are scented to a degree, and Anna Pavord describes T. Hungarica as "strongly scented", and among cultivars, some such as "Monte Carlo" and "Brown Sugar" are "scented", and "Creme Upstar" "fragrant".

 

Taxonomy

Main article: Taxonomy of Tulipa

Tulipa is a genus of the lily family, Liliaceae, once one of the largest families of monocots, but which molecular phylogenetics has reduced to a monophyletic grouping with only 15 genera. Within Liliaceae, Tulipa is placed within Lilioideae, one of three subfamilies, with two tribes. Tribe Lilieae includes seven other genera in addition to Tulipa.

 

Subdivision

The genus, which includes about 75 species, is divided into four subgenera.

 

Clusianae (4 species)

Orithyia (4 species)

Tulipa (52 species)

Eriostemones (16 species)

Etymology

The word tulip, first mentioned in western Europe in or around 1554 and seemingly derived from the "Turkish Letters" of diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, first appeared in English as tulipa or tulipant, entering the language by way of French: tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulipa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend ("muslin" or "gauze"), and may be ultimately derived from the Persian: دلبند delband ("Turban"), this name being applied because of a perceived resemblance of the shape of a tulip flower to that of a turban. This may have been due to a translation error in early times when it was fashionable in the Ottoman Empire to wear tulips on turbans. The translator possibly confused the flower for the turban.

 

Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq stated that the "Turks" used the word tulipan to describe the flower. Extensive speculation has tried to understand why he would state this, given that the Turkish word for tulip is lale. It is from this speculation that tulipan being a translation error referring to turbans is derived. This etymology has been challenged and makes no assumptions about possible errors. At no point does Busbecq state this was the word used in Turkey, he simply states it was used by the "Turks". On his way to Constantinople Busbecq states he travelled through Hungary and used Hungarian guides. Until recent times "Turk" was a common term when referring to Hungarians. The word tulipan is in fact the Hungarian word for tulip. As long as one recognizes "Turk" as a reference to Hungarians, no amount of speculation is required to reconcile the word's origin or form. Busbecq may have been simply repeating the word used by his "Turk/Hungarian" guides.

 

The Hungarian word tulipan may be adopted from an Indo-Aryan reference to the tulip as a symbol of resurrection, tala meaning "bottom or underworld" and pAna meaning "defence". Prior to arriving in Europe the Hungarians, and other Finno-Ugrians, embraced the Indo-Iranian cult of the dead, Yima/Yama, and would have been familiar with all of its symbols including the tulip.

 

Distribution and habitat

Map from Turkmenistan to Tien-Shan

Eastern end of the tulip range from Turkmenistan on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to the Pamir-Alai and Tien-Shan mountains

Tulips are mainly distributed along a band corresponding to latitude 40° north, from southeast of Europe (Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Southern Serbia, Bulgaria, most part of Romania, Ukraine, Russia) and Turkey in the west, through the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Jordan) and the Sinai Peninsula. From there it extends eastwards through Jerevan (Armenia), and Baku (Azerbaijan) and on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea through Turkmenistan, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), to the eastern end of the range in the Pamir-Alai and Tien-Shan mountains in Central Asia, which form the centre of diversity. Further to the east, Tulipa is found in the western Himalayas, southern Siberia, Inner Mongolia, and as far as the northwest of China. While authorities have stated that no tulips west of the Balkans are native, subsequent identification of Tulipa sylvestris subsp. australis as a native of the Iberian peninsula and adjacent North Africa shows that this may be a simplification. In addition to these regions in the west tulips have been identified in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans. In the south, Iran marks its furthest extent, while the northern limit is Ukraine. Although tulips are also throughout most of the Mediterranean and Europe, these regions do not form part of the natural distribution. Tulips were brought to Europe by travellers and merchants from Anatolia and Central Asia for cultivation, from where they escaped and naturalised (see map). For instance, less than half of those species found in Turkey are actually native. These have been referred to as neo-tulipae.

 

Tulips are indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates, where they are a common element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation. They thrive in climates with long, cool springs and dry summers. Tulips are most commonly found in meadows, steppes and chaparral, but also introduced in fields, orchards, roadsides and abandoned gardens.

 

Ecology

 

Variegation produced by the tulip breaking virus

Botrytis tulipae is a major fungal disease affecting tulips, causing cell death and eventually the rotting of the plant. Other pathogens include anthracnose, bacterial soft rot, blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii, bulb nematodes, other rots including blue molds, black molds and mushy rot.

 

The fungus Trichoderma viride can infect tulips, producing dried leaf tips and reduced growth, although symptoms are usually mild and only present on bulbs growing in glasshouses.[citation needed]

 

Variegated tulips admired during the Dutch tulipomania gained their delicately feathered patterns from an infection with the tulip breaking virus, a mosaic virus that was carried by the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. While the virus produces fantastically streaked flowers, it also weakens plants and reduces the number of offsets produced. Dutch growers would go to extraordinary lengths during tulipomania to make tulips break, borrowing alchemists’ techniques and resorting to sprinkling paint powders of the desired hue or pigeon droppings onto flower roots.

 

Tulips affected by the mosaic virus are called "broken"; while such plants can occasionally revert to a plain or solid colouring, they will remain infected and have to be destroyed. Today the virus is almost eradicated from tulip growers' fields. The multicoloured patterns of modern varieties result from breeding; they normally have solid, un-feathered borders between the colours.

 

Tulip growth is also dependent on temperature conditions. Slightly germinated plants show greater growth if subjected to a period of cool dormancy, known as vernalisation. Furthermore, although flower development is induced at warmer temperatures (20–25 °C or 68–77 °F), elongation of the flower stalk and proper flowering is dependent on an extended period of low temperature (< 10 °C or 50 °F). Tulip bulbs imported to warm-winter areas are often planted in autumn to be treated as annuals.

 

The colour of tulip flowers also varies with growing conditions.

 

Cultivation

History

Islamic World

 

Tulipa sylvestris subsp. australis[a] with seedpod by Sydenham Edwards (1804)

Cultivation of the tulip began in Iran (Persia), probably in the 10th century. Early cultivars must have emerged from hybridisation in gardens from wild collected plants, which were then favoured, possibly due to flower size or growth vigour. The tulip is not mentioned by any writer from antiquity, therefore it seems probable that tulips were introduced into Anatolia only with the advance of the Seljuks. In the Ottoman Empire, numerous types of tulips were cultivated and bred, and today, 14 species can still be found in Turkey. Tulips are mentioned by Omar Kayam and Jalāl ad-Dīn Rûmi. Species of tulips in Turkey typically come in red, less commonly in white or yellow. The Ottoman Turks had discovered that these wild tulips were great changelings, freely hybridizing (though it takes 7 years to show colour) but also subject to mutations that produced spontaneous changes in form and colour.

 

A paper by Arthur Baker[31] reports that in 1574, Sultan Selim II ordered the Kadi of A‘azāz in Syria to send him 50,000 tulip bulbs. However, John Harvey points out several problems with this source, and there is also the possibility that tulips and hyacinth (sümbüll), originally Indian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) have been confused. Sultan Selim also imported 300,000 bulbs of Kefe Lale (also known as Cafe-Lale, from the medieval name Kaffa, probably Tulipa schrenkii) from Kefe in Crimea, for his gardens in the Topkapı Sarayı in Istanbul.

 

It is also reported that shortly after arriving in Constantinople in 1554, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, ambassador of the Austrian Habsburgs to the court of Suleyman the Magnificent, claimed to have introduced the tulip to Europe by sending a consignment of bulbs west. The fact that the tulip's first official trip west took it from one court to the other could have contributed to its ascendency.

 

Sultan Ahmet III maintained famous tulip gardens in the summer highland pastures (Yayla) at Spil Dağı above the town of Manisa. They seem to have consisted of wild tulips. However, of the 14 tulip species known from Turkey, only four are considered to be of local origin, so wild tulips from Iran and Central Asia may have been brought into Turkey during the Seljuk and especially Ottoman periods. Also, Sultan Ahmet imported domestic tulip bulbs from the Netherlands.

 

The gardening book Revnak'ı Bostan (Beauty of the Garden) by Sahibül Reis ülhaç Ibrahim Ibn ülhaç Mehmet, written in 1660 does not mention the tulip at all, but contains advice on growing hyacinths and lilies. However, there is considerable confusion of terminology, and tulips may have been subsumed under hyacinth, a mistake several European botanists were to perpetuate. In 1515, the scholar Qasim from Herat in contrast had identified both wild and garden tulips (lale) as anemones (shaqayq al-nu'man), but described the crown imperial as laleh kakli.

 

In a Turkic text written before 1495, the Chagatay Husayn Bayqarah mentions tulips (lale). Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, also names tulips in the Baburnama. He may actually have introduced them from Afghanistan to the plains of India, as he did with other plants like melons and grapes. The tulip represents the official symbol of Turkey.

 

In Moorish Andalus, a "Makedonian bulb" (basal al-maqdunis) or "bucket-Narcissus" (naryis qadusi) was cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens. It was supposed to have come from Alexandria and may have been Tulipa sylvestris, but the identification is not wholly secure.

 

Introduction to Western Europe

 

Tulip cultivation in the Netherlands

 

The Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands

Although it is unknown who first brought the tulip to Northwestern Europe, the most widely accepted story is that it was Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq, an ambassador for Emperor Ferdinand I to Suleyman the Magnificent. According to a letter, he saw "an abundance of flowers everywhere; Narcissus, hyacinths and those in Turkish called Lale, much to our astonishment because it was almost midwinter, a season unfriendly to flowers." However, in 1559, an account by Conrad Gessner describes tulips flowering in Augsburg, Swabia in the garden of Councillor Heinrich Herwart. In Central and Northern Europe, tulip bulbs are generally removed from the ground in June and must be replanted by September for the winter.[citation needed] It is doubtful that Busbecq could have had the tulip bulbs harvested, shipped to Germany and replanted between March 1558 and Gessner's description the following year. Pietro Andrea Mattioli illustrated a tulip in 1565 but identified it as a narcissus.

 

Carolus Clusius is largely responsible for the spread of tulip bulbs in the final years of the 16th century; he planted tulips at the Vienna Imperial Botanical Gardens in 1573. He finished the first major work on tulips in 1592 and made note of the colour variations. After he was appointed the director of the Leiden University's newly established Hortus Botanicus, he planted both a teaching garden and his private garden with tulips in late 1593. Thus, 1594 is considered the date of the tulip's first flowering in the Netherlands, despite reports of the cultivation of tulips in private gardens in Antwerp and Amsterdam two or three decades earlier. These tulips at Leiden would eventually lead to both the tulip mania and the tulip industry in the Netherlands. Over two raids, in 1596 and in 1598, more than one hundred bulbs were stolen from his garden.

