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***Edit 2 January 2012 - This picture has been viewed a total of 15,025 times - which, to me, shows there are many many many people out there suffering from PMLE and still nothing to ease it!...keep adding comments...ways of easing it, etc etc!! :)
***Edit @ 3rd August 2008**
As of today this picture has been viewed a total of 2,059 times - which just goes to show in some way how many people suffer from PMLE - and still there's not an awful lot of good practical advice on the internet on how to deal with it - I thought, as there are lots of people visiting here and hopefully getting some good advice about how to control the condition - that people who suffer from it, comment below on the effects and how they manage to deal with it - I can then pull it together and hopefully create a self-help page on this 'ere tinternet! What d'yu think??
Sorry chaps and chapesses - this is not the prettiest of photos - but I think it's an important to highlight this - especially for those who suffer like I do.
Everyone who has ever made my aquaintance, especially in summertime, will know that I suffer from a condition called PMLE (Polymorphic Light Eruption) They know this because I moan about it constantly! This means, to all intents and purposes, I am allergic to the sun! When my skin is exposed to the sun, I blister, within literally seconds.
Now, this condition not only is unsightly, but can be incredibly painful, and the example I've posted is a relatively minor reaction I had today whilst chatting to my Mum outside in the sun for 10 minutes. There have been occasions that the blisters have become so raw, they become blood-blisters and believe me, that really is horrid!
Anyways, for years and years I have been looking for some sort of treatment for this. The only real cure I've found is for me to sit in the sun, exposed (!), with a high factor sun cream on, for minutes at a time, building up slowly but surely - and then, after about 2 months, my skin becomes desensitised.
This is all well and good, but the process is soooo bloody painful - I try to avoid it at all costs. It also makes me look like I've got the lurgy, is very unnattractive and sends young children screaming.
The other option is that I stay out of the sun and cover up (sometimes wearing longsleeved tops and trousers doesn't help, as the UVA rays can still penetrate the material, if it's not the thickness of something like denim)
Basically, I never get to enjoy the sun - BOOOOO!!
What really annoys me is that people call this condition 'prickly heat' - it is not! Prickly heat is an entirely different thing, and although itchy, is not as painful or as harsh or as debilitating as PMLE.
So, after searching and searching the internet, and not getting very far, I decided to post this picture, as it is said that 10% of the population suffers from the condition, most don't even report it to their docs, as the doctor will only give steroid cream as a soother- and, I suppose they reckon that having skin that's allergic to the sun is bad enough as it is, without having it thin out due to steroid treatment....
so... for those 10% of the population who are currently being driven crazy-doolally by the condition, here's what I've found to be helpful (because I couldn't find any other, non medical journal type, useful points of reference or help - there may well be some cracking advice out there, but I haven't found it - there are thousands of pages out there that explain what it is - but not many that give good advice on how to ease it.
1. If you're in the sun wear a high factor sun cream WITH Mexoryl XL + SX in it. Garnier do it, and if you live in the UK, Superdrug are selling it on a two for one offer right now for a tenner. Mexoryl is a new ingredient that does a darn fine job of blocking the UVA *and UVB* rays, which are the ones that cause a lot of the damage.
2. Try and desensitise your skin by building up a resistance (no longer than a few minutes at the beginning) WITH the suncream on.
3. Cool your skin with an aftersun (even if you've only been exposed for a short amount of time and you don't look as if you've caught the sun) - it will go some way to relieving the redness of the blisters.
4. Take an antihistimine (really helps with the itching and the rawness) and try not to itch - the blisters become far more painful after itching.
5. Get a good quality vitamin E cream and cover yourself with it after a shower or bath. (Vitamin E is a wonderful thing for people with skin probs)
The steps above won't get rid of the condition, unfortunately, I don't think anything will, but it certainly will help alleviate the symptoms, allow you to sleep without pain, and feel a bit better about yourself during the Summer months.
/lecture
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Cladonia phyllophora Hoffm., syn.: Cladonia alcicornis var. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Malbr., Cladonia cervicornis f. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Dalla Torre & Sarnth., Cladonia degenerans (Flörke) Spreng
Family: Cladoniaceae
EN: Felt cladonia, DE: Beblätterte Becherflechte
Slo.: no name found
Dat.: Sept. 18. 2008
Lat.: 46.32403 Long.: 13.58408
Code: Bot_0297/2008_DSC3510
Habitat: Steep mountain slope, northwest aspect; among large boulders of a recent, large sock slide; in half shade; on sandy, calcareous ground; moderately humid place; protected from direct rain by overhanging rock; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevations 750 m (2.450 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.
Substratum: sandy soil/raw hummus, among large calcareous boulders.
Place: Bovec basin, Northwest slopes of Mt. Javoršček, 1557 m; toward the end of a dirt forest road, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC.
Comment (relates to Flickr album Cladonia phyllophora): Browsing literature to determine the name of this find I've found only one or two candidates with podetia, which sometimes proliferate in more than two stores from cup margins. Cladonia rappii as well as Cladonia cervikornis/verticilata look similarly from far, but proliferate strictly from the center of the cups. Cladonia ramulosa may look similar too, but rarely (if at all) proliferates in more than two stores and is usually fertile with numerous conspicuous brown apothecia. None of several specimens found in this observation had podetia with apothecia.
The best, although not ideal, fit I've found seems to be Cladonia phyllophora. All sources agree that this taxon is highly polymorphic (google the pictures of it!). The taxon is also very variously interpreted by the authors (Ref. 7.). The description in literature, which seems the closest to this find, is in Brodo, Sharnoff, Sharnoff (2001) (Ref. 2.) mentioning gradually broadening and seemingly soft near the apex podetia having a slightly puffed-up aspect and cup margins richly decorated by small and thick squamules (see Fig. 4.) and brown pycnidia /see Fig.7.). The description in Smith at al (2009) (Ref. 1.) fits reasonably well too, particularly the description of the habit stated as 'often extensive more or less interlocking tiers of proliferating podetia'. However, many sources mention that the surface of the podetia near the base should be areolate with contrasting blackened decorticated and maculated areas (Ref. 1., Ref. 8.) or blackish podetia base (Ref. 7.), which is not the case in this find. Also substratum is usually cited as acid. This find apparently grew on a mixture of sandy soil and raw hummus deposited in gaps among large rock boulders (a few meters across) of a relatively recent large mountain rock slide. It seems possible that it was at least to some extent acid, however, the bedrock and the boulders themselves are no doubt calcareous. I am not sure my determination is correct, but, I am also not aware of a better alternative.
Ref.:
(1) C.W.Smith, et all, The lichens of Great Britain and Ireland,The British Lichen
Society,(2009), p 333.
(2) I.M. Brodo, S.D. Sharnoff, S.Sharnoff, Lichens of North America, Yale Uni. Press (2001), p 265.
(3) V. Wirth, Die Flechten Baden-Württembergs, Teil.1., Ulmer (1995), p 332.
(4) www.researchgate.net/publication/228358096_The_lichen_gen... (accessed May. 31. 2021)
(5) v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=6... (accessed June 8. 2021)
(6) www.sharnoffphotos.com/lichensB/cladonia_phyllophora.html (accessed June 12. 2021)
(7) www.lichensmaritimes.org/index.php?task=fiche&lichen=... (accessed June 12. 2021)
(8) italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=814 (accessed June 14. 2021)
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) is a large butterfly with contrasting colors that belongs to the Swallowtail family. A common South-Asian butterfly, it is widely distributed and has thirteen subspecies. The female is polymorphic and with mimetic forms.
Common Mormon (Female; Form: romulus)
SEE VIDEO: www.flickr.com/photos/23985194@N06/5989934211/in/photostr...
This female form of the Common Mormon mimics the Common Rose very closely but lacks red markings on body. This is the commonest form wherever the Common Rose flies. The female of the Common Mormon is polymorphic. In South Asia, it has three forms or morphs. These are as follows: cyrus, stichius, romulus.
The Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) is a common species of swallowtail butterfly (family: papilionidae) widely distributed across Asia. Seen round the year throughout India from plains up to 2000m. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females.
Host Plant: Ixora coccinea; Rangan (রঙ্গন, Rugmini in Hindi, commonly known as the Jungle Geranium, Flame of the Woods, and Jungle Flame from Rubiaceae family) is an exotic bright red flower, bloom as a flower bunch comprises of lot of small red flowers at the top of branch. Each red flower has four petals and holds four yellow stamen(no filament) between the petals. Flower blooms more or less throughout the year, but best during the rainy season.
