Peltandra virginica: Arrow Arum or Tuckahoe of New World Wetlands

Summary: Peltandra virginica is a New World aquatic perennial of eastern Canada and U.S. wetlands. Green Arrow Arum, aka tuckahoe, has arrowhead shaped leaves.

Green Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica), Colonial National Historic Park, Jamestown Island, southeastern Virginia; Sunday, April 18, 2010, 14:30:12: Maggie McCain, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Peltandra virginica (pel-TAN-dra vir-JIN-ee-ca) is a New World wetland plant in the often toxic Araceae family.

The flowering perennial is native to eastern Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and to the eastern United States, from Maine westward to Minnesota and southward to Florida and Texas.

In the United States, Peltandra virginica is especially common in the Atlantic coastal plain and along the Gulf Coast.

Peltandra virginica is known commonly in English as Arrow Arum, Green Arrow Arum or Tuckahoe (Powhatan: tockawhouge).

Tuckahoe (TUHK-uh-hoh) grows in such freshwater wetlands as bogs, ditches, marshes, ponds, sloughs, and swamps. The aquatic plant needs wet soils, thriving in up to 12-inch (30.48-centimeter) deep standing water.

closeup of leaves of Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott, known traditionally as green arrow arum or tuckahoe; Robert H. Mohlenbrock/USDA SCS (Soil Conservation Service), Southern Wetland Flora Field Guide to Plant Species (Fort Worth TX: South National Technical Center, 1991): "This image is not copyrighted and may be freely used for any purpose," via USDA PLANTS Database

As an emergent aquatic, Tuckahoe features roots grounded in watery bottoms while other plant parts rise above the water level. Tuckahoe’s root is actually a modified, underground stem known botanically as a rhizome (Ancient Greek: ῥίζα, rhíza, “root”).

Glossy green leaves top slender stems that measure heights of up to 30 inches (76.2 centimers; 0.76 meters).

Arrowhead-shaped leaves easily attains lengths of 12 to 20+ inches (30.48 to 50.8 centimeters).

Tiny, greenish yellow-to-white flowers open profusely from late spring to early summer as spiked blooms typical of the arum or aroid family, the Araceae.

Cylindrical, creamy to pale yellow spikes, known as spadices (spay-DIE-seez), 4 to 8 inches (10.16 to 20.32 centimeters) in length, sport male flowers above female flowers. Flowers exude a musty, resinous fragrance that attracts its primary pollinator, Elachiptera formosa, a small fly in the Chloropidae family of frit and grass flies.

After flowering, oval clusters of green-brown berries emerge lower on spadices, which bend downward from the weight of mature berries into the water.

Seeds, dispersed by floating berries into the water, sink to the bottom, where germination may occur. Propagation also may be effected vegetatively via rhizome division.

As a member of the often toxic Araceae family, Tuckahoe contains toxic calcium oxalate raphides (Ancient Greek: ῥαφίς, rhaphis, “needle”) in foliage and rhizomes that induce burning sensations and painful swelling of membranes and skin in humans.

Native Americans rendered Tuckahoe edible by destroying the needle-like crystals via prolonged cooking and drying.

A cherished delicacy was the natural cocoa-like flavor of berries and spadices.

Tuckahoe prettifies the landscape of the ephemeral stream and vernal pool on the wild western border of my lawn. Backyard gardening also favors the aesthetic display of Tuckahoe's arrowhead-shaped leaves in ponds and pots.

Although occasionally intrigued by the delicious reputation of berries and spadices as tasty delicacies, I focus on Tuckahoe’s natural beauty and leave edibility to avian patrons such as king rails (Rallus elegans) and Carolina ducks (Aix sponsa).

Peltandra virginica in Old Botanical Garden of Göttingen University, Lower Saxony, northeastern Germany; Saturday, May 2, 2009, 11:26: Miguel Andrade, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Green Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica), Colonial National Historic Park, Jamestown Island, southeastern Virginia; Sunday, April 18, 2010, 14:30:12: Maggie McCain, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/vamcmag/4535508910/

closeup of leaves of Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott, known traditionally as green arrow arum or tuckahoe; Robert H. Mohlenbrock/USDA SCS (Soil Conservation Service), Southern Wetland Flora Field Guide to Plant Species (Fort Worth TX: South National Technical Center, 1991): "This image is not copyrighted and may be freely used for any purpose," via USDA PLANTS Database @ https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=PEVI

