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Initiate Launch Sequence
The wind is warm and the windows are open and the crew has turned into some ground's crew because we just cannot stay off the grass.
It's Thursday and we cannot but help to help plants along and plow a bit for a new meadow coming Summer 2021.
I'm enjoying the leaf blower, the clinking of dishes being moved to the sink and the tinkling of the wind chimes my friend gave me at her last Ladies Meeting.
Today, the noise doesn't bother me.
Today I am glad to have all the kids here and there because it reminds me that they are home.
Motherhood is so funny.
It's a rushing to get them grown and a rushing to sit them down before they grow away.
No one tells you that in the rushing to get out of diapers you blink to find you have rushed them into driving to college.
Older wiser women have told me that the days are long and the years are short and no one ever believes them until you have become the older wiser woman telling some young mom the very same line.
When my first was born I was so newly a wife that motherhood looked daunting.
He was super long and sweet and always deliriously happy, always moving and always making some sort of noise.
I'm sure he cried, but for the life of me I cannot remember him doing so.
The first real strut on his own was at my oldest sister's wedding, and has loved music as soon as he could mouth, "Can I peas wis-a-patch-a-piewhat?"
His tonsils came out and his comedic style grew and he drove the absolute slowest I have ever seen a teenager drive.
He picked-up his Dad's trumpet and claimed it for his own and took on his Mom's view that most of an entire day is seriously laughable.
He kept his cough-laugh into adulthood and always wanted rough hands for some odd reason.
(Isaac, why on earth is that?)
He sat and held my hand through his high school graduation, the one his dad and I were the MC's of because sometimes Mom and Dad are Pastor and Pastor's Wife.
He was singing in the school play with his Dad and then we were broken down on the side of the road on our way to take him to college.
Just like that.
And I sat in bed last night and remembered that very last night in a little prophet's chamber house before things would forever change.
He kept coming in our bedroom, and seeing us asked his NIGHTLY question that I so grew to love, "So is this what it's like to be married?"
Depending on the day we would always give some, "You don't even know the half of it," answer and begin to smooch so as to make him run away, or joking tell him that being married means we can eat all the snacks after the kids go to bed.
That specific night I remember just having so much to laugh about for the excitement we all had mounting.
I remember just being so tickled with him.
So thankful for his heart to soak everything up, his bright eyes not wanting to miss one single thing coming around the corner for him, and his laugher, always his laughter.
Constant, contagious and sweet.
This was the night before our practiced launch sequence, and Houston, we had waterproof mascara, and we were ready.
It wasn't the leaving him at school that really got me.
It wasn't the phone calls, or him missing family memories, or even him making new ones without us.
It was him coming home.
I remember the exact spot where I stood trying my best to see him over every person descending the escalator at the airport.
Would he look older somehow? Would he be quiet and calm or still laugh at everything?
Then it was as if I could take a long deep breath again.
He was right there in my arms to squeeze.
It was a good break together.
But in the back of my mind I replayed what a sweet Preacher had shared with Joel and I at the parent's fellowship at his school,
"This is a changing moment in your family. It's okay to mourn the loss of what was, and now what will be different."
His words deeply resonated with me and I felt them in an unexplainable way.
We laughed and enjoyed every ounce of him home, but there was something "off."
I thought it might have just been me.
Then we prepared our daughter for her own launch and found those same lumps in our throats as we moved her tassel, moved her clothes into storage bins and sat around Chicago-style pizza just before meeting room mates.
I remember looking for a little storage thingy for her super late, the night we dropped her off because she lives in a sardine can of a room and literally had no dresser for her clothes.
I walked through Wal-Mart like a Mama bear and would've sold my shoes to find SOMETHING for the clothes.
We were Pro's by now knowing that the college "Parent's reception," does not mean food. If you take anything away from this post take this, the Parent reception only means chocolate covered peanuts and cheesecake bites. Get you a hamburger before you go so you won't be "hangry" ON TOP of feeling all the "leaving another kid at college and she needs a dresser" feels.
Seriously the dresser was a big deal.
Months after all the "firsts," the two of them now come home to fanfare, fresh sheets and too many stories to share between siblings.
And here at the close of the Second year for one and the First year for the other, I am well aware that life as we knew it is gone for good.
What no one tells you is that there isn't just one launch sequence for your young adulting kids.
Houston doesn't tell you that each huge test, each job search, each trial is you launching them into the Lord's care and remembering that they can find His will themselves.
It's a juxtaposition of, "they need me, " "they got this," "they need me," "they will figure it out- we all do."
Over rice and chicken and chopsticks I let a few tears fall telling this adorable young woman home for the shortest Spring Break in the history of breaks- that I was proud of every inch of her.
I told her that I was delighted to hear her heart and see how the Lord is providing for her in better and more wonderful ways than I ever dreamed.
But I then shared with her that she's not the only one with growing pains.
That I too have had to adjust to "new."
It felt so good to express my love of the old and my love of the new and my heart's earnest desire to balance them both well.
Two adults deciding their own paths and four at home still needing a proper send-off.
I told her that it IS a grieving of what we know and feel comfortable with.
It's a loss of comfort and stability that comes from having all our eggs in one super-safe nest.
I told her that God in his wisdom, gives such a richness in mentoring that counteracts the sting from young disciplining and THAT makes it all bearable.
Mothering is funny.
Sometimes the weight, the delight, the fear of it all just washes over you and you are glad to have chopsticks and rice to move around your plate as you digest what is happening all around you.
It's good, it's hard, it's fun, it's long, it's rewarding, it's fruitful, it's painful and it's even lovely- so lovely at times.
And sometimes it's all in a day's work.
We Moms really control nothing. Even our own spirit is kept in check by our dear Lord because we cannot be trusted with it's safe keeping.
And over rice and low lighting, it was good to relinquish the little I feel I can control to a good Father.
It was good to let the tears spill over and mix with all of the joy that comes from years of loving the best you know how.
These days I find myself snagging more treats for the lunch bag for that son who has his sights on the runway.
Another tassel to turn.
I find myself wiping all the tears because I now know in a deeper way how different this family unit will look in another year.
Don't get me wrong, COVID and distance learning has shown me that I do NOT want these young adults living in my basement for 20 years.
There's no way I want to grow old with more of, "Could you all please not breathe while I take a quiz downstairs?"
(Here's looking at you Isaac)
This change is so very needful and normal.
It's just different.
You can not be that "Helicopter Mom" and still desire to stall a flight or two, or twelve.
It's the savoring of the old and honoring the new to come.
It's the same push and pull of mothering in the young stages, the same, "grow up, learn this, and now slow down.."
And it's all covered with an amazing abundance of grace.
A grace that literally washes over you as you open your hands every break, every Summer and every decision once again.
And I put this out there for the one who didn't have someone to tell them that it's okay to mourn what was.
It's okay to feel sad about Summers split, dinners split and even heart's split wide-open for the missing.
It's okay to try to bridge the old and new and have no clue where the plans to build said bridge are.
Just keep one little palm open to the future, to the joy that seeps through the weary and know that the best is yet to come, is right now and was five years ago too.
It's all "The best."
They come home to learn to begin their own "home."
Until we all come home at last.


And just like that, the "flagship" Aurielo's Pizza has opened at the corner of Michigan and Roosevelt.
The new Aurelio's pizza is now open at the SW corner of Roosevelt and Michigan.
It's been a process to opening day, with numerous delays, but here we are. As a reminder, the restaurant announced this location back in February 2014.


Present original work on relevant topics for investment research meetings; provide valuable feedback on investment priorities in meetings that demonstrate good judgement.
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or Finance (or related field) with strong academic credentials required; a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), or equivalent (or progress toward) is preferred.
Title and Salary Commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Candidates may submit a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to Human Resources. A writing sample may be requested as part of later interview rounds.