 

Tulips spread rapidly across Europe, and more opulent varieties such as double tulips were already known in Europe by the early 17th century. These curiosities fitted well in an age when natural oddities were cherished especially in the Netherlands, France, Germany and England, where the spice trade with the East Indies had made many people wealthy. Nouveaux riches seeking wealthy displays embraced the exotic plant market, especially in the Low Countries where gardens had become fashionable. A craze for bulbs soon grew in France, where in the early 17th century, entire properties were exchanged as payment for a single tulip bulb. The value of the flower gave it an aura of mystique, and numerous publications describing varieties in lavish garden manuals were published, cashing in on the value of the flower. An export business was built up in France, supplying Dutch, Flemish, German and English buyers. The trade drifted slowly from the French to the Dutch.

 

Between 1634 and 1637, the enthusiasm for the new flowers in Holland triggered a speculative frenzy now known as the tulip mania that eventually led to the collapse of the market three years later. Tulip bulbs had become so expensive that they were treated as a form of currency, or rather, as futures, forcing the Dutch government to introduce trading restrictions on the bulbs. Around this time, the ceramic tulipiere was devised for the display of cut flowers stem by stem. Vases and bouquets, usually including tulips, often appeared in Dutch still-life painting. To this day, tulips are associated with the Netherlands, and the cultivated forms of the tulip are often called "Dutch tulips". The Netherlands has the world's largest permanent display of tulips at the Keukenhof.

 

The majority of tulip cultivars are classified in the taxon Tulipa ×gesneriana. They have usually several species in their direct background, but most have been derived from Tulipa suaveolens (today often regarded as a synonym with Tulipa schrenkii). Tulipa ×gesneriana is in itself an early hybrid of complex origin and is probably not the same taxon as was described by Conrad Gessner in the 16th century.

 

The UK's National Collection of English florists' tulips and Dutch historic tulips, dating from the early 17th century to c. 1960, is held by Polly Nicholson at Blackland House, near Calne in Wiltshire.

 

Introduction to the United States

 

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

It is believed the first tulips in the United States were grown near Spring Pond at the Fay Estate in Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts. From 1847 to 1865, Richard Sullivan Fay, Esq., one of Lynn's wealthiest men, settled on 500 acres (2 km2; 202 ha) located partly in present-day Lynn and partly in present-day Salem. Mr. Fay imported many different trees and plants from all parts of the world and planted them among the meadows of the Fay Estate.

 

Propagation

 

Tulip pistil surrounded by stamens

 

Tulip stamen with pollen grains

The reproductive organs of a tulip

The Netherlands is the world's main producer of commercial tulip plants, producing as many as 3 billion bulbs annually, the majority for export.

 

"Unlike many flower species, tulips do not produce nectar to entice insect pollination. Instead, tulips rely on wind and land animals to move their pollen between reproductive organs. Because they are self-pollinating, they do not need the pollen to move several feet to another plant but only within their blossoms."

 

Tulips can be propagated through bulb offsets, seeds or micropropagation. Offsets and tissue culture methods are means of asexual propagation for producing genetic clones of the parent plant, which maintains cultivar genetic integrity. Seeds are most often used to propagate species and subspecies or to create new hybrids. Many tulip species can cross-pollinate with each other, and when wild tulip populations overlap geographically with other tulip species or subspecies, they often hybridise and create mixed populations. Most commercial tulip cultivars are complex hybrids, and often sterile.

 

Offsets require a year or more of growth before plants are large enough to flower. Tulips grown from seeds often need five to eight years before plants are of flowering size. To prevent cross-pollination, increase the growth rate of bulbs and increase the vigour and size of offsets, the flower and stems of a field of commercial tulips are usually topped using large tractor-mounted mowing heads. The same goals can be achieved by a private gardener by clipping the stem and flower of an individual specimen. Commercial growers usually harvest the tulip bulbs in late summer and grade them into sizes; bulbs large enough to flower are sorted and sold, while smaller bulbs are sorted into sizes and replanted for sale in the future.

 

Because tulip bulbs don't reliably come back every year, tulip varieties that fall out of favour with present aesthetic values have traditionally gone extinct. Unlike other flowers that do not suffer this same limitation, the Tulip's historical forms do not survive alongside their modern incarnations.

 

Horticultural classification

 

'Gavota', a division 3 cultivar

 

'Yonina', a division 6 cultivar

 

'Texas Flame', a division 10 cultivar

In horticulture, tulips are divided into fifteen groups (Divisions) mostly based on flower morphology and plant size.

 

Div. 1: Single early – with cup-shaped single flowers, no larger than 8 cm (3 inches) across. They bloom early to mid-season. Growing 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 inches) tall.

Div. 2: Double early – with fully double flowers, bowl shaped to 8 cm (3 inches) across. Plants typically grow from 30–40 cm (12–16 inches) tall.

Div. 3: Triumph – single, cup shaped flowers up to 6 cm (2.5 inches) wide. Plants grow 35–60 cm (14–24 inches) tall and bloom mid to late season.

Div. 4: Darwin hybrid – single flowers are ovoid in shape and up to 6 cm (2.5 inches) wide. Plants grow 50–70 cm (20–28 inches) tall and bloom mid to late season. This group should not be confused with older Darwin tulips, which belong in the Single Late Group below.

Div. 5: Single late – cup or goblet-shaped flowers up to 8 cm (3 inches) wide, some plants produce multi-flowering stems. Plants grow 45–75 cm (18–30 inches) tall and bloom late season.

Div. 6: Lily-flowered – the flowers possess a distinct narrow 'waist' with pointed and reflexed petals. Previously included with the old Darwins, only became a group in their own right in 1958.

Div. 7: Fringed (Crispa) – cup or goblet-shaped blossoms edged with spiked or crystal-like fringes, sometimes called “tulips for touch” because of the temptation to “test” the fringes to see if they are real or made of glass. Perennials with a tendency to naturalize in woodland areas, growing 45–65 cm (18–26 inches) tall and blooming in late season.

Div. 8: Viridiflora

Div. 9: Rembrandt

Div. 10: Parrot

Div. 11: Double late – Large, heavy blooms. They range from 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 inches) tall.

Div. 12: Kaufmanniana – Waterlily tulip. Medium-large creamy yellow flowers marked red on the outside and yellow at the centre. Stems 15 cm (6 inches) tall.

Div. 13: Fosteriana (Emperor)

Div. 14: Greigii – Scarlet flowers 15 cm (6 inches) across, on 15-centimetre (6 in) stems. Foliage mottled with brown.

Div. 15: Species or Botanical – The terms "species tulips" and "botanical tulips" refer to wild species in contrast to hybridised varieties. As a group they have been described as being less ostentatious but more reliably vigorous as they age.

Div. 16: Multiflowering – not an official division, these tulips belong in the first 15 divisions but are often listed separately because they have multiple blooms per bulb.

They may also be classified by their flowering season:

 

Early flowering: Single Early Tulips, Double Early Tulips, Greigii Tulips, Kaufmanniana Tulips, Fosteriana Tulips, § Species tulips

Mid-season flowering: Darwin Hybrid Tulips, Triumph Tulips, Parrot Tulips

Late season flowering: Single Late Tulips, Double Late Tulips, Viridiflora Tulips, Lily-flowering Tulips, Fringed (Crispa) Tulips, Rembrandt Tulips

Neo-tulipae

Tulip Bulb Depth

Tulip bulb planting depth 15 cm (6 inches)

A number of names are based on naturalised garden tulips and are usually referred to as neo-tulipae. These are often difficult to trace back to their original cultivar, and in some cases have been occurring in the wild for many centuries. The history of naturalisation is unknown, but populations are usually associated with agricultural practices and are possibly linked to saffron cultivation[clarification needed]. Some neo-tulipae have been brought into cultivation, and are often offered as botanical tulips. These cultivated plants can be classified into two Cultivar Groups: 'Grengiolensis Group', with picotee tepals, and the 'Didieri Group' with unicolourous tepals.

 

Horticulture

Tulip bulbs are typically planted around late summer and fall, in well-drained soils. Tulips should be planted 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) apart from each other. The recommended hole depth is 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) deep and is measured from the top of the bulb to the surface. Therefore, larger tulip bulbs would require deeper holes. Species tulips are normally planted deeper.

 

Culture and politics

Iran

The celebration of Persian New Year, or Nowruz, dating back over 3,000 years, marks the advent of spring, and tulips are used as a decorative feature during the festivities.

 

A sixth-century legend, similar to the tale of Romeo and Juliet, tells of tulips sprouting where the blood of the young prince Farhad spilt after he killed himself upon hearing the (deliberately false) story that his true love had died.

 

The tulip was a topic for Persian poets from the thirteenth century. The poem Gulistan by Musharrifu'd-din Saadi, described a visionary garden paradise with "The murmur of a cool stream / bird song, ripe fruit in plenty / bright multicoloured tulips and fragrant roses...". In recent times, tulips have featured in the poems of Simin Behbahani.

 

The tulip is the national symbol for martyrdom in Iran[62] (and Shi'ite Islam generally), and has been used on postage stamps and coins. It was common as a symbol used in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and a red tulip adorns the flag redesigned in 1980. The sword in the centre, with four crescent-shaped petals around it, create the word "Allah" as well as symbolising the five pillars of Islam. The tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is decorated with 72 stained glass tulips, representing 72 martyrs who died at the Battle of Karbala in 680CE. It was also used as a symbol on billboards celebrating casualties of the 1980–1988 war with Iraq.[60]

 

The tulip also became a symbol of protest against the Iranian government after the presidential election in June 2009, when millions turned out on the streets to protest the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After the protests were harshly suppressed, the Iranian Green Movement adopted the tulip as a symbol of their struggle.

 

The word for tulip in Persian is "laleh" (لاله), and this has become popular as a girl's name. The name has been used for commercial enterprises, such as the Laleh International Hotel, as well as public facilities, such as Laleh Park and Laleh Hospital, and the tulip motif remains common in Iranian culture.

