Earth and Space News: March 2024

Friday, March 29, 2024

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse Airs Birds and Butterflies

Summary: The Mystery of the Acid Soil short story by Kate Mosse for Marple: Twelve New Mysteries copyrighted by Agatha Christie Limited airs birds and butterflies.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil short story by Kate Mosse for Marple: Twelve New Mysteries copyrighted by Agatha Christie Limited airs area birds and butterflies appreciative of acid- and alkaline-soil gardens.

Jane Marple belongs among those area beautifiers who bring in such beneficial beings as brooding birds and butterflies and bolster beautifully, beneficially barren and non-barren blocks. Agatha Christie Limited captivates us Sep. 13, 2022, with its 14-book Marple Collection member book Marple: Twelve New Mysteries, beneath the HarperCollins Publishers’ William Morrow imprint. Kate Mosse delights us by doing the 11th, next-last chapter, which displays 10 divisions as 299-300, 301-306, 306-313, 313-317, 317-320, 320-321, 321-323, 323-325, 326-327 and 327-333.

Subchapter 2’s western rooks (Corvus frugilegus frugilegus, from Latin corvus frūx legēre, “raven fruit to pick”) establish their nests near the Fishbourne Halt branch train station.

The Sussex regional subspecies favors trees flourishing in fertile fields from which they feed upon such plant material as cereals and such soil-figured invertebrates as grubs.

That Eurasian subspecies perhaps goes over gardens grouping such acid soil-gestating growth as azaleas, rhododendrons and swamp leather-flowers that perhaps guide them to where grains grow. Subchapter 3 has sea gulls whom Jane Marple hears perhaps hunting coast-hugging crustaceans, fish and mollusks before heading for that subchapter’s acid-soil gardens’ live, small birds. Subchapter 4’s alkaline-soil gardens introduce wild-marjoram (Origanum vulgare, from Latin orīganum vulgāre, “marjoram/oregano”) butterflies, perhaps marbled whites (Melanargia galathea, from Greek μέλᾱς γαλάτεια, “dark-black milk-white").

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse journeys Jane Marple to such Sussex-garden birds and butterflies as rooks and sea gulls, as marbled whites.

Perhaps other butterflies know wild marjoram amidst subchapter 4’s alkaline-gardened blue moss grass, blue-flowering Jacob’s ladder, honeysuckle, lavender, lily of the valley, ornamental clovers and phacelia.

Who other than perhaps rooks and sea gulls (Laridae family, from Greek λάρος -ειδής, “ravenous seabird-like” via Latin larus -idæ) look for birdlets and grubs there? Subchapter 10 mentions Jane Marple outdoors for the dusky evensong of a blackbird species, perhaps the common blackbird (Turdus merula, from Latin turdus merula, “thrush blackbird”). That blackbird perhaps navigates the night-time niches near her or his nest perhaps next to Emmeline Stricket’s acid soil-nourished garden of azaleas, rhododendrons and swamp leather-flower.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse offers Jane Marple observing birds over acid soil-occurring gardens and wild marjoram-oriented butterflies on alkaline soil-occurring plants.

Common blackbirds perhaps peregrinate proximitous to the acid soil-provenanced plants of Emmeline Strickert, longtime pal of Jane Marple, for berry- and fruit-producing plants, earthworms and insects.

Birds other than hummingbirds queue around sugar water-quartering nectar of flowering plants even as they quest their moisture in brook, pond, pool waters; berries; and fruits. Wild-marjoram nectar refreshes butterflies such as marbled whites and perhaps common blackbirds, rooks and sea gulls (from Greek λάρος via Latin Larus cānus, “ravenous seabird gray”). Jane Marple stores in her leather handbag gray wool, perhaps sheared from English goats or rabbits or sheep whom alkaline soil-serviced blue moss grass perhaps satisfies.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse teams birds, butterflies and Jane Marple with razor blade-transmitted tetanus sometimes, sometimes not threatening acid soil-tempered gardens.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Western rooks (Corvus frugilegus frugilegus) affirm for Jane Marple her arrival at the Fishbourne Halt branch train station in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse; "Corvus frugilegus L. Saat-Rabe," with old and young males (1-altes Männchen, 2-junges Männchen. 1/2 natürl. Grösse), illustrated by Dutch bird illustrator Johannes Gerardus Keulemans (J. G. Keulemans; June 8, 1842-March 29, 1912), in Naturgeschichte der Vögel Mitteleuropas (IV Band [1901], Tafel 14, opposite page 112) by German ornithologist Johann Andreas Naumann (April 13, 1744-May 15, 1826): Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/51068440866/; No known copyright issues, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34557141; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rook_paint.jpg

Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare) assures alkaline-soil gardens of marbled white butterflies (Melanargia galathea) in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse; dorsal and ventral views of Melanargia galathea by German entomologist Jacob Hübner (June 20, 1761-Sep. 13, 1826) in Das kleine Schmetterlingsbuch: Die Tagfalter (Insel-Bücherei, Nr. 213), page 18, figures 3, 4; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melanargia_galathea_-_Schachbrett.jpg; Copyright Status Not provided -- Contact Holding Institution to verify copyright status, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43194345; via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/daskleineschmett01hubn/page/18/mode/1up

For further information:

Brickell, Christopher; and Trevor Cole. (Editors-in-Chief). 2002. "Clematis Old man's beard, Travelers' joy." Pages 521-524. The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers. New York NY: DK Publishing, Inc.