Peltandra virginica in Old Botanical Garden of Göttingen University, Lower Saxony, northeastern Germany; Saturday, May 2, 2009, 11:26: Miguel Andrade, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peltandra_virginica_MA.jpg

For further information:

“Arrow Arum Peltandra virginica.” Illinois Wildflowers.
Available @ http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/arrow_arum.html

Green Deane. “Tuckahoe, Arrow Arum.” Eat the Weeds > Plants, Roots/Tubers/Corms.
Available @ http://www.eattheweeds.com/peltandra-virginica-starch-storer-2/

Pyrocumulus Clouds: Fire Clouds Produced by Volcanoes and Wildfires

Summary: Pyrocumulus clouds form in the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, as fire clouds produced by volcanoes and wildfires.

pyrocumulus clouds produced by wildfire in Yellowstone National Park; Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, 15:06: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Pyrocumulus clouds are formed in the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth’s five-layered atmosphere, by intense heat from the Earth’s surface. The cloud’s name reflects these origins: pyro (Latin: pyra, “funeral pile, pyre” from Ancient Greek: πῦρ, pûr, “fire”) and cumulus (Latin: cumulus, “heap, pile”). As low-level clouds, cumulus clouds float usually at altitudes of less than 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) within the six- to 11-mile (9.6- to 17-kilometer) upward stretch of the troposphere.

As residents of the layer mostly responsible for Earth’s day-to-day weather, cumulus clouds are responsive to such transforming triggers as convective instability via vertical movement of differently heated air parcels; dynamic instability via horizontal movement of air from such forces as Coriolis (deflection of movement to right in Northern Hemisphere, to left in Southern Hemisphere) and pressure gradients; and moisture.

Intensely heated air on the Earth’s surface rises via the process of convection from points of instability to a point of stability. Intense heat sources include such thermal phenomena as jet streams, nuclear weapon detonation, volcanic eruptions and wildfires.

The turbulent fluffiness of pyrocumulus clouds displays brown to gray to yellowish brown colors, often with fiery orange or red accents.

Are pyrocumulus clouds helpful or scary? Their helpfulness shows up as moisture in the cloud that may help to extinguish wildfires by condensing and falling as rain.

Pyrocumulus clouds also are scary. A large forest fire may encourage continued growth in its cloudy creation, leading to an extreme offshoot, a pyrocumulonimbus (Latin: nimbus, “dark cloud, rain cloud”) cloud of increased height. Pyrocumulonimbus clouds may reach altitudes of four to 13 miles (seven to 21 kilometers) as they puff up from the upper troposophere and tropopause to the lower stratosphere. Pyrocumulonimbus clouds unleash such monstrous complications as hail, lightning and tornadoes.

As products of hot scenarios, pyrocumulus clouds appear as photogenic, unforgettable rain-gifting saviors or pyrocumulonimbus-shapeshifting terrors in turbulent skies.

pyrocumulus clouds over Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, 19:41: Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

pyrocumulus clouds produced by wildfire in Yellowstone National Park; Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, 15:06: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wildfire_in_Yellowstone_Natinal_Park_produces_Pyrocumulus_clouds1.jpg

pyrocumulus clouds over Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, 19:41: Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrocumulus_clouds_over_LA.jpg;
Eric Chan (maveric2003), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/47983324@N00/3886735009/

Tree Friendly Urban Soil Management: Amend, Fertilize, Mulch, Till!

Summary: Tree friendly urban soil management relies upon inorganic, microbial, organic, pH-adjusting amendments, fertilizers, mulches, plants and tillage.

Volcano mulching is an improper technique in which mulch is piled high up a tree's trunk; when applied properly, mulching is an easy, effective technique for improving urban soil quality and tree health: Robert Benjamin/Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images

The article Managing Soils That Support Urban Trees (Part Two), in Arborist News for August 2015, applies for soil modification inorganic, microbial, organic and pH-adjusting amendments, fertilizers, mulches, specialty plants and tillage.

Amendments bring biological, chemical and physical improvements: altered moisture content and power of hydrogen (pH); decreased contaminants and density; increased aggregation and fertility; and managed salinity. Coarse-textured materials and compost both correct organic matter content and respectively contribute to drainage and porosity in coarse-textured clay and moisture and nutrients in fine-textured sand. Low moisture content drives transportation costs down on weed seed-free composted and wood chip organic amendments compatible with soil pH and low in conductivity and salinity.

