-
Bamboo Facts Bonanza
I visited two botanical gardens last month, and perhaps the best specimens in both (at least to me!) were the bamboos. The first botanical garden was the Harry P. Leu Botanical Garden in Orlando, FL, which I have visited several times before. The second botanical garden I visited was the Kampong: A National Tropical Botanical…
-
Diversity Fails Part Deux
The Elton hypothesis states that environments with lower resident diversity will be less resistant to invasion. One possible reason for this is that a diverse assemblage of species or functional types is better able to fully exploit all the resources in the area, and thus the invader will not be able to find any niche…
-
In Search of Shady Characters: Botanizing for Ichnanthus pallens and Lasiacis divaricata
As mentioned in recent posts, the shady understory of forests is normally not the optimal environment for grasses. And yet, many from an entire subfamily of the Poaceae (the Bamboos of subfamily Bambusoideae) and others such as species from genus Oplismenus (e.g. the invasive Oplismenus undulatifolius) and Microstegium (e.g. the invasive Microstegium vimineum) have adapted…
-
A Race Against Time: Oryza sativa (Rice) vs Climate Change
There is no doubts at all that the climate is changing rapidly, and that the average yearly surface temperature has been increasing over the years, with the ten most recent years being the warmest on record. The focus of naturalists and nature lovers in many cases has been on the effect of such warming on…
-
By their ornamental grasses ye shall know them
I’ve stayed in the Denver, Colorado area twice in two years, and one of the most noticeable patterns I’ve noticed is the lavish use of certain specific ornamental grasses as an integral part of the urban and suburban landscape. In this case, some places had seriously abundant clusters of the beautiful Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl…
-
Botanizing for Munroa squarrosa in Colorado and Creating a Search Image
Important: Unfortunately, due to damage to my flash during the hike at the Sherpa Steps or Nordkapptrappa (North Cape Staircase), in Honningsvåg, macrophotographs taken were of subpar quality. Thanks to Tom Chester, who noted that what I mentioned might be salt on a specimen, was actually a sand grain. I was excited about the trip…
Sejarah Poaceae
The Story of Grasses – Grasslands and Grassy Open Ecosystems