Brickell, Christopher; and Trevor Cole. (Editors-in-Chief). 2002. "Phacelia." Page 628. The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers. New York NY: DK Publishing, Inc.

"Clematis crispa." Page 387. In: Hogan, Sean (Chief Consultant). 2003. Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia. Volume I A-K. Portland Or: Timber Press, Inc.

Cranshaw, Whitney. 2004. "Clematis Chewing insects: margined blister beetle, twobanded Japanese weevil. Sucking insects: garden fleahopper, green peach aphid." Page 588. In: Appendix of Host Plant Genera and Associated Insects and Mites." Pages 577-627. Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock Oxfordshire UK: Princeton University Press.

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2024. "Tea Leaves Are Safer in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/tea-leaves-are-safer-in-mystery-of-acid.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2024. "Jane Marple Ambles About The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/jane-marple-ambles-about-mystery-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 March 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil Avails Us of Jane Marple by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-avails-us-of.html

Mosse, Kate. 2022. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil." Pages 299-333. In: Agatha Christie. Marple: Twelve Mysteries. New York NY: William Morrow Imprint, HarperCollins Publishers.

"Phacelia." Pages 1016-1018. In: Hogan, Sean (Chief Consultant). 2003. Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia. Volume I A-K. Portland Or: Timber Press, Inc.

Sheng, Lu; Kongshu Ji; and Liangliang Yu. 24 September 2014. "Karyotype analysis on 11 species of the genus Clematis." Brazilian Journal of Botany 37(2). Springer. Received 11 March 2014. Accepted 1 September 2014. Published online 24 September 2014. Copyrighted 2014 Botanical Society of Sao Paulo. DOI 10.1007/s40415-014-0099-5
Available @ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ji-Kongshu/publication/280713109_Karyotype_analysis_on_11_species_of_the_genus_Clematis/links/5d9df87e299bf13f40d0c881/Karyotype-analysis-on-11-species-of-the-genus-Clematis.pdf

Sugiura, T. 1940. "Studies on the Chromosome Numbers in Higher Plants. IV." Cytologia 10: 324-333.
Available @ https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cytologia1929/10/3/10_3_324/_pdf/-char/ja

Tenenbaum, Frances. (Ed.) "Clematis." Pages 98-100. In: Encyclopedia of Garden Plqnts. Taylor's Guides to Gardening. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Tenenbaum, Frances. (Ed.) "Phacelia." Page 297. In: Encyclopedia of Garden Plqnts. Taylor's Guides to Gardening. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Monday, April 8, Total Solar Eclipse Is First of Two 2024 Solar Eclipses

Summary: The Monday, April 8, total solar eclipse is first of two 2024 solar eclipses, favors North America and numbers second in the year's eclipse lineup.

animation of path of total solar eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse is the first of the year's two solar eclipses, appears second in the 2024 lineup of four eclipses and continentally favors North America.

The path of totality for April's solar eclipse first touches the Earth's surface in the South Pacific Ocean and then swings northward into the North Pacific Ocean. North America is the setting for the path of totality's continental trek. Mexico, the United States and eastern Canada experience totality.

Three states in Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos; English: United Mexican States) participate in the path of totality. The path of totality angles across Durango (Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango; English: Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: Korian; Nahuatl: Tepehuahcan) and Sinaloa (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa; English: Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa) in the northwest and Coahuila (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza; English: Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza) in the northeast.

The path of totality leaves Mexico for the United States at the Coahuila-Texas border. The path traverses Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Six provinces in Canada fall within the path of totality. The path arcs through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

"The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse through the eyes of NASA" map shows path of totality and partiality's contours of obscuration, or percentage of the sun’s area covered by the moon, crossing the U.S. for the 2024 total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024; created by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, Visualizers Michala Garrison (lead; SSAI) and Ernie Wright (USRA), Technical support Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.) and Laurence Schuler; released Monday, July 10, 2023; updated Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 2:34 p.m.: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

April's total solar eclipse begins as a partial solar eclipse and then segues to a total solar eclipse. The lunar eclipse completes totality and subsequently terminates with the end of partiality.

