2018 September Epsilon Perseids Peak Sunday, Sept. 9

Summary: The 2018 September Epsilon Perseids peak Sunday night, Sept. 9, as a monthlong minor annual meteor shower.

Outbursts of the September Epsilon Perseids occurred in 2008 and in 2013. Calculations by Nippon Meteor Society’s Mikiya Sato suggest a possible outburst in 2018: UK Meteor Network @UKMeteorNetwork, via Twitter Sep. 11, 2013

The 2018 September Epsilon Perseids peak Sunday night, Sept. 9, as a monthlong minor annual meteor shower that the International Meteor Organization (IMO) describes as a “primarily northern-hemisphere shower.”

NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, north central Alabama, places peak time Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, at 16:44 Coordinated Universal Time (12:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Dr. Jürgen Rendtel of northeastern Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) starts the Sept. 9 maximum at 16:00 UTC (12 p.m. EDT). He also notes that meteor specialist Mikiya Sato has calculated a possible outburst, or intense shower, at 19:12 UTC (3:12 p.m. EDT) for the 2018 maximum date.

The International Meteor Organization’s 2018 Meteor Shower Calendar suggests good viewing for observers at mid-northern latitudes as of 22:00 or 23:00 UTC (6 to 7 p.m. EDT). The United Kingdom’s Society for Popular Astronomy’s sky chart orients UK observers toward September Epsilon Perseid tracking in the east-northeastern sky as of “the middle of the night” and “thereafter all night.”

A meteor shower’s peak often benefits adjacent dates with increased rates. Peter Jenniskens, senior research scientist at The Seti Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, identifies the September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s maximum as occurring annually from about Sept. 9 to Sept. 12.

The Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s annual display mostly occurs in September. The International Meteor Organization assigns annual activity dates of Sept. 5 to Sept. 21 to the Epsilon Perseids (ε-Perseids). Robert Lunsford, The American Meteor Society’s Weekly Meteor Activity Outlook columnist, placed activity dates at Sunday, Sept. 3, to Tuesday, Oct. 3, for 2017 and at Monday, Sept. 5, through Wednesday, Sept. 28, for 2016. The American Meteor Society (AMS) gave activity dates of Tuesday, Sept. 5, to Thursday, Sept. 28, for the September Epsilon Perseids in the society’s 2017 Meteor Shower List.

The September Epsilon Perseid (SPE) shower produces bright meteors that move swiftly across the sky. SPE meteors attain entry velocities of around 64 kilometers per second (around 40 miles per second).

Zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) indicates ideal observable rates under optimal radiant and sky conditions. The American Meteor Society and The International Meteor Organization calculate a zenithal hourly rate of five shower members per hour for the September Epsilon Perseids. Apart from the shower’s peak date, a rate of one or less per hour is expected.

The September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s peak occurs under ideal lunar conditions. Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak clocks the moon as turning new at 18:01 UTC (2:01 p.m. EDT) Sunday, Sept. 9. New moon invisibility continues into Monday, Sept. 10.

The dates surrounding the September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s peak also are conducive for meteor spotting. The waning crescent phase that precedes the peak date’s new moon dwindles from 8 percent surface visibility of the lunar disk Friday, Sept. 7, down to 3 percent surface visibility Saturday, Sept. 8. The waxing crescent phase that succeeds Sunday and Monday’s new moon offers a slivery surface visibility of only 5 percent for Tuesday, Sept. 11, and 11 percent for Wednesday, Sept. 12.

The September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s name reflects an apparent point of origin, known as the shower’s radiant, in Perseus the Hero constellation. A backward tracing of the shower’s meteors in the sky ends near Epsilon Persei (ε Persei; Epsilon Per, ε Per) in the Hero’s constellation.

A meteor shower’s radiant drifts daily about one degree eastward. Radiant diurnal drift parallels Earth’s orbital progression of about one degree per day around the sun.

The September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s peak date finds the radiant near Algol (Beta Persei, β Persei; Beta Per, β Per). The three-star system is the second brightest star in Perseus the Hero constellation.

The takeaway for the 2018 September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s peak Sunday night, Sept. 9, is that the minor annual shower shoots bright, swift meteors across the Northern Hemisphere’s autumn skies.

September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s radiant is in Perseus the Hero constellation; screenshot at 00:01:04 of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s video Sep. 1, 2016, “What’s Up -- September 2016”: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Outbursts of the September Epsilon Perseids occurred in 2008 and in 2013. Calculations by Nippon Meteor Society’s Mikiya Sato suggest a possible outburst in 2018: UK Meteor Network @UKMeteorNetwork, via Twitter Sep. 11, 2013, @ https://twitter.com/UKMeteorNetwork/status/377925122310410240

September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower’s radiant is in Perseus the Hero constellation; screenshot at 00:01:04 of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s video Sep. 1, 2016, “What’s Up -- September 2016”: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory @ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1439

For further information:

“2017 Meteor Shower List.” American Meteor Society > Meteor Showers.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/2017-meteor-shower-list/

“2018 Alpha Aurigids and September Perseids.” Society for Popular Astronomy > Meteor Showers.
Available @ https://www.popastro.com/main_spa1/meteor/2018-alpha-aurigids-and-september-perseids/