Ash, calcined clay, diatomaceous earth, expanded shale, expanded slate, gravel, perlite, sintered fly, vermiculite versus chips, compost, fresh manure, microbial inoculants exemplify inorganic versus organic amendments.

Amendments and mulches fight against compaction, erosion and temperature changes even though inorganic mulches furnish greater stability during high winds and for aggregation, microbes and nutrients.

Inorganic amendments generate lightweight soil mixes, grapple heavyweight loads with compaction-free after- and side-effects and guarantee porosity while organic mulches guard soil air and moisture levels. Soil pHs have best matches with tree species preferences and hold complicated scenarios of heading into original ranges whenever applications of acidifying or alkalizing amendments halt. Ammonium urea and protein-based amino acid fertilizers somewhat effectively, elemental sulfur and iron sulfate preferentially and potentially toxic aluminum sulfate reluctantly impel pHs into acidic ranges.

Calcium or magnesium carbonate, dolomitic lime with magnesium, pelletized or pulverized lime and wood ash jump pHs into alkaline levels in tree friendly urban soil management.

Excessive concentrations of sodium in degraded, drainage-poor, puddling sodic soils keep master arborists, master gardeners, master naturalists and tree stewards busy with high-quality water-diluted gypsum amendments.

Salt-tolerant plants lend gypsum remediative treatments helping roots and shoots by decreasing surface soil evaporation and increasing aggregate formation, macropores, organic matter, shade and water infiltration. Microbial inoculants maintain similar plant-based contributions to soil modification with hormone-stimulating Azospirillum phytostimulators, with nitrogen-fixing mycorrhizal bacteria and with pathogen-fighting Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Trichoderma biological controls. Compost teas in the microbial inoculant subcategory of soil amendments need organisms in compost diffused into water to negate harmful microbes and nurture beneficial microbial communities.

Impervious plastic weed-suppressing sheets within drip lines and 4-plus-inch- (10.16-plus-centimeter-) high volcano mulches in contact with tree trunks never occur in tree friendly urban soil management.

Air tilling postulates pre-moistened soil for supersonic air tools and prevails over radial trenching, roto-tilling and vertical mulching tillage options for reducing compaction around existing trees.

The efficacy of composted, 1- to 2-foot- (30.48- to 60.96-centimeter-) deep organic amendments through otherwise oxidation-, surface runoff-, soil erosion-prone mechanical tilling quickens before tree plantings. Tillage by 12- to 18-inch- (30.48- to 45.72-inch-) deep, trunk- to drip line-excavated radial trenches receives backfilled, high-quality amendments, such as rich compost, and replacement soils. Six- to 12-inch- (15.24- to 30.48-foot-) deep augered or drilled holes serve as vertical mulches with high-quality amended fill, inorganic or organic fertilizers or replacement soil.

Tree friendly urban soil management tenderizes compacted, contaminated, depleted, disturbed soils into sustainable treescapes, according to co-authors Wes Kocher, Bryant C. Scharenbroch and E. Thomas Smiley.

Proper site selection matches tree species with desirable soil pH; a spindly, stunted flowering dogwood (foreground) suffers in a site with soil pH of 8.1; flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.) prefers moist, well-drained soils that are acidic (pH at 5.5 to 6.0) and are high in organic matter: Randy Cyr/Greentree/Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to:
talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet;
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

Image credits:

Volcano mulching is an improper technique in which mulch is piled high up a tree's trunk; when applied properly, mulching is an easy, effective technique for improving urban soil quality and tree health: Robert Benjamin/Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images @ https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5403664

Proper site selection matches tree species with desirable soil pH; a spindly, stunted flowering dogwood (foreground) suffers in a site with soil pH of 8.1; flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.) prefers moist, well-drained soils that are acidic (pH at 5.5 to 6.0) and are high in organic matter: Randy Cyr/Greentree/Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images @ https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1238083

For further information:

Gilman, Ed. 2011. An Illustrated Guide to Pruning. Third Edition. Boston MA: Cengage.

Hayes, Ed. 2001. Evaluating Tree Defects. Revised, Special Edition. Rochester MN: Safe Trees.