First external contact of the edge of the shadow's penumbra (Latin: penumbra, from paene, “almost," + umbra, “shadow”), that is, the lunar shadow's outer, lighter portion, with Earth's surface occasions the April event's initial partial eclipse. In a partial solar eclipse, the moon's interjection between Earth and the sun involves only partial coverage of the solar disk by the moon. The partial solar eclipse starts Monday, April 8, at 15:42:11.8 Universal Time UT1, according to eclipse predictions by retired NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) astrophysicist Fred Espenak on his EclipseWise website. Universal Time UT1 equates to 5:42 a.m. Tahiti Time TAHT; 9:42 a.m. Central Standard Time CST; 11:42 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time EDT; 5:42 p.m. Central European Summer Time CEST).

The penumbral shadow contacts Earth's surface at 14 degrees 57.7 minutes south latitude, 143 degrees 06.0 minutes west longitude. This first external penumbral contact point occurs in the South Pacific Ocean, in French Polynesia (French: Polynésie française; Tahitian: Porinetia Farani), an overseas collectivity of France (French Republic; French: République française).

The contact point lies in the Tuamotu Archipelago (French: Archipel des Tuamotu; Tuamotuan: Tuamotus; Tahitian: Paumotus), one of French Polynesia's five archipelaos. The contact point is sited northeast of Bora Bora (French: Bora-Bora; Tahitian: Pora Pora) in French Polynesia's Society Islands Archipelago (French: Archipel de la Société; Tahitian: Totaiete ma) and southwest of Fatu Hiva, southernmost island in French Polynesia's Marquesas Islands Archipelago (French: Archipel des Marquises; North Marquesan: Te Henua ʻEnana; South Marquesan: Te Fenua ʻEnata (South Marquesan). Fatu Hiva inspired theories of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between the pre-European Polynesians and the peoples and cultures of South America postulated by Norwegian anthropologist, explorer and navigator Thor Heyerdahl (Oct. 6, 1914-April 18, 2002) during his 1937-1938 residence on the shield volcano island formed from two interlocking calderas.

The first external umbral contact initiates April's total solar eclipse. This first fall of the edge of the umbra, the darkest, innermost shadow cone, registers at 16:38:49.3 UT1 (6:38 a.m. TAHT; 10:38 a.m. CST; 12:38 p.m. EDT; 6:38 p.m. CEST). The contact point touches Earth's surface at 08 degrees 02.1 minutes south latitude, 158 degrees 12.9 minutes west longitude. This point in the South Pacific Ocean lies slightly northwest of Penrhyn Atoll, northernmost of the Cook Islands (Maori: Kuki 'Airani).

The total solar eclipse's first internal umbral contact involves the first fall of the entire umbral shadow on Earth's surface. This umbral contact occurs at 16:41:06.6 UT1 (6:41 a.m. TAHT; 10:41 a.m. CST; 12:41 p.m. EDT; 6:41 p.m. CEST) at 07 degrees 36.1 minutes south latitude, 158 degrees 50.8 minutes west longitude. This contact point recedes a little more to the northwest of Penrhyn Atoll.

The partial solar eclipse's first internal contact of the penumbral shadow entails the first fall of the entire penumbral shadow on Earth's surface. This first internal penumbral contact takes place at 17:44:57.7 UT1 (7:44 a.m. TAHT; 11:44 a.m. CST; 1:44 p.m. EDT; 7:44 p.m. CEST). Contact with Earth's surface occurs at 19 degrees 45.3 minutes south latitude, 178 degrees 34.2 minutes west longitude. This contact point is located in the North Pacific Ocean, in a triangle anchored by United States Minor Outlying Pacific Islands, with Wake Island (Marshallese: Anen Kio, "island of the kio flower") to the west, Johnston Atoll to the southeast and Midway Atoll (Hawaiian: Kauihelani, "the backbone of heaven"; Hawaiian: Pihemanu, "the loud din of birds") to the north.

visibility regions of Monday, April 8, 2024, partial solar eclipse and path of totality of total solar eclipse; courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Greatest eclipse defines the instant of the closest passage of the axis of the lunar shadow cone to Earth's center. This instant occurs at 18:17:17.9 UT1 (8:17 a.m. TAHT; 12:17 p.m. CST; 2:17 p.m. EDT; 8:17 p.m. CEST) at 25 degrees 17.4 minutes north latitude, 104 degrees 08.3 minutes west longitude. Greatest eclipse is positioned at Nazas municipality (municipio de Nazas) in northwestern Mexico's state of Durango (Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango; English: Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: Korian; Nahuatl: Tepehuahcan).

The partial solar eclipse's last internal penumbral contact happens at 18:49:12.4 UT1 (8:49 a.m. TAHT; 12:49 p.m. CST; 2:49 p.m. EDT; 8:49 p.m. CEST) at 74 degrees 10.7 minutes north latitude, 016 degrees 11.3 minutes east longitude. This last internal penumbral contact point is sited in the Norwegian Sea (Norwegian: Norskehavet; Icelandic: Noregshaf; Faroese: Norskahavið), south of the Svalbard Archipelago's largest island, Spitsbergen (Norwegian: Vest Spitsbergen or Vestspitsbergen, southwest of Svalbard's southernmost island, Bear Island (Norwegian: Bjørnøya) and northeast of Norway's Arctic volcanic island of Jan Mayen and of Iceland (Icelandic: Ísland).