 

Iranian 20 rial coin

Obverse with 22 tulips

Obverse with 22 tulips

 

Reverse with three tulips

Reverse with three tulips

In other countries and cultures

 

Turkish Airlines uses a grey tulip emblem on its aircraft

Tulips are called lale in Turkish (from the Persian: لاله, romanized: laleh from لال lal 'red'). When written in Arabic letters, lale has the same letters as Allah, which is why the flower became a holy symbol. It was also associated with the House of Osman, resulting in tulips being widely used in decorative motifs on tiles, mosques, fabrics, crockery, etc. in the Ottoman Empire.[6] The tulip was seen as a symbol of abundance and indulgence. The era during which the Ottoman Empire was wealthiest is often called the Tulip era or Lale Devri in Turkish.

 

Tulips became popular garden plants in the east and west, but, whereas the tulip in Turkish culture was a symbol of paradise on earth and had almost a divine status, in the Netherlands it represented the briefness of life.

 

In Christianity, tulips symbolise passion, belief and love. White tulips represent forgiveness while purple tulips represent royalty, both important aspects of Easter.[citation needed] In Calvinism, the five points of the doctrines of grace have been summarized under the acrostic TULIP.

 

By contrast to other flowers such as the coneflower or lotus flower, tulips have historically been capable of genetically reinventing themselves to suit changes in aesthetic values. In his 1597 herbal, John Gerard says of the tulip that "nature seems to play more with this flower than with any other that I do know". When in the Netherlands, beauty was defined by marbled swirls of vivid contrasting colours, the petals of tulips were able to become "feathered" and "flamed". However, in the 19th century, when the English desired tulips for carpet bedding and massing, the tulips were able to once again accommodate this by evolving into "paint-filled boxes with the brightest, fattest dabs of pure pigment". This inherent mutability of the tulip even led the Ottoman Turks to believe that nature cherished this flower above all others.

 

The Black Tulip (1850) is a historical romance by Alexandre Dumas, père. The story takes place in the Dutch city of Haarlem, where a reward is offered to the first grower who can produce a truly black tulip.[citation needed]

 

The tulip occurs on a number of the Major Arcana cards of occultist Oswald Wirth's deck of Tarot cards, specifically the Magician, Emperor, Temperance and the Fool, described in his 1927 work Le Tarot, des Imagiers du Moyen Âge.

 

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Tulip festivals are held around the world, for example in the Netherlands and Spalding, England. There is also a popular festival in Morges, Switzerland. Every spring, there are tulip festivals in North America, including the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, Washington, the Tulip Time Festival in Orange City and Pella, Iowa, and the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tulips are also popular in Australia and several festivals are held in September and October, during the Southern Hemisphere's spring. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden hosts an annual tulip festival which draws huge attention and has an attendance of over 200,000.

 

Consumption

Tulip petals are edible. The taste varies by variety and season, and is roughly similar to lettuce or other salad greens. Some people are allergic to tulips.

 

Tulip bulbs look similar to onions, but should not generally be considered food. The toxicity of bulbs is not well understood, nor is there an agreed-upon method of safely preparing them for human consumption. There have been reports of illness when eaten, depending on quantity. During the Dutch famine of 1944–45, tulip bulbs were eaten out of desperation, and Dutch doctors provided recipes.

 

Animals

As with other plants of the lily family, tulips are poisonous to domestic animals including horses, cats and dogs. In cats, ingestion of small amounts of tulips can include vomiting, depression, diarrhoea, hypersalivation, and irritation of the mouth and throat, and larger amounts can cause abdominal pain, tremors, tachycardia, convulsions, tachypnea, difficulty breathing, cardiac arrhythmia, and coma. All parts of the tulip plant are poisonous to cats, while the bulb is especially dangerous. A veterinarian should be contacted immediately if a cat has ingested tulip. In the American East, White-tailed Deer eat tulip flowers ravenously, with no apparent ill effects.

Sin embargo,

sin embargo,

sin embargo... No me

fío de mí. Nada es

permanente. Menos

lo es la palabra. Esto

tampoco,

esto tampoco,

esto tampoco. No me fío,

no te fíes de quien

dice, de quien

habla, de lo que se

dice, de lo que dices,

de lo que digo,

no me fíes,

no te fío.

La lucidez es una chispa, un

estado de conciencia

en las multiplicadas estancias

de la conciencia o que hacen

conciencia, las estancias

que se alargan, se prolongan, se

continúan, y así

se le llama conciencia

a aquella continuidad.

No me fío, no te

fíes de las estancias,

se estrechan,

se acortan,

se invaden,

desaparecen,

la lucidez es un instante

entre estancias,

ventanas en la mónada que

si permanece bajo

la luz del foco se hace estancia,

también ella, y sufre

las mismas convulsiones.

Sin embargo,

sin embargo,

sin embargo... lo

que intuyo ahora

se borrará mañana,

luego,

ahora,

apenas se haga pensamiento,

conciencia: estancia. Atrapamos

la sensación que invade las entrañas,

muy abajo,

muy adentro,

muy homogénea, la atrapamos

y la hacemos eso: "sensación",

la nombramos,

la describimos... la perdemos. Ya

no es ella, ya no es eso, ya no es.

Aún está allí pero

no es lo que digo,

lo es apenas,

no es lo que oís,

no es eso, no

os fiéis,

no me fíes,

no te fío.

 

Chantal Maillard.

 

Curro Rodriguez

Megalopyge sp.

Chiriquí Province, Panama

 

The caterpillars of flannel moths are bizarre looking creatures, with long, wavy, hairlike setae that often appear to have been fashioned into a miniature faux-hawk. Although they may look cute and cuddly, these caterpillars are venomous, and touching them will result in a painful sting and skin irritation that can last for several days. The pain is reported to be severe, and has been compared to experiencing a broken a bone, kidney stones, or blunt-force trauma. This pain may radiate beyond the location of the sting, and can cause pseudoparalysis and swelling of the lymph nodes. Less common symptoms include muscle spasms, respiratory distress, difficulty swallowing, and convulsions.

 

If anyone knows what species this is, let me know—until then, it’s the panda bear caterpillar.

All medicines come with a little leaflet….one line to tell you what that medication is meant to treat and three hardback books listing the possible side effects. I imagine a collective of chemists sat in the lab of an evening sniffing ammonia and holding their hands over Bunsen burners.They thumb through their medical dictionaries and snigger, white overcoated shoulders shuddering as they choose the side effects that would be most amusing to juxtapose against the ailment being treated.

 

You go to the doctor for one particular problem and they offer you a product, picked tombola-like from some kind of online doctor gambling site. They send you skipping out of their office gushing thanks and adulation that they have deigned to look up from their gallery of family photos of impossibly healthy children to treat you. Out you go, clinging to a little green scrap of hope that perhaps this is THE one, THE solution.

 

Every time you receive a prescription you have to be prepared to go through some kind of sophie’s choice where you must decide between the horrible thing you have now vs the horrible side effects you are willing to tolerate as a direct trade off. And you don’t find this out until after you have paid £7.20 a pop.

Now doctors surgeries are always carefully situated just slightly too far away from the chemist for you to go rushing back to said doctor when you get the prescription. You open up the box, read the small print with an increasingly horrified face and realise that taking this medication could, instead of miraculously curing you of your ills actually instil in you several even more feared and loathed symptoms.

For example…….

“In clinical trials, over 10% of patients reported one or more of the following side effects: fatigue, drowsiness, dry mouth, increased sweating (hyperhidrosis), trembling, headache, dizziness, sleep disturbances, insomnia, cardiac arrhythmia, hallucinations, blood pressure changes, nausea and/or vomiting, diarrhoea, heightened anorgasmia in females, impotence and ejaculatory problems in males. In rare cases (around over 1% of cases), some allergic reactions, convulsions, mood swings, anxiety and confusion have been reported. Also sedation may be present during treatment.”

Now after reading that little lot, who, in their right mind is going to take that medication, well, unless of course your problem is that you reach orgasm too easily and often, don’t sweat enough and wish that you had more stomach upsets.

Now in my opinion any medication that is diminishing anyone’s sex drive, even by a the minutest milligasm is a chemical crime….To take away the purest moment of unadulterated pleasure a miserable human creature can experience and ultimately one of the best natural medicines is simply reprehensible.

Maybe sex offenders just need to be put on several prescription medicines.

How can scientists in the lab knowingly release a sex drive destroying medication for distribution? I can imagine, they, like abortion doctors have to check under their cars each morning with a mirror on a pole, checking for angrily buzzing rubber phalluses packed with explosives. In restaurants harranged looking women will rush, red faced up to their tables and scream at them, “Do you know what you have done?! You see that ugly bloke over there, that’s my husband. I never fancied him in the first place but now, now I cant even close my eyes and pretend that he is Mr Darcy in the bedroom because he would rather sand down the banisters than service me.”

Oh the irony, I have found that it is particularly the pills that are meant to improve your mood and your general sense of well being that mercilously remove the only method of free self medication that you have in your internal medicine cabinet. The contraceptive pill for one – I don’t believe it has any effect on your eggs whatsover, it simply removes all desire to bonk and thus renders all sperm null and void for they never even get a ‘look in’. Literally.

If its copious amounts of animal testing that we need to ensure that our medications still allow full blown orgasms to occur in males and females then so be it – I would be intrigued to know just how they discover anorgasmia and ejaculatory problems when testing on gerbils anyway.

  

...Curativa, planta de adivinos y de niños, espíritu de águila y planta de cementerios...

 

"cayo en un pesado estupor, fijo sus ojos inexpresivos en el suelo; su boca permaneció convulsivamente cerrada y las fosas nasales se dilataron. Después de un cuarto de hora sus ojos empezaron a girar, broto espuma de su boca y todo el cuerpo fue presa de terribles convulsiones. Una vez que pasaron estos síntomas violentos, siguió un profundo sueño que duro varias horas; cuando el sujeto se recobro, relato las particularidades de la visita que hizo a sus antepasados"

Johann J. Tschudi, Peru 1846

 

El águila maligna revolotea sobre el hombre, y su borrachero es una señal perenne que recuerda que no siempre es fácil tener una audiencia con los dioses.

   

Ampáralo niña ciega de alma

Ponle tus cabellos escarchados por el fuego

Abrázalo pequeña estatua de terror.

Señálale el mundo convulsionado a tus pies

A tus pies donde mueren las golondrinas

Tiritantes de pavor frente al futuro

Dile que los suspiros del mar

Humedecen las únicas palabras

Por las que vale vivir.

