Tag Archives: America

Broadleaf Stonecrop

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Broadleaf Stonecrop

Broadleaf stonecrops certainly hide stones when growing among them.

  • A broadleaf stonecrop is a variety of a small, perennial and evergreen plant, and is classified as a succulent.
  • Broadleaf stonecrops are native to the rocky sections of mountainous regions in western parts of North America.
  • The scientific name of a broadleaf stonecrop is Sedum spathulifolium and it is from the family Crassulaceae, the family of stonecrops.
  • ‘Broadleaf stonecrops’ are also known as ‘Pacific stonecrops’,  ‘Purdy’s stonecrops’, ‘Yosemite stonecrops’, ‘spoon-leaved stonecrops’, and ‘blood leaf sedums’.
  • A variety of broadleaf stonecrop, the Cape Blanco, has received the Award of Garden Merit from the United Kingdom’s Royal Horticultural Society for its decorative nature, while the species in general is commonly grown as a ground cover.

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  • The leaves of broadleaf stonecrop plants are thick, powdery or waxy on touch, and range from green, to pink and red in colour, and they are roughly 1 to 2 centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 inches) in length.
  • The small broadleaf stonecrop flowers are star-like in shape, and are of a yellow colour, and they bloom throughout the summer months.
  • Broadleaf stonecrop plants grow roughly 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) in height, and they spread up to 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter.
  • A wide variety of soils can be used to grow broadleaf stonecrops, and the plant thrives best in full sun and is drought tolerant.
  • The leaves of broadleaf stonecrops can be eaten both cooked and raw in small quantities, best picked before the plant blooms, while the plant has been used for a number of medicinal purposes.
Bibliography:
Pacific Stonecrop, Broadleaf Stonecrop ‘Cape Blanco’, 2015, Dave’s Garden, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/37066/#b
Sedum spathulifolium – Hook., Plant For A Future, http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Sedum+spathulifolium
Sedum Spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’, 2015, Perennials.com, http://www.perennials.com/plants/sedum-spathulifolium-cape-blanco.html
Sedum Spathulifolium, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedum_spathulifolium

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Salsa

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Salsa

Do you do a jig or does your mouth water when you hear of salsa?

  • Salsa is a condiment popularly used as a dip or flavouring in a variety of dishes, and it often has a spicy flavour.
  • ‘Salsa’ can be translated from Spanish as ‘sauce’ and the term originates from the same word in Latin, meaning ‘salt’.
  • Tomato and chili pepper are the typical primary ingredients of salsa, although the tomato can be substituted with ingredients like mango and pineapple, while onion, spices, avocado and corn are common additions.
  • Traditionally, salsa ingredients are crushed together using a mortar and pestle type tool, although many modern recipes use a blender, or are simply chopped instead.
  • Salsa can range from being a somewhat smooth and runny sauce, to quite a chunky mixture, and it is generally served cold or at room temperature.

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  • Salsa originated from at least as early as the 1500s by native people from regions in Central and South America.
  • Commercialised salsa was only first produced in the United States in 1916, by Charles Erath, from New Orleans, despite being so close in distance, to the fresh product’s origins centuries prior.
  • Salsa is most popularly used in Mexican dishes; and it is often served with meat and seafood; as a side; or with corn chips.
  • Salsa is sometimes cooked and packaged in containers made of glass, giving it a long shelf life, and it is readily available in supermarkets, while fresh salsa can often be found in shops in plastic containers.
  • Some salsa ingredients may be cooked prior to chopping or crushing, and sometimes the ingredients are cooked all together, prior to serving, while other recipes have all of the ingredients served raw.
Bibliography:
History of Salsa Sauce, 2015, Food Editorial, http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/snacks/dips_and_sauces/history_of_salsa_sauce_the_mexican_connection.html
The Origin of Salsa, 2013, Thornhill Capital, http://thornhillcapital.info/north-america/the-origin-of-salsa
Salsa (Sauce), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_(sauce)
Santos-Neves C, The Art of Making Delicious Salsa, 2015, Epicurious, http://www.epicurious.com/archive/holidays/cincodemayo/mexican-salsa

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Cane Toad

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Cane Toad

Cane toads are more than just a bump in the ecosystem.