The total solar eclipse's last internal contact pertains to the last fall of the entire umbral shadow on Earth's surface. This last internal umbral contact happens at 19:53:18.9 UT1 (9:53 a.m. TAHT; 1:53 p.m. CST; 3:53 p.m. EDT; 9:53 p.m. CEST) at 47 degrees 49.9 minutes north latitude, 019 degrees 26.3 minutes west longitude. The wide expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean, distantly west of the port city of Brest in Brittany's (French: Bretagne; Breton: Breizh; Gallo: Bertaèyn) extreme western Finistère department, is the setting for this contact.

The total solar eclipse's last external umbral contact designates the last fall of the edge of the umbral shadow on Earth's surface. This last external umbral contact takes place at 19:55:34.2 UT1 (9:55 a.m. TAHT; 1:55 p.m. CST; 3:55 p.m. EDT; 9:55 p.m. CEST) at 47 degrees 24.7 minutes north latitude, 020 degrees 07.6 minutes west longitude. The wide expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean, distantly southwest of Brest and north of the transatlantic port of Saint-Nazaire (Breton: Sant-Nazer/Señ Neñseir; Gallo: Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer) in western Brittany's Loire-Atlantique (Gallo: Liger-Atlantel; Breton: Liger-Atlantel) department, catches this exit point from Earth's surface.

April's event terminates with the end of the partial solar eclipse. The last fall of the penumbral shadow's edge on Earth signals the end of the partial solar eclipse. This last external penumbral contact is slated for 20:52:18.9 UT1 (10:52 a.m. TAHT; 2:52 p.m. CST; 4:52 p.m. EDT; 10:52 p.m. CEST) at 40 degrees 33.0 minutes north latitude, 036 degrees 06.0 minutes west longitude. This spot in the North Pacific Ocean lies northwest of Vila do Corvo and Flores Island (Portuguese: Ilha das Flores) in the Western Group of the Azores Archipelago (Portuguese: Arquipélago dos Açores). The Azores comprise one of two autonomous regions of Portugal (Portuguese: Regiões Autónomas de Portugal) that combine with the Portuguese mainland (Portuguese: Portugal continental) to form Portugal (Portuguese Republic; Portuguese: República Portuguesa).

April's total solar eclipse occupies the second appearance in the lineup of four eclipses in 2024. It was preceded by the year's first eclipse, which occurred Monday, March 25, as a penumbral lunar eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse on Wednesday, Sep. 18, succeeds April's solar eclipse as the year's third eclipse. An annular solar eclipse on Wednesday, Oct. 2, numbers as the second of the year's two solar eclipses and closes the 2024 eclipse lineup as the year's fourth and last eclipse.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

animation of path of total solar eclipse Monday, April 8, 2024: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2024Apr08T.gif

Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse details: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2024Apr08T.GIF

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Explanation of Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration." EclipseWise > Eclipse Preview: 2021 Through 2030 > Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2024 > Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Apr 08 > Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Eclipse Data: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEgreatest.html

Espenak, Fred. "Explanation of Penumbral Contacts and Extremes for Solar Eclipses." EclipseWise > Eclipse Preview: 2021 Through 2030 > Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2024 > Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Apr 08 > Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Explanation of Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEpenumbrakey.html

Espenak, Fred. "Explanation of Umbral Contacts and Extremes for Solar Eclipses." EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Preview: 2022 through 2030 > Solar Eclipse Prime Page: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Eclipse Data: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEumbrakey.html

Espenak, Fred. "Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration." EclipseWise > Eclipse Preview: 2021 Through 2030 > Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2024 > Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Apr 08 > Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Eclipse Data: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2024Apr08Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. "Solar Eclipse Prime Page: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08." EclipseWise > Eclipse Preview: 2021 Through 2030 > Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2024 > Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Apr 08.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2024Apr08Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. "Total Eclipse of the Sun: April 08, 2024." EclipseWise > Recent and Upcoming Eclipses > Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 April 08.
Available via EclipseWise @ https://eclipsewise.com/2024/2024.html

Espenak, Fred. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future > Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses: Decades 2021-2030 > 2024 Apr 08.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2024Apr08T.GIF