  

Alejandra Pizarnik

LA PAZ QUE TE TRAE EL VIENTO

 

Murmúrale al viento lo que sientes,

Cuéntale todo y que el lo lleve.

Que lo pasee por los caminos,

Lo divulgue entre las flores.

Habla lento y despacio, siente tus palabras,

¡Pálpalas! Con las manos de tu espíritu.

Indaga sus formas, cuestiona su sutil sonido,

Su inefable modo de decir.

Murmúrale al viento lo que sientes,

Háblale del futuro y también

De tu pasado y de tu presente.

Mézclate con sus esencias de vida,

Con los ajenos mensajes del ligero vendaval.

¡Óyelo, vive lo que te transmite!

Murmúrale al viento lo que sientes,

Confíale todo y que él lo pasee.

Mira claramente lo que te rodea,

Deja que la brisa te susurre al oído,

Que haga estragos en tus pestañas,

Que profundice en tus sentidos.

Si así lo quisieras, deja descansar tus pupilas.

Deja que el viento, sabio consejero,

Te transmita su conocimiento, se mezcle con tu sangre

Y surja una fusión nueva.

Si quieres déjate caer en la alfombra llana y franca,

Que te ofrece la noble tierra.

¡Abre tus brazos! ¡Mira al cielo! Tal cual una

súplica de tu alma, surgirá el deseo de volar,

emerger de este convulsionado cuerpo de hombre.

Para dejar libre la sensibilidad aprisionada

Que llama.

Quizás tengas deseos de reír y de llorar, talvez.

Pero no te sorprendas suele ocurrir, pues tiene poder

En las almas y peso en el corazón.

¡Crée en lo que te digo!... Yo lo escuche.

Siempre hay algo nuevo que quiere transmitir,

Desde la más dulce plegaria hasta

la más tibia alegría.

Murmúrale al viento lo que sientes,

Mezclate entre el aroma de las flores y

Las incontenibles brisas. Mas no te equivoques,

Lo que te ilumina no es el sol,

Es la presencia guardiana de un alma,

 

Que fue materia mas que esencia,

Que vivió en el caos, sufrió la avasallante angustia

De los demás, la fuerte envestida de la desilusión.

Es la expresión mas lejana de aquel cuerpo frívolo, odioso,

Tétrico y ambicioso.

Y fue que vino hasta aquí, y se sintió morir,

Le aturdió el silencio, se envenenó de aire.

Se desintegró como hoja seca, se quedó en el tiempo,

Ascendió como el agua, fue nube y también rocio.

Ésta es la historia de quien ambicionó demasiado

Huir de todo aquello que fue. Ansiaba ser tibieza,

Claridad, tranquilidad...Paz, y aquí estoy,

Yo soy la paz que te trae el viento.

 

Valeria campos.

  

él rotaba o, al menos, esa era nuestra percepción. ondulaba entre ambos hemisferios y complacía así las vidas etéreas. yo oscilaba en abstracto y tú, justo en el otro polo, creías construir emblemas convulsionados. el tiempo no es más que un tul de matices desorientados.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

 

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

 

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

 

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

THE holy women were very near the door of Nicodemus’s house at the moment of our Lord’s Resurrection; but they did not see anything of the prodigies which were taking place at the sepulchre. They were not aware that guards had been placed around the tomb, for they had not visited it on the previous day, on account of its being the Sabbath. They questioned one another anxiously concerning what would have to be done about the large stone at the door, as to who would be the best person to ask about removing it, for they had been so engrossed by grief that they had not thought about it before. Their intention was to pour precious ointments upon the body of Jesus, and then to strew over it flowers of the most rare and aromatic kinds, thus rendering all the honour possible to their Divine Master in his sepulchre. Salome, who had brought more things than any one else, was a rich lady, who lived in Jerusalem, a relation of St. Joseph, but not the mother of John. The holy women came to the determination of putting down their spices on the stone which closed the door of the monument, and waiting until some one came to roll it back.

 

The guards were still lying on the ground, and the strong convulsions which even then shook them clearly demonstrated how great had been their terror, and the large stone was cast on one side, so that the door could be opened without difficulty. I could see the linen cloth in which the body of Jesus had been wrapped scattered about in the tomb, and the large winding-sheet lying in the same place as when they left it, but doubled together in such a manner that you saw at once that it no longer contained anything but the spices which had been placed round the body, and the bandages were on the outside of the tomb. The linen cloth in which Mary had enveloped the sacred head of her Son was still there.

 

I saw the holy women coming into the garden; but when they perceived the light given by the lamps of the sentinels, and the prostrate forms of the soldiers round the tomb, they for the most part became much alarmed, and retreated towards Golgotha. Mary Magdalen was, however, more courageous, and, followed by Salome, entered the garden, while the other Women remained timidly on the outside.

 

Magdalen started, and appeared for a moment terrified when she drew near the sentinels. She retreated a few steps and rejoined Salome, but both quickly recovered their presence of mind, and walked on together through the midst of the prostrate guards, and entered into the cave which contained the sepulchre. They immediately perceived that the stone was removed, but the doors were closed, which had been done in all probability by Cassius. Magdalen opened them quickly, looked anxiously into the sepulchre, and was much surprised at seeing that the cloths in which they had enveloped our Lord were lying on one side, and that the place where they had deposited the sacred remains was empty. A celestial light filled the cave, and an angel was seated on the right side. Magdalen became almost beside herself from disappointment and alarm. I do not know whether she heard the words which the angel addressed to her, but she left the garden as quickly as possible, and ran to the town to inform the Apostles who were assembled there of what had taken place. I do not know whether the angel spoke to Mary Salome, as she did not enter the sepulchre; but I saw her leaving the garden directly after Magdalen, in order to relate all that had happened to the rest of the holy women, who were both frightened and delighted at the news, but could not make up their minds as to whether they would go to the garden or not.

 

In the meantime Cassius had remained near the sepulchre in hopes of seeing Jesus, as he thought he would be certain to appear to the holy women; but seeing nothing, he directed his steps towards Pilate’s palace to relate to him all that had happened, stopping, however, first at the place where the rest of the holy women were assembled, to tell them what he had seen, and to exhort them to go immediately to the garden. They followed his advice, and went there at once. No sooner had they reached the door of the sepulchre than they beheld two angels clothed in sacerdotal vestments of the most dazzling white. The women were very much alarmed, covered their faces with their hands, and prostrated almost to the ground; but one of the angels addressed them, bade them not fear, and told them that they must not seek for their crucified Lord there, for that he was alive, had risen, and was no longer an inhabitant of the tomb. He pointed out to them at the same moment the empty sepulchre, and ordered them to go and relate to the disciples all that they had seen and heard. He likewise told them that Jesus would go before them into Galilee, and recalled to their minds the words which our Saviour had addressed to them on a former occasion: ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners, he will be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ The angels then disappeared, and left the holy women filled with joy, although of course greatly agitated; they wept, looked at the empty tomb and linen clothes, and immediately started to return to the town. But they were so much overcome by the many astounding events which had taken place, that they walked very slowly, and stopped and looked back often, in hopes of seeing our Lord, or at least Magdalen.

 

In the meantime Magdalen reached the Cenaculum. She was so excited as to appear like a person beside herself, and knocked hastily at the door. Some of the disciples were still sleeping, and those who were risen were conversing together. Peter and John opened the door, but she only exclaimed, without entering the house, ‘They have taken away the body of my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him,’ and immediately returned to the garden. Peter and John went back into the house, and after saying a few words to the other disciples followed her as speedily as possible, but John far outstripped Peter. I then saw Magdalen re-enter the garden, and direct her steps towards the sepulchre; she appeared greatly agitated, partly from grief, and partly from having walked so fast. Her garments were quite moist with dew, and her veil hanging on one side, while the luxuriant hair in which she had formerly taken so much pride fell in dishevelled masses over her shoulders, forming a species of mantle. Being alone, she was afraid of entering the cave, but stopped for a moment on the outside, and knelt down in order to see better into the tomb. She was endeavouring to push back her long hair, which fell over her face an obscured her vision, when she perceived the two angels who were seated in the tomb, and I heard one of them address her thus: ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She replied, in a voice choked with tears (for she was perfectly overwhelmed with grief at finding that the body of Jesus was really gone), ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.’ She said no more, but seeing the empty winding-sheet, went out of the sepulchre and began to look about in other parts. She felt a secret presentiment that not only should she find Jesus, but that he was even then near to her; and the presence of the angels seemed not to disturb her in the least; she did not appear even to be aware that they were angels, every faculty was engrossed with the one thought, ‘Jesus is not there! Where is Jesus?’ I watched her wandering about like an insane person, with her hair floating loosely in the wind: her hair appeared to annoy her much, for she again endeavoured to push it from off her face, and having divided it into two parts, threw it over her shoulders.

 

She then raised her head, looked around, and perceived a tall figure, clothed in white, standing at about ten paces from the sepulchre on the east side of the garden, where there was a slight rise in the direction of the town; the figure was partly hidden from her sight by a palm-tree, but she was somewhat startled when it addressed her in these words: ‘Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?’ She thought it was the gardener; and, in fact, he had a spade in his hand, and a large hat (apparently made of the bark of trees) on his head. His dress was similar to that worn by the gardener described in the parable which Jesus had related to the holy women at Bethania a short time before his Passion. His body was not luminous, his whole appearance was rather that of a man dressed in white and seen by twilight. At the words, ‘Whom seekest thou?’ she looked at him, and answered quickly, ‘Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him; and I will take him away.’ And she looked anxiously around. Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She then instantly recognised his beloved voice, and turning quickly, replied, ‘Rabboni (Master)!’ She threw herself on her knees before him, and stretched out her hands to touch his feet; but he motioned her to be still, and said, ‘Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God. He then disappeared.

 

The reason of the words of Jesus, ‘Do not touch me,’ Was afterwards explained to me, but I have only an indistinct remembrance of that explanation. I think he made use of those words because of the impetuosity of Magdalen’s feelings, which made her in a certain degree forget the stupendous mystery which had been accomplished, and feel as if what she then beheld was still mortal instead of a glorified body. As for the words of Jesus, ‘I am not yet ascended to my Father,’ I was told that their meaning was that he had hot presented himself to his Father since his Resurrection, to return him thanks for his victory over death, and for the work of the redemption which he had accomplished. He wished her to infer from these words, that the first-fruits of joy belong to God, and that she ought to reflect and return thanks to him for the accomplishment of the glorious mystery of the redemption, and for the victory which he had gained over death; and if she had kissed his feet as she used before the Passion, she would have thought of nothing but her Divine Master, and in her raptures of love have totally forgotten the wonderful events which were causing such astonishment and joy in Heaven. I saw Magdalen arise quickly, as soon as our Lord disappeared, and run to look again in the sepuchre, as if she believed herself under the influence of a dream. She saw the two angels still seated there, and they spoke to her concerning the resurrection of our Lord in the same words as they bad addressed the two other women. She likewise saw the empty winding-sheet, and then, feeling certain that she was not in a state of delusion, but that the apparition of our Lord was real, she walked quickly back towards Golgotha to seek her companions, who were wandering about to and fro, anxiously looking out for her return, and indulging a kind of vague hope that they should see or hear something of Jesus.