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 June 2015. “Tree Friendly Urban Soil Management: Assemble, Assess, Assist, Astound.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/06/tree-friendly-urban-soil-management.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 April 2015. “Tree Wound Responses: Healthy Wound Closures by Callus and Woundwood.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/tree-wound-responses-healthy-wound.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2015. “Urban Forest Maintenance and Non-Maintenance Costs and Benefits.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/02/urban-forest-maintenance-and-non.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2014. “Tree Dwelling Symbionts: Dodder, Lichen, Mistletoe, Moss and Woe-Vine.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/tree-dwelling-symbionts-dodder-lichen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 October 2014. “Tree Cable Installation Systems Lessen Target Impact From Tree Failure.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/10/tree-cable-installation-systems-lessen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 August 2014. “Flood Tolerant Trees in Worst-Case Floodplain and Urbanized Scenarios.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/08/flood-tolerant-trees-in-worst-case.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2014. “Integrated Vegetation Management of Plants in Utility Rights-of-Way.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/integrated-vegetation-management-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2014. “Tree Twig Identification: Buds, Bundle Scars, Leaf Drops, Leaf Scars.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/04/tree-twig-identification-buds-bundle.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2014. “Tree Twig Anatomy: Ecosystem Stress, Growth Rates, Winter Identification.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/tree-twig-anatomy-ecosystem-stress.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2013. “Community and Tree Safety Awareness During Line- and Road-Clearances.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/community-and-tree-safety-awareness.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2013. “Chain-Saw Gear and Tree Work Related Personal Protective Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/chain-saw-gear-and-tree-work-related.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 October 2013. “Storm Damaged Tree Clearances: Matched Teamwork of People to Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/storm-damaged-tree-clearances-matched.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 August 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Damage Assessments: Pre-Storm Planned Preparedness.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/storm-induced-tree-damage-assessments.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 June 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Failures From Heavy Tree Weights and Weather Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/storm-induced-tree-failures-from-heavy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 April 2013. “Urban Tree Root Management Concerns: Defects, Digs, Dirt, Disturbance.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/04/urban-tree-root-management-concerns.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 February 2013. “Tree Friendly Beneficial Soil Microbes: Inoculations and Occurrences.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/tree-friendly-beneficial-soil-microbes.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 December 2012. “Healthy Urban Tree Root Crown Balances: Soil Properties, Soil Volumes.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/healthy-urban-tree-root-crown-balances.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2012. “Tree Adaptive Growth: Tree Risk Assessment of Tree Failure, Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/tree-adaptive-growth-tree-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 August 2012. “Tree Risk Assessment Mitigation Reports: Tree Removal, Tree Retention?” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/tree-risk-assessment-mitigation-reports.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 June 2012. “Internally Stressed, Response Growing, Wind Loaded Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/06/internally-stressed-response-growing.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 April 2012. “Three Tree Risk Assessment Levels: Limited Visual, Basic and Advanced.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/04/three-tree-risk-assessment-levels.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Risk Ratings for Targets and Trees.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Falling Trees Impacting Targets.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 December 2011. “Tree Risk Assessment: Tree Failures From Defects and From Wind Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/tree-risk-assessment-tree-failures-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 October 2011. “Five Tree Felling Plan Steps for Successful Removals and Worker Safety.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-tree-felling-plan-steps-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 August 2011. “Natives and Non-Natives as Successfully Urbanized Plant Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/natives-and-non-natives-as-successfully.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 June 2011. “Tree Ring Patterns for Ecosystem Ages, Dates, Health and Stress.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-ring-patterns-for-ecosystem-ages.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 April 2011. “Benignly Ugly Tree Disorders: Oak Galls, Powdery Mildew, Sooty Mold, Tar Spot.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/benignly-ugly-tree-disorders-oak-galls.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 February 2011. “Tree Load Can Turn Tree Health Into Tree Failure or Tree Fatigue.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/tree-load-can-turn-tree-health-into.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 December 2010. “Tree Electrical Safety Knowledge, Precautions, Risks and Standards.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2010/12/tree-electrical-safety-knowledge.html

Scharenbroch, Bryant C.; Smiley, E. Thomas; and Kocher, Wes. August 2015. "Managing Soils That Support Urban Trees (Part Two)." Arborist News 24(4): 12-17.
Available @ http://html5.epaperflip.com/Viewer.aspx?docid=b962e09a-5bc5-4148-948a-a4d100d8ff6b#page=12

Nicobar Pigeon Caloenas nicobarica Is Closest Relative of Extinct Dodo

Summary: Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica), an Old World pigeon native to Indian and Pacific Ocean islands, is the extinct Dodo bird's closest living relative.

Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica): Tomfriedel, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Caloenas nicobarica is an Old World pigeon native to island environments of Oceania and Southeast Asia.

The brilliantly colored pigeon claims island homes in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as in a medley of their seas, from Andaman Sea eastward to South China Sea and southeastward through Indonesia’s seas.

Caloenas nicobarica’s native range includes India’s Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar islands; Malay Archipelago, especially Indonesia and the Philippines; southeastern Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago; Palau; northern Papua New Guinea; and the Solomon Islands.

Caloenas nicobarica is known commonly in English as Nicobar Dove or Nicobar Pigeon.

The Nicobar Pigeon claims fame as the closest living relative of two extinct, flightless, Indian Ocean pigeons. The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was only found on Mauritius, an island of biodiverse rarities in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) was found only on Mauritius’ outer island, Rodrigues, about 350 miles (560 kilometers) to the east.

Classification as a near-threatened species in 2012 reflects concern for the Nicobar Pigeon’s declining population. Livelihood threats are especially posed by habitat destruction, hunting for local pet markets, and trapping as food source and also for gizzard stone for jewelry.

As a large pigeon, the Nicobar Pigeon measures an adult length of 15.75 to 16.14 inches (40 to 41 centimeters). Males are slightly larger than females.

Dramatic contrasts of color include blue-grey heads; blue-grey hackles, or neck feathers, with dramatic copper overtones; dark green and orange-yellow iridescent body feathers; conspicuous, short, pure white tail feather; and reddish legs.

The Nicobar Pigeon favors woodsy habitats. Forest environments provide such forage as nuts and seeds.

As a small island specialist, the strong flier undauntedly roams away in flocks from food sources on islands and mainlands to establish breeding site colonies on less disturbed and less populated, offshore wooded islets. Small bushes and trees offer desirable sites for the Nicobar Pigeon’s stick nest, which shelters a solitary oval, white egg.

Captive breeding programs, which control breeding in conservation facilities, meet the demand by zoos worldwide for the Nicobar Pigeon. Prestigious zoos featuring the brilliantly-feathered pigeon include Canada’s Toronto Zoo, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, Northern Ireland’s Belfast Zoo and Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo.

famous oil-on-canvas painting of Dodo by Roelandt Savery (ca. 1587-Feb. 25, 1639): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica): Tomfriedel, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicobar_Pigeon_820.jpg

famous oil-on-canvas painting of Dodo by Roelandt Savery (ca. 1576-Feb 25, 1639), Natural History Museum, London: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edwards'_Dodo.jpg

Perseids Peak Brilliantly Aug. 12 to 13, 2015, Thanks to Darkened Moon

Summary: The 2015 Perseids peak brilliantly Aug. 12 to 13 in the Northern Hemisphere's northeastern skies, thanks to the darkness of the new moon.

two Perseid meteors and their radiant (crossing of dotted line) in Perseus, with nearby constellation Andromeda; Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007; credit Anton for painting inserts: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

With its luminous designation as the second brightest celestial object -- after the resplendent sun -- in Earth’s skies, the moon tends to rule the night. Exceptions to nighttime supremacy include cloud cover and moon phase.

The new moon, which heralds the beginning of the eight-phase lunar cycle, is cloaked in invisibility for Earthlings. Only illumination by earthshine (earthlight reflected onto the moon’s night side) during a solar eclipse reveals the darkened silhouette of the new moon.

Earthshine also spotlights the edges of the waning and waxing crescent moons that respectively precede and follow each new moon. August 2015’s waning crescent decreases from 10 percent visibility on Tuesday the 11th to a scant 5 percent illumination on Wednesday the 12th. The new moon emerges Friday, Aug. 14, at 10:53 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2:53 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time), playing a stealthy game of hide-and-seek with a bare 1 percent visibility.

The phase of the moon frames or disrupts viewing of nighttime events such as meteor showers. In late July 2015, the full moon phase, in which the lunar surface presents full illumination for Earthlings, coincided with peak viewing of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower. Unable to compete with lunar brilliancy in clear skies, the Delta Aquarids faded into the night’s vastness.

Meteor showers are named according to the radiant, the point in space from which they seem to originate. The Perseids appear to come from the constellation Perseus, namesake of Greek mythology’s first hero, in the northern sky.

