Originally posted on TLVSION ØF NOMADS:
With 25 countries and nearly 25 years under my belt, I have a few loosely spun travel philosophies that undergird any trip I take.…
Month: April 2016
Orchids
While you peruse the pictures of the Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, you may enjoy listening to the beautiful Romance for Piano and Violin, op. 11 by Dvorak.
These pictures were taken on March 22, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri using my Samsung Galaxy 5.
The orchid family is one of the largest families of flowering plants.
All orchids have three petals and three sepals.
The two uppermost petals are often distinctive and brightly colored.
The lower petal is called the “labellum”. It is highly modified and used as a landing place for pollinators.
In orchids, the male and female reproductive organs are fused together in a column.
Despite these shared features, orchids are very distinctive in their size,
color,
and even fragance!
Of all known plant species in the world, about one in twelve is an orchid.
There are about 25,000 species of orchids
and new ones are still being discovered.
Many species of orchids in the wild are threatened due to over collecting.
Scientists are assessing the conservation status of plant species throughout the world.
They are also working to recover endangered plants in their native habitats and prevent their extinction in the wild.
Since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, more than 100,000 hybrids of orchids have been produced.
Orchids are perennial herbs that lack any woody structure.
Orchids have very specialized pollination systems, so the chances of being pollinated are often scarce.
Some orchids have only one flower, while others have many.
A study in the journal Nature has hypothesized that the origin of orchids goes back farther than originally thought.
An extinct species of bee was found trapped in amber from 15-20 million years ago.
This bee, called proplebeia dominicana, was carrying pollen of a previously unknown orchid on its wings. This find is the first evidence of fossilized orchids to date, and shows insects were active pollinators of orchids then.
Orchids are “cosmopolitan”, occurring in nearly every habitat except glaciers.
Tropical habitats contain the most diverse species of orchids.
However, orchids can be found even north of the Arctic circle and in southern Patagonia!
North America has 20-26 genera of orchids.
Europe and temperate Asia have 40-60 genera.
Compare these to the number of genera in tropical America: 212-250 genera and
tropical Asia 260-300 genera! Tropical Africa has 230-270 genera.
A majority of orchids are perennial epiphytes, which grow on trees or shrubs in the tropics and subtropics.
Some species are lithophytes which grow on rocks or very rocky soil.
Other orchids are terrestrial and are found in grassland or forest habitats.
Some species of orchids lack chlorophyll, so they are unable to photosynthesize.
These species obtain energy and nutrients by parasitizing soil fungi.
The scent of orchids is frequently analyzed by perfumers to identify potential fragrance chemicals.
The other important use of orchids is cultivation for enjoyment of the flowers. Most cultivated orchids are tropical or subtropical.
Many orchid societies and clubs have been formed worldwide.
These societies encourage cultivation and collection of orchids. Some go further by concentrating on research and conservation.
The dried seed pods of one orchid genus, vanilla, is commercially important as a flavor in baking, as well as for perfume and aromatherapy.
The underground tubers of terrestrial orchids are ground to a powder and used for cooking, such as in the hot beverage in Arab countries, salep, which is considered an aphrodisiac, and the Turkish frozen treat dondurma.
On Reunion Island, the dried leaves of the Jumellea fragrans are used as a flavor for rum.
In Australia, some orchids of the group Gastrodia produce potato-like tubers, which were consumed as food by native Australian peoples.
Wild stands of these plants can still be found in the same areas of ancient aboriginal settlements.
Orchids have been used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases and ailments.
Orchids have been used in China as a source of herbal remedies since 2800 BCE.
The orchid is the City Flower of Shaoxing, China.
Two species of “Cattleya” are the national flowers of Venezuela and Colombia respectively.
Singapore and Costa Rica also have species of orchids as their national flowers.
The earliest instance of orchids in European art were Mediterranean orchids depicted on the “Ara Pacis” in Rome.
Many orchids are difficult, if not impossible, to grow.
However, hundreds of hybrids can grow in a sunny windowsill or under lights.
Orchids prefer a 12-hour day all year round and require a high intensity of light.
Most orchids bloom once a year. Once it flowers it remains in bloom for six to ten weeks.
Easy orchid varieties for beginning growers: Cattleya, Phalaenopsis, and Paphiopedilum,
South and east-facing windows are the best place for orchids.
Depending on the type of orchid, they can be happy growing in peat moss, fir bark, dried fern roots, sphagnum moss, rock wool, cork nuggets, stones, lava rock, and coconut fiber.
Information used in this post was obtained from a sign about orchids at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Wikipedia article Orchidaceae and Gardener’s Supply Company article How to Grow Orchids.
Colors Yellow and Red
For Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge: Colors Yellow and Red, I immediately thought of seasons. In the spring, flowers are often red and yellow – I have red tulips and yellow daffodils in my garden, for example. Here are examples of red & yellow in tulips and orchids:
In the summer, if there has been a lot of rain, we get lots of mushrooms:
Autumn is always a great time for colors like yellow and red.
Gold is almost yellow so I’m including this picture taken inside the Basilica of St. Louis.
Finally, at the top of my blog is a beautiful sunset over the Baltic Sea, with brilliant reds and yellows.