 

The whole of this scene occupied a little more than two or three minutes. It was about half-past three when our Lord appeared to Magdalen, and John and Peter entered the garden just as she was leaving it. John, who was a little in advance of Peter, stopped at the entrance of the cave and looked in. He saw the linen clothes lying on one side, and waited until Peter came up, when they entered the sepulchre together, and saw the winding-sheet empty as has been before described. John instantly believed in the Resurrection, and they both understood clearly the words addressed to them by Jesus before his Passion, as well as the different passages in Scripture relating to that event, which had until then been incomprehensible to them. Peter put the linen clothes under his cloak, and they returned hastily into the town through the small entrance belonging to Nicodemus.

   

The appearance of the holy sepulchre was the same when the two apostles entered as when Magdalen first saw it. The two adoring angels were seated, one at the head, and the other at the extremity of the tomb, in precisely the same attitude as when his adorable body was lying there. I do not think Peter was conscious of their presence. I afterwards heard John tell the disciples of Emmaus, that when he looked into the sepulchre he saw an angel. Perhaps he was startled by this sight, and therefore drew back and let Peter enter the sepulchre first; but it is likewise very possible that the reason of his not mentioning the circumstance in his gospel was because humility made him anxious to conceal the fact of his having been more highly favoured than Peter.

 

The guards at this moment began to revive, and rising, gathered up their lances, and took down the lamps, which were on the door, from whence they cast a glimmering weak light on surrounding objects. I then saw them walk hastily out of the garden in evident fear and trepidation, in the direction of the town.

 

In the meantime Magdalen had rejoined the holy women, and given them the account of her seeing the Lord in the garden, and of the words of the angels afterwards, whereupon they immediately related what had been seen by themselves, and Magdalen wended her way quickly to Jerusalem, while the women returned to that side of the garden where they expected to find the two apostles. Just before they reached it, Jesus appeared to them. He was clothed in a long white robe, which concealed even his hands, and said to them, ‘All hail’ They started with astonishment, and cast themselves at his feet; he spoke a few words, held forth his hand as if to point out something to them, and disappeared. The holy women went instantly to the Cenaculum, and told the disciples who were assembled there that they had seen the Lord; the disciples were incredulous, and would not give credence either to their account or to that of Magdalen. They treated both the one and the other as the effects of their excited imaginations; but when Peter and John entered the room and related what they likewise had seen, they knew not what to answer, and were filled with astonishment.

 

Peter and John soon left the Cenaculum, as the wonderful events which had taken place rendered them extremely silent and thoughtful, and before long they met James the Less and Thaddeus, who had wished to accompany them to the sepulchre. Both James and Thaddeus were greatly overcome, for the Lord had appeared to them a short time before they met Peter and John. I also saw Jesus pass quite close to Peter and John. I think the former recognised him, for he started suddenly, but I do not think the latter saw him.

  

UBEDA

  

Úbeda es una ciudad española y un municipio de la provincia de Jaén, capital de la comarca de La Loma de Úbeda, en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía. La ciudad, junto a la cercana Baeza, fue declarada Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 3 de julio de 2003, debido a la calidad y buena conservación de sus numerosos edificios renacentistas y de su singular entorno urbanístico.

  

La leyenda dice que Úbeda fue fundada por Túbal, un descendiente de Noé. Del mítico torreón del Rey Ibiut derivaría el nombre de la ciudad.

 

Si nos restringimos a la arqueología, los primeros asentamientos en Úbeda se remontan a la Edad del Cobre, en el actual Cerro del Alcázar. De hecho, las últimas investigaciones arqueológicas han arrojado seis mil años de antigüedad; Úbeda es la «ciudad más vieja —científicamente documentada— de Europa occidental». Lo asegura el equipo dirigido por el catedrático Francisco Nocete a la luz de los resultados que han arrojado 35 dataciones de Carbono-14 en el yacimiento de las Eras del Alcázar.

 

Existen restos calcolíticos, argáricos, oretanos, visigodos y tardorromanos, en el solar actual donde se asienta. A su vez había con anterioridad un importante oppida ibero de población autóctono, llamado Iltiraka en lengua íbera, y después dependiente de la Colonia romana de Salaria, es conocido como Úbeda la Vieja (o Ubeda Vethula), estando situado frente a la desembocadura del río Jandulilla en el Guadalquivir. En busca de intercambios llegan a Úbeda los griegos y más tarde los cartagineses con propósitos imperialistas, siendo vencidos por los romanos tras largas guerras.

 

Bajo el imperio romano, a partir de la Batalla de Ilipa en 206 a. C., la antigua ciudad-estado íbera se romaniza, ya sería conocida como La Betula (Baetula), siendo el centro de numerosa población diseminada. En tiempos de godos, los vándalos destruyeron la región al completo y sus moradores pasaron a concentrarse al sitio que hoy conocemos, llamado de Bétula Nova, por motivos más bien ignorados.

 

La ciudad como entidad con una cierta importancia reaparece con la llegada de los árabes, en particular con Abderramán II, quien la refunda con el nombre de Ubbada o Ubbadat Al-Arab (Úbeda "de los árabes"), con la intención de controlar desde aquí a los revueltos mozárabes de Baeza. En el siglo xi es objeto de disputa entre los reinos de taifa de Almería, Granada, Toledo y Sevilla, hasta su conquista por los almorávides. Como ciudad musulmana, se rodeó de más murallas defensivas y se convirtió en una de las ciudades de mayor importancia de Al-Ándalus, debido a su artesanía y comercio. Así llegó a convertirse en un rico e importante bastión que poseer.

 

Edad Media

 

Durante el año 1091 el rey de Toledo, Al-Mamún, lucha contra la rebelión interna de los moros andalusíes siendo Úbeda rendida por la fuerza a manos de Alfonso VI. A partir del siglo xii los reyes castellanos aumentan progresivamente la presión sobre el Alto Guadalquivir y Úbeda solo es mencionada en las fuentes escritas como escenario de episodios bélicos, por ejemplo cuando la región fue objeto de los ataques de Alfonso VII de León, primero en 1137 y posteriormente en 1147, momento en el que se apoderó de Úbeda, Baeza y Almería. Durante diez años la ciudad permaneció en manos de los castellanos, hasta que la contraofensiva almohade les obligó a retirarse en 1157. Reconquistada y devastada por Alfonso VIII tras la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, o Batalla de Úbeda, es perdida al poco tiempo. Entretanto la ciudad es saqueada y arrasada en varias ocasiones más, siendo definitivamente su población masacrada por los cruzados en la batalla de 1212.

 

En el año 1233, Úbeda es definitivamente conquistada por Fernando III de Castilla tras largo asedio, convirtiéndose en ciudad realenga y titular de un arciprestazgo:

Un hecho destacable es que la toma de Úbeda se realizó mediante capitulación, evitando una nueva matanza y posibilitando la coexistencia de distintas etnias que formaban una población de varias culturas (árabe, judía y cristiana). Durante más de dos siglos la ciudad participa activamente en la lucha contra los musulmanes, gozando de amplia autonomía en su gobierno local, regido por el Concejo apoyado por la veinticuatría.

 

Factor decisivo en este período es su importante valor geoestratégico. Durante casi tres siglos fue población fronteriza, primero de avanzada y luego muy cercana a la frontera entre los reinos de Granada y Castilla. Este hecho determina que los sucesivos reyes castellanos le otorguen numerosos privilegios y concesiones, como el Fuero de Cuenca, para favorecer la fijación de una población, formada por castellanos y navarro-aragoneses, que permanezca frente a circunstancias de vida adversas propias de una zona fronteriza. Así llegó a ser una de las 4 «ciudades mayores de la reconquista de el Andalucía».

 

Episodios como el de 1368, en el que la ciudad es asolada con motivo de la guerra civil entre Pedro I de Castilla y Enrique II de Trastámara, y el posterior saqueo de Pero Gil y los ejércitos de Muhammed V de Granada avivó la rivalidad entre los bandos locales, Traperas contra Arandas primero, luego Cuevas contra Molinas, tiñen de sangre su historia hasta las postrimerías del siglo xv. De hecho dieron lugar a que, a semejanza de lo ocurrido en Baeza, las murallas y torres del Alcázar fuesen demolidas en 1506 por orden real, a fin de poner paz entre dichos bandos.

 

La provincia de la jurisdicción de Úbeda se extendía desde Torres de Acún (Granada) hasta Santisteban del Puerto, pasando por Albánchez de Úbeda, Huesa y Canena, y a mitad del siglo xvi también incluía en su partido jurisdiccional a las villas de Cabra del Santo Cristo, Jimena, Quesada, Peal, Sabiote y Torreperogil.

 

Esplendor

 

Este cúmulo de factores —situación geográfica y consiguiente dominio de vías de comunicación, su extensa y rica jurisdicción, gran alfoz y presencia de una nobleza cada vez más poderosa— sentó las bases a lo largo de los siglos xiv y xv del esplendor de la Úbeda del siglo xvi. Al finalizar la conquista de Granada, asistimos a un desarrollo económico de la ciudad basado en la agricultura y en una importante ganadería caballar y mesta propia, que fundamenta el periodo de mayor esplendor de la ciudad, siendo muy importante la roturación de bosques y puesta en valor de nuevas tierras. La paz y el desarrollo económico lleva consigo un aumento demográfico, alcanzando la ciudad una población de 18 000 habitantes, siendo una de las más populosas de toda España. Comenzando con Ruy López Dávalos, Condestable de Castilla con Enrique III y Beltrán de la Cueva, valido de Enrique IV, sus nobles encuentran acomodo en altos cargos de la administración imperial.