Bibhuti Bhushan Wildlife Sanctuary, Parmadan
Images of Bengal, India
Parmadan wild life sanctuary is 28 km from Bongaon, a city on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Nestling under the shade of the Shishu, bamboo, minjiri, tut, arjun, shimul, and shirish trees, this 68 sq.km forest lies on the banks of the Ichamati River. It has been renamed as Bibhuti Bhushan Wildlife Sanctuary. Besides wild animal like the deer, monkey, peacock and rabbit, large number of birds such as shankacheel, neelkanth, phooltushi, etc. are found in abundance in this forest.
Costa-Rica. Tortuguero. Aug. 2007
Oophaga pumilio (former endrobates pumilio) = Strawberry Poison Dart Frog - tiny and incredibly beautiful creature from Tortugero (Costa Rica) have got blue legs (Blue-jeans Frog) while those from Pacific regions are whole-red. Very polymorphic species with various color patterns from tropical America. The flamboyant appearance warns the potential predator: I am poisonous!!! If a snake bites it, it immediately releases the frog, scrapes its mouth against the ground, nd may writhe or lie comatose for several hours. Snakes, birds, and mammals do not die from such experience, but they remember the lesson!
The reproductive behavior of this frog is the most unbelievable stories in the rainforest! Males establish territories on logs and stumps at a spacing of about ten feet. Their mating call is a cricketlike buzz that pulses at a rate of four to five buzzes per sec., deterring males while attracting females. If another male approaches, the too ones rise up and grapple with each other like little sumo wrestlers. When a female approaches, the male leads her to nesting site in the ground litter, where he deposits sperm on a leaf and she lays two to five eggs on it. He guards the eggs and keeps them moist for about 7 days until they hatch. Then, the female returns, and the tadpoles climb onto her back, using their mouths as suckers. She climbs trees and backs into the water tanks of bromeliads or water-filled plant cavities. After the tadpoles slide into the water, she returns for the others. She visits them for the 50 days it takes to develop! When the tadpoles sense its approaching mother, they vibrate their tales. Then she backs into the water and lays an unfertilized egg for the tadpoles to eat! - 7-11 eggs for each baby during its development! This incredible adaptation developed to avoid raising tadpoles in fishful ponds.
Cladonia phyllophora Hoffm., syn.: Cladonia alcicornis var. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Malbr., Cladonia cervicornis f. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Dalla Torre & Sarnth., Cladonia degenerans (Flörke) Spreng
Family: Cladoniaceae
EN: Felt cladonia, DE: Beblätterte Becherflechte
Slo.: no name found
Dat.: Sept. 18. 2008
Lat.: 46.32403 Long.: 13.58408
Code: Bot_0297/2008_DSC3510
Habitat: Steep mountain slope, northwest aspect; among large boulders of a recent, large sock slide; in half shade; on sandy, calcareous ground; moderately humid place; protected from direct rain by overhanging rock; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevations 750 m (2.450 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.
Substratum: sandy soil/raw hummus, among large calcareous boulders.
Place: Bovec basin, Northwest slopes of Mt. Javoršček, 1557 m; toward the end of a dirt forest road, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC.
Comment (relates to Flickr album Cladonia phyllophora): Browsing literature to determine the name of this find I've found only one or two candidates with podetia, which sometimes proliferate in more than two stores from cup margins. Cladonia rappii as well as Cladonia cervikornis/verticilata look similarly from far, but proliferate strictly from the center of the cups. Cladonia ramulosa may look similar too, but rarely (if at all) proliferates in more than two stores and is usually fertile with numerous conspicuous brown apothecia. None of several specimens found in this observation had podetia with apothecia.
The best, although not ideal, fit I've found seems to be Cladonia phyllophora. All sources agree that this taxon is highly polymorphic (google the pictures of it!). The taxon is also very variously interpreted by the authors (Ref. 7.). The description in literature, which seems the closest to this find, is in Brodo, Sharnoff, Sharnoff (2001) (Ref. 2.) mentioning gradually broadening and seemingly soft near the apex podetia having a slightly puffed-up aspect and cup margins richly decorated by small and thick squamules (see Fig. 4.) and brown pycnidia /see Fig.7.). The description in Smith at al (2009) (Ref. 1.) fits reasonably well too, particularly the description of the habit stated as 'often extensive more or less interlocking tiers of proliferating podetia'. However, many sources mention that the surface of the podetia near the base should be areolate with contrasting blackened decorticated and maculated areas (Ref. 1., Ref. 8.) or blackish podetia base (Ref. 7.), which is not the case in this find. Also substratum is usually cited as acid. This find apparently grew on a mixture of sandy soil and raw hummus deposited in gaps among large rock boulders (a few meters across) of a relatively recent large mountain rock slide. It seems possible that it was at least to some extent acid, however, the bedrock and the boulders themselves are no doubt calcareous. I am not sure my determination is correct, but, I am also not aware of a better alternative.
Ref.:
(1) C.W.Smith, et all, The lichens of Great Britain and Ireland,The British Lichen
Society,(2009), p 333.
(2) I.M. Brodo, S.D. Sharnoff, S.Sharnoff, Lichens of North America, Yale Uni. Press (2001), p 265.
(3) V. Wirth, Die Flechten Baden-Württembergs, Teil.1., Ulmer (1995), p 332.
(4) www.researchgate.net/publication/228358096_The_lichen_gen... (accessed May. 31. 2021)
(5) v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=6... (accessed June 8. 2021)
(6) www.sharnoffphotos.com/lichensB/cladonia_phyllophora.html (accessed June 12. 2021)
(7) www.lichensmaritimes.org/index.php?task=fiche&lichen=... (accessed June 12. 2021)
(8) italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=814 (accessed June 14. 2021)
The Variable Oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolour, torea-pango in Maori), a species of wading bird, is endemic to New Zealand. They are also known as 'red bills'. "Variable" refers to the frontal plumage, which ranges from pied through mottled to all black. They are polymorphic meaning they have different genetic variants. Blacker birds are more common in the south; all Stewart Island variable oystercatchers are black.
DISCRIPTION
Variables have pink legs, an orange eye ring and red beaks. Males are around 678 grams and females slightly larger at around 724 grams. Variables can be identified as they are slightly larger than the (black and white) South Island Pied Oystercatchers (SIPOs) which are around 550 grams. Occasionally totally black, but if they are pied (black and white) they can be easily confused with SIPOs. The variable species has less definition between the black and the white area, as well as a mottled band on the leading edges of the underwing. Variables also have a smaller white rump patch which is only a band across the base of the tail rather than a wide wedge shape reaching up to the middle of the back as in the SIPO. When mottled they are sometimes called 'smudgies'.
BREEDING
Variables are often seen in pairs on the coast all around New Zealand. Once mated pairs rarely divorce. They breed in North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and Chatham Islands. They do not breed inland or beside rivers, although the SIPO does. They nest on the shore between rocks or on sand dunes by making a scrape out of the sand or shingle, sometimes lined with some seaweed. During breeding, the pair will defend their territory, sometimes aggressively. They usually lay 2 to 3 eggs, but they can lay up to 5. The eggs are typically stone coloured with small brown patches all over. Eggs hatch in 25 to 32 days. Chicks are well camouflaged by their colour and can fly in about 6 weeks. After breeding they may be seen within or on the edges of flocks of SIPO which also have vivid orange beaks. After breeding they may even form small flocks of their own. The bird lives up to about 27 years.
FOOD
They are noisy and talkative birds, and when in flight they make a high pitched 'kleep kleep' sound. The birds feed on molluscs, crabs and marine worms. After heavy rain, they sometime go inland in search of earthworms. They can open a shellfish by either hammering a hole in it or getting the bill between the two shells (of a bivalve) and twisting them apart.
Source: Wikipedia
Knowledge of genetic diversity is one of the important tools used for genetic management of quinoa accessions for plant breeding. This research aimed to molecularly characterize five quinoa genotypes using ISSR markers to reveal genetic polymorphism and identify unique markers for each genotype. Analysis of inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) revealed that 10 ISSR primers produced 53 amplicons, out of them 33 were polymorphic and the average percentage of polymorphism was 61.83%. The number of amplicons per primer ranged from 3 (HB-13, HB-10, HB-8 and 17898A) to 10 (HB-15) with an average of 5.3 fragments/primer across the different quinoa genotypes. Data showed a total number of unique ISSR markers of 24; eleven of them were positive and 13 were negative. Using ISSR analysis, we were able to identify some unique bands associated with quinoa genotypes. The genetic similarity ranged from 49% (between Ollague and each of QL-3 and Chipaya) to 76% (between CICA-17 and CO-407). The results indicated that all the five quinoa genotypes differ from each other at the DNA level where the average of genetic similarity (GS) between them was about 59%. The dendrogram separated the quinoa genotypes into two clusters; the first cluster included two genotypes (QL-3 and Chipaya). The second cluster was divided into two groups; the first group included two genotypes (CICA-17 and CO-407) and the second group included only one genotype (Ollague). Our results indicated that ISSR technique is useful in the establishment of the genetic fingerprinting and estimation of genetic relationships among quinoa genotypes. Also, this technique could detect enough polymorphism in the studied quinoa genotypes to distinguish each genotype from the others. Furthermore, the use of these results in the future is important for quinoa germplasm management and improvement as well as for the selection strategies of parental lines that facilitate the prediction of crosses in order to produce hybrids with higher performance. Using ISSR analysis, we were able to identify unique bands associated with quinoa genotypes. These bands might also be used in breeding programs for differentiating among Chinopodium quinoa varieties.