Cometary debris entering Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high velocities of over 35 miles (60 kilometers) per second, create meteor showers. Perseid debris forms a cloud stretching along the short-period, elliptical orbit of 133 years traced by its parent body, Comet Swift-Tuttle. Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered independently, three days apart in 1862, by two American astronomers: on July 16 by Lewis Swift (Feb. 29, 1820–Jan. 5, 1913); on July 19 by Horace Parnell Tuttle (March 17, 1837–Aug. 16, 1923).

The Perseids occur annually between mid-July and late August. In 2015, peak activity, which prolifically showers meteors at 60 to 90 meteors per hour, is slated for overnight as Wednesday, Aug. 12, transitions to Thursday, Aug. 13.

The prominent shower starts around 9:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday evening (1:30 a.m. UT Wednesday), with the Northern Hemisphere favored for best viewing, especially from midnight to predawn hours.

When Jupiter passes closest to Comet Swift-Tuttle’s orbit, the solar system’s planetary behemoth nudges, via its mighty gravitational field, the comet’s meteoroid stream closer to Earth. Closeness injects a bloated swath of debris into Earth’s atmosphere within about 22 months and enhances the Perseid display.

Jupiter closed in on Comet Swift-Tuttle’s orbit in November 2014. While 2016’s Perseid shower is expected to achieve spectacular peaks estimated at possibly 120 meteors per hour, August 2015 easily may deliver above-normal fireworks as well.

Apart from cloud interference, the Perseids live up to annual reliability for shooting noticeably across the sky during peak viewing. Although binoculars, cameras with telescopic lenses and telescopes may not be rivalled for increasing immediacy, the Perseids provide an enjoyable, generous spectacle for naked-eye viewing.

All that is required for witnessing one of the most popular meteor showers is to look up, with or without optical aids, at the northeastern nighttime sky.

Perseid meteor shower as viewed from International Space Station, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011, over an area of China about 400 kilometers from Beijing: Ron Garan/Expedition 28, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

two Perseid meteors and their radiant (crossing of dotted line) in Perseus, with nearby constellation Andromeda; Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007; credit Anton for painting inserts: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Labeled-perseids.jpg

Perseid meteor shower as viewed from International Space Station, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011, over an area of China about 400 kilometers from Beijing: Ron Garan/Expedition 28, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/gallery/iss028e024847.html

For further information:

Kronk, Gary W. Meteor Showers: An Annotated Catalogue. The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series. 2nd ed. New York: Springer Science + Business Media, 2014.

Rao, Joe. "Perseid Meteor Shower Gets a Boost from Dark Moon, Jupiter." Fox News > Air & Space. Aug. 11, 2015.
Available @ http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/08/11/perseid-meteor-shower-gets-boost-from-dark-moon-jupiter/

Green Pajama Stripe Look of Shaving Brush Tree Pseudobombax ellipticum

Summary: Shaving Brush Tree Pseudobombax ellipticum is a New World deciduous tree native to Mexico and Central America. Showy flowers have pink or white stamens.

shaving brush look of Shaving Brush Tree's flower: Maria do Carmo M. Iannacone, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Pseudobombax ellipticum is a New World tree native to southern North America, ranging from Mexico southeastward to the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Thriving in subtropical and tropical climates, Pseudobombax ellipticum has been introduced successfully as an ornamental tree outside of native homelands. In Australia, Pseudobombax ellipticum dramatizes landscape of Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Toowong, southeastern Queensland, northeastern Australia. In the United States, the deciduous (Latin: deciduus, “that which falls off”) tree especially favors Florida and Hawaii but also grows in amenable states such as California and Texas.

Pseudobombax ellipticum is known commonly in English as Shaving Brush or Shaving Brush Tree.

Shaving Brush Trees grow natively in dry and rocky woodland habitats with well-drained soil. As a drought tolerant and cold sensitive tree, Shaving Brush enjoys full to partial sunniness in nearly frost-free ecosystems.

green pajama-like stripes of Shaving Brush Tree, Pseudobombax ellipticum, in Huntington Library Desert Garden, San Marino, Los Angeles County, southern California; May 2009: Pamela J. Eisenberg from Anaheim USA, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

With a naturally fast growth rate, Shaving Brush Trees may soar in ideal habitats to heights of over 60 feet (18 meters) and may attain trunk diameters of over 4 feet (1.2 meters). Outside of native range, Shaving Brush Trees evince less dramatic growth, with heights often maximizing between 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 meters).

