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botany 
Sat Feb 12, 2011 at 03:38:48 AM PST
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( - promoted by JayinPortland)
You don't need a Kepler Space Telescope to explore frontiers. Of the roughly 400,000 species of plants on this planet about 70,000 are still a complete mystery to science. Unlike the vastness of space, since it is estimated that about twenty-five percent of the plant species on this planet will be wiped out in the very near future, there is a sense of urgency to systematic botany.
Recently I attended a New York Botanical Garden lecture "Briefings From the Field: The Frontiers of Plant Discovery and Conservation." Field studies are more exciting than you would expect. The first time I was invited to hear these Indiana Jones type stories that range from Ewok lifestyles in the treetops of Costa Rica to high-water adventures on the "Amazon Queen" was back in 1987.
In those few years there have been big changes in both science and the interactions with governments and industry to report. From 1987 when tropical rain forest covered only six percent of the earth's land surface to now with only five percent left, the stories were less about adventure and more about political advances scientist are making in the conservation mission.
Below the fold are some of the facts I learned at this year's lecture, either advances in an improving landscape or a last ditch effort to save biodiversity, you decide.
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Mon Feb 22, 2010 at 19:33:48 PM PST
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Cross Posted at Daily Kos, Docudharma, Firefly-Dreaming and Progressive Blue.
No more snow job photo diaries out of me. Since it is midwinter and everyone can use a little break from the cold, I think a little Brazilian Modern is in order.
How about you? Join me below for more photos and see an amateur review of my South American trip from last year.
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There's More...
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Wed Apr 22, 2009 at 10:02:34 AM PDT
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 Happy Earth Day! My ongoing quest for free food continues. Last Saturday was a clear, crisp Spring day, perfect for being outdoors but also very, very windy.
Another week has gone by without my being able to find common or yellow wood sorrel. It should certainly be up by now in my local park, but maybe it heard I was coming. There another park nearby where I've found it in the past and hopefully I'll be able to get there sometime this week to collect and photograph it for next week. In the meantime, I have some other wonderful edibles to discuss. (Left: Natural Rock Well by Peter Coughlin)
Before you actually do any foraging, please review the first diary in the FFF series (if you haven't done so already), then lean forward in your best impression of a mime walking into the wind as we cross the barrier.
Covered: sheep sorrel, blue violet, mugwort & plantain
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Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 14:28:53 PM PDT
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 I normally go foraging on Saturdays, but last Saturday was cold and dreary here in New York, so I bundled up with a book of crossword puzzles instead. Sunday, however, was beautiful, but I'm sorry to say that my foraging was cut short by an upset stomach. That, plus some laziness earlier in the week, accounts for this week's diary being not quite as detailed as usual. My apologies and hopefully I'll be back to normal for my next diary. (Right: Mourning Cloak Butterfly by wide eyed lib)
As always, please review the first diary in the series for some foraging dos and don'ts, and step carefully over "There's More" hurdle so that we don't jostle my tummy too much.
Covered: chickweed, wild lettuce, wallpepper & spicebush
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Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 07:44:55 AM PDT
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 I was gratified last week to see that La Vida Locavores are interested in wild foods. My interest in foraging started quite early. My mom used to drive us down a country road lined with blueberry bushes and hand out buckets. At the end of the afternoon, most of the buckets were empty, but we were purple-stained and happy. (Left: Hudson River by wide eyed lib)
Now that I'm older, the pleasures are more cerebral. It's a satisfying feeling when I'm on a walk and recognize a new edible. Tasting something for the first time and thinking about how to make use of its individual characteristics recharges me. I live in a urban environment, so foraging is my primary connection to the changing seasons. I love seeing tight little buds one week that show green cracks the next.
So review last week's caveats, grab your gear and let's leap over the orange hurdle into the greens of early Spring.
Covered: dandelion, chicory, wintercress & daylily
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