Espenak, Fred. "Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08." EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Preview: 2022 through 2030 > Solar Eclipse Prime Page: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08 > Eclipse Data: Total Solar Eclipse of 2024 Apr 08.
Marriner, Derdriu. "Alaska Airlines Flight 870 Adjusted for Solar Eclipse Chasers." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/alaska-airlines-flight-870-adjusted-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Aug. 31, 1932, Total Solar Eclipse Was Second of Two Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/08/aug-31-1932-total-solar-eclipse-was.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Favors 12 States in the United States." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/08/august-2017-total-solar-eclipse-favors.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Howard Butler and Herbert Tschudy Drew June 8, 1918, Total Solar Eclipse." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 21, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/07/howard-butler-and-herbert-tschudy-drew.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "June 8, 1937, Total Solar Eclipse Was First of Two 1937 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/june-8-1937-total-solar-eclipse-was.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "March 8 to 9, 2016, Total Solar Eclipse Path Crosses Indonesia." Earth and Space News. Friday, March 4, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/march-8-to-9-2016-total-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Monday, Dec. 14, Total Solar Eclipse Is Second 2020 Solar Eclipse." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/12/monday-dec-14-total-solar-eclipse-is.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday, Dec. 4, Total Solar Eclipse Closes 2021 Eclipse Quartet." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/saturday-dec-4-total-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Second 2012 Solar Eclipse Is Total Solar Eclipse Tuesday, Nov. 13." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/11/second-2012-solar-eclipse-is-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Total Solar Eclipse July 2 Is Second of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/total-solar-eclipse-july-2-is-second-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Total Solar Eclipse June 8, 1918, Was First of Two 1918 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 16, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/total-solar-eclipse-june-8-1918-was.html

Time and Date. "Apr 8, 2024 -- Total Solar Eclipse in the United States." Time and Date > Sun & Moon > Eclipses > United States.
Available via Time and Date @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa?iso=20240408

Monday, March 25, 2024

Verdi Requiem Is March 30, 2024, Met Opera Saturday Radio Matinee

Summary: The Verdi Requiem is the March 30, 2024, Met Opera Saturday radio matinee, airing as 17th of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee broadcasts.

As feline admirers, the Metropolitan Opera's French Canadian conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and his spouse, Pierre Tourville, violist with Montréal's Orchestre Métropolitain (OM), include felines Rodolfo, Melisande and Rafa in their family life; Saturday, Sep. 23, 2023, image of Met Opera's maestro enjoying feline companionship with Rafa three to four days prior to his conductorship of the 2023-2024 season's Metropolitan Opera premiere of Heggie's Dead Man Walking on Tuesday, Sep. 26, 2023, and of the next evening's opening performance of Verdi's Requiem: Yannick Nezet-Seguin, via Facebook Sep. 23, 2023

The Verdi Requiem is the March 30, 2024, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the 17th of the 2023-2024 season's lineup of 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Messa da Requiem by 19th-century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) received three performances in the 2023-2024 season. The first through third performances, numbering as the opera company's 55th through 57th performances of Verdi's Requiem, took place Wednesday, Sep. 27, 2023; Friday, Sep. 29, 2023; and Saturday, Sep. 30, 2023. The March 30, 2024, Saturday matinee radio broadcast plays the opening performance of Wednesday, Sep. 27.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted all three performances. Maestro Nézet-Séguin's conductorship of Verdi's Requiem in the 2023-2024 season numbers as his second season as Requiem conductor. He added Verdi's memorial mass to his Met Opera portfolio on Saturday, Sep. 11, 2021, for the opera company's "Verdi's Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11," a concert presented in association with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The French Canadian conductor and pianist had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, in the opera company's 946th performance of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875).

The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and four soloists performed the Requiem with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Chorus Master Donald Palumbo directed the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in all three performances. Donald Palumbo's preparation of the chorus in spring 2006 for the 2006-2007 season's debut of American director, choreographer and dancer Mark Morris's (born Aug. 29, 1956) new production of Christoph von Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice marked the American director, choreographer and dancer's first aassociation with the Metropolitan Opera, according to American opera and classical music critic Peter G. (Graffam) Davis (March 3, 1936-Feb. 13, 2021) in "The Lone Voice That Unites the Chorus," published Oct. 30, 2008, in The New York Times. Donald Palumbo assumed the permanent position of Chorus Master in September 2006. He will retire as Chorus Master at the end of the 2023-2024 season, according to the Metropolitan Opera's press release, "Met Chorus Master Donald Palumbo to step down after almost 20 years," dated Sep. 18, 2023.

Leah Hawkins sang as the Requiem's solo soprano in all three performances. The American soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, as an Alms Collector in the opera company's 75th performance of Suor Angelica by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Karen Cargill appeared as the Requiem's solo mezzo-soprano in all three performances. The Scottish mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut April 24, 2012, as Waltraute in the opera company’s 231st performance of Götterdämmerung by 19th-century German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Matthew Polenzani sang as the Requiem's solo tenor in all three performances. The American lyric tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 19, 1997, as Khrushchov in the opera company’s 251st performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881).

