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Beach Bum: Getting Salty with Bermuda Grass
I was staying at a beachside hotel in southwestern Florida when I noticed a high sprawling grassy area that crept up from the beach and threatened to move into the parking lot. Curious about what type of grass could grow in such a salty environment, I came closer, expecting it to be something like Paspalum…
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Chhorii: Horror in the Canes
Forests have traditionally been the go-to location when horror movies want to add suspense, but there has been a rise in the use of grass fields as the scene of horror movies, and this trend has not been confined to Hollywood. Most American films use maize fields as the usual staple, but Stephen King’s venue…
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An irresistible force meets an immovable object?
I’ve been doing a long running observation on a stand of Imperata cylindrica (Cogon grass) in Florida since 2021, with the cogon grass rapidly overwhelming its competitors as it spread laterally along a roadside. For a history of this series of observations: April 2021Rapid expansion of an invasive grass as viewed using Google StreetView December…
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Heteropogon contortus: Black spear or drill bit?
Updated: Corrected info about common name in Australia, as well as about sheep in that country. Thanks to a reader. When I was visiting Cape Coral, FL, USA last year, I happened upon a very distinctive grass species that had an inflorescence that looked like drill points. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with…
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Ultra-low GI Rice for Diabetics
I’ve been reading stories about how eating rice (Oryza sativa) can cause diabetes, even though there is some controversy because the cases of diabetes in rice-eating countries was low in the past, and only shot up once meat eating became more prevalent in such countries. Nevertheless, such fears affected the lives of many people who…
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Hesperostipa: Hiding in the Garden of the Gods
A visit to the Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs in Colorado, in 2023 was relatively uneventful, until I met a stand with critters that brought curling to a whole new level. The Garden of the Gods itself is gorgeous, with towering red rocks jutting out majestically from the earth. Trails wound in and…
Sejarah Poaceae (Volume 2)
The Story of Grasses – Grasslands and Grassy Open Ecosystems