“2018 International Geophysical Calendar (Final).” Space Weather NOW > ISES (International Space Environment Service) > Information.
Available @ http://www.spaceweather.org/ISES/info/geocal/2018.html

Espenak, Fred. “Phases of the Moon: 2001 to 2100.” Astro Pixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phases2001.html

Gajdoš, Štefan; Juraj Tóth; Leonard Kornoš; Jakub Koukal; and Roman Piffl. “The September epsilon Perseids in 2013.” WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, vol. 42, no. 2 (April 2014): 48-56. Hove, Belgium: International Meteor Organization.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/publications/wgn/

Jenniskens, P. (Peter). “The Established Meteor Showers.” NASA Ames Research Center/SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) CAMS (Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance).
Available via NASA/SETI CAMS @ http://cams.seti.org/maps.html

Jenniskens, Peter. Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Johannink, Carl. “Activity of the September Perseids.” eMeteorNews, Sept. 15, 2016. Available @ https://www.meteornews.net/2016/09/15/activity-september-perseids/

Lunsford, Robert, coord. “ALPO Meteors Section.” ALPO Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers > Observing Sections.
Available @ http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/meteor/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 2-8, 2017.” American Meteor Society. Aug. 30, 2017.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/08/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-2-8-2017/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 9-15, 2017.” American Meteor Society. Sept. 8, 2017.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/09/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-9-15-2017/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 16-22, 2017.” American Meteor Society. Sept. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/09/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-16-22-2017/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 23-29, 2017.” American Meteor Society. Sept. 22, 2017.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/09/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-23-29-2017/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 30-October 6, 2017.” American Meteor Society. Sept. 29, 2017.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/2017/09/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-30-october-6-2017/

Lunsford, Robert. Meteors and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2009.<

Marriner, Derdriu. “Perseid Meteor Shower Continues Through Late August.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/perseid-meteor-shower-continues-through.html

“Moon Phases September 2018.” Calendar-12.com > Moon Calendar > 2018.
Available @ https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2018/september

Moorhead, Althea; Bill Cooke; and Danielle Moser. “The 2018 Meteor Shower Activity Forecast for Earth Orbit.” NASA Technical Reports Servers. Oct. 13, 2017.
Available via NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170012378.pdf

Rendtel, Jürgen; Esko Lyytinen; Sirko Molau; and Geert Barentsen. “Peculiar Activity of the September ε-Perseids on 2013 September 9.” WGN, vol. 42, no. 2 (April 2014): 40-47. Hove, Belgium: International Meteor Organization.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/publications/wgn/

Rendtel, Jürgen, ed. “September ε-Perseids (208 SPE).” International Meteor Organization 2016 Meteor Shower Calendar: 13.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/files/meteor-shower/cal2016.pdf

Rendtel, Jürgen, ed. “September ε-Perseids (208 SPE).” International Meteor Organization 2018 Meteor Shower Calendar: 13.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/files/meteor-shower/cal2018.pdf

UK Meteor Network @UKMeteorNetwork. “And here is September Perseid outburst from our station in Ireland, thanks Steve.” Twitter. Sept. 11, 2013.
Available @ https://twitter.com/UKMeteorNetwork/status/377925122310410240

Whitworth, N. John. “September Perseids Meteor Shower.” Universe Guide > Meteor Showers.
Available @ https://www.universeguide.com/meteorshower/septemberperseids

Lillian Gärtner Palmedo Designed Costumes for Die Ägyptische Helena

Summary: Lillian Gärtner Palmedo designed costumes for Die Ägyptische Helena, Richard Strauss’s re-imagined Helen myth premiering in 1928 at Met Opera.

In addition to designing costumes for seven operas at the Metropolitan Opera, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo also designed murals; she also bred and showed boxers with her first husband, founding President of the American Boxer Club Harold Bolko Palmedo (Feb. 2, 1897-March 25, 1983), whom she married Jan. 18, 1930, and divorced in December 1942.
After marrying her second husband, Richard Christensen, she began a writing career as Lillian Langseth-Christensen; she was credited as a contributor to American chef, editor, food critic and writer Ruth Reichl's History in a Glass: Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet (2007) and in six issues of Gourmet: The Magazine of Good Living; she wrote 28 cookbooks and one memoir, A Design for Living: Vienna in the Twenties (1987).
image of Lillian examining fabric with large flower motif that she designed for the Samba Room in the SS Brazil (1938-1964), a refurbished US turbo-electric ocean liner originally named SS Virginia (1928-1938) ("Lillian Langseth-Christensen," American Artist magazine June 1949: Murals on the High Seas, via Facebook Oct. 4, 2021

Lillian Gärtner Palmedo designed costumes for Die Ägyptische Helena, a re-imagined Helen myth by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) that had its U.S. premiere Nov. 6, 1928, at the Metropolitan Opera.

Lillian Gärtner Palmedo’s costume designs for Die Ägyptische Helena’s U.S. premiere marked the American designer’s Metropolitan Opera debut. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database entries for her debut and for all subsequent credits identify her as Lillian Gärtner Palmedo. On her design drawings for Die Ägyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen), however, she prints her name as Lillian Gaertner Palmedo.

Viennese stage director Wilhelm von Wymetal Sr. (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) directed the U.S. premiere. The production’s set designer was Austrian American costume and scenic designer Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872-July 10, 1933).