Dmitry Belosselskiy appeared as the Requiem's solo bass. The Ukrainian bass had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, in the opera company's 54th performance of Verdi's Nabucco.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of the Verdi Requiem Mass took place Sunday, Feb. 17, 1901. The premiere commemorated Verdi's death, which occurred in the previous month, January 1901. Verdi Requiem Mass received four performances in the 1900-1901 season. The second through fourth performances took place Sunday, March 3; Sunday, March 17; and Sunday, April 7. The first three performances, which were held at the Metropolitan Opera House, 1411 Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan's Garment District, were offered as the 1900-1901 season's Ninth Grand Sunday Night Concert, Eleventh Grand Sunday Night Concert and Thirteenth Grand Sunday Night Concert, respectively. The fourth performance occurred as a Grand Sacred Concert at Boston Theatre, Washington Street, downtown Boston, eastern coastal Massachusetts.

Verdi composed Messa da Requiem as a memorial mass for his friend, Italian dramatist, novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni (March 7, 1785-May 22, 1873). The Verdi Requiem's first performance was held on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death, Tuesday, May 22, 1874. The performance took place at Chiesa di San Marco (Church of San Marco), Piazza San Marco, historic central Milan, Lombardy region, northwestern Italy.

Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore broadcasts April 6, at 1:00 p.m. as the 18th of the 2023-2024 season's Saturday matinee radio broadcasts. The Saturday matinee plays Met Opera's April 6, 1974, performance of Donizetti's melodramma giocoso (comic melodrama) about distilling true love from a fake love potion.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

Rochester, New York-born American choral conductor and vocal coach Donald Palumbo (born 1948) has guided the Metropolitan Opera Chorus as Chorus Master since September 2006: Met Opera Chorus, via Facebook Sep. 27, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOperaChorus/posts/864793981670473

For further information:

Davis, Peter G. "The Lone Voice That Unites the Chorus." The New York Times > Arts > Music. Oct. 30, 2008.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/arts/music/02davi.html

"Debut: Brian Michael Moore, Yi Li, Sharon Azrieli, Jessica Faselt, Leah Hawkins, Kristina Mkhitaryan." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357045 Il Trittico Il Tabarro Suor Angelica Gianni Schicchi Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 23, 2018 Broadcast. Debut: Brian Michael Moore, Yi Li, Sharon Azrieli, Jessica Faselt, Leah Hawkins, Kristina Mkhitaryan. Il Trittico (75) Giacomo Puccini.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0386506

"Debut: Constantin Pluzhnikov, Olga Borodina, Iosef Shalamayev, Nikolai Gassiev, Daniel Sumegi, Matthew Polenzani." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330264 Boris Godunov Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, December 19, 1997. Debut: Constantin Pluzhnikov, Olga Borodina, Iosef Shalamayev, Nikolai Gassiev, Daniel Sumegi, Matthew Polenzani. Boris Godunov (251) Modest Mussorgsky / Modest Mussorgsky.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0381398

"Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354136 Nabucco Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, November 5, 2011. Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy. Nabucco (54) Giuseppe Verdi / Temistocle Solera.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384821

"Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354136 Nabucco {54} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/05/2011. (Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy) Metropolitan Opera House November 5, 2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354136

"Debut: Karen Cargill." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354490 Götterdämmerung Ring Cycle [109] Uncut Metropolitan Opera House, Tue, April 24, 2012. Debut: Karen Cargill. Götterdämmerung (231) Richard Wagner / Richard Wagner.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384994

"Debut: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Elizabeth Caballero, Maria Kowroski, Martin Harvey, Richard Eyre, Rob Howell, Irene Bohan." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353274 New Production Carmen Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, December 31, 2009 Broadcast. Debut: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Elizabeth Caballero, Maria Kowroski, Martin Harvey, Richard Eyre, Rob Howell, Irene Bohan. Carmen (946) Georges Bizet / Henri Meilhac/Ludovic Halévy.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384395

"Debuts: Brian Michael Moore, YI Li, Jessica Faselt, Sharon Azrieli, Leah Hawkins, Kristina Mkhitaryan." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357063 Il Trittico {75} Il Tabarro {81} Suor Angelica {75} Gianni Schicchi {139} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/23/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357063

“Debuts: Constantin Pluzhnikov, Olga Borodina, Iosef Shalamayev, Nikolai Gassiev, Daniel Sumegi, Matthew Polenzani.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330264 Boris Godunov {251} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/19/1997.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=330264

"Debuts: Karen Cargill." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354490 Götterdämmerung {231} Ring Cycle [109] Uncut. Metropolitan Opera House: 04/24/2012.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354490

"Debuts: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Richard Eyre, Rob Howell, Irene Bohan, Elizabeth Caballero, Maria Kowroski, Martin Harvey." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353274 New Production Carmen {946} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2009. Sirius and XM Metropolitan Opera Broadcast New Year's Eve Gala.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355517