The arboreal silhouette presents a trunk typically swollen at the base and low, irregular branching with a spreading, wide canopy.

Smoothly textured grey bark is patterned with white-framed green stripes.

Flowers appear dramatically while branches are leafless. Long buds open with flowers curling tightly backward to spotlight conspicuous, long stamens, tracing a shape reminiscent of a shaving brush. Pale orange-to-reddish pink flowers set off vivid, reddish-pink stamens while greenish white flowers lightly contrast with startlingly white stamens.

Appearing as elongated capsules, large, leathery fruits contain an abundance of seeds.

The ending of flowering signals the beginning of foliage as leaves emerge as five elliptical, or oval, leaflets on each stem. Burgundy of youth matures to dark green.

Traditional uses of Shaving Brush Tree include culinary by roasting or toasting seeds; household for carving wood into bowls and cutting for fuel; and medicinal with bark and leaves for treating toothaches.

Outside of its homelands, Shaving Brush Tree enchants gardeners and plant lovers by way of indoor and outdoor plantings.

Shaving Brush Trees contribute visual appeal to xerophytic, or desert, gardens.

The exotic-looking tree responds easily to the miniature, sculpted landscape of bonsai gardening.

Cultivated in containers, Shaving Brush Trees decorate indoor and outdoor environments with heights attractively minimized to around 3 feet (0.9 meters).

pink variety of Shaving Brush Tree flower, Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida; Thursday, April 12, 2012, 12:07: Jfduffek, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

shaving brush look of Shaving Brush Tree's flower: Maria do Carmo M. Iannacone, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudobombax_ellipticum_album.jpg

green pajama-like stripes of Shaving Brush Tree, Pseudobombax ellipticum, in Huntington Library Desert Garden, San Marino, Los Angeles County, southern California; May 2009: Pamela J. Eisenberg from Anaheim USA, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudobombax_ellipticum,_Huntington.jpg

pink variety of Shaving Brush Tree flower, Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Orange County, central Florida; Thursday, April 12, 2012, 12:07: Jfduffek, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaving_Brush_Tree.jpg

Sanuk Yoga Sling 2 Flip Flops: Stylish Comfort for Perpetual Summer

Summary: Founded by Jeff Kelley in 1997, Sanuk Footwear offers comfortable, quirky, stylist footwear. Sanuk Yoga Sling 2 Flip Flops celebrate and perpetuate summer.

Available via Amazon

Sanuk Footwear was started in 1997 by Southern California native and surfer Jeff Kelley to pursue his childhood passion for quirky footwear.

Jeff brought to his fledgling company well-tested entrepreneurial ingenuity. In 1986, Jeff had founded Trac-Top to market traction pads that he designed for surfboards. A few years after founding Trac-Top, he became involved in sales for Reef, where he innovatively designed hanging racks for displaying the surf lifestyle brand's exotic sandals.

Passionately creative, Jeff chose “Smile. Pass it on!” as the slogan for his company, which he named Sanük. Jeff identifies Sanük as a Thai word that he defines as meaning “fun, happiness.”

His original designs for sandals have used indoor-outdoor carpeting, inner tubes and yoga mats.

Success has continued to cling to Jeff Kelley’s ventures, with Sanuk surging to global popularity. Distribution has expanded beyond the United States to include over 70 countries throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and South America.

In 2007, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) honored Sanuk’s Sidewalk Surfers as Footwear Product of the Year for 2007 during SIMA’s annual Image Awards. The program was established in 2003 for uniquely recognizing outstanding contributions by surf industry companies to the surfing industry. In 2010, SIMA honored Sanuk with Footwear Product of the Year for Yoga Mat Sandal.

In 2011, Jeff Kelley sold his quirkily named, wildly successful company to Goleta, California-based footwear brand giant Deckers Brands for $120 million. Deckers has grown Sanuk from around $43 million in revenue in 2010 to around $101 million in 2013. Deckers also changed Sanuk’s slogan to “Never uncomfortable.”

Among new ventures enchanting Jeff is Tea of a Kind. The tea company champions the disruptive technology of a nitrogen-pressurized storage and delivery system for brewing fresh tea by way of a cap twist.