Including Die Ägyptische Helena, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo created costumes for seven operas at the Metropolitan Opera. Including Die Ägyptische Helena, four of the operas opened as U.S. premieres at the Metropolitan Opera.

Die Ägyptische Helena was the third Strauss opera to have a U.S. premiere hosted by the Metropolitan Opera. Salome opened Jan. 22, 1907, as the Metropolitan Opera’s first U.S. premiered-Strauss opera. Der Rosenkavalier opened Dec. 9, 1913, as the second U.S. premiered-Strauss opera hosted by the Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera hosted the U.S. premiere of Jonny Spielt Auf by Ernst Krenek (Aug. 23, 1900-Dec. 22, 1991), an Austrian American composer and librettist of Czech origin. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed the production, with Joseph Urban as set designer, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer and Czech ballet master and choreographer Augustin “August” Berger (Aug. 11, 1861-June 1, 1945) as choreographer.

The U.S. premiere of Schwanda, the Bagpiper by Austrian Romantic Era composer Franz von Suppé (April 18, 1819-May 21, 1895) took place Nov. 7, 1931, at the Metropolitan Opera. German theatre director Hanns Niedecken-Gebhard (Sept. 4, 1889-March 7, 1954) directed the production. His production team comprised Joseph Urban, set designer; Lillian Gärtner Palmedo, costume designer; and August Berger, choreographer.

The U.S. premiere of La Notte di Zoraima by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi (Aug. 4, 1875-May 15, 1952) happened Dec. 2, 1931, at the Metropolitan Opera. Russian opera and theatre director Alexander Sanine (April 15, 1869-May 8, 1956) directed the production, with Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer. Joseph Novak, the Metropolitan Opera’s chief scenic artist from 1910 to 1952, designed the production’s sets.

Three of the seven operas crediting Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer opened as Metropolitan Opera premieres. Joseph Urban collaborated on all three Metropolitan Opera premieres as set designer.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Franz von Suppé’s Boccaccio took place Jan. 2, 1931. Wilhelm von Wymetal directed the production, with Joseph Urban as set designer and Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer.

Franz von Suppé’s Donna Juanita opened Jan. 2, 1932, as a Metropolitan Opera premiere. Hanns Niedecken-Gebhard directed. His production team comprised Joseph Urban, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo and August Berger.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Richard Strauss’s Elektra took place Dec. 3, 1932. Alexander Sanine directed the production, with Joseph Urban as set designer and Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer. Elektra marks Lillian Gärtner Palmedo’s last active involvement in Met Opera costumes.

The last revival of Lillian Gärtner Palmedo’s costumes occurred during the 1961-1962 Met Opera season’s six performances of Strauss’s Elektra. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database’s last crediting of Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer appears in the season’s sixth and last performance, March 16, 1962.

Lillian Gärtner Palmedo was considered as Joseph Urban’s protégé. Theater art consultant Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett notes on her theater blog, Drypigment.net, that Urban recognized Lillian’s artistic talent when she was 14 years old. He sent the young Manhattanite to Europe to study art with Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (Dec. 15, 1870-May 7, 1956) and Viennese designer, engraver and photographer Ferdinand Schmutzer (May 21, 1870-Oct. 26, 1928). In New York, Lillian studied with Joseph Urban and costume and set designer Emeline Clark Roche (1902-1995).

The takeaways for Lillian Gärtner Palmedo as costume designer for Richard Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena are that the Manhattan-born designer created costumes for four U.S. premieres (Die Ägyptische Helena; Jonny Spielt Auf; Schwanda, the Bagpiper; La Notte di Zoraima) and three Metropolitan Opera premieres (Boccaccio; Donna Juanita; Strauss’s Elektra) and that she collaborated with her mentor, Austrian American designer Joseph Urban, on six and with Joseph Novak on one (La Notte di Zoraima).

(left) Sicily-born American lyric soprano Santa Biondo (Dec. 3, 1892-Feb. 15, 1989) as Manuela and (right) American operatic dramatic soprano Rosa Ponselle (Jan. 22, 1897-May 25, 1981) in the title role of Zoraima in the U.S. premiere production of La Notte di Zoraima by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi (Aug. 4, 1875-May 15, 1952) at the Metropolitan Opera in December 1931; Lillian Gärtner Palmedo designed the premiere production's costumes for the fifth of seven operas in her Met Opera portfolio: Allan V. Lacki, 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:

In addition to designing costumes for seven operas at the Metropolitan Opera, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo also designed murals; she also bred and showed boxers with her first husband, founding President of the American Boxer Club Harold Bolko Palmedo (Feb. 2, 1897-March 25, 1983), whom she married Jan. 18, 1930, and divorced in December 1942.
After marrying her second husband, Richard Christensen, she began a writing career as Lillian Langseth-Christensen; she was credited as a contributor to American chef, editor, food critic and writer Ruth Reichl's History in a Glass: Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet (2007) and in six issues of Gourmet: The Magazine of Good Living; she wrote 28 cookbooks and one memoir, A Design for Living: Vienna in the Twenties (1987).
image of Lillian examining fabric with large flower motif that she designed for the Samba Room in the SS Brazil (1938-1964), a refurbished US turbo-electric ocean liner originally named SS Virginia (1928-1938) ("Lillian Langseth-Christensen," American Artist magazine June 1949: Murals on the High Seas, via Facebook Oct. 4, 2021, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4694452600587491&set=a.2186597691373007; via Facebook Oct. 4, 2021, @ https://www.facebook.com/MuralsontheHighSeas/photos/pb.100064321044377.-2207520000/4694452600587491/; via Facebook Oct. 4, 2021, @ https://www.facebook.com/MuralsontheHighSeas/posts/4694452600587491/;
"Harold Bolko Palmedo," From Prussia with Love @ https://fromprussiawithlove.org/getperson.php?personID=I234&tree=tree1;
"Lillian Langseth-Christensen (1908–1995)," LibraryThing > Author @ https://www.librarything.com/author/langsethchristensenl

