• Overshadowed by a Golden Bamboo: Arundinaria tecta

    Overshadowed by a Golden Bamboo: Arundinaria tecta

    We visited Tampa last weekend, and during a drive along a narrow street I suddenly spotted a vision that made me immediately stop. It was a tight clump of tall bamboo with stunning colored culms. It rose from the surrounding prosaic neighborhood like a risen golden angel, the attractive green leaves vibrating in the breeze.…

  • The Scleropogoninae: Woolly Desert Critters Extraordinaire

    The Scleropogoninae: Woolly Desert Critters Extraordinaire

    Important: I have not yet been fortunate enough to meet any of these critters, so all five images are not mine and copyright to their respective authors. It takes real passion and obsession to be an enthusiastic Opie and an indefatigable grass scholar. Unlike many other angiosperms, grasses have minute flowering parts, and thus might…

  • Hiding in the shadows

    Hiding in the shadows

    Important: I am in the process of getting a replacement, but 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, especially when lighting was low. I was thinking that I’ve pretty much scoured my own community for…

  • Golden Barley is Wicked in the Land of Oz

    Golden Barley is Wicked in the Land of Oz

    Images not marked by Sejarah Poaceae are screenshots from the film Wicked by Universal Pictures. A vast open field of grass is frequently used as metaphor in cinema, whether it’s a field of wheat in Gladiator, a reed field in Marvel’s Moon Knight, or the corn fields in Interstellar. During a recent trip to the…

  • Wanderings around the Lava Fields and Hot Springs in Grindavik, Iceland

    Wanderings around the Lava Fields and Hot Springs in Grindavik, Iceland

    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, especially when lighting was low. Our final destination during our Arctic cruise was Reykjavik, Iceland. For two days we stayed in the seaside town of Grindavik, and…

  • Across Vikingland: Grass Explorations in Akureyri and Ísafjörður in Iceland

    Across Vikingland: Grass Explorations in Akureyri and Ísafjörður in Iceland

    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, especially when lighting was low. After our stay in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, we headed south and west to the isolated island of Iceland, which in the past…