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Posts Tagged 'Washington Native plants'
Posted in British Columbia Native Plants, Cascadian Bioregion, Ethnobotany, Oregon native plants, Washington Native plants, tagged British Columbia, Cascadia Bioregion, Cascadian bioregion healing plants, Connection to Nature, Ethnobotany, Plant Wisdom, Washington Native plants on April 26, 2014|
'And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?' – Rumi
In April 2013 I began a journey that I thought would take me to the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula, instead the path led through the Hoh to southern Ireland, the land of my grandfather and grandmother and then I was brought to my new home on an incredible farmstead outside of Port Townsend, Washington.
So enthralling was this journey that I felt frozen in the ability to write about it. This was a new experience, not being able to write. I have been journaling for the last 30 years and in the last year I was left frozen, a block of a kind. I could not think of the words, only experience the sensations. All the time I journeyed I felt the part of the observer being rushed along and not by my own accord. It was as if some spirit teacher had taken my hand and pulled me to places I had never seen before.
You see this journey was so compelling that I was bedazzled by my environment. It was as if I was given a gift and asked to open a door with the promise of exploring a few native plants but as I opened the door I was extracted from my old life and taken to places I never thought I would know. When Spirit calls do you say "not now there is no time"? I was called by plant spirits to journey. I did not know when I called out to Devils Club and Elderberry that they would show me a path to an ancestral home and a new way of living. According to my friend and fellow herbalist, Sean Donahue, Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) helps people reclaim their power and assert their right to be in the world. He told me that when you ask to know and see Devil's Club you are asking to reclaim your power. Last year I searched for Devil's Club in the Hoh Rain Forest and I was not prepared for what happened once I found it.
During this last year there were few words to tell you about this journey, even though I thought of you all often and wished that I could update my blog with the details.
And now, one year later in April 2014 I have come out of the journey to tell you what I saw. And as always, it was native plants that were my guides. It was native plants that called to me. In the Hoh I searched for Devils Club, in County Cork Ireland I searched for my grandfather's old stone house and found native elderberries. And on this beautiful wild farm that I now reside, I found whole communities of plants, forests, bogs, bear, unique pollinators, rare frogs, salamanders and a life of community.
In the next few weeks I will be writing about my journey beginning with my trip to the Hoh Rain Forest of the Olympic Peninsula. I hope that you will check back often and journey with me. Because I have a message from Spirit that is worth telling – Namaste
White or Paper Birch (Betula Papyrifera)
Posted in British Columbia Native Plants, Cascadian Bioregion, Ethnobotany, Fungi and mushrooms, Native plants and wildlife survival, Northern California Native Plants, Oregon native plants, Plant identification schemes, Washington Native plants, tagged 2013 Native plant education, botany lessons, British Columbia, Cascadia Bioregion, Cascadian bioregion, Cascadian bioregion healing plants, Connection to Nature, environmental preservation, Ethnobotany, Native fungi of the Cascadian bioregion, Northern California native plants, Oregon Native plants, Plant Wisdom, Washington Native plants on February 3, 2013|
Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
Excerpted from Robert Frost – "Birches"
White Birch Grove
Preparing to write about these lovely deciduous trees has been quite a journey.
I have found that what I know is only the tip of the iceberg of what I need to know. The White or Paper Birch is a tree that I am slowly becoming familiar with. My early relationship was one of taking for granted that this tree would always be here for me to sing to, climb and use as crafting materials. I did not ever imagine these lovely fast growing groves of trees could be used to heal, attract some of the most powerful healing fungi in the world or that they would one day be imperiled.
My father was a land surveyor and he sometimes took me and my siblings along for the day on his forays into the forested areas of Oregon. On a early summer day many years ago he took us on a walk along a coastal mountain stream. The White Birch was plentiful and lovely.
We came upon a White Birch which had a broken branch half hanging. He took some of the sap dripping from the broken tree, spread it over the wound, and then he took the shedding white bark for which it is known and used it to tie the branch back in place. This is just one of the "signatures" of this tree. Later I would learn that birch bark was used to set into a cast, the broken bones of humans. On that day long ago, my father gave me some of the sap to chew and told me that it would be good for my teeth and mouth. It was sweet and tingled in my mouth. I asked daddy about the bark. I asked if I could remove some naturally occurring shedding white bark without harming the tree. He told me that in other parts of the country, the bark was used to make canoes and to line baskets and wrap food and that it had probably been used as paper somewhere in the world. He told me there was time of year in the late spring and early summer when the bark was easy to remove without harming the tree. He told me the tree sap was very healing as was the bark and that is why he used it to repair the broken limb.
Later I used some of the bark to make clothes for my doll and I made a small pouch to hold special things. I made a small canoe that I could push across our pond. I found sanctuary in the birch grove and sat in silence to watch the wild birds skip from branch to branch. In late summer the tiny rounded samara became part of my secret cache of wild seeds.
This was my introduction to White Birch. It was easy to interact with the community of birch. I can imagine now that it is this easy relationship to the tree and bark that attracted the First People. It is also easy for humans to take this tree for granted, not respect it. As you will read, the White Birch is a powerful healer for both human and forest communities. It is a tree that welcomes the fungi mat (mycelium) and heals the wounds caused by fire, humans, disease and floods.
Betula papyrifera (Paper Birch, also known as American White Birch and Canoe Birch) is a species of birch native to the northern part of North America and the southern part of Canada. The species birch is found all over the world.
PREPARING THE WAY – Birch, Alder, Aspen
Some trees are steady and slow in growth reaching to the tops of forests they create an umbrella for the web of life. And, some trees are pioneers, growing fast, living a short time and creating a birthing platform for many other species. The White Birch is a pioneer species. The stands of White Birch come on fast and can grow only to about 20 meters high (65 feet). A healthy tree can live to be 40 or 50 years old. During their growth the pollen from birch catkins attract a great many pollinators that will bring life to other plants in the forest. The sap and bark attract a great many fungi that live symbiotically on the tree. The fungi are then dispersed into the disturbed soils to help create the forest mycelium mat. For a long time scientists and foresters thought the fungi found on the birch were a sign that the tree was dying. They thought the fungi were killing the tree. Now we know that the birch is a nurse tree to a great many beneficial fungi. It chooses which fungi will inhabit it and also has a chemical defense method that will trap certain fungi in the heartwood or on the outer barks. The sap actually has pesticide qualities. It detracts insects such as termites and certain bacteria that might do the tree harm. According to Grieve in her book A Modern Herbal, Birch tar was used to repel insects (p. 103)
Like the Red Alder and Aspen, the White Birch lives in symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacterium. This relationship is called mutualism. In mutualism: plants gain nitrogen compounds, the bacterium gains carbohydrate and an environment with reduced oxygen. The plant then changes carbon dioxide to oxygen and releases it for human use.
White birch as a pioneer deciduous species is often found in groves on the edge of newly formed second-growth tree communities or near the edges of changing forests. This tree shows up in ecosystems that have been disturbed by fire, flood or human decimation. They can be found in open or dense stands of forest usually in an opening. They can be found in lowlands to lower mountain slopes in drained sites or along bogs and other wetlands. B. papyrifera requires high nutrients and sun exposure.
These trees do not live long. From the time they spring up and then die, can be as little as 20 years or as much as 50 years. It is easy to propagate and the young saplings are often found spouting from a cut stump. Like the Red Alder, the White Birch is a very important part of establishing the mycological forest community. Without these forerunners of forest health, there would not be a fertile soil and microbiological environment that would support the deep wild forest.
The name is a very ancient one, probably derived from the Sanskrit bhurga, 'a tree whose bark is used for writing upon' (Grieve, p. 103). The First Peoples of the Cascadian bio-region have names for this tree also:
Salish = âîçêáÛ – birch bark
âîçêálî, îçêá – white birch, paper birch, birch bark.
paper birch îçæálî, îçæá – birch; paper birch.
The English name is White Birch, Paper Birch or Canoe Birch
The Latin botanical name is: Betula papyrifera
The leaf is alternate, deciduous, oval to round and sharp-pointed. The leaf of the White Birch can be longer when on young trees. The color is dull green above and paler and hairy below. The margins are doubly toothed. (Pojar and Mackinnon p. 47)
Learning the shape of the leaf is important because there are other trees that grow in similar environments that look much the same when young. For instance bitter cherry has a similar bark and structure but the leaf is oblong to oval, and less pointy.
The FLOWER AND THE SEED
The flowers, and thus the seeds, of white birch are arranged in a pendant cluster about an inch long which is referred to as a catkin. Male and female flowers are on separate catkins. When pollinated, the female flowers develop seeds, each of which is located on a scale in the catkin.
Male and female flowers grow in separate catkins and flower at the same time. Sometimes there will be young leaves emerging as the tree flowers. The buds for the male catkins appear in autumn, when it begins getting cold. During spring, the tassel-like catkin will produce yellowish or grayish green flowers that produce pollen with an aromatic scent.
Over the winter the catkins disintegrate, dispersing both seeds and scales. You can identify the species of birch from the shape of its scales or nutlets. Again, the white birch nutlet is round with wings that are broader than the body.
The male catkins will fall away from the tree, while the female catkins will form into cones in the summer. These cones vary from a deep brown to a tan, though they may also have a reddish color to them. During late summer, the cones will open and in autumn, the cones will fall, spreading their nutlets across the ground. The nutlets are then dispersed on the wind.
The tree is most familiar to us humans because of its bark. The bark peels in papery strips in late spring and early summer. The bark of this tree is commonly thought of as being white or grayish white, but also comes in yellowish or dark gray. It is often marked with brown horizontal lines of raised pores. The bark is highly weather-resistant. The wood itself is highly flammable and can be burned as firewood even when damp.
Birch syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of birch trees, and used in much the same way as maple syrup. It is also used as medicine syrup. The sap is boiled down to produce birch syrup.
The same sap is fermented to make beer and wine. Birch beer is very popular in Northern Europe and a few areas of North America.
The oil is astringent, and is mainly employed for its curative effects in skin afflictions, especially eczema, but is also used for some internal maladies. Oil of wintergreen is distilled from its inner bark and twigs (Meyer p. 15)
The inner bark is bitter and astringent, and has been used in intermittent fevers. The bark is ground to a fine power and used to treat diaper rash. It is also used internally to treat a great many inflammatory and bacterial infections.