(left) Sicily-born American lyric soprano Santa Biondo (Dec. 3, 1892-Feb. 15, 1989) as Manuela and (right) American operatic dramatic soprano Rosa Ponselle (Jan. 22, 1897-May 25, 1981) in the title role of Zoraima in the U.S. premiere production of La Notte di Zoraima by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi (Aug. 4, 1875-May 15, 1952) at the Metropolitan Opera in December 1931; Lillian Gärtner Palmedo designed the premiere production's costumes for the fifth of seven operas in her Met Opera portfolio: Allan V. Lacki, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Santa_biondo_and_rosa_ponselle.jpg

For further information:

“Debut: Jane Carroll, Lillian Gärtner Palmedo.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 100100 United States Premiere Die Ägyptische Helena {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/6/1928.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=100100

Gonzalez, Juan-Pablo. “The Archivist’s Nook: Embodiment -- Becoming the Spectacle of the Opera.” The Catholic University of America > University Libraries > News & Events. Oct. 19, 2017.
Available @ https://www.lib.cua.edu/wordpress/newsevents/tag/joseph-novak/

"Harold Bolko Palmedo," From Prussia with Love: Family History of the Bloedel, Palmedo, Prentice and Weatherbee Families.
Available @ https://fromprussiawithlove.org/getperson.php?personID=I234&tree=tree1

Langseth-Christensen, Lillian (Gärtner Palmedo). A Design for Living: Vienna in the Twenties. New York NY: Viking Penguin Inc., 1987.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/designforliving00lang/

"Lillian Langseth-Christensen (1908–1995) Author of Gourmet's Old Vienna Cookbook: A Viennese Memoir," LibraryThing > Author.
Available @ https://www.librarything.com/author/langsethchristensenl

Marriner, Derdriu. “Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 10 Metropolitan Opera Premieres.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 13, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-10.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 14 U.S. Premieres at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 23, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-14-us.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Joseph Urban Designed Sets for 29 New Productions at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 20, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-29-new.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Joseph Urban Designed Sets for Two World Premieres at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 16, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/joseph-urban-designed-sets-for-two.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Mar-a-Lago Architect Joseph Urban Also Designed Sets at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 9, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/mar-lago-architect-joseph-urban-also.html

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Boccaccio.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 106900 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Boccaccio {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/2/1931.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=106900

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Donna Juanita.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 109790 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Donna Juanita {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/2/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=109790

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Elektra.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 112150 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Elektra {1} Matinee Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/3/1932.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=112150

“United States Premiere: Der Rosenkavalier.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 55260 United States Premiere Der Rosenkavalier {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/9/1913.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=55260

“United States Premiere: Jonny Spielt Auf.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 101110 United States Premiere Jonny Spielt Auf {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/19/1929.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=101110

“United States Premiere: La Notte di Zoraima.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 109390 United States Premiere (La Notte di Zoraima) La Notte di Zoraima {1} Pagliacci {301} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/2/1931.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=109390

“United States Premiere: Salome.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 38600 United States Premiere Special Performance Salome {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/22/1907.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=38600

“United States Premiere: Schwanda, the Bagpiper.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 109060 United States Premiere Schwanda, the Bagpiper {1} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/7/1931.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=109060

Waszut-Barrett, Wendy, PhD (waszut_barrett@me.com). “Historical Excerpt -- ‘Women in Scenic Art,’ Lillian Gaestner.” Drypigment.net > Archives > February 2017. Feb. 6, 2017.
Available @ http://drypigment.net/2017/02/06/historical-excerpt-women-in-scenic-art-part-2/

Borrachero Trees in Elementary's The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz

Summary: The Elementary episode The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz Aug. 27, 2018, calls angel trumpet trees borrachero trees, "drunken" means to three deaths.

Brugmansia aurea 'Grand Marnier', Kew Gardens; Monday, Oct. 3, 2011: Emőke Dénes, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Angel trumpet trees, under the Spanglish nickname borrachero trees, assist in three of four anticipated deaths in the Elementary procedural drama series episode The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz Aug. 27, 2018.

Director Lucy Liu and writers Robert Doherty, Brandon Tanori, Jason Tracey and Kelly Wheeler broach Devil's Breath powder in Season 6's 18th episode, series' 138th overall. Angel trumpet trees carry their English common names from floral shapes and their Spanish from confused consciousness and mobility caused by tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine. Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) declares that "Now, the borrachero [tree] only grows in a narrow band in Colombia and Venezuela. It's highly illegal everywhere else."

Especially angel trumpet tree leaves and seeds exude scopolamine, whose dried, powdered Devil's Breath entered into drinks or exhaled onto faces eliminates the victims' free will.