Author(s) Details
A. M. M. Al-Naggar
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt.
R. M. Abd El-Salam
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt.
A. E. E. Badran
Plant Breeding Unit, Department of Genetic Resources, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
Mai M. A. El-Moghazi
Plant Breeding Unit, Department of Genetic Resources, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
Read full article: bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/view/54/599/485-2
View More: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhiRynfypug
Photographed while walking at San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Los Altos, California
Please click on the photo or press the L key to view the larger size
This beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was perched on a horizontal branch, no more than 50 feet from a heavily-used trail that winds up the hillside from the parking area. Many hikers and runners passed this hawk in both directions without noticing the hawk. The hawk itself was constantly moving its head about as it was searching for prey and in this photo was looking up the hill behind it at some movement that had attracted its attention.
Canon 7D Mark II. f/5.6 1/640 ISO 400
=======================
From Wikipedia: The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide. The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context.
Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the Arctic and the species is absent from the high Arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The 14 recognized subspecies vary in appearance and range, varying most often in color, and in the west of North America, red-tails are particularly often strongly polymorphic, with individuals ranging from almost white to nearly all black. The subspecies Harlan's hawk (B. j. harlani) is sometimes considered a separate species (B. harlani). The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600 g (1.5 to 3.5 lb) and measuring 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110–141 cm (3 ft 7 in–4 ft 8 in). This species displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.
The diet of red-tailed hawks is highly variable and reflects their status as opportunistic generalist, but in North America, it is most often a predator of small mammals such as rodents. Prey that is terrestrial and diurnal is preferred so types such as ground squirrels are preferential where they naturally occur. Large numbers of birds and reptiles can occur in the diet in several areas and can even be the primary foods. Meanwhile, amphibians, fish and invertebrates can seem rare in the hawk’s regular diet; however, they are not infrequently taken by immature hawks.
Red-tailed hawks may survive on islands absent of native mammals on diets variously including invertebrates such as crabs, or lizards and birds. Like many Buteo, they hunt from a perch most often but can vary their hunting techniques where prey and habitat demand it. Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train.
Description:
Red-tailed hawk plumage can be variable, depending on the subspecies and the region. These color variations are morphs, and are not related to molting. The western North American population, B. j. calurus, is the most variable subspecies and has three main color morphs: light, dark, and intermediate or rufous. The dark and intermediate morphs constitute 10–20% of the population in the western United States but seem to constitute only 1-2% of B. j. calurus in western Canada. A whitish underbelly with a dark brown band across the belly, formed by horizontal streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. This feature is variable in eastern hawks and generally absent in some light subspecies (i.e. B. j. fuertesi).
Most adult red-tails have a dark brown nape and upper head which gives them a somewhat hooded appearance, while the throat can variably present a lighter brown “necklace”. Especially in younger birds, the underside may be otherwise covered with dark brown spotting and some adults may too manifest this stippling. The back is usually a slightly darker brown than elsewhere with paler scapular feathers, ranging from tawny to white, forming a variable imperfect “V” on the back. The tail of most adults, which of course gives this species its name, is rufous brick-red above with a variably sized black subterminal band and generally appears light buff-orange from below. In comparison, the typical pale immatures (i.e. less than two years old) typically have a mildly paler headed and tend to show a darker back than adults with more apparent pale wing feather edges above (for descriptions of dark morph juveniles from B. j. calurus, which is also generally apt for description of rare dark morphs of other races, see under that subspecies description). In immature red-tailed hawks of all hues, the tail is a light brown above with numerous small dark brown bars of roughly equal width, but these tend to be much broader on dark morph birds.
Even in young red-tails, the tail may be a somewhat rufous tinge of brown. The bill is relatively short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors, and the head can sometimes appear small in size against the thick body frame. The cere, the legs, and the feet of the red-tailed hawk are all yellow, as is the hue of bare parts in many accipitrids of different lineages. Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3–4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown hue, which is the adult eye-color in all races. Seen in flight, adults usually have dark brown along the lower edge of the wings, against a mostly pale wing, which bares light brownish barring. Individually, the underwing coverts can range from all dark to off-whitish (most often more heavily streaked with brown) which contrasts with a distinctive black patagium marking. The wing coloring of adults and immatures is similar but for typical pale morph immatures having somewhat heavier brownish markings.
Though the markings and hue vary across the subspecies, the basic appearance of the red-tailed hawk is relatively consistent. Overall, this species is blocky and broad in shape, often appearing (and being) heavier than other Buteos of similar length. They are the heaviest Buteos on average in eastern North America, albeit scarcely ahead of the larger winged rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus), and second only in size in the west to the ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis). Red-tailed hawks may be anywhere from the seventh to the ninth heaviest Buteo in the world depending on what figures are used. However, in the northwestern United States, ferruginous hawk females are 35% heavier than female red-tails from the same area. On average, western red-tailed hawks are relatively longer winged and lankier proportioned but are slightly less stocky, compact and heavy than eastern red-tailed hawks in North America. Eastern hawks may also have mildly larger talons and bills than western ones. Based on comparisons of morphology and function amongst all accipitrids, these features imply that western red-tails may need to vary their hunting more frequently to on the wing as the habitat diversifies to more open situations and presumably would hunt more variable and faster prey, whereas the birds of the east, which was historically well-wooded, are more dedicated perch hunters and can take somewhat larger prey but are likely more dedicated mammal hunters. In terms of size variation, red-tailed hawks run almost contrary to Bergmann's rule (i.e. that northern animals should be larger in relation than those closer to the Equator within a species) as one of the northernmost subspecies, B. j. alascensis, is the second smallest race based on linear dimensions and that two of the most southerly occurring races in the United States, B. j. fuertesi and B. j. umbrinus, respectively, are the largest proportioned of all red-tailed hawks. Red-tailed hawks tend have a relatively short but broad tails and thick, chunky wings. Although often described as long winged, the proportional size of the wings is quite small and red-tails have high wing loading for a buteonine hawk. For comparison, two other widespread Buteo hawks in North America were found to weigh: 30 g (1.1 oz) for every square centimeter of wing area in the rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) and 44 g (1.6 oz) per square cm in the red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus). In contrast, the red-tailed hawk weighed considerably more for their wing area: 199 g (7.0 oz) per square cm.
As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are up to 25% larger than males. As is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for Red-tailed Hawks are somewhat higher than expansive research reveals. Part of this weight variation is seasonal fluctuations, hawks tending to be heavier in winter than during migration or especially during the trying summer breeding season, and also due to clinal variation. Furthermore, immature hawks are usually lighter in mass than their adult counterparts despite averaging somewhat longer winged and tailed. Male red-tailed hawks may weigh from 690 to 1,300 g (1.52 to 2.87 lb) and females may weigh between 801 and 1,723 g (1.766 and 3.799 lb) (the lowest figure from a migrating female immature from Goshute Mountains, Nevada, the highest from a wintering female in Wisconsin). Some sources claim the largest females can weigh up to 2,000 g (4.4 lb) but whether this is in reference to wild hawks (as opposed to those in captivity or used for falconry) is not clear.[24] The largest known survey of body mass in red-tailed hawks is still credited to Craighead & Craighead (1956), who found 100 males to average 1,028 g (2.266 lb) and 108 females to average 1,244 g (2.743 lb). However, these figures were apparently taken from labels on museum specimens, apparently from natural history collections in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, without note to the region, age or subspecies of the specimens. However, 16 sources ranging in sample size from the aforementioned 208 specimens to only four hawks in Puerto Rico (with 9 of the 16 studies of migrating red-tails), showed that males weigh a mean of 860.2 g (1.896 lb) and females weigh a mean of 1,036.2 g (2.284 lb), about 15% lighter than prior species-wide published weights. Within the continental United States, average weights of males can range from 840.8 g (1.854 lb) (for migrating males in Chelan County, Washington) to 1,031 g (2.273 lb) (for male hawks found dead in Massachusetts) and females ranged from 1,057.9 g (2.332 lb) (migrants in the Goshutes) to 1,373 g (3.027 lb) (for females diagnosed as B. j. borealis in western Kansas). Size variation in body mass reveals that the red-tailed hawks typically varies only a modest amount and that size differences are geographically inconsistent. Racial variation in average weights of great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) show that mean body mass is nearly twice (the heaviest race is about 36% heavier than the lightest known race on average) as variable as that of the hawk (where the heaviest race is only just over 18% heavier on average than the lightest). Also, great horned owls correspond well at the species level with Bergmann’s rule.