The vernal sap is diuretic. The resin contains zylitol, a disinfectant used as a natural tooth cleaner. However, it may also contain terpenes. Used in making turpentine, terpenes and terpenoids are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many types of plants and flowers. Essential oils are used widely as natural flavor additives for food, as fragrances in perfumery, and in traditional and alternative medicines such as aromatherapy. It was also reported that those who chewed the resin could get somewhat of a "buzz" (Pojar and MacKinnon p.47.
One of the chemicals that has been isolated from birch bark is called betulin. Betulinic acid, which is made from betulin, is being studied as a possible cancer treatment. Betulin has also been found in many other plants.
White Birch is used on the skin to treat warts, eczema, and other skin conditions. Promoters say that birch tea can be taken internally as a diuretic or a mild sedative and that it can be used as a treatment for rheumatism, gout, and kidney stones. The leaves are sometimes used on the scalp to help with hair loss and dandruff. Birch tar (oil distilled from birch bark) is used on the skin for skin irritations and parasites. Other claims for birch bark include the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera.
WHITE BIRCH AND THE POWERFUL FUNGI CHAGA (THE TINDER CONK)
Chaga conk on a White Birch
White Birch Moxa
Before I started this study of the White Birch, I did not know that the First Peoples in Cascadia used Moxabustion. Moxibustion is the application of heat resulting from the burning of a small bundle of tightly bound herbs, or moxa, to targeted acupoints on the human body. The burning plant material is traditionally mugwort. It is sometimes used along with acupuncture. It is used to open up or move energy in a part of the human energetic body. It is well-known that for thousands of years far-eastern cultures have used moxabustion as part of their healing regimes. What I was not aware of was that the First Peoples of North America, Central America and South America also use Moxibustion. As I studied the White Birch I came upon a quote that perked up my inquisitive nature. The book is called A Modern Herbal published in 1931 by Mrs. M. Grieve. Grieve reports that birch leaf and bark was used as a moxa, and that it was burned on top of a fungi. Both the birch parts and fungi were used to create a moxa for healing. Here is a quote from Grieve's published works.
"Moxa is prepared from it and regarded as an effective remedy in all painful diseases. A type of moxa is made from the yellow fungus that is excreted from the wood of the White Birch, which sometimes swell out from the fissures of the bark" – Grieve p. 104
After some research I found that there are several types of fungi that are yellow and live in the fissure of the White Birch. It is a tree that attracts fungi as it ages. Here is short list of some of the edible and medicinal fungi that grow on birch. Ganoderma applanatum, or artist's conk, Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), Turkey tail (Trametes spp.) attacks fire-scarred, wounded and drought-, freeze- or sunburn-stressed birches. Hairy (T. hirsuta) and colored (T. versiclor) turkey tails, Lenzites betulina, commonly called birch mazegill, Yellow Brain fungus and Chaga (Inonouts obliquus). According to Paul Stamets, most of these fungi have several medicinal properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, and immunosuppressive activities. (Stamets 2005)
There are so many fungi attracted to the White birch that I would only be able to identify which was used as a moxa by contacting an expert. But, there are clues. It is yellow; it is used for burning as a moxa. Was the fungi Chaga (Inonouts obliquus) also called Birch Tinder fungus Grieve's moxa? Chaga has a somewhat yellow underbelly.
I found several books that stated that the First peoples burned plants for many reasons; healing, food, spiritual connection, and fire carrying. It is well know that the First Peoples of all cultures across the globe including those of Cascadia burned plants as a method of reconnecting spiritually to the natural world. They smoked and burned plants for healing and for ceremony. And they used the burning of plants as a method of healing via moxabustion. One method of releasing essential oils in a plant or bark was to burn the plant, or place it on burning material and let the spark ignite the essential oils of the plant. This method was often used to help healing substances connect with hard to reach areas of the body, such as cartilage and deep tissues. My investigation found that in the practice of shamanism, moxabustion was essential to the healing process.
Let's look at Chaga and its relationship with the birch.
Many mushrooms prefer a particular wood for their growth because they need the nutrients and conditions that they can get from that wood. Some form symbiotic relationships with certain trees, as the chanterelle does with birch, but many also feed on dead, decaying wood. There are also mushrooms that parasitize birch trees and which will kill weakened trees, such as the birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus), a shelf fungus with an interesting history.
Chaga, a fungus in the Hymenochaetaceae family is in a symbiotic parasitic relationship with birch and other trees. The sterile conk that is Chaga is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal. Chaga was called the Birch tinder fungus because it was used as a means of carrying fire from one hearth to another. The fungus was lighted and it carried the ignition spark. Chaga was also used as a moxa hearth. Plant material was placed on top of a burning ignited Chaga. Together the Chaga and the burning plant created a moxabustion of healing aromatic substances. According to Paul Stamets the First Peoples used these fungi as a natural antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and immunopotentiator as well as a practical fire-starter mushroom. (Stamets – Mycelium Running p. 258)
Finally I found a research paper published in the Journal of Ethnobiology in the summer of 1992 titled "Short communication – Use of Cinder Conk (Inonotus obliquus) by the Gitksan of Northwest British Columbia, Canada.
The author Leslie M. Johnson Gottesfeld writes: "Cinder conk had two principal uses: for moxibustion treatment of swollen athritic joints, and as tinder or a slow match for making and transporting fire."
Further she writes the Gitksan elder had two words for cinder conk: mii'hlw and tiiuxw. A Gitksan elder describes cinder conk and its medicinal use as follows:
"Mii'hlw-the black growth from the crack in the birch tree. Like yellow cotton inside. If you cut it off, use the yellow cotton stuff. Take a sliver like a match stick and burn it for pain in the joint." According to the elder, after the sliver of cinder conk was burned near the skin on the affected joint, a special salve was then applied to the burn wounds. This treatment was reported to be effective in reducing the swelling, and presumably the discomfort, of the joint. ( Johnson Gottesfeld p. 154-55)
I love this much endangered fungi and birch that it grows upon. And so do others who value it for its healing abilities. Paul Stamets reports that wild harvesters for the nutraceutical industry are decimating the White and Yellow Birch populations of North America and Europe as they walk through the forest with machetes chopping the fungus off the tree and causing life-threatening damage to the trees. The removal of the mother-chaga is also removing the spores from the forest (Stamets, October 2012). The Chaga communities are becoming rarer as are the birch forests.
Stamets is trying to remedy the situation by teaching the nutraceutical industry and others to grow Chaga in growing houses on birch and other forest product chips. He is also asking that the industry stop buying from foragers. Here is a link to a short video about conservation efforts to save the Chaga and the birch.
The trees are dying for a second reason: Birch trees are especially sensitive to herbicides because they have a shallow root system. The herbicides are also decimating the beneficial fungi that live in symbiotic relationship to the birch.
UTILITY – CANOES AND BASKETRY
The White Birch is also called the Canoe Birch. In the Cascadian Bioregion (Pacific Northwest), some canoes were built as large as one
Canoe building – inland waters of Pacific NW
hundred feet long and seven feet wide, and could hold up to sixty people. Bark canoes are constructed of sapling frames covered in bark. Birch bark is very popular for both its durability and its relatively light weight. The birch bark is an outer covering spread over a frame (ribs and gunwales) made of flexible wood such as red or white Cedar. The canoe of the First Peoples was extraordinarily light and graceful. When new and dry, a 15-footer might weigh less than 40 pounds; the longer ones, made by some tribes, weighed about 75 pounds. One man could pick up a canoe and carry it, upside down and resting on his shoulders, over a long rough portage. For its size and weight, it had greater carrying capacity than almost anything that floats. A birch bark canoe could carry almost a ton of load and it is said that a 15-foot canoe was often used to transport an Indian Family with several children, plus all of their duffel and dogs. (Nature Bulletin)The Birch bark has been used to make baskets for thousands of years. There are myths about these baskets that have been retold to the basket-making societies. The birch basketry was used to make many helpful containers. Panels of bark were also be fitted or sewn together to make cartons and boxes (a birchbark box is called a wiigwaasi-makak). The bark was also used to create a durable waterproof layer in the construction of sod-roofed houses.
Video – Cool things in nature: Paper Birch Tree
Birch Bark Canoes – Nature Bulletin No. 463-A September 23, 1972
Forest Preserve District of Cook County viewed on the internet 1/20/2013 – http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/400-499/nb463.htm
Doctrine of Signatures – plant signatures – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_signatures viewed on the internet 1/22/2013
Grieve, Mrs. M. (1931) Modern Herbal – The medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folk-lore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs and trees with all their modern scientific uses, 2 volumes, Harcourt, Brace company; reprinted by Dover Publications, NY in 1971.
Johnson Gottesfeld , Leslie M. (1992) Short communication – Use of Cinder Conk (Inonotus obliquus) by the Gitksan of Northwest British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Ethnobiology, 12(1):153-156 Summer 1992
Pojar and MacKinnon, (1994) Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska, Lone Pine Publishing, Vancouver, BC
Stamets, Paul (2005) Mycelium Running- How Mushrooms can help save the world, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA pgs 203-205.
Stamets, Paul "Chaga, the Clinker Fungus: This Mushroom Looks Scary But Can Benefit Health – October 25, 2012 – Huffington Post – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/chaga-mushroom_b_1974571.html
Trees – the teacher in the forest
Posted in British Columbia Native Plants, Cascadian Bioregion, Conifers in the Cascadian Bioregion, Ethnobotany, Native plants and wildlife survival, Northern California Native Plants, Oregon native plants, Plant identification schemes, Washington Native plants, tagged 2012 native plant education, botany lessons, British Columbia, Cascadia Bioregion, Cascadian bioregion healing plants, Ethnobotany, Native plant education, Native plants, Northern California, Northern California native plants, Oregon Native plants, Washington Native plants on August 5, 2012|
Part one: Conifers
A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. – John Muir
As a young person I developed a deep love and bond with trees. I spent hours climbing trees, swinging in the boughs of a large fir or sitting high in an oak tree. I loved the ability to see long distances across the landscape. I found many interesting things in trees. Bird nests, ferns, nuts, acorns, mistletoe and insects all fed my imagination. I found incredible peace in the treetops. I would have been very happy to have lived in a tree house.
So now I teach you what I know about trees.
I have spent months now teaching you basic botany. I have focused on the parts of the plant. I want to begin to teach you how to go into the forest and find plants. I will teach you about the trees first. I will be focusing primarily on the trees found in the Cascadian bio-region-that area found from Northern California, through Oregon and Washington state and up through British Columbia. The Cascade mountain range separates the Western regions from the Eastern Regions but mant of the areas share similar tree and plant communities.
There are of course some amazing micro-ecosystems found in Cascadia. For instance the eco-system of Northern California and Southwestern Oregon are very different from the eco-system of Western British Columbia and Western Washington. More on that later.
Trees have always been the marker that I use to find the plants I am seeking. Why?
Because I can look out across the horizon and see the tall trees, the old ones that will have the most to share as far as a finding plant communities. For instance, when I am looking for wild orchids or lilies, I will look to the horizon to find a large Douglas fir old growth or a very tall Western Red cedar.