Angel trumpet trees flourish as borrachero cultivars, hybrids and species in the Brugmansia genus formed in 1805 by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (Feb. 1, 1761-Nov. 16, 1836).

Angel trumpet trees of Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, southeast Brazil and Venezuela and same-genus borrachero trees of Colombia get 0.32- to 0.47-inch- (8- to 12-millimeter-) long seeds. They have, from each of their berry-like fruits, 100 to 300-plus black, fine-haired, somewhat cork-like or smooth-, somewhat kidney- or wedge-shaped, thick seeds that pulverize white. Pollinating bats and hummingbirds respectively initiate fruiting in six of seven Brugmansia species and in the only red-flowered angel trumpet trees, Brugmansia sanguinea ("Brugmans' blood-colored [flower]").

Seven species juggle oblong-oval 2.56- to 4.33-inch- (6.5- to 11-centimeter-), oval 2.16- to 2.76-inch- (5.5- to 7-centimeter-), spindle-shaped 5.51- to 13.78-inch- (14- to 35-centimeter-) long berries.

Borrachero trees, known as Brugmansias for Sebald Justinus Brugmans (March 24, 1763-July 22, 1819), sometimes keep floral calyxes (from the Greek κάλυξ, kálux, "husk") around fruits.

The Solanaceae (from the Latin sōlānum, "nightshade") family members locate 5.51- to 19.68-inch- (14- to 50-centimeter-) long flowers atop peduncles (from the Latin pedunculus, "[flower-bearing] foot-stalk"). Only forks merged atop 2.62- to 4.92-foot- (0.80- to 1.50-meter-) long stems maintain orange-, pink-, red-, white-, yellow-flowering 2.5- to 4-inch- (6.35- to 10.16-centimeter-) long peduncles. The flower base's calyx needs two to five different-sized sepals within which five same-sized stamens and 0.47- to 1.58-inch- (12- to 40-millimeter-) long anthers noticeably nestle.

Angel trumpet trees offer slightly, strongly or unnoticeably displeasing or pleasing fragrances when funnel- to tube-shaped flowers open to 3.93- to 13.78-inch (10- to 35-centimeter) diameters.

Angel trumpet and borrachero trees place alternate-positioned, fine-haired or hairless leaves atop 2.5- to 8-inch- (6.35- to 20.32-centimeter-) long pedicels (from Latin pedīculus, "[leaf-bearing] foot-stalk").

Elliptic to oval, pointed-tip, round-based, smooth-margined or tooth-edged leaves queue up 3.94- to 11.81-inch (10- to 30-centimeter) lengths and 1.58- to 7.09-inch (4- to 18-centimeter) widths. Ten- to 36.09-foot- (3.05- to 11-meter-) tall borracheros require United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 7b-like minimums above 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius). The International Union for Conservation of Nature shows the spring- through fall-flowering evergreen extinct in native wildernesses and sustainable in fertile-soiled, semi-shaded, sunny, well-drained non-native wildernesses.

Brugmansia aurea ("Brugmans' golden [flower]"), taxonomized by Nils Gustaf von Lagerheim (Oct. 18, 1860-Jan. 2, 1926) in 1895, tackles Colombian-Ecuadorian and, what Sherlock targets, Colombian-Venezuelan borders.

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) and Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) consider the inspiration for seemingly accurate death predictions in Elementary tv series' The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz (season 6 episode 18): Elementary @ElementaryCBS, via Facebook Aug. 28, 2018

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Brugmansia aurea 'Grand Marnier,' Kew Gardens; Monday, Oct. 3, 2011: Emőke Dénes, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solanales_-_Brugmansia_×_candida_'Grand_Marnier'_4.jpg

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) and Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) consider the inspiration for seemingly accurate death predictions in Elementary tv series' The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz (season 6 episode 18): Elementary @ElementaryCBS, via Facebook Aug. 28, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/ElementaryCBS/photos/a.151627898295663/1178004198991356/

For further information:

"Brugmansia aurea Lagerh." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/29605011

"Brugmansia Pers." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40032192

"Brugmansia sanguinea (Ruiz & Pav.) D. Don." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/29605012

"Datura aurea (Lagerh) Saff." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/29606082

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London England: George Newnes Ltd., 1892.

Hooker, William Jackson, Sir. 1846. "Tab. 4252. Datura cornigera. Horn-bearing Datura." Curtis's Botanical Magazine, third series vol. II (vol. LXXII of the whole work). London, England: Reeve Brothers.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/434692

Lagerheim, G. (Nils Gustaf von). 1893. "Eine Neue, Goldgelbe Brugmansia (B. aurea Lagerh.)." Gartenflora, 42 jahrgang: 33-35. Berlin, Germany: Paul Parlev.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40103202

