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Post by BarryRice on Jan 13, 2011 17:30:03 GMT
Hey folks,
In June, I am probably going to head to France for a few weeks with my lovely wife, in order to visit her mum in Paris. I do not expect to have too much control over my time, so I don't think I'll be travelling much out of Paris.
However, as compensation for visiting such CP-poor territory, we are expecting to take a quick side-trip to Portugal/Spain, land of the lovely Drosophyllum. I'll post more as developments develop.
I'd be happy to say hey to European CPers while I'm there, especially if you want to show me the sights in the field!
Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Nov 26, 2010 19:50:43 GMT
If you have a digital camera and software that can display histograms, you can take photographs of pieces of paper, and compare the histogram peaks.
This is what I do---you don't need to buy another hunk of electronics.
Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Jul 10, 2010 6:10:24 GMT
Hey Michael,
In a nutshell, I think that the sticky Proboscidea and Ibicella are interesting as studies of paracarnivorous plants, but we need some kind of real proof.
I like the plants, though. I stop the car whenever I see one of these plants on the roadside.
B
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Post by BarryRice on Jul 10, 2010 6:07:07 GMT
That's a beauty! Did you catch him barehanded, like you did with the tiger snakes we saw when we visited with you? Remember, that was just after you jumped into the lagoon and hauled the 4-m saltwater croc out for us to see.
B
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Post by BarryRice on Jul 9, 2010 17:52:14 GMT
Those are the best plants I've ever seen in cultivation. Spectacular!
I'm heading up to Butterfly Valley tomorrow to see them in the wild---I hope they approach the way your plants look!!!!!
B
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Post by BarryRice on Jul 5, 2010 1:54:47 GMT
Hey Dave,
I think that the species concept has its problems, but it still has validity and relevance.
I think the reason it is under fire, to a large degree, is that as a culture we no longer value organismal biology, and everything has become molecular. Look at the departments at major universities, and you'll see botany, zoology, mycology, are all disappearing or being consolidated in a mad dash for survival. Meanwhile, if you track down an expert in any taxonomic field, and you'll likely be talking to a grey or white haired emeritus.
I subscribe to the "biological species concept," and think it does quite well in most aspects of botany. On the other hand, my best friend is a mycologist, and she frequently laughs at the species concept as being useless in much of what she does.
In cases where hybrid swarms dominate, sure the concept of species has less relevance. But that is as important a fact than if the plants were falling neatly into line. Without a species concept, you have lost a good way to measure diversity.
B
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 30, 2010 1:46:45 GMT
Hey Folks,
I'm looking for some seeds of D. capillaris, and D. intermedia, for use as microscope reference material.
If you have any, could you contact me? I'd really appreciate it!
The seeds should have location information at least to state, and ideally to county (but not needed). I'd like the seeds to be from the USA/Canada.
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 23, 2010 23:17:11 GMT
Hey Kayaker78,
Contact me off the forum. I originated these cultivars, and last I looked my plants looked pretty skunky and need to be divided. I'll have chunks for you if you want them.
Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 23, 2010 1:33:27 GMT
I'm glad you enjoyed the ghost picture.
But in all honesty, it was a low-tech, through the lens photograph. No post-processing trickery involved.
B
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 22, 2010 5:06:28 GMT
Hey Folks, As is probably becoming obvious, there's a lot of interest in the red Drosera filiformis in Florida. I've been studying these populations for a few years now, via herbarium specimens and field trips. Yes, you can expect a couple of publications to come from this, but to comment upon their nature, I need a bit more science. But anyway, you might have seen the crazy videos of our madcap adventures that Randy posted. Now I've put a trip report on line, too. www.sarracenia.com/trips/fl022010.htmlEnjoy, and come back here to comment! Cheers Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 20, 2010 17:43:00 GMT
Hey Folks, Beth and I visited Splinter Hill Bog, Alabama, which is a site owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Its management is sponsored by grants from The ICPS. We were given a tour of the site by TNC staffer Keith Tassin, and ICPS Dir. of Conservation Brian Barnes. The site is so great, it makes you cry. I put a trip report on line at www.sarracenia.com/trips/al012010.htmlA preview: Lovely S. leucophyllaA bug's-eye view. Cheers Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 20, 2010 17:10:39 GMT
Hey Guys, I've uploaded the first of my four field trip reports from our trip. You can read it here: www.sarracenia.com/trips/fl012010.htmlI am absolutely thrilled with some underwater photographs I got of Utricularia floridana! So often you get the results back from underwater photography, and are so bummed. This time I used a pretty respectable camera, with a separate strobe and a macro bracket. Look at this! Also, here is a photograph that Beth took of me wrassling an agressive Utricularia foliosa plant... These are the risks we take to see our beloved plants!
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 14, 2010 16:30:25 GMT
Hey Randy, Thanks for posting these. I want to mention right away, before I start getting any accusatory emails, that the plants I am filmed collecting are part of a scientific documentation process. These plants have never before been documented, and the specimens we collected were immediately pressed between books, and are being prepared for submission to an herbarium. That's how science works! Folks who might be desperate to get hybrids of these plants could get them readily enough by creating them, themselves, just as bees did it in the wild. B
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 11, 2010 18:22:44 GMT
My theory is that, by screaming, I slow down my breathing and therefore de-oxygenate my blood, thus sending leeches and ticks in search of richer prey.
That is why, Bob, you may recall that on my hikes with you I am always encouraging you to breathe deeply.
Barry
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Post by BarryRice on Jun 10, 2010 3:11:22 GMT
Wow. I never guessed I came across as respectable as I do! Just as the video was ending, I noticed that I said "ochroleuca" when I meant "olivacea". Oh well. Randy, that was a fun couple of sites!!!!! It's killing me that the lab I develop "film" at is going to take DAYS before I get those aquatic images back. I'm spoiled by digital! B
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