 

Tras la nobleza ubetense, y las órdenes de caballería, el siguiente gran estamento privilegiado es el clero. La diócesis de Jaén es enormemente rica, su mitra, posiblemente, fuera una de las más ricas de España, y el clero ubetense tenía altos cargos en ella. También hallamos un colectivo de vecinos que han prosperado —judíos o muladíes mayormente— y que genéricamente hubieran sido el germen de una incipiente burguesía. Se trata de profesionales, tales como médicos, sastres, escribanos, boticarios y, naturalmente, un estimable número de mercaderes ricos. Más abajo, existía todo un variado repertorio gremial propio de un núcleo de población rico y expansivo, mención especial al gremio de los pastores y ganaderos. El ejército y la milicia cerraban este grueso estamento. El tercer estamento era un número basto de labriegos de las tierras de los nobles y pequeños campesinos.

 

Especialmente destacable es el papel de Francisco de los Cobos, secretario del Emperador Carlos I. Con él entra el gusto por el arte en Úbeda, y como si fuera una pequeña corte italiana, de manos del arquitecto Andrés de Vandelvira y sus seguidores, Úbeda se llena de palacios. Su sobrino, Juan Vázquez de Molina, secretario de Estado de Carlos I, y de su hijo, Felipe II, continúa lo iniciado. En toda Úbeda arraigan fuerte las corrientes humanistas del Primer Renacimiento.

 

En 1526 el Emperador Carlos visita la ciudad y jura guardar los privilegios, fueros y mercedes concedidas a Úbeda.

 

Declive

 

Los siglos xvii y xviii son de decadencia para la ciudad, inmersa en la crisis general de España, que ve cómo su pasado esplendor se apaga. La falta de una política proteccionista para la artesanía, las importaciones de la lana de Burgos, la subida de los precios por las malas cosechas, la injusta presión fiscal para las guerras, la corrupción, el poder del Clero, el proceso inflacionista por abundancia de metales, las continuas levas militares, las epidemias, y la emigración a Indias son algunos de los factores que contribuyeron a esa merma. Úbeda perdió hasta el control del tráfico de madera de los robles y pinos del Segura, en favor de comerciantes sevillanos. Todo ello va descapitalizando a la ciudad, agudizando las diferencias sociales e incrementando la miseria de la mayoría. Algunas fechas de los desastres que asolaron la ciudad en esta etapa fueron las pestes de 1585 y 1681 y el terremoto de Lisboa de 1755, que quebranta bastantes casas de la ciudad. Para rematar, la persecución de los cristianos nuevos y la expulsión de los moriscos en 1609 va a ser seriamente lamentado por el Concejo, por el impacto económico al perder su más valioso tejido económico.

 

La cruda decadencia se hace manifiesta a partir de 1700 con la larga Guerra de Sucesión. Los vecinos de Úbeda vivirán la Guerra de Sucesión con intensidad creciente. Sus aportaciones en caballos, armas, municiones, dinero o tropas son continuas, resultando difícil en ocasiones comprender de dónde provienen tales fuerzas en un pueblo debilitado por el hambre y la enfermedad. Tal fue la presión impositiva y la injusticia al quedar exentas las clases poderosas, que la población hambrienta se amotinó el 19 de marzo de 1706, contra los cobradores de las rentas reales. Como consecuencia de la guerra, Úbeda se empobreció en extremo y aumentó la conflictividad a límites desconocidos. El concejo tuvo que vender sus mejores fincas de propios para afrontar urgentes pagos de milicias. Sin duda hubo recesión demográfica, al coincidir la guerra con crisis de hambre y enfermedades generalizadas. En estos años, muchas villas de su territorio se independizan. Se puede concluir, que Úbeda sufre uno de los peores momentos de su historia, solo tocando fondo hacia 1735. Pero el mal en Úbeda y otros lugares estaba hecho, y era difícil dar marcha atrás al reloj de la Historia.

 

Posteriormente, con la guerra de la independencia española, durante la que los franceses permanecen entre 1810 y 1813 en la ciudad, se trunca la recuperación, las penalidades vuelven, se ocasionan saqueos y grandes perjuicios económicos. La situación llevó a Úbeda a un estado de "ruina económica", que la había conducido a extremos tales como la absoluta carencia de ganados para laborear el campo, de semillas para efectuar la siembra y aún de los medios más precisos para la subsistencia de la población.

 

Las desamortizaciones eclesiásticas de 1820 y 1836, supondrían que todos los conventos de la ciudad —con excepción de Santa Clara y las Carmelitas— fueran expropiados y vendidos en subasta pública. Ello significaría la total transformación de espacios urbanos de la ciudad, cambiando de uso algunos de estos edificios para albergar colegios, cuarteles, cárceles, etcétera y, en el peor de los casos, que fueran demolidos sus viejos inmuebles por amenaza de ruina. En suma, la ciudad vuelve a recuperarse hasta finales del siglo xix; es cuando comenzó a experimentar un pequeño resurgir con la mejora en avances técnicos, que llegan con retraso a la ciudad, que sigue siendo un medio rural no afectado apenas por la revolución industrial y cada vez más alejado de los centros de poder.

 

Úbeda continúa una larga existencia anodina, y sus palacios ya vacíos de lujos, permanecen abandonados.

 

Recuperación

 

Quedaban aún por sufrir los efectos de las guerras carlistas y las sucesivas revoluciones liberales que convulsionaron la vida de la ciudad. Las bases del liberalismo en Úbeda se basan en el predominio en la política de los grandes propietarios agrarios, y se instaura el caciquismo y el falseamiento electoral. A finales del siglo xix la pequeña burguesía con algunos terratenientes ubetenses hacen renacer la actividad en la ciudad gracias a la agricultura y la industria. Durante los años 20 del siglo xx, la retórica regeneracionista, cuya ambiciosa idea era lanzar a Úbeda a un nuevo Renacimiento, pone en práctica numerosos proyectos de reformas y mejoras en la ciudad. En éstos años, se extiende la educación y los servicios básicos. Fue también en esta época cuando empezaron las obras de la línea ferroviaria Baeza-Utiel, que habría llevado el ferrocarril a Úbeda y habría supuesto una importante conexión por ferrocarril con el Levante. Las obras de la ferrocarril, sin embargo, se alargaron durante tres décadas y la línea sería finalmente abandonada hacia 1964, cuando su construcción se encontraba ya muy avanzada.​ Por esta época fue también muy destacada la actividad del general Leopoldo Saro Marín,​ que aunque no era jienense, estaba emparentado con la provincia y con Úbeda por vínculos familiares. Además del nonato ferrocarril, la influencia del general Saro facilitó la construcción de la Biblioteca municipal, el Parador de Turismo, la Escuela de Artes y Oficios o la reconstrucción de la Casa de las Torres.

 

Úbeda llegó a contar con un periódico diario editado en la localidad, La Provincia, entre 1921 y 1936.​

 

Durante la Guerra civil, la violencia, represión y venganza política sumieron a Úbeda en una larga fase de depresión. La ciudad no fue frente de guerra, pero sufrió las sacas de presos de uno y otro bando. Así, empezó en la noche del 30 al 31 de julio de 1936, cuando las milicias republicanas sacaron a los presos políticos que, en número de 47 se encontraban en la cárcel de Partido, y los asesinaron. La posguerra es aún recordada por sus contemporáneos como «los años del hambre».

 

Durante los años 60 y 70 la industria local tiene un fuerte repunte gracias al tirón desarrollista, pero insuficiente para absorber el fuerte incremento de población, avocada a la emigración. Lentamente, la que fue «la Florencia de la Alta Andalucía», va a ir alcanzando el lugar actual como referente provincial, cabecera de la comarca y como un centro de industria y servicios a nivel regional de importancia creciente.

 

El 3 de julio de 2003 es nombrada, junto con su vecina Baeza, Patrimonio de la Humanidad.

  

The berries of the Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Even though they are quite different, these berries are often mistakenly called Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna).

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Solanum Dulcamara, Woody Nightshade, contains solanine, an alkaloid glycoside. It increases bodily secretions and leads to vomiting and convulsions. The strength of its actions is said to be very dependent on the soil in which it grows with light, dry soils increasing its effects.

Though the berries are very attractive the bitter taste is a disincentive for the majority of people, especially children.

Contains tropane alkaloids, notably hyoscine (also called scopolamine), hyoscyamine and atropine. At least five other toxic components have been isolated.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atropa Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade. The enticing berries are slightly sweet. Symptoms may be slow to appear but last for several days. They include dryness in the mouth, thirst, difficulty in swallowing and speaking, blurred vision from the dilated pupils, vomiting, excessive stimulation of the heart, drowsiness, slurred speech, hallucinations, confusion, disorientation, delirium, and agitation. Coma and convulsions often precede death.

 

www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/default.htm

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_de_Inmigrantes

 

Hay encuentros que son marcados por el destino.

Superviso mi proyecto fotográfico con el maestro Valerio Bispuri. Generoso maestro. Nos encontramos en Buenos Aires un día de paro nacional, en un contexto de país , convulsionado. Se intereso y conmovió con las historias que se entrecruzan en el proyecto. "Tenés este tejido, Sabes lo que yo haría ? Tomo el último punto , tiro del hilo y empiezo a destejer. Vas de atrás para adelante. Arrancas del punto donde llegaron tus abuelos no desde dónde partieron por que vos estas de éste lado del mundo. te vas al hotel de inmigrantes.Yo no sabía que existía tal cosa. Ahí partí , estaba con mi cámara ya sin baterías y con un lente 40 - 100 mm que me había llevado para hacer retratos.

El lugar no estaba disponible pero alguien me permitió sacar fotos de afuera y me habrá visto tan conmovida que me ofreció buscar los datos de mis abuelos en una base de datos . Ahí estaban. Fue impresionante En 1925 entró una familia de Torino que partió del puerto de Genova en el Buque Valdivia y llega a Argentina el 20 de abril de ese mismo año. María Luisa Dematteis de 35 años, Francesco Rossi de 31 años Y Rossi desconocida de 7 años ( Tía Vanna). Empecé a hacer con la cámara el recorrido que ellos hicieron desde la dársena norte entrando al hotel ( y la batería que aparecía en rojo en la pantalla era desesperante) Quería ver lo que ellos vieron y tocar lo que ellos tocaron. Que deben haber sentido? Voy a volver más entera. continuará... Gracias Valerio. Te debo una.

 

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America

 

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

My first entry for the Summer Joust 2020

 

12x12 Vignette

 

More pics will follow!

 

Story down below.

 

Thanks for checking!