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 August 2018. “Silk From Darwin's Bark Spiders on Elementary's The Worms Crawl In.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/silk-from-darwins-bark-spiders-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 August 2018. “Chocolate from Cacao Trees on Elementary's Uncanny Valley of the Dolls.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/chocolate-from-cacao-trees-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 August 2018. “Guatemalan Sugarcane, Guatemalan Rum on Elementary's How to Get a Head.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/guatemalan-sugarcane-guatemalan-rum-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 August 2018. “Kukicha Tea from Japan and Elementary Season Six's Through the Fog.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/kukicha-tea-from-japan-and-elementary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 August 2018. “Northwest Italian Sweet White Wine Sciacchetrà on Elementary's Breathe.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/northwest-italian-sweet-white-wine.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 July 2018. “American Chestnut Trees for Elementary Season Six's Meet Your Maker.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/american-chestnut-trees-for-elementary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 July 2018. “Bird's-Eye Pipe Tobacco and Trichinopoly Cigars: Elementary's Long Way.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/birds-eye-pipe-tobacco-and-trichinopoly.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 July 2018. “Elementary's Adventure of Ersatz Sobekneferu: West African Crocodiles.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/elementarys-adventure-of-ersatz.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 July 2018. “Blue Wildebeests and Tarragon Tea on Elementary's Nobody Lives Forever.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/blue-wildebeests-and-tarragon-tea-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 June 2018. “Vermont Black Bears and Elementary's Sand Trap Episode June 18, 2018.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/vermont-black-bears-and-elementarys.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 June 2018. “Elementary Sober Companions, Amethysts and Agiorgitiko Red Wine Grapes.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/elementary-sober-companions-amethysts.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 June 2018. “Elementary's Give Me the Finger: Not the Southeast Asian Fruit Durian.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/elementarys-give-me-finger-not.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 June 2018. “Elementary's Give Me the Finger: Floppy Disks Dinosaurs Like Grallator.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/elementarys-give-me-finger-floppy-disks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 June 2018. “Bird Flu on Elementary's Bits and Pieces and Wild Red Junglefowl.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/bird-flu-on-elementarys-bits-and-pieces.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 May 2018. “Boxing Kangaroos and Elementary Season 6 Episode 4 Our Time Is Up.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/boxing-kangaroos-and-elementary-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 May 2018. “American Staffordshire Terrier and Elementary's Pushing Buttons.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/american-staffordshire-terrier-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 May 2018. “Cassowaries and Elementary's Pushing Buttons Episode May 14, 2018.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/cassowaries-and-elementarys-pushing.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 May 2018. “Monoceros Unicorns: Puzzles Once You've Ruled Out God on Elementary.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/monoceros-unicorns-puzzles-once-youve.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2018. “Sumatran Tigers and Elementary's An Infinite Capacity for Taking Pains.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/sumatran-tigers-and-elementarys.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 November 2016. “Green Tree Python Natural History Illustrations and Elementary.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/green-tree-python-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 November 2016. “Eastern Poison Ivy Botanical Illustrations and Elementary's Henny Penny.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/eastern-poison-ivy-botanical.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 November 2016. “Galápagos Marine Iguana Natural History Illustrations and Elementary.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/galapagos-marine-iguana-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 October 2016. "China's Imperial Jade Heirloom Seal Worth Several Cities on Elementary." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/10/chinas-imperial-jade-heirloom-seal.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 May 2016. “Mopane Worm Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Invisible Hand.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/05/mopane-worm-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 May 2016. “Johannes Vermeer Painting The Astronomer: Elementary's Invisible Hand.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/05/johannes-vermeer-painting-astronomer.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2016. “Shih Tzu Dog Breed and Elementary's Up to Heaven and Down to Hell.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/shih-tzu-dog-breed-and-elementarys-up.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 February 2016. “Mushroom Botanical Illustrations and Elementary's A Study in Charlotte.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/mushroom-botanical-illustrations-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 November 2015. "Black-Capped Central American Squirrel Monkeys and Elementary Series." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/black-capped-central-american-squirrel.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 November 2015. “Tienchi-Flower Tea and Elementary's Evidence of Things Not Seen.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/tienchi-flower-tea-and-elementarys.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 April 2015. “Pablo Picasso Painting Woman Reading on Elementary's A Stitch in Time.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/pablo-picasso-painting-woman-reading-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 February 2015. “Extinct Quagga Plains Zebra on Elementary's The Female of the Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/02/extinct-quagga-plains-zebra-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 January 2015. “Elementary's Yellow Clivia and Yellow Clivia Botanical Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/01/elementarys-yellow-clivia-and-yellow.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 December 2014. “Elementary's Nutmeg Concoction and Nutmeg Botanical Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/elementarys-nutmeg-concoction-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 November 2014. “Elementary's Bird in Blue-Throated Macaw Natural History Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/11/elementarys-bird-in-blue-throated-macaw.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 October 2014. “Bearded Dragon Natural History Illustrations: Not Elementary's Nemesis.” Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/10/bearded-dragon-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 May 2014. “Ficus Benjamina Botanical Illustrations and Elementary's Stunted Tree.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/05/ficus-benjamina-botanical-illustrations.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 February 2014. “Dimetrodon Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Dimetrodon.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/dimetrodon-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 January 2014. “Nanotyrannus Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Dead Clade Walking.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/nanotyrannus-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2013. “Fruit in Osage Orange Botanical Illustrations and Elementary Series.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/fruit-in-osage-orange-botanical.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 November 2013. “George Stubbs Painting The Godolphin Arabian and Elementary's Nutmeg.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/george-stubbs-painting-godolphin.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Darley Arabian and Elementary's Studhorse.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-darley-arabian.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Byerley Turk and Elementary's Thoroughbreds.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-byerley-turk-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 August 2013. “Turner Fighting Temeraire Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/turner-fighting-temeraire-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2013. “Paul Gauguin Painting Tahitian Women on the Beach in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/paul-gauguin-painting-tahitian-women-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2013. “Rubens Painting The Incredulity of St Thomas in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/rubens-painting-incredulity-of-st.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2013. “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Painting Rousse in Elementary Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-painting.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2013. “The Bruegel Painted Parable in the Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-bruegel-painted-parable-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2013. “Osmia Avosetta Natural History Illustrations for Elementary's Bee.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/osmia-avosetta-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2013. “Russian Tortoise Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Clyde Jan. 31, 2013.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/russian-tortoise-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2013. “Costliest, World-Most Expensive Chopard Watch: 201 Carats at $25 Million.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/costliest-world-most-expensive-chopard.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2013. “Chopard Watch Worth $25 Million on Elementary Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/chopard-watch-worth-25-million-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2013. “Claude Monet Painting Nympheas 1918 in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/claude-monet-painting-nympheas-1918-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2013. “Paul Cézanne Still Life Painting Fruit in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/paul-cezanne-still-life-painting-fruit.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 December 2012. “Paul Signac Painting Women at the Well in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/paul-signac-painting-women-at-well-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 December 2012. “The Van Gogh Pietà Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-van-gogh-pieta-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2012. “Edward Hopper Painting Western Motel in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/edward-hopper-painting-western-motel-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 September 2012. "Are Lesser Clovers Sherlock's Lucky Shamrocks on Elementary's Pilot?" Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-lesser-clovers-sherlocks-lucky.html