Male red-tailed hawks can reportedly measure 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in) in total length, females measuring 48 to 65 cm (19 to 26 in) long. The wingspan typically can range from 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in), although the largest females may possible span up to 147 cm (4 ft 10 in). In the standard scientific method of measuring wing size, the wing chord is 325.1–444.5 mm (12.80–17.50 in) long. The tail measures 188 to 258.7 mm (7.40 to 10.19 in) in length. The exposed culmen was reported to range from 21.7 to 30.2 mm (0.85 to 1.19 in) and the tarsus averaged 74.7–95.8 mm (2.94–3.77 in) across the races. The middle toe (excluding talon) can range from 38.3 to 53.8 mm (1.51 to 2.12 in), with the hallux-claw (the talon of the rear toe, which has evolved to be the largest in accipitrids) measuring from 24.1 to 33.6 mm (0.95 to 1.32 in) in length.
Identification:
Although they overlap in range with most other American diurnal raptors, identifying most mature red-tailed hawks to species is relatively straightforward, particularly if viewing a typical adult at a reasonable distance. The red-tailed hawk is the only North American hawk with a rufous tail and a blackish patagium marking on the leading edge of its wing (which is obscured only on dark morph adults and Harlan’s hawks by similarly dark colored feathers).
Other larger adult Buteo in North America usually have obvious distinct markings that are absent in red-tails, whether the rufous-brown “beard” of Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsonii) or the colorful rufous belly and shoulder markings and striking black-and-white mantle of red-shouldered hawks (also the small “windows” seen at the end of their primaries). In perched individuals, even as silhouettes, the shape of large Buteos may be distinctive, such as the wingtips overhanging the tail in several other species, but not in red-tails. North American Buteos range from the dainty, compact builds of much smaller Buteos, such as broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) to the heavyset, neckless look of ferruginous hawks or the rough-legged buzzard which has a compact, smaller appearance than a red-tail in perched birds due to its small bill, short neck and much shorter tarsus, while the opposite effect occurs in flying rough-legs with their much bigger wing area.
In flight, most other large North American Buteo are distinctly longer and slenderer winged than red-tailed hawks, with the much paler ferruginous hawk having peculiarly slender wings in relation to its massive, chunky body. Swainson's hawks are distinctly darker on the wing and ferruginous hawks are much paler winged than typical red-tailed hawks. Pale morph adult ferruginous hawk can show mildly tawny-pink (but never truly rufous) upper tail, and like red-tails tend to have dark markings on underwing-coverts and can have a dark belly band but compared to red-tailed hawks have a distinctly broader head, their remiges are much whiter looking with very small dark primary tips, they lack the red-tail’s diagnostic patagial marks and usually (but not always) also lack the dark subterminal tail-band, and ferruginous have a totally feathered tarsus. With its whitish head, the ferruginous hawk is most similar to Krider's red-tailed hawks, especially in immature plumage, but the larger hawk has broader head and narrower wing shape and the ferruginous immatures are paler underneath and on their legs. Several species share a belly band with the typical red-tailed hawk but they vary from subtle (as in the ferruginous hawk) to solid blackish, the latter in most light-morph rough-legged buzzards. More difficult to identify among adult red-tails are its darkest variations, as most species of Buteo in North America also have dark morphs. Western dark morph red-tails (i.e. calurus) adults, however, retain the typical distinctive brick-red tail which other species lack, which may stand out even more against the otherwise all chocolate brown-black bird. Standard pale juveniles when perched show a whitish patch in the outer half of the upper surface of the wing which other juvenile Buteo lack. The most difficult to identify stages and plumage types are dark morph juveniles, Harlan’s hawk and some Krider’s hawks (the latter mainly with typical ferruginous hawks as aforementioned). Some darker juveniles are similar enough to other Buteo juveniles that it has been stated that they "cannot be identified to species with any confidence under various field conditions." However, field identification techniques have advanced in the last few decades and most experienced hawk-watchers can distinguish even the most vexingly plumaged immature hawks, especially as the wing shapes of each species becomes apparent after seeing many. Harlan’s hawks are most similar to dark morph rough-legged buzzards and dark morph ferruginous hawks. Wing shape is the most reliable identification tool for distinguishing the Harlan’s from these, but also the pale streaking on the breast of Harlan’s, which tends to be conspicuous in most individuals, and is lacking in the other hawks. Also dark morph ferruginous hawks do not have the dark subterminal band of a Harlan’s hawk but do bear a black undertail covert lacking in Harlan’s.
AB2A8487-1_fCA2Flkr
spanwidth min.: 54 cm
spanwidth max.: 60 cm
size min.: 32 cm
size max.: 36 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 11 days
incubation max.: 12 days
fledging min.: 17 days
fledging max.: 17 days
broods 15
eggs min.: 1
eggs max.: 25
Cuach
Status: Widespread summer visitor to Ireland from April to August.
Conservation Concern: Green-listed in Ireland. The European population is currently evaluated as secure.
Identification: Despite its obvious song, relatively infrequently seen. In flight, can be mistaken for a bird of prey such as Sparrowhawk, but has rapid wingbeats below the horizontal plane - ie. the wings are not raised above the body. Adult male Cuckoos are a uniform grey on the head, neck, back, wings and tail. The underparts are white with black barring. Adult females can appear in one of two forms. The so-called grey-morph resembles the adult male plumage, but has throat and breast barred black and white with yellowish wash. The rufous-morph has the grey replaced by rufous, with strong black barring on the wings, back and tail. Juvenile Cuckoos resemble the female rufous-morph, but are darker brown above.
Similar Species: Sparrowhawk
Call: The song is probably one of the most recognisable and well-known of all Irish bird species. The male gives a distinctive “wuck-oo”, which is occasionally doubled “wuck-uck-ooo”. The female has a distinctive bubbling “pupupupu”. The song period is late April to late June.
Diet: Mainly caterpillars and other insects.
Breeding: Widespread in Ireland, favouring open areas which hold their main Irish host species – Meadow Pipit. Has a remarkable breeding biology unlike any other Irish breeding species.
Wintering: Cuckoos winter in central and southern Africa.
Where to See: Occurs throughout Ireland though nowhere especially common. Good areas to see Cuckoo are the Burren and Connemara, which hold the highest density of breeding pairs.
Physical characteristics
Forests and woodlands, both coniferous and deciduous, second growth, open wooded areas, wooded steppe, scrub, heathland, also meadows, reedbeds. Lowlands and moorlands and hill country to 2 km.
Habitat
Forests and woodlands, both coniferous and deciduous, second growth, open wooded areas, wooded steppe, scrub, heathland, also meadows, reedbeds. Lowlands and moorlands and hill country to 2 km. Food and Feeding
Other details
Cuculus canorus is a widespread summer visitor to Europe, which accounts for less than half of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is very large (>4,200,000 pairs), and was stable between 1970-1990. Although there were declines in many western populations-most notably France-during 1990-2000, most populations in the east, including key ones in Russia and Romania, were stable, and the species underwent only a slight decline overall
Feeding
Diet based on insects, mainly caterpillars, also dragonflies, mayflies, damselflies, crickets, and cicadas. Sometimes, spiders, snails, rarely fruit. Preys on eggs and nestling of small birds.
Conservation
This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 km². It has a large global population, including an estimated 8,400,000-17,000,000 individuals in Europe (BirdLife International in prep.). Global population trends have not been quantified, but populations appear to be stable so the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [conservation status from birdlife.org]
Breeding
May-Jun in NW Europe, Apr-May in Algeria, Apr-Jul in India and Myanmar. Brood-parasitic, hosts include many insectivorous songbird species, like: flycatchers, chats, warblers, pipits, wagtails and buntigs. Often mobbed by real or potential hosts near their nests. Eggs polymorphic in color and pattern, closely match those of host in color and pattern. Nestling period 17-18 days, evicts host's eggs and chicks.
