hope in word

 IN WORD FORMAT

Feijoa sellowiana = common names = “pineapple guava” or Acca sellowiana or California feijoa tree. This is the only species in this genus. Its flowers are very unusual looking (at least to me).  It is native mainly to the highlands of Colombia, southern Brazil, and parts of northeast Uruguay and Paraguay and northern Argentina.

It is an evergreeb shrub or small tree (up to 23 feet tall) and is a warm-temperate, subtropical plant. It requires winter chilling in order to produce fruit; thus it is frost tolerant. Its leaves have a silver luster to their bottoms. The flowers have five whitish petals which are puffy. There are about 25 dark red stamens projecting from the center of the flower. This flower produces fruit (they resemble limes), which is popular in places like New Zealand. 

There are numerous varieties (cultivars) of this plant. This flower grows well in the western, southern, and southeastern margins of the United States. It grows well in USDA Zone 10 (Wikipedia, 2026).

Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Myrtales

Family Myrtaceae [= Myrtle family]

Genus Feijoa

Type Species F. sellowiana

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Polygala myrtifolia = myrtle-leaf milkwort flower

This flower grows on 2 to 4 m tall shrubs (or small trees) that originated in the southern coasts of South Africa. It is fast growing and can be found living on dunes. It is also found in forest margins, next to streams and open grasslands.  This plant has been introduced to coastal area of California, New Zealand, and Australia. It is typically regarded to be an environmental weed. The word “milk” was incorporated into the common name of this flower because it was throught that this plant stimulated milk production in European cows.  Its flowers have a characteristic brush-like tuff protruding from the keel area. 

TWO UNUSUAL FLOWERS IN Southern California

Feijoa sellowiana = common names = “pineapple guava” or Acca sellowiana or California feijoa tree. This is the only species in this genus. Its flowers are very unusual looking (at least to me).  It is native mainly to the highlands of Colombia, southern Brazil, and parts of northeast Uruguay and Paraguay and northern Argentina.

It is an evergreeb shrub or small tree (up to 23 feet tall) and is a warm-temperate, subtropical plant. It requires winter chilling in order to produce fruit; thus it is frost tolerant. Its leaves have a silver luster to their bottoms. The flowers have five whitish petals which are puffy. There are about 25 dark red stamens projecting from the center of the flower. This flower produces fruit (they resemble limes), which is popular in places like New Zealand. 

There are numerous varieties (cultivars) of this plant. This flower grows well in the western, southern, and southeastern margins of the United States. It grows well in USDA Zone 10 (Wikipedia, 2026).

Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Myrtales

Family Myrtaceae [= Myrtle family]

Genus Feijoa

Type Species F. sellowiana

------------------------------------------------

Polygala myrtifolia = myrtle-leaf milkwort flower

This flower grows on 2 to 4 m tall shrubs (or small trees) that originated in the southern coasts of South Africa. It is fast growing and can be found living on dunes. It is also found in forest margins, next to streams and open grasslands.  This plant has been introduced to coastal area of California, New Zealand, and Australia. It is typically regarded to be an environmental weed. The word “milk” was incorporated into the common name of this flower because it was throught that this plant stimulated milk production in European cows.  Its flowers have a characteristic brush-like tuff protruding from the keel area. 

TWO UNUSUAL FLOWERS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Feijoa sellowiana = common names = “pineapple guava” or Acca sellowiana or California feijoa tree. This is the only species in this genus. Its flowers are very unusual looking (at least to me).  It is native mainly to the highlands of Colombia, southern Brazil, and parts of northeast Uruguay and Paraguay and northern Argentina.

This plant is an evergreeb shrub or small tree (up to 23 feet tall) and is a warm-temperate, subtropical plant. It requires winter chilling in order to produce fruit; thus it is frost tolerant. Its leaves have a silver luster to their bottoms. The flowers have five whitish petals which are puffy. There are about 25 dark red stamens projecting from the center of the flower. This flower produces fruit (they resemble limes), which is popular in places like New Zealand. 

There are numerous varieties (cultivars) of this plant. This flower grows well in the western, southern, and southeastern margins of the United States. It grows well in USDA Zone 10 (Wikipedia, 2026).

Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Myrtales

Family Myrtaceae [= Myrtle family]

Genus Feijoa

Type Species F. sellowiana

Figure 1. Feijoa sellowiana, about 1 3/4 inches in height.

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Polygala myrtifolia = myrtle-leaf milkwort flower

This flower grows on 2 to 4 m tall shrubs (or small trees) that originated in the southern coasts of South Africa. It is fast growing and can be found living on dunes. It is also found in forest margins, next to streams and open grasslands.  This plant has been introduced to coastal area of California, New Zealand, and Australia. It is typically regarded to be an environmental weed. The word “milk” was incorporated into the common name of this flower because it was thought that this plant stimulated milk production in European cows.  Its flowers have a characteristic brush-like tuff protruding from the keel area. 