"Nils Gustaf Lagerheim." Find A Grave > Memorial.
Available @ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178960488/nils_gustaf-lagerheim

Persoon, C.H. (Christiaan Hendrik). 1805. "493. Brugmansia." Synopsis Plantarum, seu Enchiridium Botanicum, Complectens Enumerationem Systematicam Specierum Hucusque Cognitarum, pars prima: 216-217. Parisiis Lutetiorum [Paris, France]: C.F. Cramerum; Tubingae [Tubingen, Germany]: J.G. Cottam.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/235001

Safford, William E. (Edwin). 1921. "Synopsis of the Genus Datura: 21. Datura aurea (Lagerh.) Safford." Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 11, no. 8 (April 19, 1921): 186-187.
Available @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2185447

Sweet, Robert. 1835. "272. Brugmansia sanguinea. Dark-red Brugmansia." The British Flower Garden: Containing Coloured Figures & Descriptions of the Most Ornamental & Curious Hardy Flowering Plants, Including Annuals, Biennials, Perennials, and Flowering Shrubs; With Their Scientific and English Names; Best Method of Cultivation and Propagation; the Heights They Generally Attain; or any Other Information Respecting Them That May Be Considered of Importance. Series the second, vol. III: Plate 272. London, England: James Ridgway, M.DCCC.XXXV.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044102883550?urlappend=%3Bseq=294 Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/britishflowerga02sweegoog#page/n293/mode/1up

"The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz." Elementary: The Sixth Season. Los Angeles CA: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Aug. 27, 2018.

Cobra Clubtail Dragonfly: Big Thorax, Bumpy Eyes, Cobra Hood-Like Club

Summary: North American cobra clubtail dragonfly habitats get big, pale-marked thoraxes and pale-dashed, lined, spotted abdomens with cobra hood-like clubbed tips.

Retired science teacher Walter Sanford shares that two distinctive field markers for the female cobra clubtail dragonfly (Gomphus vastus) are rounded hindwings and two terminal appendages known as cerci; Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia; May 16, 2016: Walter Sanford @Geodialist, via Twitter May 21, 2016

North American cobra clubtail dragonfly habitats activate rock-, sand-, silt-, water-loving arborists, gardeners and naturalists in distribution ranges from Nova Scotia through Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Alberta, New Brunswick and everywhere in-between.

Cobra clubtails bear their common name for clubbed, cobra hood-reminiscent abdominal tips and the scientific name Gomphus vastus ([crossbow arrow-like] bolt [abdominal terminal segment is] vast). Common names confirm scientific consensus in the Dragonfly Society of the Americas, whose 30th Bulletin of American Odonatology covers broadwing, pond-damsel, shadow-damsel, spreadwing and threadtail distributions. Descriptions in 1861 by Benjamin Dann Walsh (Sept. 21, 1808-Nov. 18, 1869), whose 30,000 insects the Chicago Fire posthumously destroyed Oct. 8-10, 1871, drive scientific designations.

Cobra clubtail life cycles expect medium- to large-sized lakes, rivers and streams with slow to swift currents; rocky, sandy or silty bottoms; and sometimes rocky borders.

April through September function as earliest to latest flight seasons even though June and July furnish wildlife mapping opportunities throughout cobra clubtail coastal and inland niches.

Cobra clubtails go out from night-time resting places until as late as nightfall on food-searching forays, mate-seizing patrols and perch-seeking flights over rocks, vegetation and water. Males have mid-air skirmishes when they head out on simultaneous patrols and hover 2 to 3 feet (0.61 to 0.91 meters) over waterlines in slight breezes. Itineraries involve immobilizing invertebrate prey and investigating feeding, mating and perching options and weedy and woody vegetation within 0.5 mile (0.81 kilometer) of watery breeding habitats.