Trees are the anchor for plant communities. They create habitat, keep plants fed and watered, provide shelter for pollinators and animals that carry the seeds throught the forest. Large Douglas fir and Western Redcedar have an outreach affect that can cover miles of terrain. The mycelium connected through the roots of big trees support thousands and thousands of varieties of plants. Communication between the species found under big trees has been studied and now documented.
University of British Columbia professor Suzanne Simard, has discovered through her research that "trees in a forest ecosystem are interconnected with the largest, oldest 'mother trees' serving as hubs". This research has found that all trees in dry interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) forests are interconnected, with the largest, oldest trees serving as hubs, much like the hub of a spoked wheel, where younger trees establish within the mycorrhizal network of the old trees.
The research also found that all the forest plants had a much better chance of survival if they were linked into the network of old trees. It was found that increased survival was associated with below-ground transfer of carbon, nitrogen and water from the old trees. This research provides strong evidence that maintaining forest resilience is dependent on conserving mycorrhizal links, and that removal of hub trees could unravel the network and compromise regenerative capacity of the forests. (Simard 2013)
There are two different groups of trees – conifers and deciduous. Conifers are the evergreens. And, deciduous are the trees that drop their leaves in the fall and re-grow green leaves in the spring.
THE 12 MOST IMPORTANT CONIFERS IN THE WESTERN CASCADIAN BIO-REGION – and how to identify them.
The trees I will be teaching you about are all found west of the Cascades. Later I will make some charts of important trees found east of the Cascades but still in the Cascadian bio-region. The charts below include information about what the tree needle, cone and general shape look like. This information should help you identify them. I have included information about wildlife that use the tree for survival and I have included ethno-botanical information about the tree. I have created some graphs that you can print out and make as large as you like. They are stored as graphics on this web page. I hope that you will print them out, take them into the forest and try to identify the trees as you walk. I hope that you will fall in love with the trees as I have.
Coastal Douglas-Fir Forests and Wildlife – Woodland Fish and Wildlife December 1992 viewed online July 20, 2012 – http://www.woodlandfishandwildlife.org/pubs/coastal-df.pdf
Gilkey, Helen M. & Dennis, L. J. (2001) Handbook of Northwestern Plants. Corvallis, OR: OSU Press
Gunther, Erna. (1945) (Revised 1973) Ethnobotany of Western Washington. Knowledge and use of Indigenous plants by Native Americans, University of Washinton Press.
Moerman, Daniel E. (2004) Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press.
Old Growth Forest Wiki- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-growth_forest
Simard, S.W., Martin, K., Vyse, A., and Larson, B. (2013) Meta-networks of fungi, fauna and flora as agents of complex adaptive systems Managing World Forests as Complex Adaptive Systems in the Face of Global Change. Edited by Puettmann, K, Messier, C, and Coates, KD, Earthscan, Taylor & Francis Group, London. In press.
Simard, Suzanne – Trees Communicate With One Another, Connected by Fungi (Video) http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/trees-communicate-one-another-connected-fungi-video.html
Posted in British Columbia Native Plants, Cascadian Bioregion, Ethnobotany, Native plants and wildlife survival, Northern California Native Plants, Oregon native plants, Plant identification schemes, Washington Native plants, tagged 2012 native plant education, botany lessons, British Columbia Native plants, Cascadia Bioregion, Cascadian bioregion healing plants, Connection to Nature, Ethnobotany, leaf morphology, meristem cells, Native plant education, native plant foraging, Northern California native plants, Oregon Native plants, plant cell structure, plant identification, Plant identification Stinging Nettle Plant leaf, Plant Wisdom, stomata in plants, Washington, Washington Native plants on April 8, 2012|
"Oh leaf, you must surely have found strength to force the branch to burst open so that you could emerge. What did you do to become free from the prison? Speak, Speak…" -Rumi
A leaf is like a flag unfurling. The emerging leaf from the stem announces the beginning of the metamorphosis from stem to flower, from winter to spring. It is the opening up of the new leaf that announces new life. Humans and animals begin to notice a plant once the leaf emerges. It is our food and it is our hope for spring and the first harvest. Leaves provide brilliance in the spring and shade in the summer. They are perfect food containers and provide food for many species on the earth. Later when the seasons turn to winter, the leaves that have fallen on the ground provide protection and fertilizer to the creatures of the forest and other environments. Leaves provide more than half the human food needs. Another large portion of leaves are used for the feeding of livestock. Without leaves, humans would starve or die from malnutrition.
THE PRIMORDIAL LEAF
When last I wrote I told you about the mersistem cells and the apical cap or bud that is growing up toward the light.
It is also, at precise intervals, creating appendages that will become branches and possibly leaves. The apical bud is involved in making the stem growing longer, initiates the orderly arrangements of leaves on the stem, and makes provision for the eventual development of branches. This early period of leaf production in the mersistem bud is called leaf primordia. A primordium, the nascent leaf, forms at the least crowded part of the shoot meristem. The leaf cells fold over the meristem bud to protect it from sun and other weather. At just the right time, when the days are longer and the air temperature is warmer, the leaf begins to grow larger and then finally opens up. At the base of the leaf primordia a bulge appears and it is called "axillary bud primordium" and is the beginning of a branch. A branch forms at the axil or angle between the leaf and the stem.
Now the meristem cells are following the DNA blueprint of this plant whether it will be at maturity a tree or a sunflower. And as the meristem cells formulate the stem it is remembering the specific design and pattern of this plant. It "remembers" at what interval to place the leaf nodes or the branch nodes. The branch node of course can grow leaves as it extends its growth.
The cellular structure of the leaf is all about meristem cells, stomata, glucose storage and photosynthesis. In review, the stomata's main function is to allow gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor and oxygen to move rapidly into and out of the leaf. Stomata are found on all above-ground parts of the plant including the petals of flowers, petioles, soft herbaceous stems and leaves.
Leaf Stomata
Stomata are the main "food manufacturing" organs of the leaves. They make food from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light during a process called photosynthesis. As stomata open in the presence of light, carbon dioxide will diffuse into the leaf as it is converted to sugars through photosynthesis inside the leaf. At the same time, water vapor will exit the leaf along a diffusive gradient through the stomata to the surrounding atmosphere through the process of transpiration.
Another very interesting thing happens at the point that the meristem cells decide to create a leaf. The cells start to create new chemicals. One such chemical is chlorophyll. And, cell tissue that is filled will chlorophyll will turn green. Leaves receive their green color during the process of trying to absorb energy from the sun. The sunlight strikes the leaves, which contain chlorophyll, and the chlorophyll reacts by emitting the green color. Likewise in the autumn some plant leaves turn color because as the days shorten and leaves absorb less light, the leaves prepare for autumn by stopping the food-making process. Consequently, the production of chlorophyll drops off, turning some leaves orange and yellow in the fall.
Colors, like yellow and orange, are in leaves all summer, but the powerful green chlorophyll overwhelms them. Once the cold shorten days come on in the fall, chlorophyll disappears and the leaf's other colors shine through.
THE PATTERN IS THE KEY
Each plant has a pattern for growing stems, branches and leaves.
A leaf is connected to the stem by a structure called the petiole.
▫ The base of the stem where the petiole connects is called the node
▫ Where the petiole connects to the leaf is called the axil
▫ The axil is where we happen to find buds, clusters, and emerging leaves.
Leaves appear on the stem in a set pattern. Learning the leaf patterns will help you identify the plant and help you use plant keys
Leaf Morphology: Shape and arrangement, margin and venation
Studying the different shapes and designs of the leaf will also help you to identify a plant. Each plant has a pattern of growth. Identifying the overall shape of the leaf, the outer edge of the leaf (margin) and the pattern of leaf veins will help you to identify or key the plant type. Developing a keen eye for observation will help. I actually draw the leaf so I can more fully study it.
Overall Shape of the leaf
Many plants have adapted leaf shapes that help water drip off the plant to avoid too much moisture, which might make bacteria and fungus grow. The leaf shape and arrangement on the stem will funnel water to the root. The leaf shape may provide a platform to collect the sun's rays or keep wind from blowing the plant apart.
Arrangement of the leaf on the stem
Leaf arrangement types on the stem
In botany the word "phyllotaxis" is a word used to describe the study of the arrangement of the leaf on a plant stem. . There are four primary leaf arrangements: Alternate, opposite, whorled and rosulate. (Please see illustration).
Opposite leaves are positioned across the stem from each other, with two leaves at each node.
Alternate (spiral) leaves are arranged in alternate steps along the stem, with only one leaf at each node.
Whorled leaves are arranged in circles along the stem.
Rosulate leaves are arranged in a rosette around a stem with extremely short nodes.
Leaf Margins
Leaf Morphology Chart
The leaf margin is the outer edge of a leaf. There are many different margins. Here is a list of margin types listed on Wikipedia . Learning these types of margins will help you to key a plant. (Please see illustration on left. CLICK TO ENLARGE -also found on Wikipedia -thank you Wikipedia!).
ciliate: fringed with hairs
crenate: wavy-toothed; dentate with rounded teeth, such as Fagus (beech)
crenulate finely or shallowly crenate
dentate: toothed, such as Castanea(chestnut)
coarse-toothed: with large teeth
glandular toothed: with teeth that bear glands.
denticulate: finely toothed
doubly toothed: each tooth bearing smaller teeth, such as Ulmus (elm)
entire: even; with a smooth margin; without toothing
lobate: indented, with the indentations not reaching to the center, such as many Quercus(oaks)
palmately lobed: indented with the indentations reaching to the center, such as Humulus (hop).
serrate: saw-toothed with asymmetrical teeth pointing forward, such as Urtica (nettle)
serrulate: finely serrate
sinuate: with deep, wave-like indentations; coarsely crenate, such as many Rumex (docks)
spiny or pungent: with stiff, sharp points, such as some Ilex (hollies) and Cirsium (thistles).
Design of the veins found on the leaf
There are two subtypes of venation, namely, craspedodromous, where the major veins stretch up to the margin of the leaf, and camptodromous, when major veins extend close to the margin, but bend before they intersect with the margin.
Feather-veined, reticulate arise from a single mid-vein and subdivide into veinlets. These, in turn, form a complicated network. This type of venation is typical for (but by no means limited to) dicotyledons.
Palmate-netted or fan-veined; several main veins diverge from near the leaf base where the petiole attaches, and radiate toward the edge of the leaf, e.g. most Acer (maples).
Parallel-veined or parallel-ribbed– veins run parallel for the length of the leaf, from the base to the apex. Commissural veins (small veins) connect the major parallel veins. Typical for most monocotyledons, such as grasses.
Dichotomous – There are no dominant bundles, with the veins forking regularly by pairs; found in Ginkgo and some pteridophytes.
For a full discourse on every leaf shape possible check out Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_shape
LEAVES FOR FOOD AND MEDICINE
For as long as humans have been on the earth, the leaves of plants have been used for food, medicine, shelter and utility. Green has been a sacred color to those cultures who understood the important relationship between humans and plants. Leaves were used in ceremony, clothing and decoration.