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Premieres Verdi Requiem and The Magic Flute Nov. 24 and 25." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/11/met-opera-premieres-verdi-requiem-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Music Director Emeritus James Levine Conducts Mozart and Verdi in 2017-2018." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 3, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/07/music-director-emeritus-james-levine.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Verdi Requiem Is First 2017-2018 Saturday Matinee Broadcast Dec. 2." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/11/verdi-requiem-is-first-2017-2018.html

Met Opera Chorus. "Last week, Donald Palumbo announced that this season will be his final full-time season as our Chorus Master. As we embark on this new season, we reflect on all he has brought to the opera house, his dedication and musicianship, and above all his hard work. Over the past 17 seasons Maestro Palumbo has meticulously built the Metropolitan Opera Chorus into the best opera and symphonic chorus in the world. Each of us have our own story of the day we entered this amazing group of singers, and together we have cultivated a sound, a flexibility, and a skill set that is unmatched in the world. We are grateful to Maestro Palumbo for his leadership and tireless work with our group and we hope you join us in wishing him the best in his final season at The Metropolitan Opera. This meticulous and thorough preparation will be in evidence tonight as we sing our first Verdi Requiem of the season. There are only three performances, and there are just a few tickets left for tonight. We have an outstanding quartet of soloists in Leah Hawkins, Karen Cargill, Matthew Polenzani, and Dmitri Belosselskiy. And our Music Director Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts us along with the peerless Met Orchestra. Please join us in person or listen live on SiriusXM station 355 at 7:00pm." Facebook. Sep. 27, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOperaChorus/posts/864793981670473

The Metropolitan Opera. "Met Chorus Master Donald Palumbo to step down after almost 20 years." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/met-chorus-master-donald-palumbo--to-step-down-after-almost-20-years/

The Metropolitan Opera. "The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2023–24 season, with the most new works in the company’s modern history." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere, New Production: Verdi Requiem." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 26100. Metropolitan Opera Premiere, New Production Verdi Requiem Mass Ninth Grand Sunday Night Concert Metropolitan Opera House, Sun, February 17, 1901. Verdi Requiem Mass (1) Giuseppe Verdi.
Available via Facebook @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0359479

Tompkins, Eugene. The History of the Boston Theatre, 1854-1901. Compiled with the assistance of Quincy Kilby. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company; Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1908.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/historyofbostont00tomp/

Yannick Nezet-Seguin. "Home sweet home in Montreal, finding purr-fect harmony with my feline friend before a week of music and magic! 'Home sweet home' à Montréal, je retrouve l’harmonie parrrrrrfaite avec mes amis les chats avant une semaine de musique et de magie!⁣" Facebook. Sep. 23, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/yannicknezetseguinofficial/posts/861540512002568
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=861540502002569&set=pb.100044398810534.-2207520000

Friday, March 22, 2024

Tea Leaves Are Safer in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse

Summary: Tea leaves are safer in The Mystery of the Acid Soil short story by Kate Mosse for Marple: Twelve New Mysteries copyrighted by Agatha Christie Limited.

Tea leaves are safer than razor blades for Jane Marple in The Mystery of the Acid Soil short story by Kate Mosse for Marple: Twelve New Mysteries copyrighted by Agatha Christie Limited.

Agatha Christie Limited brings us Sep. 13, 2022, to its 14-book Marple Collection, the book Marple: Twelve New Mysteries, beneath the HarperCollins Publishers’ William Morrow imprint. The Kate Mosse contribution claims the 11th, next-last chapter, which she constructs as 10 configurations 299-300, 301-306, 306-313, 313-317, 317-320, 320-321, 321-323, 323-325, 326-327 and 327-333. The first division, in its next-last sentence, delivers us a jasmine hedge that distracts Jane Marple with its possible daring to “run riot” (Mosse: page 300).

The second subchapter entertains us with Jane Marple employing her trees with their cherry and their plum-like damson fruits to enjoy cherry brandy and damson gin.

The third subchapter furnishes us with ornamentally horticultural features of trailing roses figuring around a “flint-faced” (Mosse:306) door and of lavender flourishing along the cottage path.

That same subchapter 3 greets us with the black-green, waxy foliage of such acid soil-growable, back yard-growing plants as azaleas, rhododendrons and swamp leatherflowers (Clematis crispa). It has in that same back yard a cane table and two wicker chairs, the former and the latter of which herald from the rattan vine. It invokes edible grains in barley, corn, rye or wheat ingredients in its whisky imbibed by Dr. J. Barden and white oak in that whisky’s aging.

Subchapter 4 of The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse joins marmalade, tea leaves and toast from orange and tea trees and corn-/rye-/wheat-floured bread.

The fourth subchapter keepsakes an unknown species of ash tree in Jane Marple’s ash walking stick even as it knows no garden moss and thatch species.