  

"For those in search of the power to stay

White hawks will lead the way"

 

-Translated from The Myktrodian Verses, MMCXIX

 

Not far from the trees where she first spotted the birds, Eryxia kept her eyes to the ground.

 

"There should at least be some of them " She thought, scanning through what seemed like the thirtieth bush.

"So far the translations Uncle left me were correct about everything, so why don't I see any?"

 

She was looking for Conocybe Vulgariae, one of the most poisonous toadstools to be found anywhere.

 

More commonly known as ‘gutting shrooms, for when ingested the toxic of this bowl shaped mushroom will cause such convulsions there have been cases of people throwing up their own stomach.

Although not extremely rare, recent discoveries for its use in both the medical as the magical world turned this once demonized fungus into a wanted commodity, so obviously people have searched far and wide to get a piece of that pie.

 

Eryxia was no such people, and her search for the shrooms was only the beginning of her quest.

She was after the far more rare, little known Conocybe Perpetua.

This white anomaly of the gutting shroom is said to have the power to elongate life exponentially and even cure mortal ailments and fatal wounds when concocted correctly.

 

Little is known to common folk about where to find gutting shrooms, as competing guilds keep that secret along with the secrets of their trade. Luckily, Eryxia can be very persuasive when needed, so it cost her all but a few drinks to convince a local herbalist to tell her what areas to start searching.

 

Even less is known about the location or even existence of Conocybe Perpetua;

Aside from a few references in archaic potion rituals and nigh unreadable magical formulae, it has only been mentioned in one document, The Myktrodian Verses, a collection of ancient riddles, songs and poems hinting of legends of yore.

foto de Criss Salazar, don Urbatorium. Aquí se registró el mayor sismo conocido en la historia, el terremoto de Valdivia de mayo de 1960.

 

Antes del siglo XIX

 

1751 - 24 de mayo: terremoto de Concepción

1796 - 30 de marzo: terremoto de Copiapó

Siglo XIX

1819 - 3-4 y 11 de abril: terremoto de Copiapó

1822 - 19 de noviembre: terremoto de Copiapó

1835 - 20 de febrero: terremoto de Concepción

1837 - 7 de noviembre: terremoto de Concepción

1868 - 13 de agosto: terremoto de Arica

1877 - 9 de mayo: terremoto de Iquique

1879 - 2 de febrero: terremoto de Punta Arenas

Siglo XX

1906 - 16 de agosto: terremoto de Valparaíso

1918 - 4 de diciembre: terremoto de Copiapó

1922 - 10 de noviembre: terremoto de Copiapó

1928 - 1 de diciembre: terremoto deTalca

1939 - 24 de enero: terremoto de Chillán

1943 - 6 de abril: terremoto de Coquimbo - La Serena

1949 - 17 de diciembre: terremoto de Punta Arenas

1958 - 4 de septiembre: terremoto de Las Melosas

1960 - 21 y 22 de mayo: terremoto de Valdivia

1965 - 28 de marzo: terremoto de La Ligua

1971 - 8 de julio: terremoto de Illapel

1985 - 3 de marzo: terremoto de Santiago

Siglo XXI

2005 - 18 de junio: terremoto de Tarapacá

2007 - 21 de abril: terremoto de Aysén

2010 - 27 de febrero: terremoto del Maule

2014 terremoto de Iquique

 

Los 23 sismogramas del terremoto de Valdivia, digitalizados y publicados en la BNd, están compuestos por 46 páginas. Sus dimensiones varían, pero su ancho no excede los 30 cm y el largo máximo es de 90 cm. Fueron registros obtenidos desde la Estación Santa Lucía, ubicada en el Cerro Santa Lucía en el centro de Santiago, entre los días 20 y 23 de mayo de 1960.

 

Debido a su antigüedad, los sismogramas producidos por el Servicio Sismológico Nacional, en ese momento parte del Instituto de Geofísica y Sismología (actual Departamento de Geofísica), correspondientes al terremoto de 1960 son de acceso restringido al público general. Los documentos físicos se guardan en la Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas de la Universidad de Chile.

 

Estos sismogramas permiten apreciar la manera de registrar que tenían los primeros sismógrafos. En particular, estos registros fueron obtenidos desde una bóveda en el cerro Santa Lucía habilitada en 1908 para alojar los instrumentos sismológicos que, en ese momento, disponía el Servicio Sismológico Nacional. Fue la primera estación sismológica de primer orden instalada en Chile. En ella, los registros se grabaron sobre papel, usando dos técnicas: uno, la técnica de ahumado, en donde se realizaba en forma artesanal el ahumado de un papel y luego una aguja marcaba -retirando una fina capa de negro de humo- el movimiento relativo de la tierra; el segundo es un proceso fotográfico, donde el registro lo realiza la luz sobre el papel sensibilizado. Los registros permiten ver el cambio desde un estado relativamente quieto hasta uno convulsionado por el paso de las diferentes ondas sísmicas.

 

El uso de papel ahumado fue un desafío particular para el trabajo del CNCR y del Laboratorio de Digitalización de la Biblioteca Nacional. Para ambas instituciones, fue la primera vez que se enfrentaban con la belleza y la delicadeza de aquella técnica, en la que el calor y el humo han generado una capa sobre el papel y luego una aguja graba los movimientos sísmicos.

PARADOR DE TURISMO DE UBEDA

 

Se trata de uno de los paradores más antiguos de España, ordenado por el rey Alfonso XIII y puesto que fue inaugurado el 10 de noviembre 1930. Recientemente se realizaron obras de ampliación, restaurando un edificio anejo para nuevas habitaciones, manteniendo el equilibrio con el entorno de la Plaza Vázquez de Molina, pero aumentando el espacio para recepciones y restauración.

El edificio no es sino el Palacio del Deán Ortega, declarado Bien de Interés Cultural, antigua casa nobiliaria de estilo renacentista y soberbia traza clásica atribuida al arquitecto Andrés de Vandelvira. De hecho, se trata del antiguo palacio que ocupaba el Deán de la contigua Sacra Capilla del Salvador. El palacio fue construido en el siglo xvi y reformado a lo largo del siglo xvii. Consta de una sobria fachada de piedra con una hermosa entrada adintelada. En su interior, destaca el espectacular patio interior de doble galería, con la parte superior acristalada y una serie de delicadas columnas de estilo renacentista-nazarí que rodean el patio.

 

UBEDA

  

Úbeda es una ciudad española y un municipio de la provincia de Jaén, capital de la comarca de La Loma de Úbeda, en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía. La ciudad, junto a la cercana Baeza, fue declarada Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 3 de julio de 2003, debido a la calidad y buena conservación de sus numerosos edificios renacentistas y de su singular entorno urbanístico.

  

La leyenda dice que Úbeda fue fundada por Túbal, un descendiente de Noé. Del mítico torreón del Rey Ibiut derivaría el nombre de la ciudad.

 

Si nos restringimos a la arqueología, los primeros asentamientos en Úbeda se remontan a la Edad del Cobre, en el actual Cerro del Alcázar. De hecho, las últimas investigaciones arqueológicas han arrojado seis mil años de antigüedad; Úbeda es la «ciudad más vieja —científicamente documentada— de Europa occidental». Lo asegura el equipo dirigido por el catedrático Francisco Nocete a la luz de los resultados que han arrojado 35 dataciones de Carbono-14 en el yacimiento de las Eras del Alcázar.

 

Existen restos calcolíticos, argáricos, oretanos, visigodos y tardorromanos, en el solar actual donde se asienta. A su vez había con anterioridad un importante oppida ibero de población autóctono, llamado Iltiraka en lengua íbera, y después dependiente de la Colonia romana de Salaria, es conocido como Úbeda la Vieja (o Ubeda Vethula), estando situado frente a la desembocadura del río Jandulilla en el Guadalquivir. En busca de intercambios llegan a Úbeda los griegos y más tarde los cartagineses con propósitos imperialistas, siendo vencidos por los romanos tras largas guerras.

 

Bajo el imperio romano, a partir de la Batalla de Ilipa en 206 a. C., la antigua ciudad-estado íbera se romaniza, ya sería conocida como La Betula (Baetula), siendo el centro de numerosa población diseminada. En tiempos de godos, los vándalos destruyeron la región al completo y sus moradores pasaron a concentrarse al sitio que hoy conocemos, llamado de Bétula Nova, por motivos más bien ignorados.

 

La ciudad como entidad con una cierta importancia reaparece con la llegada de los árabes, en particular con Abderramán II, quien la refunda con el nombre de Ubbada o Ubbadat Al-Arab (Úbeda "de los árabes"), con la intención de controlar desde aquí a los revueltos mozárabes de Baeza. En el siglo xi es objeto de disputa entre los reinos de taifa de Almería, Granada, Toledo y Sevilla, hasta su conquista por los almorávides. Como ciudad musulmana, se rodeó de más murallas defensivas y se convirtió en una de las ciudades de mayor importancia de Al-Ándalus, debido a su artesanía y comercio. Así llegó a convertirse en un rico e importante bastión que poseer.

 

Edad Media

 

Durante el año 1091 el rey de Toledo, Al-Mamún, lucha contra la rebelión interna de los moros andalusíes siendo Úbeda rendida por la fuerza a manos de Alfonso VI. A partir del siglo xii los reyes castellanos aumentan progresivamente la presión sobre el Alto Guadalquivir y Úbeda solo es mencionada en las fuentes escritas como escenario de episodios bélicos, por ejemplo cuando la región fue objeto de los ataques de Alfonso VII de León, primero en 1137 y posteriormente en 1147, momento en el que se apoderó de Úbeda, Baeza y Almería. Durante diez años la ciudad permaneció en manos de los castellanos, hasta que la contraofensiva almohade les obligó a retirarse en 1157. Reconquistada y devastada por Alfonso VIII tras la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, o Batalla de Úbeda, es perdida al poco tiempo. Entretanto la ciudad es saqueada y arrasada en varias ocasiones más, siendo definitivamente su población masacrada por los cruzados en la batalla de 1212.

 

En el año 1233, Úbeda es definitivamente conquistada por Fernando III de Castilla tras largo asedio, convirtiéndose en ciudad realenga y titular de un arciprestazgo:

Un hecho destacable es que la toma de Úbeda se realizó mediante capitulación, evitando una nueva matanza y posibilitando la coexistencia de distintas etnias que formaban una población de varias culturas (árabe, judía y cristiana). Durante más de dos siglos la ciudad participa activamente en la lucha contra los musulmanes, gozando de amplia autonomía en su gobierno local, regido por el Concejo apoyado por la veinticuatría.