  • Cane toads are a species of toad native to southern areas of North America, to the northern half of South America, and they are notoriously regarded as a pest in many other countries.
  • The scientific name of a cane toad is Rhinella marina, although previously listed as Bufo marinus, and it is from the family Bufonidae, the family of true toads.
  • ‘Cane toads’ are also known as ‘marine toads’, ‘giant toads’, ‘giant marine toads’ and ‘giant neotropical toads’.
  • Cane toads are generally 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) in length and weigh an average of 500 to 800 grams (1.1 to 1.7 pounds), however, they can grow to be more than double the average size.
  • The skin of cane toads is dry and has wart like bumps, and can vary in colour from shades of brown, grey, yellow or olive.

Cane Toad, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Amphibian, Brown, Pest, Australia, Domestic, Animal

  • Cane toads have been introduced in Australia, the Pacific, the United States and other countries, primarily to control pests on sugar cane, particularly the cane beetle, however, they have instead become highly invasive in some areas and fatal to native animals when eaten.
  • The diet of cane toads consists of insects, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and the odd vegetation, and they will also eat pet food.
  • The skin of cane toads, as well as the glands behind their head, contains bufotoxin, making them poisonous to touch or consume, to the extent of being fatal to many animals, and dangerous to humans.
  • Cane toad toxin has been collected and used as an arrow poison and a drug, while some parts, including skinned legs, are edible.
  • Female cane toads may produce from 8000 to 35,000 eggs every six months, breeding in water, and they have an average lifespan of five to ten years.
Bibliography:
Cameron E, Cane Toad, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/cane-toad
Cane Toad, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/amphibians/cane-toad/
Cane Toad, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad
Draft risk assessment report to amend the Live Import List to include Cane Toads, n.d, Australian Government Department of the Environment, http://secure.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/wildlife-trade/invitecomment/pubs/draft-risk-assessment-report-bufo-marinus.pdf

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Amazon River Dolphin

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Amazon River Dolphin

Amazon River dolphins keep hidden but manage to keep curious at the same time.

  • Amazon River dolphins are a species of dolphin that thrives in the fresh waters of the Amazon River basin, Orinoco River basin and parts of  the Madeira River basin, in South America.
  • ‘Amazon River dolphins’ are also known as ‘boto dolphins’, ’boutu dolphins’, ‘bufeo dolphins’ and ‘pink river dolphins’.
  • The scientific name of the Amazon River dolphin is Inia geoffrensis and it is from the family Iniidae, a river dolphin family, and it is one of the few species in the family that is still in existence.
  • Amazon River dolphins generally grow to 2 to 2.8 metres (6.5 to 9.2 feet) in length and weigh between 72 to 161 kilograms (160 to 355 pounds).
  • Originally born a grey colour, the Amazon River dolphin’s skin becomes tinted with pink as it ages.
Amazon River Dolphin, Animal, Mammal, Aquatic, Water, Wild, Feeding, Grey
Amazon River Dolphin
Image courtesy of Zemlinki!/Flickr
  • The diet of Amazon River dolphins consists primarily of fish such as piranhas, croakers and tetras, as well as crabs and turtles.
  • Amazon River dolphins are threatened by habitat destruction and human fishing for food and bait, although there is insufficient data for an official conservation rating.
  • It is common for Amazon River dolphins to live with up to four other dolphins of the same species.
  • Amazon River dolphins are considered quite intelligent, as well as very curious, and they are able to turn their head from side to side.
  • Native folklore often describes the Amazon River dolphin as a mysterious animal, and those who kill or look at one in the eye, are said to be somewhat doomed.
Bibliography:
Amazon/Pink River Dolphin, 2015, WWF, http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/river_dolphins/pink_river_dolphin/
Amazon River Dolphin, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_river_dolphin
Pink Amazon River Dolphin, 2014, Dolphins-World, http://www.dolphins-world.com/pink-amazon-river-dolphin/

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Sweet Corn

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Sweet Corn

You cannot get jokes more sweet corn-y.

