Just an old illustration
Monthly Archives: September 2012
The autumn sun of quince from my memories
Whenever I see quince I remember the fruity smell of yellow ripe quinces my grand-grand mother kept on the top of her carved laundry armoire. It were times when bedrooms were seldom heated and there were no artificial air fresheners to buy, when bed sheets were from white linen and always ironed ,when wooden parquet floor was waxed and we kids had warm home shoes she had made for us. At that times I had always known when autumn was coming.There were new, vivid yellow quinces in my grandma room and there was fresh wood prepared in front of fireplace.And there were sweet sugared pieces of quince cheese we kids got in the early evenings …………that is why I was so happy finding all these quinces today, and that is, why I wish to see the film about an artist painting a quince tree from September till November………
| Quince | |
|---|---|
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| Cydonia oblonga flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Subfamily: | Amygdaloideae[1] |
| Tribe: | Maleae |
| Subtribe: | Malinae |
| Genus: | Cydonia |
| Species: | C. oblonga |
| Binomial name | |
| Cydonia oblonga Mill. |
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from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince
Juan Sánchez Cotán:Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber,from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juaez_Cotánn_Sánch
Nikolaos Lytras Peeling Quinces , from:http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/nikolaos-lytras/peeling-quince
Last September bouquet
Grasshopper movie star
My petunias eaten? Green grasshopper was near by ,so I claimed him guilty.To feel better about it ,I went on net to check it out.I am calm now, grasshoppers do eat plants,indeed.But I’ve got another question by now-I’ve remembered old Aesop tale ”Grasshopper and ant” and I wonder does this assumption about lazy grasshopper have any realistic backgrounds or was it just made up for didactic purposes by Aesop? For my grasshopper was quiet laborious to cut so many petunias as it did……Nevertheless,I have found two old grasshopper films on you -tube.Both of them around 100 years old, yet ending a bit different one from the other-to fit didactic needs of the time.Which could mean, that also Aesop made it up,too.Of course My Botanical Gardens in this case absolutely disprove use of grasshoppers good name in a way that has no realistic grounds 
. But please, do have a look-and enjoy! Any scientific explanation about grasshoppers working habits is welcome!
Grasshoppers prefer to eat grasses, leaves and cereal crops. The majority of grasshoppers are polyphagous. Many will eat from multiple host plants in one day, while some prefer to rely on the same host plant. Only one of the 8000 species of grasshopper is monophagous and will only eat a single species of plant.[2]
| Grasshopper Temporal range: Late Permian – Recent |
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| Immature grasshopper | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Caelifera Ander, 1939 |
| Superfamilies | |
from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper
Sempervivum tectorum-Common houseleek,Jupiter’s eye
drawing from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempervivum_tectorum
Today post is without story, for I am just too tired after this week-wish to be like sempervivum ,that:
History relates that a botanist tried hard for eighteen months to dry a plant of the House Leek for his herbarium, but failed in this object. He afterwards restored it to its first site when it grew again as if nothing had interfered with its ordinary life.[2]from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempervivum_tectorum
| Common Houseleek | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Crassulaceae |
| Genus: | Sempervivum |
| Species: | S. tectorum |
| Binomial name | |
| Sempervivum tectorum L. |
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Fall fruits in blue – azulejos from Lisbon
Autumn heart
Xerochrysum bracteatum and an old flower lady
It was warm sunny day yesterday in Ljubljana,one of those last summer days each year brings before autumn.I always try to pick up such day’s memories to warm me up in cold winter, just like the old flower-lady makes bouquets from dry flowers to catch summer colors for the winter whiteness……...
Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia.
Xerochrysum bracteatum had been introduced to cultivation in England by 1791.[32]German horticulturist Herren Ebritsch obtained material and developed it at his nursery in Arnstadt near Erfurt in Germany. He bred and sold cultivars of many colours from bronze to white to purple, which spread across Europe in the 1850s.
| Xerochrysum bracteatum | |
|---|---|
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| Wild form of Xerochrysum bracteatum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Xerochrysum |
| Species: | X. bracteatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Xerochrysum bracteatum (Vent.) Tzvelev |
|
| Synonyms | |
| Bracteantha bracteata (Vent.) Anderb. & Haegi Helichrysum bracteatum (Vent.) Andrews Helichrysum lucidum Henckel[1][2] Helichrysum chrysanthum Pers.[2][3] From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerochrysum_bracteatum |
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Argiope bruennichi, stabilimentum and recycling
All too often I walk down my garden without seeing many little neighbors of mine living down there.This Sunday was a sunny one and it was impossible not to see this working guy-Argiope bruennichi, spinning under hot sun(I say guy as females are much smaller). I took some pics immediately ,for at least three reasons.First ,look at his prey-isn’t he quiet a catcher? Second,look at white silk zig-zag pattern-it is interesting that it is still uncertain why spiders build stabilimenta. Third,so many people hate or are afraid of spiders-without reason(at rational level at least)!Fourth,this guy is actually recycling his silk web (have a look down here)!
