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Monday, April 15, 2024

Kicking the plastic habit 2 - What about Silicone or Rubber?

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 Kicking the plastic habit - What about Silicone or Rubber? In my previous post, I neglected to mention two other materials that might repla...
Sunday, April 7, 2024

Kicking the plastic habit with a little help from plants

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 I was recently on the expedition class Viking Octantis for a cruise along the Chilean coast. The ship staff included a team of scientists a...
Monday, September 25, 2023

Cactus? Look again!

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Aloe erinacea superficially resembles a  cactus, but closer examination reveals  that the plant consists of closely-spaced, spirally-arrang...
Monday, April 3, 2023

The difference between blackberries and mulberries and why it matters

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Blackberries grow on prickly vines or brambles,  and are members of the Rose Family (Rosaceae).  As I was picking mulberries from a tree in ...
Sunday, December 25, 2022

Why do coconut palms lean?

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  Coconut palms commonly grow along tropical coastlines in a zone of salt-tolerant vegetation, but not directly in saltwater. Coconuts may f...
Monday, November 21, 2022

The major breakthroughs of plant evolution

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 As plant life evolved, several major breakthroughs allowed them to greatly expand their footprint across the globe. These breakthroughs wer...
Wednesday, December 9, 2020

A perfect storm of weeds

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 A weed is sometimes defined as a plant out of place - or more often an overwhelming mass of plants popping up where we don't want them....