PBS Forum

So there must be two different ways to include photos. One produces the thumbnails with a filename that can be clicked on to open a much higher resolution image. The other just seems to insert the photo at maybe not it's highest resolution but is much bigger than a thumbnail image. But I don't see any icon in the Reply box to insert a photo. It wasn't till I "previewed" my post that a button appeared for "Attachments and other options". But it only gives the method to insert attachments by dragging and dropping or pressing an Add Files button. I don't know how to insert photos that produce the thumbnail with hidden but included high resolution image.

Some Lachenalias currently in bloom.

Quote from: David Pilling on January 22, 2023, 07:01:40 PMI feel gardening is a healthy pastime - physical effort is involved. They say it is good for mental health and it sort of feels that way. A bit surprising because there can be a lot of frustration.

I'm not so sure it is always a social thing - maybe if you belong to a gardening club or garden on allotments. People always flee when I approach bearing excess produce.

It's probably the Mycobacterium vaccae in the soil that is infecting us.

Dirt Can Make You Happy

How to Get High on Soil

ChatGPT did a better job at giving a summary of it than it did with Cearanthes:

QuoteMycobacterium vaccae is a type of soil-dwelling bacterium that has been found to have a positive effect on human health. The bacterium has been found to activate immune cells in the body and increase levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine, which are associated with improved mood and cognitive function.

Studies have shown that exposure to Mycobacterium vaccae can help to reduce symptoms of conditions such as asthma, allergies, and inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, research has suggested that Mycobacterium vaccae may help to improve learning and memory, as well as reducing anxiety and depression.

It's important to note that Mycobacterium vaccae is not a cure for any medical conditions, and more research is needed to fully understand its effects on human health. However, the evidence so far suggests that exposure to the bacterium can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health.

I decided to give it a hard one (because I really want to know more about this species than what Google gives me), and ChatGPT got it wrong twice. Google did better (but not much better). At least Google got it right.

ChatGPT:
What is Cearanthes fuscoviolacea

Cearanthes fuscoviolacea is a species of orchid, a type of flowering plant. Orchids are known for their diverse and attractive blooms, and this species is no exception. C. fuscoviolacea is native to the Neotropics and is found in South and Central America, including countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. This species typically grows as an epiphyte, meaning that it grows on other plants for support but does not parasitize them. Its flowers are distinctive, with a deep purple color and a unique shape, making it a popular choice for cultivation among orchid enthusiasts.

Describe the bulb species Cearanthes fuscoviolacea

I apologize, but Cearanthes fuscoviolacea is not a bulb species. It is an epiphytic orchid species, which means that it grows on other plants for support but does not parasitize them. Orchids are a large and diverse group of flowering plants, with over 25,000 known species and many more still waiting to be discovered. They are known for their showy, often fragrant blooms, which can range in color from pale whites and yellows to bright pinks and purples. C. fuscoviolacea, in particular, is known for its deep purple flowers, which are highly prized among orchid enthusiasts.


Google:
(Kew)Amaryllidaceae > Cearanthes
Cearanthes fuscoviolacea Ravenna
First published in Onira 5: 11 (2000)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Brazil (Ceará). It is a bulbous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

And the Washington Post just published this on how bad the Western US heatwave has been:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/09/08/western-heatwave-records-california-climate/

I know Europe has had similarly hot weather this summer too.

Has anyone lost any of their plants because of the excessive heat?

I just checked and the pound is only $1.15, which is what the euro used to be. Has it gotten that low before? (When I was a little boy and collected stamps I think the pound was something like $2.40. I always thought it made British stamps so expensive.)

And speaking of losing plant collections because of not having enough energy to bring them through the winter, I think a similar kind of problem is going to happen more and more often to those living in warm climates and having mega droughts such that one can't water their plants during the hottest days. Luckily I wasn't in the area of the Los Angeles metropolitan area that is supposed to not water anything outside for all of this week and next week right when we are in the midst of the longest September heatwave since records began. It has basically been hitting around 40°C/104°F plus or minus everywhere except in those areas closest to the beach for more than a week now and continuing till this Saturday when it will finally cool down. Plus, the nighttime lows have been unusually high for this area during that entire time, never dropping below about 24°C/75°F with one morning only getting down to 27°C/81°F (instead of normally dropping into the 60s F/<20°C at night), and unusually humid. It has felt like the southeastern US summer weather. I don't now how non-dormant plants could survive no water at all if it had been in the 100s for two entire weeks, especially those in pots.

If it's blooming right now in the northern hemisphere, it looks a lot like Cooperia pedunculata, which I think is now officially supposed to be called by its synonym, Zephyranthes drummondii, now that everything has been lumped into Zephyranthes. Also known as Hill Country Rain Lily or Prairie Rain Lily. Mine just finished flowering but mine are in a large pot. I've never seen them flower in such a small pot. They also just finished their first flush of flowers in the neighborhood around my sister's house in Austin, Texas.

However, using the link
https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php?action=unread
does only show the unread posts.

--Lee

Colin, did you ever look at any of Komoriya's Lachenalia hybrids back when he was selling them on eBay? There were a lot, and some seemed less interesting than even the uninteresting species. (Maybe it appealed to the Japanese sensibility?) But some were stunning and always made me want to know what he had crossed to get them. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough excess funds at the time to order any, and just expected that he would keep offering them every year during dormancy. Then he stopped offering Lachenalias.

Does anyone have Leucocoryne violascens? It's my favorite Leucocoryne. I once had a pot of it grown from seeds, but one year it never appeared and I found I had lost all the bulbs. It's a solid violet with an iridescent sheen to the petals.