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Post by Brian Barnes on Apr 14, 2008 9:51:53 GMT
Greetings to all! Chapter One has begun! Stop by our website and read Barry and Brian's Excellent CP adventure; In Search of...The Mighty D. filiformis "red" Adventure awaits those who adore the mucilage! Also, feel free to explore our site and it's many CP articles as well...Also, feel free to join our Forum. Thanks and enjoy! Brian Barnes, President/FCPS. www.floridacarnivorousplantsociety.org/floridapanhandletrip.htm
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Post by Michael on Apr 15, 2008 5:43:58 GMT
Brian--fun! The image of Barry doing a Michael Jackson imitation is hauntingly hilarious!
Kudos on naming a new species...heheh :-)
I can't wait for Chapter 2....
Mike
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Post by BarryRice on Apr 15, 2008 21:26:03 GMT
You want haunting.....I still wake up in a cold sweat because of images of Smilax testiculosus (or whatever they're called).
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Post by Michael on Apr 16, 2008 4:08:12 GMT
Cthulhu by any other name....Smilax testiculosus!
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Post by Brian Barnes on Apr 16, 2008 9:46:30 GMT
Indeed...I still have scars from the ordeal! ;D At least we didn't come across the giant alba form. It snatches bladder, prostate and kidneys out of the casual bog trekker and leaves them in a neatly bound package.... hehe... Brian.
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Post by chimanta on Apr 16, 2008 13:54:33 GMT
Hello there thanks for sharing your adventures to us - it's fun to read and I had a good laugh :-) I'm waiting for the next chapter to! Urs www.nepenthes.ch
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Post by BarryRice on Apr 17, 2008 17:35:45 GMT
This is the weirdest thing....
Last night I spent some time keying out plants I had recently photographed. Anyway, I went to sleep and dreamt---I swear this is true---that I was thumbing through a book on southeastern USA flora (I didn't see the title in my dream) and I ran across a reference to Smilax testiculata. In my dream, I thought---ah, so that is the correct spelling of the specific epithet, and not "Smilax testiculosa."
Weird.
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Post by rsivertsen on Apr 17, 2008 18:04:43 GMT
Ahh, so you're not the first field botanist who's encountered these nasty thorny plants! Interesting dream connection though! Here in the northeast, there are primarily two species of Smilax, S. rotundifolia (the largest, with large dangerous thorns, and solid green, round leaves) and S. glauca, (which has smaller, oval leaves that is mottled with a paler shades of green and even white, and has smaller, but far more numerous thorns than S. rot.). Problem is that in some areas, their populations overlap, and just like a few other plants we know and love, those hybrids are fertile and with hybrid vigor, produce dense thickets of thorny vines, which are nearly impossible navigate through or around. I've had my shirt nearly ripped right off my back, and torn to shreds by these awful plants. A dense patch of raspberry canes are another threat to someone looking around the woods, along with wild rose bushes, (another nasty large thorned plant), poison ivy, and the usual stuff. Sometimes, after leaving a site, my kids tell me that I look like a survivor of a shark attack! Oh well, could be worse things I suppose!
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Post by ICPS-bob on Apr 17, 2008 18:44:01 GMT
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Post by BarryRice on Apr 17, 2008 22:06:36 GMT
Hey Bob,
I sadly admit I have not bothered to appreciate the subtleties of the Smilax genus. It might be something I should attempt---know thine enemies.
They really are amazing. They have an uncanny ability to wrap themselves around your ankles (or regions higher) and stop you in your tracks. I swear, a few times I expected to be yanked upwards off my feet, to be left dangling upside-down in the air, as if by some vile booby trap.
As I mentioned to Brian, I am fond of an old, genteel common name for the genus: blaspheme vine. I can appreciate the sentiment perfectly.
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Post by rsivertsen on Apr 17, 2008 22:21:04 GMT
The same botany professor who told us of how orchids got their name, took us on a filed trip and mentioned that "... an intimate encounter with Smilax (or a large wild rose stand) might result in a 'religious experience', and will remember such things for years to come."
I wondered what he meant by that and he mentioned that if I ever had such an experience, that I would "pray that I leave with the same inventory of body parts as when I entered." - Rich
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Post by Brian Barnes on Apr 18, 2008 1:23:36 GMT
Ahhh...Smilax! I actually think it was named and spelled "Smile-ax" at first because your bogging companions will be laughing at you while you try to gingerly remove the pesty vines from your intricate areas. Truly, a strange, bizarre vocalization followed by a strange, ritualistic dance may occur immediately after the attack, followed by the strange desire to wear a sequined glove on ones' right hand! ;D Barry, I think we should remit this to the cultivar board, along with forensic imprints of the damage done, as a form of identifying this wonderful cultivar! Glad you figured out the correct spelling! Bob, I noticed the testiculata form doen't exist on the list you linked to...Does that mean it requires further testing? OHHHH BAAAARRRRY! ;D Brian.
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kby
Full Member
Posts: 162
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Post by kby on Apr 18, 2008 5:26:30 GMT
This is the weirdest thing.... Last night I spent some time keying out plants I had recently photographed. Anyway, I went to sleep and dreamt---I swear this is true---that I was thumbing through a book on southeastern USA flora (I didn't see the title in my dream) and I ran across a reference to Smilax testiculata. In my dream, I thought---ah, so that is the correct spelling of the specific epithet, and not " Smilax testiculosa." Weird. I admit my Latin grammar is pretty poor. But wouldn't "testiculata" be feminine? I suppose a case could be made that that's appropriate (assuming it's correct), but I'm not sure.-kby
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Post by BarryRice on Apr 18, 2008 22:40:44 GMT
This is the weirdest thing.... Last night I spent some time keying out plants I had recently photographed. Anyway, I went to sleep and dreamt---I swear this is true---that I was thumbing through a book on southeastern USA flora (I didn't see the title in my dream) and I ran across a reference to Smilax testiculata. In my dream, I thought---ah, so that is the correct spelling of the specific epithet, and not " Smilax testiculosa." Weird. I admit my Latin grammar is pretty poor. But wouldn't "testiculata" be feminine? I suppose a case could be made that that's appropriate (assuming it's correct), but I'm not sure.-kby Hey kby, Please, it was a dream.... Actually, the specific epithet is supposed to modify the genus name. I think that Smilax is feminine (hence S. herbacea, S. laurifolia, S. rotundifolia). Therefore, the gender is right. However, it would be more to the point to criticize the name because it suggests the plant to be testicular in character, which is not quite the point. I defer to the botanical linguists to correct me on the details, but I think that perhaps I might prefer Smilax orchivora. This would translate as "testicle destroyer". I'm quite certain that, at any moment, a forum moderator with better judgement than I will remove this thread.
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Post by Brian Barnes on Apr 18, 2008 23:11:49 GMT
;D ;D Testicle Destroyer...hehehe
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