Children learned rhymes and axioms that taught them to identify the helpful and not so helpful plants around them. Here are just a few:
The leaves of three, Leave it be. The leaves of four have some more. (a song to teach a child to identify Poison oak or Ivy)
Hairy vine? No friend of mine!
Berries white, danger in sight!
Red leaflets in spring are a dangerous thing.
Side leaflets like mittens will itch like the dickens!
Berries of red will soon be dead!
Berries of black, caution for that. Or "Berries of black, ask about that."
Nutrition of plant leaves
Humans have been able to survive the long months to the first harvest by storing food and by harvesting early spring plants. Roots are important through the winter months. But the early green leaves of Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica), Miners lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), Dock (Rumex patientia L,) Dandelion (Taraxacum) and hundreds of other species have allowed humans to survive until the next great harvest.
Nutritional – Medicinal
There were a number of plants that were known by the First Peoples of Cascadia that helped humans survive starvation and nutritional imbalance. Known by Europeans as "Spring tonic" plants, these plants with their new shoots are full of nutrients that are helpful to our well being. For instance- Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) when picked young, can be steamed and eaten in February and March. This plant has been known to alleviate muscle pain, depression and tiredness. It truly is a spring tonic. Stinging Nettle is often found in semi-wet well drained areas.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) and the Spring Potherb
Stinging Nettle (Urtica diocia)
Stinging Nettle is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America,and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. It was a survival plant for First Peoples and others who moved here to live. It is a key ingredient in the Spring Potherb. This is a soup where early plants are steamed and cooked into a broth and drunk to get one's body ready for spring and summer. It wakes up the body, mind and spirit. The greens are also consumed. The greens contain vitamin C, iron and many minerals.
Recipe for the Spring Potherb
Bring a big pot of water to boil, turn down the heat. Place plants into the water and turn off heat. Season to taste.
Dandelion leaf and root
Great Burdock
Lamb's Quarters
The fresh leaves of Stinging Nettle contain vitamins A, C, D, E, F, K, P, and b-complexesas well as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B-6, all of which were found in high levels, and act as antioxidants. The leaves are also noted for their particularly high content of the metals selenium, zinc, iron, and magnesium. They contain boron, sodium, iodine, chromium, copper, and sulfur.
Stinging Nettle is a versatile plant. The plant is not only eaten, but as the plant matures the fibers of the plant were used for making many useful things. The fibers have been used for thousands of years for shoes, hats, fabric for clothes, fishing line, and was woven into twine and rope. The use of Nettle fiber worldwide is the similar to the use of Hemp or Flax. Used to weave fabric of all kinds, it is has also been used to press into paper. The nettle fiber is usually mixed with other paper-making plants as it does not possess the gluey substance needed to allow the paper fabric to hold together.
The Sting of the nettle is said to be a cure for Arthritis and other diseases of muscles, joints, and some organ tissues.
The antidote for being stung by this plant is the juice found inside the stem or Dock (Rumex patientia) which usually grows nearby. A Plantain (plantago macrocarpa) or (plantago lanceolata) poultice can also be used as antidote for the sting.
NEVER COLLECT THESE PLANTS ALONG POLLUTED WATERWAYS, ROADS OR INDUSTRIAL AREAS. This plant, as well as all plants, is adapted to uptake dangerous heavy metals (bio-remedial). Always harvest in safe areas.
"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain." – Henry David Thoreau
Axillary bud primordium – An immature axillary bud. An embryonic side shoot. A point on a stem, at the node, and between the stem and leaf, where a new shoot can develop. Growth is usually inhibited at these buds.
Leaf primordia – A lateral outgrowth from the apical meristem that develops into a leaf
Petiole – The stalk that joins a leaf to a stem; leafstalk
Photosynthesis – The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.
Transpiration – the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants. Water loss that occurs through the open plant stomata (tiny pores primarily on the underside of the leaf). Rate of loss is determined by wind and atmospheric humidity conditions.
Wikipedia – viewed on the internet April 2012.
NEXT TIME: THE FLOWER
Beginning Botany in a New Year – What are plants and where do they come from?
Posted in British Columbia Native Plants, Cascadian Bioregion, Fungi and mushrooms, Native plants and wildlife survival, Northern California Native Plants, Oregon native plants, Plant identification schemes, Washington Native plants, tagged 2012 native plant education, botany lessons, British Columbia, Cascadia Bioregion, Cascadian bioregion, Connection to Nature, Oregon Native plants, plant evolution, Plant Wisdom, Washington Native plants on January 20, 2012|
"PLANT BLINDNESS is a modern phenomenon whereby humans walk through their world each day and do not notice plants, nor do they know the name, the physiological, ethnobotanical, herbological or ecological connection between themselves and plants."
Evolution of Plants
First off you should know I am not a scientist. I am a naturalist. My knowledge of plants comes from a personal relationship and constant observation and study. I read everything I can find, including the works of various plant and biological scientists. I forage for plants and use them as food, utility, medicine, and spiritual growth. I am teaching from what I know and what I am learning and offer what I know as one method of connecting with the plant "kindom". Yes, KINDOM. Kindom is different from the hypothesis of Kingdom, which is hierarchical in organization. Kindom, is different – the hypothesis put forward by the likes of plant specialist and scientist Dr. Alan (Mushroom) Kapuler – says that plants and animals and all species all need each other for survival. There is not a higher group organization, rather all species interact and need each other in cooperation. Relationships between all species is not competitive but cooperative.
Here is a link to Kapuler's web blog for further discussion of cooperative relationships between species:
http://mushroomsblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/descriptions-from-dr-kapulers-peace.html
WHY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW BOTANY?
Why do you need to know botany? Because my goal is to allow each and every one of you to go into a natural area and identify every plant. A goal that will only be reachable if you are well versed in Botany and plant identification.
Do you know that the connection between humans and the natural world is breaking down so fast that we now have a definition for humans that are disconnected from plants. It is called "Plant Blindness". PLANT BLINDNESS is a modern phenomenon whereby humans walk through their world each day and do not notice plants, nor do they know the name, the physiological, ethnobotanical, herbological or ecological connection between themselves and plants.
It is my hope that you will learn all about plants on this Radical Botany blog and it will be taught in a way that you can easily absorb and apply to your life as a plant lover, naturalist or budding scientist.
So let us begin.
Botany is the study of plants. It is a scientific process whereby plants are examined from the cellular to the ecological levels. A scientist who studies Botany or plants are called a botanist. A plant lover can also be called a naturalist, a gardener, a horticulturist, or one of my favorite "a tree hugger". Unabashedly I am a tree hugger and a naturalist.
WHERE DO PLANTS COME FROM?
According to the theories of science, hundreds of millions of years ago, tiny specks of protoplasm appeared on earth in the ancient seas, and were the beginning of all our plants and animals. The protoplasm specks – a one cell organism that became plants developed thick walls and developed the green coloring matter as chlorophyll which enabled them to make food from substances in the air, water and soil. Slowly over time the plants were able to leave water and adapt to land growing and producing multi-cell organisms.
In the past botanists regarded plant as meaning a multicellular, eukaryotic organism that generally does not have sensory organs or voluntary motion and has, when complete, a root, stem, and leaves. However this is a better description of vascular plants. Some plants have no roots, stems or leaves. And, plant-like organisms such as kelp are actually from the order Laminariales.
Let me go out on a limb here (pun intended) and make this statement about plants: they are alive versus being parasitic and not alive.
A second characteristic of a plant it is that it refers to any organism that is photoautotrophic—produces its own food from raw inorganic materials and sunlight. However, Blue-green algae and certain bacteria and cynophytes are photoautotrophic and are not classified as plants.
The same is true for mushrooms. A mushroom- the fruiting body of a fungus (Kindom Fungi) is not considered a plant. It is closer to the animal kingdom. A mushroom is not photoautotrophic at all, but saprophytic for the most part however, some fungi and bacteria is parasitic.
Traditionally, all living things were divided into five kingdoms:
Monera — Protista — Fungi — Plantae — Animalia
I know, I know – scientists are now trying to say there are only three kingdoms: Archaea — Eubacteria — Eukaryota and these kingdoms reflect whether the object of study has a cell wall or not. I prefer to work with the five kingdom (or Kindom) system because it allows us to generally differentiate between major groups of living organisms.
So let us say that plants are part of the kindom Plantae. Plants include familiar organisms such as flowering plants, conifers, ferns, mosses, and green algae, but do not include seaweeds like kelp, nor fungi and bacteria.
Plants can be grouped as follows:
First informal group – GREEN ALGAE
Green algae Division name: Chlorophyta and Charophyta of which there are between 3800 and 4300 species
Second Informal Group – BROYPHYTES – land plants that do not have true vascular tissue and are therefore called non-vascular plants.
Bryophytes : Marchantiophyta also called liverworts of which there are between 6,000 and 8,000 species.
Bryophytes : Anthocerotophyta also called hornworts of which there are between 100 to 200 species
Bryophytes : Bryophyta also called mosses of which there are about 12,000 species
Third Informal Group of plants -PTERIDOPHYES- The pteridophytes are vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that produce neither flowers nor seeds.
Pteridophytes: Lycopodiophyta also called Club Mosses of which there are approximately 1,200 species
Pteridophytes: Pteridophyta also called ferns, whisk ferns and horsetails of which there are approximately 11,000 species.
Fourth Informal Group of Plants: SEED PLANTS
Seed plants: Cycadophyta also known as cycads of which there are 160 known species
Seed Plants: Ginkgophyta also known as ginkgo of which there is one known species
Seed Plants: Pinophyta also known as conifers of which there are 630 known species
Seed Plants: Gnetophyta (woody plants) also known as gnetophytes of which there are approximately 70 known species.
Seed Plants: Magnoliophyta also known as flowering plants of which there are approximately 258,650 species
My focus for Radical Botany will be worts, clubs, mosses, ginko, flowering plants and conifers as well as other trees found in the Cascadian bio-region: An area that includes British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon State, and Northern California.
Next time: Cell structure of Plant Groups: flowering plants and conifers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Brooklyn Grooming founders Alfredo & Mckenzie met while working at a bar in Silverlake, Los Angeles close to a decade ago, then more recently launched their company over their mutual love of design and a few shared basic principles. Most importantly - that true beauty is rooted in authenticity.
Every batch of their product is dosed, measured and prepared by hand in their studio in the Brooklyn Navy yard. Nothing is mass-produced. Their exclusive (and top secret) recipes include organic vegetable butters, beeswax, herbs and essential oils—trusted ingredients revered since antiquity for their healthful and beautifying properties.
They house their products in vintage amber tinctures and old-fashioned pomade tins. Their "apothecary aesthetic" recalls classic elegance, and it suggests a simpler time when grooming was paramount in our society to all men.
We are huge fans of their product & have loved getting to know them over the course of the last year at trade shows and other industry events. Here are some fun facts about what makes this awesome duo tick.


