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Showing posts from March, 2019

Floral morphology walk and talk

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After a play list of floral morphology, time lapse, and flower meaning videos , the weather permitted a walk and talk on campus to look at actual flowers. The opening video is entertainment only, permitting time for the students to settle in at that start of class. Stachytarpheta jamaicensis or Stachytarpheta cayennensis The Stachytarpheta jamaicensis is located along the road just past the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, a flower that makes a good, familiar starting point for the walk and talk. The complication is traffic, and the impact the class has on the flow of traffic. The state police stopped to remind us to watch out for cars, a reminder that the students constitute a traffic flow issue. Ultimately I could use some nice, solitary flowers somewhere on campus close to room A101. Volkameria inermis Volkameria inermis Ocimum tenuiflorum Faustino Jr., Delinah, Diana Scaevola taccada

Ohigan and a vernal equinox cleaning of an ethnobotanical garden

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This term I headed up to the Haruki Japanese cemetery an hour ahead of class. I was in for a tad of a shock. As soon as I entered I was puzzled - there seemed to be more light than usual. The area appeared more open that usual.  Somethings were missing from the skyline.  As I looked around I suddenly realized that the Ixora casei had gone over during the tropical disturbance that later became typhoon Wutip. To the west some of the Alpinia carolinense was also down. The Ixora casei was all but down on the ground, shallow roots unable to hold purchase in the wind. The Coffea spp., thought to probably be Coffea robusta but currently listed as Coffea arabica, was also toppled over. Still alive, but now growing at a severe angle. I would later direct the class to hand weed around the coffee tree, preserving the baby plants towards a future generation of coffee trees. The branch on the right is a fallen Falcataria moluccana limb. There was a good deal of downed bran

Material culture presentations

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Again this term the material culture presentations were optional due to cultural loss in this area. Jill with a Chuukese breadfruit pounding board made from breadfruit and called a nif Chuukese nif. The keystones permit wooden stakes to secure the board from moving during pounding A coralline Chuukese pwo, breadfruit pounder. Very similar to the Kosraean dok used to pound fafa, but the dok is traditionally basalt and has only a single central conical nub. This pwo has four conical nubs The business end of the pwo A Kosraean kuom Ashlyn with a children's toy, a spinner. Called a lohrengyeng, or, more often by children, a lohrengreng. The wind spins the spinner.   A Pohnpeian kohwa Faustino Jr. with a betau basket from Yap for middle aged men A head garland (head lei) and earrings for a dancer from Yap The garland is Cordyline fruticosa and Plumeria obtusa. The earrings are coconut shell, these are carved in the state