 

Factor decisivo en este período es su importante valor geoestratégico. Durante casi tres siglos fue población fronteriza, primero de avanzada y luego muy cercana a la frontera entre los reinos de Granada y Castilla. Este hecho determina que los sucesivos reyes castellanos le otorguen numerosos privilegios y concesiones, como el Fuero de Cuenca, para favorecer la fijación de una población, formada por castellanos y navarro-aragoneses, que permanezca frente a circunstancias de vida adversas propias de una zona fronteriza. Así llegó a ser una de las 4 «ciudades mayores de la reconquista de el Andalucía».

 

Episodios como el de 1368, en el que la ciudad es asolada con motivo de la guerra civil entre Pedro I de Castilla y Enrique II de Trastámara, y el posterior saqueo de Pero Gil y los ejércitos de Muhammed V de Granada avivó la rivalidad entre los bandos locales, Traperas contra Arandas primero, luego Cuevas contra Molinas, tiñen de sangre su historia hasta las postrimerías del siglo xv. De hecho dieron lugar a que, a semejanza de lo ocurrido en Baeza, las murallas y torres del Alcázar fuesen demolidas en 1506 por orden real, a fin de poner paz entre dichos bandos.

 

La provincia de la jurisdicción de Úbeda se extendía desde Torres de Acún (Granada) hasta Santisteban del Puerto, pasando por Albánchez de Úbeda, Huesa y Canena, y a mitad del siglo xvi también incluía en su partido jurisdiccional a las villas de Cabra del Santo Cristo, Jimena, Quesada, Peal, Sabiote y Torreperogil.

 

Esplendor

 

Este cúmulo de factores —situación geográfica y consiguiente dominio de vías de comunicación, su extensa y rica jurisdicción, gran alfoz y presencia de una nobleza cada vez más poderosa— sentó las bases a lo largo de los siglos xiv y xv del esplendor de la Úbeda del siglo xvi. Al finalizar la conquista de Granada, asistimos a un desarrollo económico de la ciudad basado en la agricultura y en una importante ganadería caballar y mesta propia, que fundamenta el periodo de mayor esplendor de la ciudad, siendo muy importante la roturación de bosques y puesta en valor de nuevas tierras. La paz y el desarrollo económico lleva consigo un aumento demográfico, alcanzando la ciudad una población de 18 000 habitantes, siendo una de las más populosas de toda España. Comenzando con Ruy López Dávalos, Condestable de Castilla con Enrique III y Beltrán de la Cueva, valido de Enrique IV, sus nobles encuentran acomodo en altos cargos de la administración imperial.

 

Tras la nobleza ubetense, y las órdenes de caballería, el siguiente gran estamento privilegiado es el clero. La diócesis de Jaén es enormemente rica, su mitra, posiblemente, fuera una de las más ricas de España, y el clero ubetense tenía altos cargos en ella. También hallamos un colectivo de vecinos que han prosperado —judíos o muladíes mayormente— y que genéricamente hubieran sido el germen de una incipiente burguesía. Se trata de profesionales, tales como médicos, sastres, escribanos, boticarios y, naturalmente, un estimable número de mercaderes ricos. Más abajo, existía todo un variado repertorio gremial propio de un núcleo de población rico y expansivo, mención especial al gremio de los pastores y ganaderos. El ejército y la milicia cerraban este grueso estamento. El tercer estamento era un número basto de labriegos de las tierras de los nobles y pequeños campesinos.

 

Especialmente destacable es el papel de Francisco de los Cobos, secretario del Emperador Carlos I. Con él entra el gusto por el arte en Úbeda, y como si fuera una pequeña corte italiana, de manos del arquitecto Andrés de Vandelvira y sus seguidores, Úbeda se llena de palacios. Su sobrino, Juan Vázquez de Molina, secretario de Estado de Carlos I, y de su hijo, Felipe II, continúa lo iniciado. En toda Úbeda arraigan fuerte las corrientes humanistas del Primer Renacimiento.

 

En 1526 el Emperador Carlos visita la ciudad y jura guardar los privilegios, fueros y mercedes concedidas a Úbeda.

 

Declive

 

Los siglos xvii y xviii son de decadencia para la ciudad, inmersa en la crisis general de España, que ve cómo su pasado esplendor se apaga. La falta de una política proteccionista para la artesanía, las importaciones de la lana de Burgos, la subida de los precios por las malas cosechas, la injusta presión fiscal para las guerras, la corrupción, el poder del Clero, el proceso inflacionista por abundancia de metales, las continuas levas militares, las epidemias, y la emigración a Indias son algunos de los factores que contribuyeron a esa merma. Úbeda perdió hasta el control del tráfico de madera de los robles y pinos del Segura, en favor de comerciantes sevillanos. Todo ello va descapitalizando a la ciudad, agudizando las diferencias sociales e incrementando la miseria de la mayoría. Algunas fechas de los desastres que asolaron la ciudad en esta etapa fueron las pestes de 1585 y 1681 y el terremoto de Lisboa de 1755, que quebranta bastantes casas de la ciudad. Para rematar, la persecución de los cristianos nuevos y la expulsión de los moriscos en 1609 va a ser seriamente lamentado por el Concejo, por el impacto económico al perder su más valioso tejido económico.

 

La cruda decadencia se hace manifiesta a partir de 1700 con la larga Guerra de Sucesión. Los vecinos de Úbeda vivirán la Guerra de Sucesión con intensidad creciente. Sus aportaciones en caballos, armas, municiones, dinero o tropas son continuas, resultando difícil en ocasiones comprender de dónde provienen tales fuerzas en un pueblo debilitado por el hambre y la enfermedad. Tal fue la presión impositiva y la injusticia al quedar exentas las clases poderosas, que la población hambrienta se amotinó el 19 de marzo de 1706, contra los cobradores de las rentas reales. Como consecuencia de la guerra, Úbeda se empobreció en extremo y aumentó la conflictividad a límites desconocidos. El concejo tuvo que vender sus mejores fincas de propios para afrontar urgentes pagos de milicias. Sin duda hubo recesión demográfica, al coincidir la guerra con crisis de hambre y enfermedades generalizadas. En estos años, muchas villas de su territorio se independizan. Se puede concluir, que Úbeda sufre uno de los peores momentos de su historia, solo tocando fondo hacia 1735. Pero el mal en Úbeda y otros lugares estaba hecho, y era difícil dar marcha atrás al reloj de la Historia.

 

Posteriormente, con la guerra de la independencia española, durante la que los franceses permanecen entre 1810 y 1813 en la ciudad, se trunca la recuperación, las penalidades vuelven, se ocasionan saqueos y grandes perjuicios económicos. La situación llevó a Úbeda a un estado de "ruina económica", que la había conducido a extremos tales como la absoluta carencia de ganados para laborear el campo, de semillas para efectuar la siembra y aún de los medios más precisos para la subsistencia de la población.

 

Las desamortizaciones eclesiásticas de 1820 y 1836, supondrían que todos los conventos de la ciudad —con excepción de Santa Clara y las Carmelitas— fueran expropiados y vendidos en subasta pública. Ello significaría la total transformación de espacios urbanos de la ciudad, cambiando de uso algunos de estos edificios para albergar colegios, cuarteles, cárceles, etcétera y, en el peor de los casos, que fueran demolidos sus viejos inmuebles por amenaza de ruina. En suma, la ciudad vuelve a recuperarse hasta finales del siglo xix; es cuando comenzó a experimentar un pequeño resurgir con la mejora en avances técnicos, que llegan con retraso a la ciudad, que sigue siendo un medio rural no afectado apenas por la revolución industrial y cada vez más alejado de los centros de poder.

 

Úbeda continúa una larga existencia anodina, y sus palacios ya vacíos de lujos, permanecen abandonados.

 

Recuperación

 

Quedaban aún por sufrir los efectos de las guerras carlistas y las sucesivas revoluciones liberales que convulsionaron la vida de la ciudad. Las bases del liberalismo en Úbeda se basan en el predominio en la política de los grandes propietarios agrarios, y se instaura el caciquismo y el falseamiento electoral. A finales del siglo xix la pequeña burguesía con algunos terratenientes ubetenses hacen renacer la actividad en la ciudad gracias a la agricultura y la industria. Durante los años 20 del siglo xx, la retórica regeneracionista, cuya ambiciosa idea era lanzar a Úbeda a un nuevo Renacimiento, pone en práctica numerosos proyectos de reformas y mejoras en la ciudad. En éstos años, se extiende la educación y los servicios básicos. Fue también en esta época cuando empezaron las obras de la línea ferroviaria Baeza-Utiel, que habría llevado el ferrocarril a Úbeda y habría supuesto una importante conexión por ferrocarril con el Levante. Las obras de la ferrocarril, sin embargo, se alargaron durante tres décadas y la línea sería finalmente abandonada hacia 1964, cuando su construcción se encontraba ya muy avanzada.​ Por esta época fue también muy destacada la actividad del general Leopoldo Saro Marín,​ que aunque no era jienense, estaba emparentado con la provincia y con Úbeda por vínculos familiares. Además del nonato ferrocarril, la influencia del general Saro facilitó la construcción de la Biblioteca municipal, el Parador de Turismo, la Escuela de Artes y Oficios o la reconstrucción de la Casa de las Torres.

 

Úbeda llegó a contar con un periódico diario editado en la localidad, La Provincia, entre 1921 y 1936.​

 

Durante la Guerra civil, la violencia, represión y venganza política sumieron a Úbeda en una larga fase de depresión. La ciudad no fue frente de guerra, pero sufrió las sacas de presos de uno y otro bando. Así, empezó en la noche del 30 al 31 de julio de 1936, cuando las milicias republicanas sacaron a los presos políticos que, en número de 47 se encontraban en la cárcel de Partido, y los asesinaron. La posguerra es aún recordada por sus contemporáneos como «los años del hambre».

 

Durante los años 60 y 70 la industria local tiene un fuerte repunte gracias al tirón desarrollista, pero insuficiente para absorber el fuerte incremento de población, avocada a la emigración. Lentamente, la que fue «la Florencia de la Alta Andalucía», va a ir alcanzando el lugar actual como referente provincial, cabecera de la comarca y como un centro de industria y servicios a nivel regional de importancia creciente.

 

El 3 de julio de 2003 es nombrada, junto con su vecina Baeza, Patrimonio de la Humanidad.