text:
Q: Css vertical alignment with nested divs This question resulted from a fix suggested to this related question
I have 3 nested divs: outer, inner and item.

Given the following basic CSS:
.outer{
  width:50%;
  height:100px;
  border: 1px solid red;
  position:relative;
  overflow-x:hidden;
  box-sizing:border-box;
}
.inner{
  border:1px solid blue;
  height:100%;
  position: absolute;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  line-height:98px;
}
.item{
  width:100px;
  height:94px;
  background-color:yellow;
  display: inline-block;
  border:1px solid green;
  box-sizing:border-box;
  vertical-align:middle;
}

The challenge is to center the 'item' div vertically with equal (or no) gaps above/below, and no vertical scrollbars appearing.
Codepen here
Update:
As pointed out below, I should add that multiple items of different heights must be centered. The best answer so far is to add a negative margin to each item, resulting in the following: http://codepen.io/anon/pen/dYWEYZ
However, this smells bad (to me) as it requires an offset that depends on 3 other properties.

A: If you use flexbox, this is easily achieved:
.inner{
  border:1px solid blue;
  height:100%;
  position: absolute;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  line-height:98px;
  display:flex;
  align-items:center;
}

A: You can use display: table-cell; to get the vertical centering you want:
.outer{
  width:50%;
  height:100px;
  border: 1px solid red;
  position:relative;
  overflow-x:hidden;
  box-sizing:border-box;
}
.inner{
  border:1px solid blue;
  height:100%;
  position: absolute;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  line-height:98px;
  display: table; //must change this as well
}
.item{
  width:100px;
  height:94px;
  background-color:yellow;
  border:1px solid green;
  box-sizing:border-box;
  vertical-align:middle;
  display:table-cell; //update display type
}

A: The simple solution is http://codepen.io/anon/pen/jbmRjo
to add this to your .item class:
margin-top: -5px;