Perpetual summer becomes a reality with Sanuk’s imaginative footwear, especially with Women's Yoga Sling 2 Flip Flops. The flip flops are available in a parade of patterned and solid colors.

Sanuk Yoga Sling 2 Flip Flops celebrate summer's glorious minimalism with the comfort of stylish fabric straps, which is echoed in a luxuriously padded yoga-mat footbed. Year-round comfort beckons -- at least for indoor wear!

For those whose climates dip in winter, Sanuk Yoga Sling 2 Flip Flops slide beautifully over V-Toe Flip Flop Socks to perpetuate summer through fashionably warm coziness.

Lokai Bracelets: Staying Hopeful in Low Times and Humble in High Times

Summary: Created by 23-year-old Steven Izen in 2013, Lokai bracelets feature Dead Sea mud in a black bead and Mount Everest water in a white bead as symbols of life.

Lokai creator Steven Izen with his paternal grandfather, Eliott Izen, known as "papa," whose Alzheimer diagnosis inspired the Dead Sea-Mount Everest bracelet: livelokai, via Instagram June 6, 2013

The journey to the creation of his own company began for Steven Izen, Founder and CEO of Lokai, after his freshman year in Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in Ithaca, New York.

While enjoying a family vacation at the beach, Steven learned that his grandfather, who had taught him how to play golf and pool and who had inspired Steven’s entrepreneurial spirit, had been diagnosed with the chronic neurodegenerative disease of Alzheimer’s.

In contrasting the high of his beach vacation with the low of his sense of helplessness as his grandfather’s diagnosis, Steven felt an awareness of life’s cycles. As a collector of memorabilia from his travels, Steven thought about translating feelings into tangible objects.

Elements from the highest and lowest points on Earth, Mount Everest and the Dead Sea, appealed to him as symbols of life’s contrasts and as reminders of maintaining hope during saddening lows and cultivating humility during grateful highs. Steven latched onto a bracelet, for portability and wearability, as his product.

Four years later, in 2013, 23-year-old Steven launched Lokai, derived from the Hawaiian word lokahi, which means unity. Initial marketing was conducted through word-of-mouth via friends and friends of friends. The next strategy entailed grueling personal contacts with retail stores, which yielded 1 success out of every 30.

Perseverance has paid off, with Lokai bracelets featured in over 88 countries as well as in 300 boutiques across the United States.

Celebrity purchasers of Lokai bracelets include: singer-songwriter Justin Bieber (born March 1, 1994); actress and model Ashley Greene (born February 21, 1987), famous for portrayal of Alice Cullen in the Twilight film series; and actress and singer Emma Roberts (Feb. 10, 1991).

Lokai bracelets feature a black bead and a white bead at opposite ends of a string of clear beads.

The black bead, which contains mud from the Dead Sea, represents life’s lows.

The white bead, which shelters water from Mount Everest, symbolizes life’s highs.

The clear beads represent the clean slate which is available for finding balance amid life’s setbacks and successes.

Ten percent of net profits from bracelet sales are dedicated to charitable alliances within the communities where Lokai resources are collected.

Lokai’s contributions helped the Sherpa Family Fund to reach goals in the wake of the April 14, 2014 avalanche on Mount Everest which killed 16 Sherpa guides.

Lokai contact information
website: http://mylokai.com/
email: hello@mylokai.com
phone: 1-877-725-5747
phone hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. EST

lokai bracelet image "Thanks @_shantonio_": livelokai @livelokai, via Twitter Aug. 2, 2015

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Lokai creator Steven Izen with his paternal grandfather, Eliott Izen, known as "papa," whose Alzheimer diagnosis inspired the Dead Sea-Mount Everest bracelet: livelokai, via Instagram June 6, 2013, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/aOSWz5rVNw/

lokai bracelet image "Thanks @_shantonio_": livelokai @livelokai via Twitter Aug. 2, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/livelokai/status/627988170290917377

For further information:

live lokai. "For this #TBT I would like to share with everyone a picture of my papa and I. We were extremely close and he was the inspiration for the lokai bracelet. #livelokai." Instagram. June 6, 2013.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/aOSWz5rVNw/

livelokai @livelokai. "Just in time for one last dip #livelokai. Thanks @_shantanio_." Instagram. Aug. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/55lkQYLVKe/?hl=en&taken-by=livelokai

livelokai @livelokai. "Just in time for one last dip #livelokai." Twitter. Aug. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/livelokai/status/627988170290917377