Migration
Migratory in N of range, arriving in SW Britain mainly Apr - May, when occasionally recorded in small parties, and even in one flock of 50+ birds; also seasonal in hill country from Assam and Chin Hills to Shan States, where present Mar - Aug. Resident in tropical lowland areas of S Asia. Winter resident in sub-Saharan Africa and in Sri Lanka. W Palearctic populations migrate to Africa, where a Dutch-ringed juvenile found in Togo in Oct and a British-ringed juvenile found in Cameroon in Jan; migrants appear in N Senegal as early as late Jul through Oct; in W Africa nearly all records are in autumn ( Sept - Dec), birds apparently continuing on to C & S Africa. Race bangsi occurs on passage in W Africa, and winters S of equator from W Africa to L Tanganyika. Asian populations of nominate canorus and bakeri winter in India, SE Asia and Philippines, also in Africa, but the extent of migration of Asian birds to Africa is unknown; some subtelephonus migrate through Middle East and occur in winter from Uganda and E Zaire to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Natal. Mainly a passage migrant in Middle East, though some breed in region. Migrants also appear on islands in W Indian Ocean ( Seychelles, Aldabra). Nominate canorus accidental in Iceland, Faeroes, Azores, Madeira, Canary Is and Cape Verde Is, rarely also Alaska and eastern N America; one record of canorus in Indonesia, off W Java in winter. Autumn migration starts in August and continues until October. The main passage through Egypt is in September and the first half of October, with a peak in the third week of September (Goodman & Meininger 1989). Southward movement through Africa lasts from September to December and is linked to the occurrence of rainfall and the growth of cover.
Common Mormon (Female; Form: stichius)
This female form of the Common Mormon mimics the Common Rose very closely but lacks red markings on body. This is the commonest form wherever the Common Rose flies.
The Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) is a common species of swallowtail butterfly (family: papilionidae) widely distributed across Asia. Seen round the year throughout India from plains up to 2000m. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females.
The female of the Common Mormon is polymorphic. In South Asia, it has three forms or morphs. These are as follows: cyrus, stichius, romulus.
Host Plant: Ixora coccinea; Rangan (রঙ্গন, Rugmini in Hindi, commonly known as the Jungle Geranium, Flame of the Woods, and Jungle Flame from Rubiaceae family) is an exotic bright red flower, bloom as a flower bunch comprises of lot of small red flowers at the top of branch. Each red flower has four petals and holds four yellow stamen(no filament) between the petals. Flower blooms more or less throughout the year, but best during the rainy season.
Bengal Monsoon
Images of Bengal, India
Music Courtesy: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Andante from 'Water'
リコリス・ロンギチュバ ‘ピュア・ホワイト’
Lycoris longituba Y.C.Hsu et G.J.Fan, 1974 ‘Pure White’
This name is accepted. 08/13, 2022.
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Family: Amaryllidaceae (APG IV)
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Distribution:China (Jiangsu)
36 CHS
Lifeform:Bulb geophyte
Original Compiler:R.Govaerts
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Authors:
Yin Hsu (fl. 1974)
Guang Jin Fan (fl. 1970)
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Publication:
Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica. [Chih su fen lei hsüeh pao.]. Beijing
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Collation
12(3): 299
Date of Publication
18 Jul 1974
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Type-Protolog
Locality:China: Jiangsu: Nanjing, 28 Aug. 1951
Collector and Number:F.H. Liou 1919
Institutions(s):HT: HSBI; IT: SHMMI
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(Imported at JAPAN, 1979 from China, By Mr. Kaneko, Japan.)
Very rare plants. 2n=16=6M+10T
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This name is Accepted by:
Zhengyi, W. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2000). Flora of China 24: 1-431. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
Flora of China Editorial Committee. 2000. Flora of China (Flagellariaceae through Marantaceae). 24: 1–431. In C. Y. Wu, P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong (eds.) Fl. China. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing & St. Louis.
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Endemic to China (Jiangsu and Anhui). Very polymorphic species. Variable in flower color and shape. Plants with yellow flowers classified as a variety, "Lycoris longituba Y.C.Hsu et G.J.Fan, 1974". Very long tepatube and its fragrance are marked chracteristics of this species. Leaves lanceolate, to 63 cm long and to 4 cm wide, somewhat fleshy and pale green, appearing in early spring and wither up in May. Scape, 60-80 cm hight, appearing in July to August. Spathe, to 5 cm long. Pedicel 1.5-4.5 cm, tepaltube 4.5-6.0 cm. Tepals 7-9.5 cm long, . Stamens 6-7.5 cm, shorter than tepals. Style 7-9.5 cm, nearly equal to or slightly exceeding tepals. Before that it was far carrying out this plant in a scientific statement, it was indicated by U.S. an Advanced Horticulturalist Mr. Sam Coldwell from that it was a new species. The formal scientific statement of "Lycoris longituba" was announced by Y.C.Hsu & G.J.Fan in 1974. However, this plant was introduced into Japan and was already grown in the 1930s. It by misconception of scholar Dr. Inariyama (1948) of Japan "Lycoris x straminea Lindl., 1848" said. When it depended on research of scholar Dr. Kurita of Japan, it became clear that the individual of this plants is one of the variations of "Lycoris longituba Y.C.Hsu et G.J.Fan, 1974"
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此の個体はリコリス中でも最も大型の部類で、主に種子繁殖をし、非常に自家受粉しやすいが、その反面、分球はしずらく、1球が10球までになるには大凡30年はかかった。ヒガンバナが30年で2000球に分けつする事と比較すると恐ろしいほどスローモーな分けつ力である。此の個体は、金子氏が40年前に中国から導入したヒガンバナ類の中から選抜した個体で、他に麦藁色の個体が明治期にもたらされていたが、在来の個体より鑑賞価値は高い。春出葉型なので、短い期間しか葉が無い為、其の間には良く日光に当て肥培をすることが肝心で有る。自然交雑種のナツズイセンの片親である事がDr. Kurita の研究で判明した。自然界でのリコリス・ロンギチュバは、白、ピンクなど幅があり、黄花や麦藁色の物は別途變種扱いされている。此の個体自体は、蘂にやや紫色が乗るが、是程に白い花の個体は少なく、殆どの場合、やや濁っているピンクであり、選抜した意味は大きい。本種は大球性で他のリコリスよりもやや深く土中に球根が潜る。開花は、是から得られたナツズイセンよりも1ヶ月早く、7月中には開花する。
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昨年は、薄らピンクの花を咲かせ、大いにがっかりしましたが、今年は、元来の綺麗な白花として咲きました。蘂の色からも解る様に、 a true albino では無いので、原因は不明ですが、環境要因か、体調の具合で色彩に影響されるのかも知れません。然は然り乍ら、ロンギチュバの個体群の中では一番白い花です。手元には 變種フラバの系統もありますが、稲荷山博士がストラミネアと誤認した個体等です。稲荷山系の個体は今年はサボリで開花しない様です。
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Nikon Ai Micro-Nikkor 200mm F4s (IF)
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
A very very variable in color (polymorphic) species in the stinkbug family from South America. I have a couple of other examples, but there seems to be no limit to the color variations this species has. How lovely and mysterious. Not sure what the research is on this thing, but it must be an interesting story. This is what you find when you dig around in the National Collection at the Smithsonian. Sadly all the specimens are old as there is little collecting going on these days.
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www.qbookshop.com/products/216627/9780760347386/Bees.html...
Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY
USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4
PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf
Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU
Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov
301 497 5840
Drosera cistiflora is a widespread highly variable and polymorphic species of sundew from the western Cape region of South Africa. there is tremendous variation in flower size and color as well as stem and leaf morphology. For this region, there are current research efforts to identify and reclassify this 'species' into multiple classifications. The late afternoon light provided a spectacular setting for these images.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Now with binocular zoom! Thanks to my friend Sam Meeks for giving me the
idea of literally putting in binoculars...they may or may not stay until the
final version, but for now I think they are hilariously awesome.
The .rar of the finished product is now available for download at drop.io/shaymus22/asset/jump-install-rar
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg, flesh starchy, white or variously colored. Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diameter. in leaf axils, wings are often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite, and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
ze-no-STEEJ-ee-uh or ze-no-STEG-ee-uh -- Greek: xeno (strange); stegia (covering) ... Dave's Botanary
try-den-TAY-ta -- three-toothed ... Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: narrowleaf morning glory • Bengali: হলুদ কলমি লতা holud kolmi lawta, প্রসারিণী prosharini • Gujarati: ભીંતગરીયો bhintagariyo • Hindi: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Kachchhi: ઝામરવલ jhamarval, ટોપરાવલ toparaval • Kannada: ಇಲಿಕಿವಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು ilikivi soppu, ಪ್ರಸಾರಣಿ prasaarani • Konkani: काळी वेल kali vel • Malayalam: പ്രസാരണി prasaarani, തലനീളി thalaneeli • Marathi: काळी वेल kali vel • Odia: ପ୍ରସାରଣୀ prasarani • Rajasthani: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Sanskrit: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Tamil: முதியோர் கூந்தல் mutiyor kuntal • Telugu: లంజ సవరం lanja savaram, సీతమ్మ జడ seethamma jada, సీతమ్మ సవరం seetamma savaram, సుంచు మూతి sunchu mutthi
botanical names: Xenostegia tridentata (L.) D.F.Austin & Staples ... homotypic synonyms: Convolvulus tridentatus L. • Evolvulus tridentatus (L.) L. • Ipomoea tridentata (L.) Roth • Merremia tridentata (L.) Hallier f. ... infraspecific: Xenostegia tridentata subsp. tridentata ... and more at POWO, retrieved 07 February 2025
~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
throughout (except n-w India); including Lakshadweep islands
Names compiled / updated at Names of Plants in India.