It's because of the borders on your outer and inner classes, as well as the line-height of the inner class.  If you make the borders 2px instead of 1px, then the margin top becomes -9px.  If you leave borders at 1px and make the line-height 96px the margin top becomes -3px.
So why can't you use a negative margin top?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
[ARCHIVED] Greene wins statewide honor for work on Opioid settlement
Orange County Commissioner Sally Greene received statewide recognition Aug. 14 when she was named one of five winners of the 2021 North Carolina Outstanding County Commissioner Award by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC).
Greene was recognized for her contributions as a member of the 555 Committee, which was organized by the NCACC and helped develop the Memorandum of Agreement on the use of North Carolina's share of national opioid settlement funds.
"I feel deeply honored to receive this recognition by my peers," said Greene. "I'm also exceedingly grateful to Kevin Leonard, Executive Director of the NCACC, and attorneys Amy Bason and Paige Worsham for their tireless leadership."
The 555 Committee is comprised of five commissioners, five county managers and five county attorneys and began meeting in March 2020. The NCACC provided staff support and guidance throughout the process.
"My experience in setting policy for improving criminal justice and mental health interventions and housing opportunities for those suffering from all kinds of substance use disorders had opened my eyes to the terrible consequences of the opioid epidemic--certainly for individuals and their families, and also for the community as a whole," Greene said. "Two members of the committee are parents of young men who lost their lives to opioid overdose. These tragic losses were always in front of us, and this is what kept us motivated."
The committee worked with the N.C. Department of Justice and Attorney General Josh Stein to develop a plan to distribute the state's share of the historic $26 billion settlement. The agreement includes Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen – the nation's three major pharmaceutical distributors – and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids.
"The opioid epidemic has torn families apart and killed thousands of North Carolinians," said Stein. "While no amount of money will ever be enough, this settlement will force these drug companies to pay a historic amount of money to bring much-needed treatment and recovery services to North Carolina communities and to change their business practices so that something like this never happens again."
Greene said each state was responsible for developing a plan to distribute the funds and for determining how the funds will be used. North Carolina is one of the first states to announce how it will distribute the funds, with up to 85 percent going to local governments.
According to the formula developed by the committee, Orange County's share could be as much as $7.9 million over 18 years. The agreement also spells out how the funds can be used and requires counties to report their progress.
"Orange County, primarily through the existing work of the Criminal Justice Resource Department and the Sheriff's Office, is well positioned to make efficient and productive use of the funding, for the direct benefit of people in need," Greene said. "All of us on the committee are grateful to the Attorney General's office for recognizing that counties are on the front lines: that counties, rather than the state, are in the best position to create and administer the most appropriate programs for treating and preventing opioid use disorder."
Orange County has long been a leader in fighting the Opioid epidemic. The county received an NCACC Excellence in Innovation Award from the Local Government Federal Credit Union in 2017 for the creation of the Naloxone Access program. The county became the first health department in the state to take advantage of the 2013 Good Samaritan/Naloxone Access legislation, which allowed doctors, family and friends to administer naloxone to someone who overdoses on opioids, without being prosecuted.
Orange County was among the initial counties to join nationwide lawsuits against the drug distributors and drug makers, approving its participation in 2018.


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Cyril Agodi Onwumechili (born 1932) is a Nigerian Professor of Physics and staff of the  University of Ibadan. He was the first Nigerian Geophysicist and the second President the Nigerian Academy of Science.
He was elected as President of the Academy in 1979 to succeeded Professor Victor Adenuga Oyenuga, first Emeritus Professor of the University of Ibadan and the first African Professor of Agricultural science.

Early life
Onwumechili was born in 1932 at Oji River, a city in Enugu State Eastern Nigeria. He attended King's College, Lagos and received a bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of London in 1953 and master's degree in physics from the University of Ibadan in 1954. He later received a Doctorate degree from the University of London.

Career
Onwumechili joined the Department of physics, University of Ibadan as academic staff. He was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1962 and appointed Head of the Department of Physics and Dean of Faculty of Science at Ibadan before he left in 1966 to join the services of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka as Head of the Department of Physics. During the Nigerian Civil War, he was appointed Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. After the Civil War, he took over from Associate Prof. J.C. Ene as Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Nigeria, from December 1970 - June 1971. In 1973, he was elected the first Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, thrice elected (1973-1974; 1975-1976; October 1978- December 1978). Onwumechili left to become the Vice Chancellor, University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife).

References

External links
 http://education.gov.ng/tertiary-education/
 https://www.kwcoeilorin.edu.ng/publications/staff_publications/taiwo_mb/history-of-education-in-nigeria-its-implication-to-educational-management-taiwo-mb-conf.pdf

1932 births
Living people
Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science
Nigerian physicists
Academic staff of the University of Ibadan
University of Ibadan alumni
Alumni of the University of London
King's College, Lagos alumni
Vice-Chancellors of Obafemi Awolowo University

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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As the world moves away from traditional fossil fuels towards clean energy alternatives, demand for nuclear power has risen. With both developed and developing countries expanding and refining their nuclear programmes, energy providers are faced with the challenge of producing plants that comply with national and international quality and safety requirements while remaining on-time and on-budget.
Through equipment qualification, project owners can assure themselves of their nuclear power plant's safety and resilience in any event.
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WhatsApp provides audio and video calls for its application
04 March 2021 2021-03-04T04:12:00-08:00 2021-03-04T04:12:02-08:00
Dr.ali
Home Articles facebook Internet News Technology News
The Facebook-owned messaging service said on Thursday: WhatsApp is providing voice and video call support for its desktop app, providing convenience for countless people sitting in front of computers.
And WhatsApp explained that its desktop application, approximately five years old, for Windows and Mac OS supports one-to-one calls at the present time, but it expands this feature to include voice and video calls in the future.
Video calling works seamlessly for both portrait and landscape orientation, and the desktop app is set to always be on top so you never lose video chats in a browser tab or the pile of open windows.
Speaking of that, support for audio and video calls is not extended to the WhatsApp web app at this time.
Support for the new feature should be useful to the millions of people who use the WhatsApp desktop app every day, and have had to use Zoom or Google Meet to make one-on-one video calls across the desktop.
WhatsApp, which is used by more than 2 billion people, did not share the prevalence of audio and video calls on its platform, but said: It handled more than 1.4 billion calls on New Year's Eve.
And just like the 100 billion messages that WhatsApp processes through its platform every day, voice and video calls are also encrypted end-to-end.
And after the service became famous for taking months to add enhanced features to its app, it is clear that WhatsApp has gotten faster in adding new features in the past year.
And in late January, Facebook added biometric fingerprint, face, or eye print authentication to the WhatsApp desktop and web app, an additional layer of protection that makes more sense after today's update.
It also launched ephemeral messages, photos and videos late last year, and launched a payments service in India, its largest market by number of users.
The new feature additions come as WhatsApp tries to convince users to agree to the planned changes to the privacy policy.
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©Bitcoin in English


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HTA: Maui County has the largest vacation rental offer in the state in November 2021
By Josefina S. Bennett	 On Dec 26, 2021
Maui ADR up 16% from 2019
Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of the four counties in November, with 189,300 nightly units available (-15.6% from 2020, -37.8% from 2019), according to the Hawai'i vacation rental performance report published by the Hawai.i Tourist Board.
Unit demand in Maui County was 122,700 overnight stays (+ 87.2% from 2020, -46.9% from 2019), resulting in an occupancy rate of 64.8% ( +35.6 percentage points compared to 2020, -11.1 percentage points compared to 2019), according to the HTA reports.
The average daily rate in Maui County was $ 285 (+ 19.5% from 2020, + 16.3% from 2019). By comparison, hotels in Maui County reported an ADR of $ 531 and an occupancy rate of 65.4%, according to the report.
Maui County Vacation Rental Performance. PC: Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Statewide overview:
Statewide, Hawai'i vacation rentals reported substantial increases in supply, demand, occupancy and average daily rate in November 2021 compared to November 2020. However, compared As of November 2019, ADR was higher in November 2021, but vacation rental supply, demand and occupancy was down, according to the HTA.
Data for the Hawai'i Vacation Rental Performance report used data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc.
In November 2021, the total monthly statewide vacation rental supply was 547,600 unit nights (-1.3% from 2020, -40.4% from 2019) and the monthly demand was 343,900 unit nights (+ 96.0% compared to 2020, -45.5% compared to. 2019). This translated into an average monthly unit occupancy rate of 62.8% (+31.2 percentage points from 2020, -5.8 percentage points from 2019) for November. Hawaii's hotel occupancy rate was 59.7% in November 2021.
The ADR for vacation rental units statewide in November was $ 248 (+ 7.8% from 2020, + 17.5% from 2019). By comparison, ADR for hotels was $ 333 in November 2021.
For November 2021, the report included data for 25,966 units, representing 44,157 rooms in the Hawaiian Islands.
HTA notes that unlike hotels, vacation rental units are not necessarily available year round or every day of the month and often accommodate more guests than traditional hotel rooms.
The full report, including details on other islands, is available for viewing in line.
Rules in place for November:
In November, legal short-term rentals were allowed in Maui County and on O'ahu, Hawai'i Island and Kaua'i until they were used as a quarantine location.
In November 2021, passengers arriving from out of state could bypass the state's mandatory 10-day self-quarantine if they were fully vaccinated in the United States or with a NAAT COVID-19 test result valid negative from a trusted test partner prior to their departure through the Safe Travels program.
Data from HTA's Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report specifically excludes units reported in its Hawai'i Hotel Performance Report and in its Quarterly Hawai'i Timeshare Survey report.
A vacation rental is defined as the use of a rental home, condominium, a private bedroom in a private house, or a shared bedroom / space in a private house.
* The report includes data for properties listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway and TripAdvisor. The report did not identify or differentiate between authorized and unauthorized units. The legality of any given vacation rental unit is determined on a county basis.
Not your parents' VR experience
Landlord Wins Short-Term Vacation Rental Lawsuit Against Santa Barbara | Miller Starr Regalia
Verde Valley sees record spike in house prices, linked to COVID exodus and cost of construction – JournalAZ.com
Public lands expand near the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center
Jackson State men's basketball plays on the road, where the money is
What private companies need to know – NBC New York
Letting the Air Out of the Bloat of Online Travel's IPO
No, clients do not need human-provided hospitality services