Figure 2. Polygala myrifolia, about 1.5 inches in height.

GEOLOGY OF GRAND CANYON and COPPER CANYON

                                                                                            GRAND CANYON

Grand Canyon is formed by a single river, the Colorado River. This canyon is 4,674 feet deep and 277 miles long. The ages of the rocks in this canyon range from Precambrian to Pennsylvian/Permian, with a combined duration of 1.8 billion years.

By the way, there is a commercially available, rubber-raft (or wood boat)  trip down through the Grand Canyon.

Figure 1. A representative portion of the Grand Canyon, Arizona; image by R. L. Squires, Sept. 1973.

                                                                                          COPPER CANYON

Copper Canyon is a scenic area in northwest Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua and is always compared (online at least) to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. The name “Copper Canyon” is derived from the copper-green hue of some of its canyon walls.

By the way, it is possible to take a commercial train through the Copper Canyon area, which has extensive Douglas Fir, pine, and oak trees along the route.

  

Copper Canyon is actually a misnomer. It is not a single canyon, rather it a network of six separate canyons with many side canyons. The deepest part of canyon network is 6,136 feet.

Copper Canyon encompasses about 25,000 square miles, that together is four to seven times the size of the Grand Canyon (depending on how you map the Copper Canyon area).

Cooper Canyon rocks consist primarily of explosive volcanic ash flows, mudflows, and breccia (angular conglomerates), deposited approximately 20 to 40 million years ago during early Eocene to early Miocene time. 

Figure 2. A representative area of a part of Copper Canyon (image modified from an image in the website entitled: images.pexels.com).

STAG BEETLE

Male stag beetles have overzised mandibles that resemble antlers. They are used to wrestle each other for favored mating sites. The females have much smaller bodies and jaws.

Stag Beetle image via public domain.

Stag beetles are not aggressive toward humans. These insects are rare and a symbol of good luck. In some cultures, they are used in for betting/gaming activities (i.e., fighting one another), but not in the USA. In most countries, they are rare and a symbol of good luck.

The fossil record of these distinctive insects ranges from late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) [176 million years ago] to recent.

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Insecta

Order Coleoptera

Family Luncanidae

Genus Lucanus

There are many species; for example, in the USA alone, there are 30 species.

Reference

Wikipidea, 2026

MOLA FISH: AN UNFORETABLE ANIMAL

This large fish lives offshore, near the surface, in warm oceans. It is not a common fish. They typically lie on their side and move slowly by slapping their dorsal and anal fins in alternation.

Their length is usually 4 to 8 feet, with 11 feet the maximum. They

can weight up to 600 pounds. Their large, dorsal and anal fins characterize this fish. When viewed from above, they have the shape of a "coin"--wide but very narrow. But viewed sideways, they have a large surface area, and they look like a fish "chopped in half." They typically lie on their side, near the surface (as if they are sunning themselves).

They eat mainly squid and jellyfish. The Mola fish is no threat to humans. 

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Actinopterygii

Order Tetraodontiformes

Family Molidae

Genus Mola

Type species: M. mola (Linnaeus, 1758).

References

Reader's Digest, 1982. North American Wildlife. Pleasantiville, New York. 615 pp. 

Wikipedia. 2026. Mola mola.

all the following images are public domain images

Mola mola in motion.

Mola mola (showing the detail of its skin).

A "captured" Mola mola.

THE MOLE RATS

There are two types of mole rats (both small in size): the naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat.

Both are unique small rodents and live their entire lives underground, in burrowing eusocial colonies in Africa. These colonies are like those found in eusocial colonies of ants, termites, and bees. Similarly, fhere is also only a single queen in each mole colony. 

Both kinds of mole rats have no external ears and very tiny eyes (because they live all their lives underground, eyes/sight is not that important). 

The naked mole-rat, which lives in grassy, semi-arid regions of East Africa, is hairless with wrinkled skin that is red grayish-pink in color. This kind of mole rat can live up to 30 years.

                                            

Figure 1. Two views of a naked-mole rat: Heterocephalus glaber (about 3 inches long).

                          Figure 2. Inside view of the underground colony of H. glaber = Naked Mole Rat.

Figure 3. An adult Fukomys damarensis = Damaraland Mole Rat, which lives in Southern Africa, has short black/gray fur--along with a white patch at the top of the head. 

Both types of these mole rats have a long lifespan (up to 30 years). They are most closely related to porcupines and guinea pigs, than to true moles or rats. Both type of these mole rats have powerful teeth used to dig underground tunnel systems.

The Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has a cam for the public to view a live colony of mole rats (if the cam is working).

                                   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Rodentia

        --------------------------------------------------------------

Naked Mole Rat:                         Damaraland Mole Rat:

Family Bathyegidae                     Family Bathyegidae

Genus Heterocephalus                 Genus Fukomys

Species glaber                                Species damasrensis