Cladonia phyllophora Hoffm., syn.: Cladonia alcicornis var. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Malbr., Cladonia cervicornis f. phyllophora (Hoffm.) Dalla Torre & Sarnth., Cladonia degenerans (Flörke) Spreng
Family: Cladoniaceae
EN: Felt cladonia, DE: Beblätterte Becherflechte
Slo.: no name found
Dat.: Sept. 18. 2008
Lat.: 46.32403 Long.: 13.58408
Code: Bot_0297/2008_DSC3510
Habitat: Steep mountain slope, northwest aspect; among large boulders of a recent, large sock slide; in half shade; on sandy, calcareous ground; moderately humid place; protected from direct rain by overhanging rock; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevations 750 m (2.450 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.
Substratum: sandy soil/raw hummus, among large calcareous boulders.
Place: Bovec basin, Northwest slopes of Mt. Javoršček, 1557 m; toward the end of a dirt forest road, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC.
Comment (relates to Flickr album Cladonia phyllophora): Browsing literature to determine the name of this find I've found only one or two candidates with podetia, which sometimes proliferate in more than two stores from cup margins. Cladonia rappii as well as Cladonia cervikornis/verticilata look similarly from far, but proliferate strictly from the center of the cups. Cladonia ramulosa may look similar too, but rarely (if at all) proliferates in more than two stores and is usually fertile with numerous conspicuous brown apothecia. None of several specimens found in this observation had podetia with apothecia.
The best, although not ideal, fit I've found seems to be Cladonia phyllophora. All sources agree that this taxon is highly polymorphic (google the pictures of it!). The taxon is also very variously interpreted by the authors (Ref. 7.). The description in literature, which seems the closest to this find, is in Brodo, Sharnoff, Sharnoff (2001) (Ref. 2.) mentioning gradually broadening and seemingly soft near the apex podetia having a slightly puffed-up aspect and cup margins richly decorated by small and thick squamules (see Fig. 4.) and brown pycnidia /see Fig.7.). The description in Smith at al (2009) (Ref. 1.) fits reasonably well too, particularly the description of the habit stated as 'often extensive more or less interlocking tiers of proliferating podetia'. However, many sources mention that the surface of the podetia near the base should be areolate with contrasting blackened decorticated and maculated areas (Ref. 1., Ref. 8.) or blackish podetia base (Ref. 7.), which is not the case in this find. Also substratum is usually cited as acid. This find apparently grew on a mixture of sandy soil and raw hummus deposited in gaps among large rock boulders (a few meters across) of a relatively recent large mountain rock slide. It seems possible that it was at least to some extent acid, however, the bedrock and the boulders themselves are no doubt calcareous. I am not sure my determination is correct, but, I am also not aware of a better alternative.
Ref.:
(1) C.W.Smith, et all, The lichens of Great Britain and Ireland,The British Lichen
Society,(2009), p 333.
(2) I.M. Brodo, S.D. Sharnoff, S.Sharnoff, Lichens of North America, Yale Uni. Press (2001), p 265.
(3) V. Wirth, Die Flechten Baden-Württembergs, Teil.1., Ulmer (1995), p 332.
(4) www.researchgate.net/publication/228358096_The_lichen_gen... (accessed May. 31. 2021)
(5) v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=6... (accessed June 8. 2021)
(6) www.sharnoffphotos.com/lichensB/cladonia_phyllophora.html (accessed June 12. 2021)
(7) www.lichensmaritimes.org/index.php?task=fiche&lichen=... (accessed June 12. 2021)
(8) italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=814 (accessed June 14. 2021)
The Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) is a large butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family and is found in southern Asia. It is widely distributed and has thirteen subspecies. The female is polymorphic and with mimetic forms. (Wikipedia)
Papiliorama, Kerzers, Switzerland
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.
Most cultivated Vitis varieties are wind-pollinated with hermaphroditic flowers containing both male and female reproductive structures, while wild species are dioecious. These flowers are grouped in bunches called inflorescences. In many species, such as Vitis vinifera, each successfully pollinated flower becomes a grape berry with the inflorescence turning into a cluster of grapes. While the flowers of the grapevines are usually very small, the berries are often large and brightly colored with sweet flavors that attract birds and other animals to disperse the seeds contained within the berries.
Grapevines usually only produce fruit on shoots that came from buds that were developed during the previous growing season. In viticulture, this is one of the principles behind pruning the previous year's growth (or "One year old wood") that includes shoots that have turned hard and woody during the winter (after harvest in commercial viticulture). These vines will be pruned either into a cane which will support 8 to 15 buds or to a smaller spur which holds 2 to 3 buds.
Description
Flower buds are formed late in the growing season and overwinter for blooming in spring of the next year. They produce leaf-opposed cymes. Vitis is distinguished from other genera of Vitaceae by having petals which remain joined at the tip and detach from the base to fall together as a calyptra or 'cap'. The flowers are mostly bisexual, pentamerous, with a hypogynous disk. The calyx is greatly reduced or nonexistent in most species and the petals are joined together at the tip into one unit but separated at the base. The fruit is a berry, ovoid in shape and juicy, with a two-celled ovary each containing two ovules, thus normally producing four seeds per flower (or fewer by way of aborted embryos).
Other parts of the vine include the tendrils which are leaf-opposed, branched in Vitis vinifera, and are used to support the climbing plant by twining onto surrounding structures such as branches or the trellising of a vine-training system.
In the wild, all species of Vitis are normally dioecious, but under domestication, variants with perfect flowers appear to have been selected.
The genus Vitis is divided into two subgenera, Euvitis Planch. have 38 chromosomes (n=19) with berries borne on clusters and Muscadinia Planch. 40 (n=20) with small clusters.
Wild grapes can resemble the single-seeded Menispermum canadense (moonseed), which is toxic.
Species
Most Vitis species are found mostly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in North America and eastern Asia, exceptions being a few in the tropics and the wine grape Vitis vinifera which originated in southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Grape species occur in widely different geographical areas and show a great diversity of form.
Their growth makes leaf collection challenging and polymorphic leaves make identification of species difficult. Mature grapevines can grow up to 48 centimetres (19 inches) in diameter at breast height and reach the upper canopy of trees more than 35 metres (115 feet) in height.
Many species are sufficiently closely related to allow easy interbreeding and the resultant interspecific hybrids are invariably fertile and vigorous. Thus the concept of a species is less well defined and more likely represents the identification of different ecotypes of Vitis that have evolved in distinct geographical and environmental circumstances.
The exact number of species is not certain. Plants of the World Online states 81 species are accepted, but lists 84. More than 65 species in Asia are poorly defined. Approximately 25 species are known in North America and just one, V. vinifera has Eurasian origins; some of the more notable include:
Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, native to the Eastern United States, especially the Southeastern United States
Vitis amurensis, native to the Asian continent, including parts of Siberia and China
Vitis arizonica, The Arizona grape is native to Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico.
Vitis berlandieri, native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin
Vitis californica, the California wild grape, or Northern California grape, or Pacific grape, is a wild grape species widespread across much of California as well as southwestern Oregon
Vitis coignetiae, the crimson glory vine, a species from East Asia grown as an ornamental plant for its crimson autumn foliage
Vitis labrusca L., the fox grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the Eastern United States and Canada. The Concord grape was derived by a cross with this species
Vitis riparia, the riverbank grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the entire Eastern United States and north to Quebec
Vitis rotundifolia (syn. Muscadinia rotundifolia), the muscadine, used for jams and wine. Native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico
Vitis rupestris, the rock grapevine, used for breeding of Phylloxera resistant rootstock. Native to the Southern United States
Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia.
Vitis vulpina, the frost grape, native to the Eastern United States, from Massachusetts to Florida, and west to Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas Treated by some as a synonym of V. riparia.
Plants of the World Online also includes:
Vitis acerifolia Raf.