WPC: Abstract
When does a picture look like something other than what it is? Or like nothing at all in particular? Here are my interpretations of this week’s weekly photo challenge: abstract.
Word(s) of the Week: Nyctophilia and Nyctophobia
Nyctophobia (also called noctiphobia or scotophobia) is defined as an abnormal fear of the night or of darkness. A person with this fear may be characterized as nyctophobic. Here is how the night might sound for one who suffers from nyctophobia:
Scary Sounds from a night in the wild
Am I nyctophobic? I’m not afraid when I’m in my house in the dark, but I am afraid to walk outside in the dark . In some countries, like the U.S., this may be considered normal, since women are susceptible to being attacked at night. I don’t like dark parking lots either, for the same reason.
This word is pronounced: nick – toh – FO – bee-ah. It’s origin is from from Greek nukt- + phobia.
Conversely, the opposite of nyctophobia is nyctophilia: This is a preference for the night or darkness. It is also called scotophilia.
People who love the night may hear it like this:
I love the night when I feel safe: in a natural setting, perhaps, where I may hear the crickets, frogs and night birds.I love being in a rural area where I can look up and see a canopy of stars and galaxies.
Camping in a tent with these sounds enveloping me can be very soothing. Also, you can download 30+ minutes of night sounds like the sample above to play at home when you want to go to sleep at night.
To find out if you tend toward nyctophobia or nyctophilia, watch the following video of the full moon with night sounds by Tall Sky YouTube videos, filmed in 2011.
Note: All photos were downloaded from Google images using search categories: scary night, empty parking lot at night, peaceful night.
Risk: My doodles and other “time wasters”
Michelle W. challenges us to take a risk. So here goes.
I have always loved to draw and got pretty good at it. These days, I have so many other things on my plate that I don’t have time for serious drawing. I doodle – I can’t help it. Some of these doodles come out OK. I also like to color, now that coloring books are all the rage. Here are some of my artistic endeavors.
Made by rubbing over a net (that cheese came in) and woven placemat. After rubbing, I looked at the shape to decide what to make from it – a fish. 10-10-15
Medium: pencil
Fish doodle and The Thin House (both 2015)
Coloring pages:
Although I have “time wasters” in the title of this post, most of these were done while doing or waiting for something else. I can color while talking to people and find it’s helpful when I’m nervous and don’t want to say something I would regret later. Coloring is relaxing and I love experimenting with colors.
WPC: Dinnertime
When I saw that the Weekly Photo Challenge for this week was “dinnertime”, I immediately thought of the time we made kedgeree.
I first heard of kedgeree in a book I was reading and looked it up to see what it was. It turns out to be a British dish with eggs and fish that seemed relatively easy to make, according to the recipe. My daughter – who is always eager to cook and try something different – and I decided to make it for our family one night. We couldn’t cook it at our house, however, because we were having our downstairs rooms painted; there was a lot of dust and the painters’ equipment everywhere.
So I invited my sister’s family to have dinner with us, which we would cook, under the condition that we cook and serve it at their house.
Here is the recipe we used:
Kedgeree
By John Torode
Prep: 10 mins Cook: 35 mins Plus chilling
Moderately easy
Serves 4
A hearty brunchtime meal or for dinnertime!
Nutrition per serving
- kcalories506
- fat14g
- saturates3g
- carbs71g
- sugars3g
- fibre2g
- protein28g
- salt1.71g
Ingredients
- 300g undyed smoked haddock fillet, skin on – if haddock not available, use any other whitefish
- 2 bay leaf
- 300ml milk (some recipes substitute water)
- 4 eggs
- handful chopped coriander (note: In the U.S. use cilantro – it’s the same thing)
- handful chopped parsley
For the rice
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground coriander/cilantro
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 300g easy-cook long grain rice, rinsed under running water
Method
- For the rice, heat the oil in a large, lidded pan, add the onion, then gently fry for 5 mins until softened but not coloured. Add the spices, season with salt, then continue to fry until the mix start to go brown and fragrant; about 3 mins.
- Add the rice and stir in well. Add 600ml water, stir, then bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, then cover for 10 mins. Take off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 10-15 mins more. The rice will be perfectly cooked if you do not lift the lid before the end of the cooking.
- Meanwhile, put the haddock and bay leaves in a frying pan, cover with the milk, then poach for 10 mins until the flesh flakes. Remove from the milk, peel away the skin, then flake the flesh into thumbsize pieces. Place the eggs in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Leave for 4½-5 mins, plunge into cold water, then peel and cut the eggs into quarters. Gently mix the fish, eggs, parsley, coriander and rice together in the pan. Serve hot, sprinkled with a few extra herbs.
Easy, right? Well, the main problem we had was that we couldn’t find haddock anywhere in metropolitan Chicago in February unless we were willing to pay a large sum. However, my husband, who did the research on this, found some good fish suppliers and was told that any whitefish would do. Haddock is a fish common in Europe, because it lives in the east coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean; it’s a rarity here in the U.S. So we substituted.
Note that I have used italics in the recipe wherever substitutions were made.
There are a lot of other recipes for kedgeree online, including Jamie Oliver’s supremely healthy version. I would definitely make it again, maybe trying a different recipe.
Some members of the family were skeptical at first, but found the kedgeree to be quite good and we did have a little leftover for lunch the next day.