The aforementioned Salthill Road garden lodges lily of the valley; mauve-blooming phacelia, which leads to improved soil health and quality; ornamental clovers; and butterfly-loving wild marjoram. It manifests blue-flowering Jacob’s ladder; blue moss grass; lavender maintained along its paths; and honeysuckle even as subchapter 4 and subchapter 10 mention its lime pits. Alkaline soil-needy plants such as those niched in the Cooper garden necessitate alkali nutrients in the burned or the watered chalk or limestone from lime pits.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse observes tea leaves safer than razor blades for acid, below-7, and lime pits for alkaline above-7, pH.

Subchapters 3 and 4 respectively present wicker chairs and house thatching as willow-, rattan-, reed- or bamboo-provenanced and as straw-, water reed-, sedge-, rush- or palm-provenanced.

Subchapter 7 quarters maize-, malted barley-, oat, rice- or wheat-provenanced beer; pine-needle-provenanced tobacco even as subchapters 3 and 10 queue barley-, corn-, rye- or wheat-provenanced whisky. Unrecognized plant parts such as non-woody and woody leaves, woody-plant needles and bush, shrub, tree and vine bark realize high-temperature fires that render alkaline soil-pH ranges. Subchapter 7 shelters semi-acid, semi-alkaline soil-seeking lilacs and, similarizing subchapter 3, acid soil-seeking rhododendrons even as subchapter 10, similarizing subchapter 1, showcases acid soil-seeking jasmine hedge.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse travels through one alkaline soil-trending garden and two acid soil-trending gardens, one safer through tetanus-proof tea leaves.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

Jane Marple appreciates hot tea with her acquaintance, Emmeline Strickert. Tea trees such as the applauded Camellia sinensis are amenable to English ambiances such as those in the Chichester area that assembles the two acquaintances for The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse: illustration of "Camellia Thea Lk.," in Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen Atlas (Band II [1898], Tafeln 136), based upon original in Berlin by German botanical illustrator Carl Friedrich Schmidt (1811-1890), with (center) naturally-sized flowering branch, (lower left) cross-section of flower and (lower right) fruits with seeds (Tafelbeschreibung: A blühender Zweig, natürl. Grösse; 1 Blüthe im Längsschnitt, vergrössert; 2 Staubgefäss, desgl.; 3 Fruchtknoten im Querschnitt, desgl.; 4 Stempel mit Kelch, desgl.; 5 u. 6 reife Frucht von verschiedenen Seiten, mit Samen, natürl. Grösse; 7 Same mit Bindrücken der verkümmerten Samenknospen, desgl.; 8 derselbe zerschnitten, desgl.; 9 Embryo, desgl. Nach einter Originalzeichnung des Herrn Professor Schmidt in Berlin): Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/8231734373/; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/303208; Public Domain, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/mobot31753002839121/page/136/mode/1up; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Santalum_album_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-128.jpg

Jane Marple and Emmeline Strickert perhaps assign to orange trees (Citrus sinensis) an assuaging association for assuring them their tea-time marmalade in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse; "Oranger de Majorque, Arancio di Majorca," illustrated by Pierre-Antoine Poiteau (March 23, 1766-Feb. 27, 1854), French botanist, gardener and botanical artist, in Histoire et culture des orangers (nouvelle édition, MDCCCLXXII [1872], Tab. 14; 19. Planche XIV, pages 30-31), co-authored with Niçois naturalist Giuseppe Antonio Risso (April 8, 1777-Aug. 25, 1845): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Histoire_et_culture_des_orangers_A._Risso_et_A._Poiteau._--_Paris_Henri_Plon,_Editeur,_1872.jpg; Public Domain, Google-digitized, via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.086806206&seq=283; via Google Read free of charge @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Histoire_et_culture_des_orangers/gwc0AQAAMAAJ

For further information:

Brickell, Christopher; and Trevor Cole. (Editors-in-Chief). 2002. "Phacelia." Page 628. The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers. New York NY: DK Publishing, Inc.

"Clematis crispa." Page 387. In: Hogan, Sean (Chief Consultant). 2003. Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia. Volume I A-K. Portland Or: Timber Press, Inc.

Mosse, Kate. 2022. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil." Pages 299-333. In: Agatha Christie. Marple: Twelve Mysteries. New York NY: William Morrow Imprint, HarperCollins Publishers.

"Phacelia." Pages 1016-1018. In: Hogan, Sean (Chief Consultant). 2003. Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia. Volume I A-K. Portland Or: Timber Press, Inc.

Sugiura, T. 1940. "Studies on the Chromosome Numbers in Higher Plants. IV." Cytologia 10: 324-333.
Available @ https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cytologia1929/10/3/10_3_324/_pdf/-char/ja

Tenenbaum, Frances. (Ed.) "Clematis." Pages 98-100. In: Encyclopedia of Garden Plqnts. Taylor's Guides to Gardening. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Tenenbaum, Frances. (Ed.) "Phacelia." Page 297. In: Encyclopedia of Garden Plqnts. Taylor's Guides to Gardening. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.