Vitis amoena Z.H. Chen, Feng Chen & WW.Y. Xie
Vitis baihuashanensis M.S.Kang & D.Z.Lu
Vitis balansana Planch.
Vitis bashanica P.C.He
Vitis bellula (Rehder) W.T.Wang
Vitis betulifolia Diels & Gilg
Vitis biformis Rose
Vitis blancoi Munson
Vitis bloodworthiana Comeaux
Vitis bourgaeana Planch.
Vitis bryoniifolia Bunge
Vitis × champinii Planch.
Vitis chunganensis Hu
Vitis chungii F.P.Metcalf
Vitis cinerea (Engelm.) Millardet
Vitis davidi (Rom.Caill.) Foëx
Vitis × doaniana Munson ex Viala
Vitis erythrophylla W.T.Wang
Vitis fengqinensis C.L.Li
Vitis ficifolia Bunge
Vitis flavicosta Mickel & Beitel
Vitis flexuosa Thunb.
Vitis girdiana Munson
Vitis hancockii Hance
Vitis heyneana Schult.
Vitis hissarica Vassilcz.
Vitis hui W.C.Cheng
Vitis jaegeriana Comeaux
Vitis jinggangensis W.T.Wang
Vitis jinzhainensis X.S.Shen
Vitis kaihuaica Z.H.Chen, Feng Chen & W.Y Xie
Vitis kiusiana Momiy.
Vitis lanceolatifoliosa C.L.Li
Vitis longquanensis P.L.Chiu
Vitis luochengensis W.T.Wang
Vitis menghaiensis C.L.Li
Vitis mengziensis C.L.Li
Vitis metziana Miq.
Vitis monticola Buckley
Vitis mustangensis Buckley
Vitis nesbittiana Comeaux
Vitis × novae-angliae Fernald
Vitis novogranatensis Moldenke
Vitis nuristanica Vassilcz.
Vitis palmata Vahl
Vitis pedicellata M.A.Lawson
Vitis peninsularis M.E.Jones
Vitis piasezkii Maxim.
Vitis pilosonervia F.P.Metcalf
Vitis popenoei J.L.Fennell
Vitis pseudoreticulata W.T.Wang
Vitis quinlingensis P.C.He
Vitis retordii Rom.Caill. ex Planch.
Vitis romanetii Rom.Caill.
Vitis ruyuanensis C.L.Li
Vitis saccharifera Makino
Vitis shenxiensis C.L.Li
Vitis shizishanensis Z.Y.Ma, J.Wen, Q.Fu & X.Q.Liu
Vitis shuttleworthii House
Vitis silvestrii Pamp.
Vitis sinocinerea W.T.Wang
Vitis sinoternata W.T.Wang
Vitis tiliifolia Humb. & Bonpl. ex Schult.
Vitis tsoi Merr.
Vitis wenchowensis C.Ling
Vitis wenxianensis W.T.Wang
Vitis wilsoniae H.J.Veitch
Vitis wuhanensis C.L.Li
Vitis xunyangensis P.C.He
Vitis yunnanensis C.L.Li
Vitis zhejiang-adstricta P.L.Chiu
There are many cultivars of grapevines; most are cultivars of V. vinifera. One of them includes, Vitis 'Ornamental Grape'.
Hybrid grapes also exist, and these are primarily crosses between V. vinifera and one or more of V. labrusca, V. riparia or V. aestivalis. Hybrids tend to be less susceptible to frost and disease (notably phylloxera), but wine from some hybrids may have a little of the characteristic "foxy" taste of V. labrusca.
The Latin word Vitis is feminine,[19] and therefore adjectival species names take feminine forms, such as V. vinifera.
Ecology
Phylloxera is an American root aphid that devastated V. vinifera vineyards in Europe when accidentally introduced in the late 19th century. Attempts were made to breed in resistance from American species, but many winemakers and customers did not like the unusual flavour profile of the hybrid vines. However, V. vinifera grafts readily onto rootstocks of the American species and their hybrids with V. vinifera, and most commercial production of grapes now relies on such grafts.
Commercial distribution
According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75,866 square kilometres of the world is dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. A portion of grape production goes to producing grape juice to be used as a sweetener for fruits canned "with no added sugar" and "100% natural". The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year.
Domestic cultivation
Grapevines are widely cultivated by gardeners, and numerous suppliers cater specifically for this trade. The plants are valued for their decorative foliage, often colouring brightly in autumn; their ability to clothe walls, pergolas and arches, thus providing shade; and their fruits, which may be eaten as dessert or provide the basis for homemade wines. Popular varieties include:-
Buckland Sweetwater' (white dessert)
'Chardonnay' (white wine)
'Foster's Seedling' (white dessert)
'Grenache' (red wine)
'Muscat of Alexandria' (white dessert)
'Müller-Thurgau' (white wine)
'Phoenix' (white wine)
'Pinot noir' (red wine)
'Regent' (red wine)
'Schiava Grossa' (red dessert)
'Seyval blanc' (white wine)
'Tempranillo' (red wine)
The following varieties have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
'Boskoop Glory' (dessert/wine)
'Brant' (black dessert)
'Claret Cloak' or 'Frovit' (ornamental)
'New York Muscat' (black dessert)
'Purpurea' (ornamental)
Uses
The fruit of several Vitis species are grown commercially for consumption as fresh grapes and for fermentation into wine. Vitis vinifera is the most important such species.
The leaves of several species of grapevine are edible and are used in the production of dolmades and Vietnamese lot leaves.
Culture
The grapevine (typically Vitis vinifera) has been used as a symbol since ancient times. In Greek mythology, Dionysus (called Bacchus by the Romans) was god of the vintage and, therefore, a grapevine with bunches of the fruit are among his attributes. His attendants at the Bacchanalian festivals hence had the vine as an attribute, together with the thyrsus, the latter often entwined with vine branches. For the same reason, the Greek wine cup (cantharos) is commonly decorated with the vine and grapes, wine being drunk as a libation to the god.
The grapevine has a profound symbolic meaning in Jewish tradition and culture since antiquity. It is referenced 55 times in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), along with grapes and wine, which are also frequently mentioned (55 and 19, respectively). It is regarded as one of the Seven Species, and is employed several times in the Bible as a symbol of the Israelites as the chosen people. The grapevine has a prominent place in Jewish rituals: the wine was given a special blessing, "creator of the fruit of the vine", and the Kiddush blessing is recited over wine or grape juice on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It is also employed in various parables and sayings in rabbinic literature. According to Josephus and the Mishnah, a golden vine was hung over the inner chamber of the Second Temple. The grapevine is featured on Hasmonean and Bar Kokhba revolt coinage, and as a decoration in mosaic floors of ancient synagogues.
In Christian iconography, the vine also frequently appears. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament. We have the parable of the kingdom of heaven likened to the father starting to engage laborers for his vineyard. The vine is used as symbol of Jesus Christ based on his own statement, "I am the true vine (John 15:1)." In that sense, a vine is placed as sole symbol on the tomb of Constantia, the sister of Constantine the Great, and elsewhere. In Byzantine art, the vine and grapes figure in early mosaics, and on the throne of Maximianus of Ravenna it is used as a decoration.
The vine and wheat ear have been frequently used as symbol of the blood and flesh of Christ, hence figuring as symbols (bread and wine) of the Eucharist and are found depicted on ostensories. Often the symbolic vine laden with grapes is found in ecclesiastical decorations with animals biting at the grapes. At times, the vine is used as symbol of temporal blessing.
In Mandaeism, uthras (angels or celestial beings) are often described as personified grapevines (gupna).
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
Me and my friend had ventured into a very dense and hilly forest(Western Ghats) following elephant tracks...
The tracks were covered with fresh droppings and foot prints... All along the path we found freshly ravaged trees and branches which was suggestive of the pachyderm's proximity...
Unfortunately we didn't spot any elephants...
But I managed to capture this beautiful snail..!!
(It was a tough job getting a good picture considering the facts that is was pouring heavily and my phone isn't water resistant...)
Location:
S-Kodagu,
Karnataka.
Information on the specimen:
Indrella ampulla is a species of tropical air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae.
This is the type species of the monotypic genus Indrella, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
This is the only species in the genus Indrella, however the animal color is polymorphic: the visible soft parts of the snail can be various colors including red and pale yellow.
The shell of this species is like that of Vitrina, imperforate, with few whorls and with a very large aperture.[3] The shell consists mainly of proteins with only small amounts of calcium carbonate.