| Wasp spider | |
|---|---|
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| Argiope bruennichi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Argiope |
| Species: | A. bruennichi |
| Binomial name | |
| Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772)The spider builds a spiral orb web at dawn or dusk, commonly in long grass a little above ground level, taking it approximately an hour. The prominent zigzag shape called the stabilimentum, or web decoration, featured at the centre of the orb is of uncertain function, though it may be to attract insects.When a prey item is first caught in the web, Argiope bruennichi will quickly immobilise its prey by wrapping it in silk. The prey is then bitten and then injected with a paralysing venom and a protein dissolving enzyme.From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_bruennichi Originally the decorations were thought to stabilize the web (hence the term stabilimentum)[citation needed], though this theory has since been dismissed. One more recent theory is that web decorations attract prey by reflecting ultraviolet light.[4] Light in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum is known to be attractive to many species of insects.[4]While the most conspicuous and well-studied decorations are constructed entirely of silk (for example in Argiope), some spiders combine silk with other items such as egg sacs and debris (for example in Cyclosa).From :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_decorations Webs allow a spider to catch prey without having to expend energy by running it down. Thus it is an efficient method of gathering food. However, constructing the web is in itself an energetically costly process because of the large amount of protein required, in the form of silk. In addition, after a time the silk will lose its stickiness and thus become inefficient at capturing prey. It is common for spiders to eat their own web daily to recoup some of the energy used in spinning. The silk proteins are thus recycled.From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_web: |
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Plum-epicuticular wax and artistic inspiration
Today I came home quiet late, tired and hungry.How happy I was finding bowl full of plums in the kitchen!I just love them, how sweet-sour they are,they are one of my favorite fruits.And there is still something I love above all besides the plum nutritional facts .It is the bluish hue covering fresh plums, making them look like appearing from blue skies ,bearing something eternal with them.Jet it is only biology and it is called epicuticular wax.Or is it some art as well,inspiring painters since far centuries?Decide it for yourself………..I already know it………..
Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them aglaucous appearance; this is easily rubbed off. This is an epicuticular waxcoating and is known as “wax bloom”.Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Plum remains have been found inNeolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs.
| Plum | |
|---|---|
 |
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| A plum whole and split | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Subfamily: | Maloideae or Spiraeoideae [1] |
| Genus: | Prunus |
| Subgenus: | Prunus |
| Species | |
| See text. from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum | |
| Three Friends of Winter | |
|---|---|
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| The Three Friends of Winter by the Song Dynasty painter Zhao Mengjian |
Culturally, pine, bamboo, and plum[17] are regarded as linked in the context of winter because they flourish together at that season.[1] For this reason they are commonly known as the Three Friends of Winter[1] or referred to simply by their linked names:Song Zhu Mei (松竹梅) in Chinese, transliterated as Sho Chiku Bai in Japanese (literally “pine, bamboo, plum”).[18] The pine and plum-blossom add their fragrance to the cold air and are therefore valued as bringers of distinction to adverse conditions.[2] This is further emphasised by the evergreen qualities of pine and bamboo, added to the early flowering of the plum while snow is still on the ground, and makes of them symbols of perseverance and integrity. In this connection, they also symbolise longevity: bamboo and pine because of their evergreen quality, plum blossom because it reappears on the age-old branches.[19] from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Friends_of_Winter
Prune sur paravent du peintre Kanō Sanraku (17esiècle).from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prune_sur_paravent_par_Kan%C5%8D_Sanraku.jpg
Ogata Korin (1658 – 1716): Red Prunus and White Prunus (left hand screen),from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:White_Prunus_Korin.jpg
Cottage of the Cultivated Plum Trees, painting by Ch’ien Tu #QianDu#,1815,from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:’Cottage_of_the_Cultivated_Plum_Trees’,_painting_by_Ch’ien_Tu_(Qian_Du).jpg
- Left, Hiroshige: Plum Estate, Kameido 1857; from “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”; 13.25 × 8.625 in (33.7 × 21.9 cm);The Brooklyn Museum.
- Right, van Gogh: Japonaiserie, ‘Flowering Plum Tree’ (after Hiroshige), oil on canvas, 55 × 46 cm (21.7 × 18.1 in); Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
- from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hiroshige_Van_Gogh_1.JPG
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