Plectocomia Collection/Collector

Young Kachin man holding the fruits of Plectocomia assamica Griff. - which is a pretty rare sight (see Shooting Plectocomia). When I look at this image, I remember all that was involved to collect the specimen, but I am also struck as much by the collector as the colleciton. This young man was quiet, with an easy smile, and  a very hard worker in the field. He's the one in the longyi (same shirt) dragging the rattan out to the road at 1:16 in this clip. Wonder what he has been doing for the past 8 years? 

GPS+Two-Way Radio

A group of mescaleros from the village of Acateyahualco in Guerrero, Mexico (see Meeting in Acateyahualco) getting their equipment ready to start the annaul agave inventories. They got new GSP receivers, and the new devices have a 22 channel two-way radio built in. Will be a great help in the field once everyone figures out how they work. [NOTE: Love the collection of sombreros].  

Massive Rotating Supercell

Amazing time lapse by Mike Olbinski of a gigantic rotating supercell over Booker, Texas. The storm system ultimately did not spawn a tornado, but what a beautiful, powerful rendering of wind at work. Make sure to watch it in HD, full-screen, with a bit of volume. It took him four trips to the Central Plains to get the footage. [NOTE: Early in the first part, torrential rain is coming down on the right and being sucked back into the rotation]. 

Plumeria

Plumeria alba L. (Apocynaceae) is a small tree native to Central and South America. Because of the fragrance and durability of its flowers, the species has spread throughout the tropical world. The tree has taken on a special importance in Asia. The flowers are used to make leis in many parts of the Pacific and as a fragrance for Indian incense and the species is frequently planted as an ornametal around Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries. Plumeria alba is the national flower of Laos, where it is known as "champa", and it is a popular garland for taxicabs in Myanmar (see Yangon Taxi) . [NOTE: the image above was taken in Vietnam]. 

Tokay Gecko

One more marvelous thing seen at the ruins of Bayon (see Bayon, Painting at Bayon, and Incense Offering) in Cambodia: a large Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko L.) enjoying the shade afforded by the small crack between stones.   

Coke In Myanmar

Just heard this morning that Coca-Cola has opened a bottling plant outside of Yangon. For the first time in 60 years, you can now buy a Coke in Myanmar. From Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola chairman and CEO: "we are deeply honored to reintroduce Coca-Cola to Myanmar and begin to become a growing part of the fabric of life here". Don't know how I feel about this. As a benchmark, shown above is a photo from downtown Yangon in 2004, i.e. pre-Coca-Cola signage. We'll see how this goes. 

Poppy

The current exhibit in the NYBG conservatory, Wild Medicine, contains an extensive assortment of healing plants from around the world. Out of the over 500 taxa that are presented (go here for the list of plants), my favorite has to be the beautiful orange poppy (Papaver spp.) shown above. Really a lovely plant, and the genus is the source of so many useful culinary, medicinal, narcotic, and frequently illegal products. Important cash crop for many of the Kachin farmers that I work with in northern Myanmar (see Shinlonga).

Confluences

I gave a talk several weeks ago at the Bard Graduate Center on the plant fibers of northern Burma. The gallery talk (and tea tasting offered by Sebastian Beckwith) was associated with the Confluences exhibition of artifacts and photos (see above) from the Vernay-Hopwood expedition to the upper Chindwin river in 1935. The exhibition was curated by Erin Hasinoff (see What Fiber?), a BGC-AMNH post-doctoral fellow and an AMNH research associate. The whole thing was great fun and the show is wonderful. [NOTE: Confluences will be in the BGC Focus Gallery until August 3. Definitely worth a visit].   

Tomatoes

Am gardening two 4 x 8 foot raised beds again this year. We've had a good bit of rain and the tomatoes are coming up beautifully. I've planted five different varieties; two are heirloom plants that Elysa brought home from a farmer visit in her purse (thx, Elysa). 

Havemeyer Falls

Took a hike at the Mianus River Gorge Preserve outside of Bedford, NY on Memorial Day. Beautiful day and a beautiful piece of northern hardwood forest (see In Praise of Northern Hardwood Forests). About 2.5 miles in along the red trail, you encounter Havemeyer Falls (shown above). Nice place to sit and eat a sandwich. [NOTE: The preserve also contains a really nice grove of old hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriére)].