The color of the shell is brownish olive, sometimes darker brown. Spire is small, convex and obtuse. The number of whorls is 3 and a half, rapidly increasing, the last much larger, rounded at the periphery and beneath. The aperture is very large, oblique, roundly oval, the same colour within as without, but smooth and glossy
The external soft parts are similar to those of Ariophanta, but larger, and not fully retractile within the shell. The mucous pore is of moderate size,there is no distinct overhanging lobe or a small one. The sole of the foot is undivided and very smooth. There are no shell-lobes. The dorsal lobes are well developed, the left divided into an anterior and a posterior part by a deep sinus. Kalc-sac small, receiving the vas deferens; retractor muscle attached to long straight caecum given off at the junction of the flagellum of the male organ. The spermatheca is oval, very short, on a short stem. The amatorial organ (the dart-sac) is stout and long
Radula:
The jaw is straight, with a slight convexity on the cutting-edge and no median projection. The radula is broad, with about 100 rows of teeth: 145 .17 .1 .17 .145; median tooth and the 17 on each side (admedians) long, broadly pointed, straight-sided, lateral cusps indistinct; laterals curved, aculeate, outer laterals bicuspid.
Distribution:
This species occurs in the Western Ghats of India, specifically on the wetter western slopes of the Wynaad, Nilgiri, and Anaimalai Hills, at moderate elevations (3000 ft)
Feeding habits:
Colonel Richard Henry Beddome of the British Indian forest service found this snail feeding on large fungi.
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them.
The ascocarps are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt.
Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include dryland fish, because when sliced lengthwise then breaded and fried, their outline resembles the shape of a fish; hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels (the spelling of the word "merkel" reflects the pronunciation of the word "miracle" in the Appalachian dialect common to the south).[citation needed] In parts of West Virginia, they are known as "molly moochers." Other common names for morels include sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latin maurus meaning brown.
The fruit bodies of the Morchella are highly polymorphic in appearance, exhibiting variations in shape, color and size; this has contributed to uncertainties regarding taxonomy.[1] Discriminating between the various species is complicated by uncertainty regarding which species are truly biologically distinct. Some authors suggest that the genus only contains as few as 3 to 6 species,[2][3] while others place up to 50 species in the genus.[4][5] Mushroom hunters refer to them by their color (e.g., gray, yellow, black) as the species are very similar in appearance and vary considerably within species and age of individual. The best known morels are the "yellow morel" or "common morel" (M. esculenta); the "white morel" (M. deliciosa); and the "black morel" (M. elata). Other species of true morels include M. conica, M. vulgaris, and the half-free morel (M. semilibera).
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Here's a little White-throated Sparrow I happened to see in September..Enjoy!
I spotted this little beauty while walking in the park. The parks people where cleaning up and pruning the trees and they had made a pile of branches...This little one was sitting on top of the pile!! :)
"Crisp facial markings make the White-throated Sparrow an attractive bird as well as a hopping, flying anatomy lesson. There’s the black eyestripe, the white crown and supercilium, the yellow lores, the white throat bordered by a black whisker, or malar stripe. They’re also a great entrée into the world of birdsong, with their pretty, wavering whistle of Oh-sweet-canada. These forest sparrows breed mostly across Canada, but they’re familiar winter birds across most of eastern and southern North America and California."
"Although they look nothing alike and aren’t particularly closely related, the White-throated Sparrow and the Dark-eyed Junco occasionally mate and produce hybrids. The resulting offspring look like grayish, dully marked White-throated Sparrows with white outer tail feathers."
"The White-throated Sparrow is polymorphic."
This photo is NOT CROPPED!
At the Elysee Palace in Paris, at the request of President Georges Pompidou, who founded the Centre which bears his name, Israeli artist Yaacov Agam designed an antechamber (1974-1975) originally meant to be set at the entrance of the presidential private apartments. This now displayed at the Centre, with walls covered by polymorphic murals of changing images, a kinetic ceiling, moving transparent colored doors and a kinetic carpet on which he placed a sculpture. It embraces viewers: they are no longer looking at a framed, fixed scene, but rather at an arc, moving within an artistic space which changes constantly according to their shifting position and point of view.
Visitors are not normally permitted to walk inside the Salon Agam: but participants in the Fun Palace party hosted by the Centre this evening were exceptionally given access, providing they removed their shoes.
This specimen was discovered in northern Mississippi. Specimens from this area are in a state of taxonomic confusion based on morphology and genetic data. There may just be one polymorphic species or as many as three different species that are very similar morphologically. Since Orconectes etnieri is the oldest species name in this currently confusing group, it has been conservatively assigned to animals from this population. This animal was caught in a baited minnow trap placed in a first order stream that emanates from a steep sided ravine that is periodically (usually) dry.
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
Wood frogs exhibit a range of different colors. Here are two female wood frogs that were found at the same pond. One is brown and the other is red. To my eye, both colors seem to be excellent camouflage in the forests where these frogs live.
Are these color polymorphisms genetically based or induced by the environment? I am not aware of any research that has investigated this, but I would be very curious to know!
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2...
For his latest exhibition, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist's recent preoccupations. While painting has always been an integral part of Kapoor’s practice, this radical new body of work is both spiritual and ecstatic, showing Kapoor working in more vivid and urgent form than ever. Alongside this exhibition, a solo show dedicated to Kapoor's paintings will run at Modern Art Oxford from 2 October 2021 - 13 February 2022, and both shows precede Kapoor’s major retrospective at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, opening April 2022 to coincide with the Venice Biennale.
Through painting, Kapoor delves into the deep inner world of our mind and body, from the physical exploration of the flesh and blood, to investigating psychological concepts as primal and nameless as origin and obliteration. Since the 1980s, Kapoor has been celebrated largely as a sculptor, yet painting, and its rawest composition, colour and form, have been a fundamental element of his practice-. The presentation will feature a selection of new and recent paintings, created between 2019 and 2021, the majority in the artist’s London-based studio during the pandemic. Like the artist’s wider oeuvre, these paintings are rooted in a drive to grasp the unknown, to awaken consciousness and experiment with the phenomenology of space.
Kapoor’s work has been characterized by an intense encounter with colour and matter – manifest either through refined, reflective surfaces such as metal or mirrors, or through the tactile, sensual quality of the blankets of impasto. The magnetism of the colour red is evident in these new paintings, manifesting the elemental force that flows through us all, yet now accompanied by a new palette of telluric greys and yellows, as if witnessing a surge from the depths of the earth. Some works appear volcanic, with an intense, fiery energy, while others are more primitive and abstract, with layers of dense pigment and resin forming a sculpted solidity. Many of the paintings have a visceral outpouring where a canvas within a canvas rotates and evolves in space, seeming to defy gravity, with brushstrokes cascading over the edges like a waterfall. In others we see distorted, polymorphic figures emerging from a deep, radiant void, with a ghostly aura.
Kapoor achieves a coherence of mind and body, of interior and exterior in two of the series of works, illustrating a mythic landscape with a turbulent, ominous atmosphere that differentiates land from sky, body from space. These whirling landscapes evoke the extraordinary, eerie Romanticism of JMW Turner, a worship of nature marked through an expressive, dramatic scene. Similar in disposition are two works where we imagine the moon rising over the peak – a symbolic narrative of a new cycle, of origins and menstruation.
The wall-based paintings recall some of Kapoor’s most ambitious, distinguished works, including Svayambhu (2007), My Red Homeland (2003) and Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013). In these floor-based works we see a more ritualistic, visceral language, where Kapoor unashamedly delves into depicting the very blood and flesh from which we are all born. Artists from Leonardo di Vinci to Francis Bacon have been fascinated with the innards of the body, be it our anatomy or the surrealist beauty in violence. The work also stands in a powerful tradition of artists exploring the human body’s expression of divine matters, yet through the unique vision of Kapoor’s Eastern and Western influences, and ---– considering the year in which they were created --– taking on new meaning highlighting the fragility of the body and self.
My dear friend Jean-Michel loves to photograph dummies at the fashion stores, sometimes despair saleswomen-))
Lady Linn And Her Magnificent Seven - Cool Down
Pasar Siti Khadijah, Buloh Kubu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Dioscorea alata L. Dioscoreaceae. CN: [Malay - Ubi badak, Ubi jembut, Ubi kerbau tidur, Ubi nasi, Ubi kelapa, Ubi sukun], Greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, Ten-months yam, Water yam, White yam, Purple yam, Winged yam. Origin South East Asia; elsewhere naturalized or cultivated. D. alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yam with hundreds of cultivars worldwide. Plants tuberous; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise, climbing up to 20 m, broadly winged, 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils, wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade, winged, base clasping, basal lobes stipulate, growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate, glabrous, base typically sagittate, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate.
Synonym(s):
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
Dioscorea javanica Queva
Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
Dioscorea sativa Munro
Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
and many more - see The Plant List www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
Ref and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-239747
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?14175
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dioscorea_alata/