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Sumac Again
Image by bill barber
From my set entitled ‘Sumac”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157607186471302/
In my collection entitled “The Garden”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760718...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac
Sumac (also spelled sumach) is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. The dried berries of some species are ground to produce a tangy purple spice often used in juice.
Sumacs grow in subtropical and warm temperate regions throughout the world, especially in North America.
Sumacs are shrubs and small trees that can reach a height of 1-10 meters. The leaves are spirally arranged; they are usually pinnately compound, though some species have trifoliate or simple leaves. The flowers are in dense panicles or spikes 5-30 cm long, each flower very small, greenish, creamy white or red, with five petals. The fruits form dense clusters of reddish drupes called sumac bobs.
Sumacs propagate both by seed (spread by birds and other animals through their droppings), and by new sprouts from rhizomes, forming large clonal colonies.
The drupes of the genus Rhus are ground into a deep-red or purple powder used as a spice in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a lemony taste to salads or meat; in the Turkish cuisine e.g. added to salad-servings of kebabs and lahmacun. In North America, the smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), and the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), are sometimes used to make a beverage, termed "sumac-ade" or "Indian lemonade" or "rhus juice". This drink is made by soaking the drupes in cool water, rubbing them to extract the essence, straining the liquid through a cotton cloth and sweetening it. Native Americans also used the leaves and berries of the smooth and staghorn sumacs combined with tobacco in traditional smoking mixtures.
Species including the fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), the littleleaf sumac (R. microphylla), the skunkbush sumac (R. trilobata), the smooth sumac and the staghorn sumac are grown for ornament, either as the wild types or as cultivars.
The leaves of certain sumacs yield tannin (mostly pyrogallol), a substance used in vegetable tanning. Leather tanned with sumac is flexible, light in weight, and light in color, even bordering on being white.
Dried sumac wood is fluorescent under long-wave UV light. Mowing of sumac is not a good control measure as the wood is springy resulting in jagged, sharp pointed stumps when mowed. The plant will quickly recover with new growth after mowing. See Nebraska Extension Service publication G97-1319 for suggestions as to control.
At times Rhus has held over 250 species. Recent molecular phylogeny research suggests breaking Rhus sensu lata into Actinocheita, Baronia, Cotinus, Malosma, Searsia, Toxicodendron, and Rhus sensu stricta. If this is done, about 35 species would remain in Rhus. However, the data is not yet clear enough to settle the proper placement of all species into these genera.
Grass of gold / Hierba de oro
Image by . SantiMB .
Cunit, Tarragona (Spain).
View Large On White
ENGLISH
Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as Pampas Grass, is a tall grass native to southern South America, including the pampas after which it is named, and Patagonia.
Cortaderia selloana was introduced to Europe and North America as an ornamental grass, and, to a lesser extent, to provide food for grazing animals. The feathery flower head plumes, when dried, are widely used in flower arrangements and other ornamental displays.
Pampas grass is highly adaptable and can grow in a wide range of environments and climates. It also seeds prolifically, with each plant able to produce over 1 million seeds during its lifetime. As such, in some areas (for example California, Hawaii or Green Spain) it is regarded as an invasive weed, whilst in New Zealand and South Africa the plant is banned from sale and propagation for the same reasons.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortaderia_selloana
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CASTELLANO
Cortaderia selloana, cortadera o mejor conocida como yerba/hierba(s) de las Pampas, es una especie botánica de pastos rizomatosos muy altos, endémica en el Sur de Sudamérica, en la región pampeana y en la Patagonia.
Posee numerosas denominaciones comunes, entre ellas plumero, plumerillo, cola de zorro, carrizo de la Pampa, paja penacho, paina, cortaderia, ginerio o gimnerio.
Fue introducida a Europa y a Norteamérica como planta ornamental, y en menor medida como forrajera. La flor lanuda plumosa, al secar, son muy usadas en floristería.
Es altamente adaptable, creciendo en una amplia gama de ambientes y climas. Semilla prolíficamente, cada planta puede producir más de 1 millón de simientes durante su vida. Así, en lugares como California, Hawái o el norte de España es una especie invasora, mientras en Nueva Zelanda y en Sudáfrica se prohibe su venta y propagación por las mismas razones. La extirpación de la sp. por quemado no previene su retorno. Se usa herbicida AquaMaster que mata sus raíces.
Si se tiene alergia a las gramíneas, no usarla. Con las hojas se obtiene celulosa. Es planta medicinal como febrífugo infantil, diurética y sudorífera.
Se utilizan para adorno de floreros secos, a veces teñida de otros colores, para eso se los corta cuando son jóvenes y se los seca cabeza abajo. Prefiere zonas cálidas y no soporta bien la helada. Luz a pleno sol, pero crece con sombra parcial.
Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortadera
Pet in pyjamas
Image by Gabriela Ruellan
Pet monarch caterpillar, last instar. Actually I have three of these, and the other two are already pupating.
This species is our native version of the very popular Monarch Butterfly, and it doesn't wear any white stripes on its pyjamas — only black and yellow. For some time it was debated whether this was a subspecies of the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) or a distinct species, but recent studies seem to point to the latter.
The fellow on the photo has been raised on Asclepias curassavica from way up north. I should try feeding them their local food plants, e.g. Asclepias mellodora and Oxypetalum solanoides, but so far only A. curassavica has wanted to grow in my garden.
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Oruga de monarca mascota, última muda. En realidad tengo tres de estas, y las otras dos ya están empupando.
Esta especie es nuestra versión nativa de la muy conocida mariposa monarca, y no usa rayas blancas en el piyama, sólo amarillas y negras. Durante un tiempo se discutió si esta era una subespecie de la monarca (Danaus plexippus) o una especie diferente, pero hace poco se hicieron estudios que parecen indicar esto último.
El fulanito de la foto fue alimentado con Asclepias curassavica, de más al norte. Debería tratar de darles de comer sus plantas hospedadoras locales, como ser Asclepias mellodora y Oxypetalum solanoides, pero hasta ahora sólo A. curassavica quiso crecer en mi jardín.
Danaus erippus (sometimes called / a veces llamada Danaus plexippus erippus)
English: Southern Monarch (caterpillar)
Español (de Argentina): oruga de las asclepias, (oruga de) mariposa monarca, monarca
Distribution range / Área de distribución: Southern Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southeastern Brazil / Sur de Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay y sudeste de Brasil