  • Sweet corn is a maize variety that has a particularly sweet taste in comparison to other varieties of maize, and it is also known as ‘pole corn’ and ‘sugar corn’.
  • The scientific name of the sweet corn plant is Zea mays saccharata or Zea mays rugosa, and it is from the family Poaceae, the family of true grasses.
  • Sweet corn has a higher quantity of sugar and less starch than other maize varieties, and it is believed that this is caused by a natural mutation, and the cobs are harvested before they are mature, to ensure maximum sweetness.
  • A single sweet corn plant produces a range of one to three cobs each, that typically range from 20 to 25 centimetres (8 to 10 inches) in length.
  • Generally sweet corn hardens and becomes starchy easily, meaning it should be eaten soon after picking and stored only for short periods of time in a cool location.

Sweet Corn, Yellow, Green, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Food, Maize, Culinary, Cob

  • Sweet corn can be steamed, microwaved, baked, boiled and barbecued, and is readily available in supermarkets and can be bought fresh, frozen or canned, and sometimes ‘creamed’.
  • Even though sweet corn is technically a grain, it is often eaten as a vegetable, commonly with peas, as a side to a main meal; with beans in Central and South America; and once the kernels are removed from the cob they are commonly used in salads and main meal dishes.
  • Sweet corn kernels are typically a yellow or white colour and they have a sweet flavour, and while on the cob, they are typically surrounded with a green leafy husk and strands of hair, known as ‘silk’.
  • Native American tribes were the original growers of sweet corn, and it grew in popularity around the late 1700s, when it became accessible to Europeans.
  • Sweet corn is very high in fibre, folate, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, and contains many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Corn, 2013, Fresh For Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/veg_pages/corn/corn.html
How To Grow: Sweet Corn, 2013, SBS, http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2012/09/06/how-grow-sweet-corn
Sweet Corn, 2015, Victoria State Government Agriculture, http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/vegetables-a-z/sweet-corn
Sweet Corn, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_corn

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Tornado Alley

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Tornado Alley

There are no boundaries in this Tornado Alley.

  • Tornado Alley is a section of the United States of America that experiences a significant amount of tornado activity each year.
  • ‘Tornado Alley’ as a term, originated as a project name for an investigation into tornadoes in central United States in 1952.
  • There is no official territory designated as Tornado Alley, however the rough location is mostly in central North America, particularly the states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, as well as Nebraska, in the United States.
  • The use of the term ‘Tornado Alley’ was mostly popularised and influenced by the media, however it has since been adopted by some scientists.
  • An extensive quantity of tornadoes develop in Tornado Alley due to the convergence of cold dry wind, warm dry air, and warm moist wind.
Tornado Alley, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Grey, Lightning, United States, Chasers, Storm
In Tornado Alley
Image courtesy of Lauri Väin/Flickr
  • Although in a notable tornado danger zone, there has been no or little increase in regulations in building requirements in the states that are in the Tornado Alley region.
  • An average of around 268 tornadoes occur each year in the Tornado Valley, which equals to about 30 percent of the tornadoes that occur in the United States annually.
  • Due to the large amount of tornado formations, Tornado Alley is a prime zone for scientific observations by storm chasers.
  • The ideal conditions for tornado creation in Tornado Alley, generally develop tornado formations of a higher violence.
  • In May 1957, the New York Times was among the first media outlets to use the term “Tornado Alley”, which was used as an article headline.
Bibliography:
Heberton B, A Tornado’s Cost: Living in Tornado Alley, 2014, United States Tornadoes, http://www.ustornadoes.com/2014/04/24/a-tornados-cost-living-in-a-tornado-alley/
Tornado Alley, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley
Tornado Alley, n.d, National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/tornado-alley
Zimmermann K, Tornado Alley: Where Twisters Form, 2012, Live Science, http://www.livescience.com/25675-tornado-alley.html

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