Kate over at Beyond the Brambles put out an exuberant floristic Berry-go-round a few days ago. Her blog, her choices, although it did seem a little light on actual botany, to me. So once again I’m abusing a position of privilege to share some of the other submissions to July’s carnival. And if you would like to leave a submission for next month’s effort, hosted by Dave Coulter at Osage and Orange, well, just pop on over and fill in the submission form.
Speaking of Dave, he draws attention to a little known aspect of Detroit’s green renaissance. Sure, we’ve all heard about the urban ag and stuff, but he points to the birth of an amazing maze.
Mazes are stripes, and some plant leaves have stripes. On, then, to Part 2 of Joseph Tychonievich’s account of variegation at Greensparrow Gardens. I remember a great exhibit at Chelsea on variegation …
Greensparrows lead inexorably to rose gentians, of the square-stemmed sort. JSK has the lowdown on Sabatia angularis. And, for what they’re worth, Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora), thought to have been a victim of a nasty road accident, and Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis). Herpetologists will recognize the specific epithet, but will they know what’s clasping what.
You want taxonomy? We’ve got taxonomy. And evolution. And links between the two. Joseph Craine at Wild Plants Post goes into the evolutionary history of the grasses and the forces that might have driven their adaptive radiation.
It’s all a question of niche exploitation. Or is it? Sarcozona goes all biblical on us as she attempts to untangle the knots surrounding invasive species. I’ve almost given up trying to control the ones that invade my terrace.
We’ve been a bit busy ourselves here at The Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog, hosting a guest post on the food that fed a thousand canoes and wondering whether Katherine of Aragon could possibly have been handing her pet a highly appropriate monkeynut (Arachis hypogaea)? The jury is still out.
And finally, a salute to the man without whom … Daniel does Gregor, and so did Google.
Have fun.