Ants, assassin flies, biting midges, ducks, falcons, fish, flycatchers, frogs, grebes, lizards, spiders, turtles and water beetles and mites jeopardize North American cobra clubtail dragonfly habitats.

Immature cobra clubtails keep to rock-, sand-, silt- and water-kind camouflage and wide bodies even though adults know green eyes and black, green, yellow, yellow-green coloration.

Incomplete metamorphosis leads from round eggs loosened intermittently into water, after egg-loaded females leave shoreline perches, to immature larvae, naiads or nymphs and to molted tenerals. Immature, little adult-like, multimolting nonfliers metamorphose into shiny-winged, tender-bodied, weak-flying tenerals that master permanent colors and physical and sexual maturation, mate and manipulate eggs into ovipositing sites. Aphids, beetles, borers, caddisflies, copepods, crane flies, dobsonflies, gnats, leafhoppers, mosquitoes, rotifers, scuds, water fleas and worms nourish common clubtail members of the Gomphidae dragonfly family.

North American cobra clubtail dragonfly habitats offer northward to southward, season-coldest temperatures from minus 45 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.11 to minus 6.66 degrees Celsius).

Beech, bellflower, birch, bladderwort, cattail, daisy, grass, greenbrier, heath, laurel, madder, maple, nettle, olive, pepperbush, pine, pondweed, rush, sedge, water-lily and willow families promote cobra clubtails.

One pointed, tiny tubercle (bump) for each simple side and wide-separated green compound eye; ovipositors; two claspers; and yellow-dominated abdominal sides qualify as adult female hallmarks. Adult males reveal black- or brown-marked green or yellow faces; green- or yellow-marked black or brown thoraxes; green- or yellow-dashed, lined, spotted black or brown abdomens. Adults show off 1.81- to 2.24-inch (46- to 57-millimeter) head-body lengths; 1.29- to 1.65-inch (33- to 42-millimeter) abdomens; and 1.06- to 1.38-inch (27- to 35-millimeter) hindwings.

Big, pale-marked thoraxes and pale-dashed, lined and spotted abdomens with cobra hood-like tips tell cobra clubtails from other odonates in North American cobra clubtail dragonfly habitats.

Two distinctive field markers for the male cobra clubtail dragonfly (Gomphus vastus) are indented hindwings and three terminal appendages; Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia; May 16, 2016: Walter Sanford @Geodialist, via Twitter May 19, 2016

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Retired science teacher Walter Sanford shares that two distinctive field markers for the female cobra clubtail dragonfly (Gomphus vastus) are rounded hindwings and two terminal appendages known as cerci; Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia; May 16, 2016: Walter Sanford @Geodialist, via Twitter May 21, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/Geodialist/status/733946337155158016

Two distinctive field markers for the male cobra clubtail dragonfly (Gomphus vastus) are indented hindwings and three terminal appendages; Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia; May 16, 2016: Walter Sanford @Geodialist, via Twitter May 19, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/Geodialist/status/733221998734671872

For further information:

Abbott, John C. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Princeton NJ; Oxford UK: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Ancestry.com. Benjamin Dann Walsh. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2012.
Available ;@ https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=WFu3&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=benjamin%20dann&gsfn_x=0&gsln=walsh&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1808&msddy=1869&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=1&uidh=yi7&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=101332190&dbid=60525&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1

Beaton, Giff. Dragonflies & Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast. Athens GA; London UK: University of Georgia Press, 2007.

Berger, Cynthia. Dragonflies. Mechanicsburg PA: Stackpole Books: Wild Guide, 2004.

Bright, Ethan. "Gomphurus vastus (Walsh, 1862: 391 as Gomphus) -- Cobra Clubtail." Aquatic Insects of Michigan > Odonata (Dragon- and Damselflies) of Michigan > Anisoptera Selys, 1854 - Dragonflies > Gomphidae (Clubtails) > Gomphurus Needham, 1901 (common name TBD).
Available @ http://www.aquaticinsects.org/sp/Odonata/sp_oom.html

"Gomphurus vastus." James Cook University-Medusa: The Odonata - Dragonflies and Damselflies > Anisoptera > Gomphidae > Gomphurus.
Available via James Cook University-Medusa @ https://medusa.jcu.edu.au/Dragonflies/openset/displaySpecies.php?spid=1224

Paulson, Dennis. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2011.

"The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map." The National Gardening Association > Gardening Tools > Learning Library USDA Hardiness Zone > USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Available @ https://garden.org/nga/zipzone/2012/

Walsh, Benjamin D. (Dann). "List of the Pseudoneuroptera of Illinois, Contained in the Cabinet of the Writer, With Descriptions of Over Forty New Species, and Notes on Their Structural Affinities: Gomphus vastus, Hagen MS.! n.sp." Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. XIIII: 391-394. Philadelphia PA: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1862.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1951863
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015035553265?urlappend=%3Bseq=403
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/jstor-4059488/4059488#page/n31/mode/1up

Walter Sanford ‏@Geodialist. "Cobra Clubtail claspers." Twitter. May 19, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Geodialist/status/733221998734671872

Walter Sanford @Geodialist. "Cobra Clubtail dragonflies (females)." Twitter. May 21, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Geodialist/status/733946337155158016