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Slugabed readies crystal-inspired Time Team LP for Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune have announced the forthcoming release of Time Team, the debut album from Bath-based producer Slugabed.
The 23-year-old, real name Greg Feldwick, has already released material on a host of respected labels including Stuff, Ramp and Planet Mu. He joined the Ninja Tune stable in 2011, releasing the Sun Too Bright Turn It Off and Moonbeam Rider EPs.
In a press release distributed by Ninja Tune, Feldwick says the album's concept is based on his interest in hexagonal crystals, which, apparently, "have a unique directionality (and) must be aligned and oriented with Earth's spin axis for every crystal in the inner core".
The press release continues: "This idea led him to try a computational experiment. If all the crystals must point in the same direction, why not one big crystal? Could an iron ball 1,500 miles across be a single crystal? Unheard of until now, the idea has prompted realisation that the temperature-pressure extremes of the inner core offer ideal conditions for crystal growth. Slugabed's high-pressure laboratories have conducted numerous experiments to test these theories. The article "Time Team" is a concise documentation of these experiments."
Somewhat less cryptically, Feldwick also states that the album is inspired by "deep feelings about mostly inexpressible things".
Ninja Tune will release Time Team by Slugabed on May 9, 2012.
1. New Worlds
2. Sex
3. All This Time
4. Moonbeam Rider
5. Travel Sweets
6. Unicorn Suplex
7. Dragon Drums
8. Mountains Come Out Of The Sky
9. Grandma Paints Nice
10. Climbing A Tree
11. Earth Claps
12. It's When The Future Falls Plop On Your Head


These are the items you will need when attending the McGee Correctional Training Center. We carry approved products so you can purchase with confidence that you have the correct items.
Please remember to email us a copy of your acceptance letter and drivers license after you place your order.
For your convenience, we have an Academy Preparation Checklist listed below.


Journey Into Oneness 1-2 p.m. Journey Into Oneness with Darlene Sowa. Energy Medicine Practitioner, exercise physiologist, lifestyle visionary. Darlene shares ideas and tools to assist you on your journey to rediscovering your wild and authentic nature, as well as, the abundant nature of the universe. Monthly topics and a guest will help you navigate these ever-changing times with new insights, renewed hope, and empowering visions.


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British rail workers start new year with week-long strike
British rail workers kicked off the new year with a week-long strike on Tuesday, disrupting the return to work for millions of commuters in the latest bout of industrial action to hit the country.
Britain is in the grip of its worst run of worker unrest since Margaret Thatcher was in power in the 1980s, as surging inflation follows more than 10 years of stagnant wage growth, leaving many workers unable to make ends meet.
Repeated rail strikes have crippled the network in recent months while nurses, airport staff, paramedics and postal workers have also joined the fray, demanding higher pay to keep pace with inflation that is hovering around 40-year highs, reaching 10.7% in November.
Teachers are due to go on strike in Scotland next week.
"Due to industrial action, there will be significantly reduced train services across the railway until Sunday 8 January," Network Rail said.
"Trains will be busier and likely to start later and finish earlier, and there will be no services at all in some places."
The government has said it cannot afford to give public sector workers an inflation-matching rise, meaning there is no end in sight to what has been dubbed a new "winter of discontent" in reference to the industrial battles that gripped Britain in the late 1970s.
A YouGov poll published in December found two-thirds of Britons support the nurses' strike. The majority of those surveyed said the government was most to blame for the action and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could suffer if the disruption runs through 2023.
Mick Lynch, the head of the RMT rail union, said the government seemed content for the strikes to go ahead.
"All the parties involved know what needs to be done to get a settlement, but the government is blocking that," Lynch told the BBC.
The government has called on union bosses to return to the negotiating table, aware that the strikes are taking a heavy toll on businesses that rely on commuters, such as coffee shops and pubs in town centres.
"The only way you get a deal sorted out is to get the trade unions and employers around the negotiating table and not on the picket line and that's what I want to see happen," Transport Minister Mark Harper told Times Radio.
Tags: UK, UK


AAA is estimating that 38 million people will be traveling this Memorial Day weekend; it is the second highest Memorial Day travel estimated since 2005.
Likely brought on by low gas prices, about 700,000 more people will travel this year compared to last. AAA estimates that Americans have saved more than $15 billion in gas this year compared to the same period last year. The holiday travel period began on Thursday, May 26 and ends Monday, May 29.
The majority of holiday travelers will be hitting the open road with an estimated 34 million people driving to their destination. About 2.6 million Americans are expected to fly out and another 1.6 million are expected to take buses, trains or cruises to their destination of choice.
With such a large projection of travelers, AAA also expects to have to rescue more than 350,000 stranded motorists this year. Furthermore, the company will also have its Tipsy Tow services available.
AAA Arizona will be offering their safe ride program which will allow anyone, from drivers to party hosts, to call for free towing services. Tipsy Tow will tow the impaired driver's vehicle free of charge for up to 10 miles. The service is offered between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and will be available on Monday, May 30 through Tuesday, May 31.
A high volume of DUI arrests and alcohol-related accidents occur during holiday weekends. In 2014, seven fatal accidents were reported during the Memorial Day weekend; four of those were alcohol-related.
The car accident lawyers at Phillips Law Group encourage everyone to drive safely this holiday weekend and never get behind the wheel while intoxicated. If you are injured during a holiday weekend crash caused by a careless or intoxicated driver, contact our law firm. We can review your case for free and determine if you are entitled to file a claim for compensation.
Call or text 1-800-706-3000 or fill out a Free Case Evaluation.


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These Insane Houses Have Indoor Slides
Whether you're a superhero or still reliving your childhood, an indoor slide is obviously the best way to get from one floor to the other in your home. Here are some houses that turn slides into amazing works of art — and stairway replacements.
A Building in East Village, Manhattan, New York City, 2008
Two penthouses connected with a slide is a really cool thing, but the pro poker player Phil Galfond used this for only four years. It was sold last year for $3.3 million.
(via Curbed)
LEGO Office in Billund, Denmark, by Bosch & Fjord, 2007
(via Home Designing)
The house where slides connect the levels in Tokyo, by Kazuki Nakamura, 2009
(via Level Architects)
Sky House, New York City, by David Hotson (architect) and Ghislaine Vinas (designer), 2013
The four-story complex has a wraparound terrace, four bedrooms, 32 windows and a 80-foot (24.3 m) mirrored tube slide. It was inspired by a 2006 installation of Carsten Höller at London's Tate Modern.
(via Bit Rebels)
Panorama House, Yangcheong-ri (Cheongwon-gun), South Korea, by Moon Hoon, 2012
(via designboom)
Alex Michaelis's home, Michaelis Boys Associates, London, United Kingdom, 2009
(via bohaute and Gizmodo)
Staircase Slide Combo Built By The Coolest Parents Ever
At the request of his children, London architect Alex Michaelis installed a slide next to the…
"Play" House in Tangerang, Indonesia, by Aboday Architects, 2010
(via Inthralld)
A 28-foot mahogany indoor slide in Scott A. Jones's home, Carmel, Indiana
(via Scott A. Jones)
Rainbow House, by AB Rogers and DA Studio, London, 2009
(via The Modern House and AB Rogers)
Villa Lulu, Koh Samui Island, Thailand
This is the world's first luxury villa with a huge water slide: it's 253 foot (78 m) long, starting on the third floor, and ends at the pool.
(via Samui Bungalow and Elite Choice)
A pirate ship-themed bedroom, by Steve Kuhl in Minnesota


The commercial software ANSYS CFX is used for modeling the hydrodynamic characteristics of submarine-launched vehicle. In the numerical simulations, the SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model is employed to describe the turbulence phenomenon occurring in the continuous fluid. The Rayleigh-Plesset equations are applied to analyze the cavitation phenomenon. Three-dimensional numerical simulation was carried out to study the cavity shape, the surface pressure distribution and the drag force with different flow control. The result shows that the gas and the number of ventilation holes control to show any significant impact on the cavity shape and the surface pressure are effective measures to decrease resistance.