SOME OXYMORONS and PLEONASMS

OXYMORONS

An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory terms.

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Act naturally

Almost exactly

Alone together

Awfully good

Bittersweet

Clearly misunderstood

Clearly confused

Deafening silence

Definite maybe

Diet ice cream

Exact estimate

Extinct life

Found missing

Good grief

Genuine imitation

Growing smaller

Jumbo shrimp

Known unknown

Living dead

Living fossil

New Classic

Old news

Organized chaos

Original copy

Passive aggressive

Plastic glasses

Platic silverware

Pretty ugly

Same difference

Serious joke

Silent scream

Small crowd

Soft rock

Taped live

Temporary tax increase

Terribly pleased

Tragic comedy

Twelve-once, pound cake

Virtual reality

Working vacation

PLEONASMS

 

A pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary. In pleonasms, the extra word is redundant. 

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ATM machine: [the “M” already stands for machine.]

Burning fire 

Tuna fish

True fact

AN EARLY HAY BALER?

This post concerns a presumed antique hay bailer that was abandoned long ago by on a ranch on the north side of Simi Valley in southern California. In the late 1970's, I was doing some field work in this area and came across this piece of ranch machinery. That was about time that this former ranch was also being considered to become a country club “development.” That never happened, and the ranch continued for a short time (at a much reduced scale) to do agriculture work, cattle raising, and oil drilling. Eventually, the owners “pulled up stakes,” and the land fortunately became an official part of the “Marr Ranch Open Space,” which can now be used (for free!) by hikers. 

Figure 1. A hay baler?, on the old Marr Ranch, north side of Simi Valley, Southern California. This photograph was taken by me in the late 1970's. Note:  you can see another image (taken by someone else in recent years) of this exact same baler (with fewer weeds around it) online on Youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?=9AGzSURu_W      

This presumed baler is still in the same exact location as when I photographed it. 

I became curious as to the vintage of this small, presumed hay baler. Hay balers were invented about 1850 or so, when farmers started bailing hay. Horses were used to pull the portable hay balers. In the 1930’s, balers became attached to tractors. By 1971 or so, the first large-sized hay baler (used for large-scale work) became available to ranchers/farmers.

In summary, in my opinion, it is likely that the presumed small, hay baler that I came across was probably a model used in the 1940s, or shortly thereafter. 

COMMON SHAPES OF CUT GEMSTONES

The way a diamond is cut is proportional to how much sparkle it will have. The most expensive cut is round-shaped (see the "brilliant cut in the lower right-hand row, in Figure 1 below). It takes much precision to cut a round-shaped stone.                                  

Figure 1. Some common shapes of cut diamonds (from a picture in an old newspaper).

                                     10 most common shapes:

round  [round brilliant = most popular shape because it has maximum sparkle]

princess

cushion = one of the most timeless cuts

emerald = another one of the most timeless cuts

oval

asscher

radiant

pear (tear-drop shape)

heart

marquise

         less common shapes (often used in multi-stone rings):

trilliant

bagnuette

European

rose

mine

briolette

kite

tapered baguette

calf

shield

princess

                           additional shapes:

rectangular

heart

square

facet (flat surface)

fancy

boat-shaped

radiant

Portuguese (an old but intricate [complex] pattern)

                  Online Sources of Information:

International Gem Society  https://www.gemsociety.org

Understanding gem shapes: a guide to the art and craft of gemstone cuts.

Golden Sea Nettle

Chrysaora fuscescens = "Pacific sea nettle" or "West Coast sea nettle" that lives in ocean waters from British Columbia to Baja California Sur, Mexico. These nettles are carnivore that feed on zooplankton, salps, crustaceans, and pelagic snails. They prefer temperate to cool waters. These animals can be up to 3 feet (1 m) in diameter.

Figure 1. A group of golden sea nestles (image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in southern California). Their "tails" can be as long as 15 feet, and human contact with its produces painful stings. Their venom is not deadly to humans but getting “stung” by this animal is similar to a bee sting (or, in some cases, bee stings).

These animals swim by squeezing their bell and pushing water behind it. They also prefer to float with the bell “upside down” (Fig. 1).

Figure 2. Closeup of a swimming/floating Golden sea nettle. Image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in southern California.

     Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Cnidaria

Class Scyphozoa

Order Semaeostomae

Family Pelagiidae

Genus Chrysaora 

Type Species C. fuscecens

A THORNY ECHINODERM

In my personal collection of marine invertebrates, I have a small echinoderm typically referred to as a  "star fish." [Of course, it is neither a star, nor a fish!] 

This echinoderm, which is somewhat unusual in that it is very  thorny.  is Amphiaster insignis Verrrill. This is the only species known of this genus. Its “arms” are very wide near the central disc area. In life, the body and arms are uniformly colored red-orange to red brown. The specimen shown here has been bleached by exposure to the sun. 

Amphiaster insignis is known from the central and lower part of the Gulf of California, to at least as far south as Panama (Brusca, 1980, p. 405, fig. 26.10). It is a common species.

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Echinodermata

Class Asteroidea

Order Oreasterida

Family Goniasteridae

Genus Amphiaster

Type species: A. insignis

Figure 1. Dorsal view of starfish, specimen diameter 60 mm, thickness 12 mm.

Figure 2. Ventral view of specimen shown above.

Reference

Brusca, R.C. 1980. Common intertidal invertebrates of the Gulf of California, 2^nd ed., 513 pp.

ALSTROMERIA FLOWERS

This genus of flowers, which was described by a student of Carl Linnaeus, was named after the Swedish baron Claus Alstromer, a friend of Linneaus.

Alstromeria is native to South America, primarily in southern Argentina and central Brazil, and this flower ranges three degrees north of the equator to the southern tip of South America. Alstromeria is a long-lived perennial that is found in swamps, forests, savannas, grasslands, and, as well as, at altitudes (up to 2300 m elevation).

There are up to as many as 80 reported “species” (including subspecies and variants, as well as hybrids). How many of these are valid species remains to be determined. Common names include the “Peruvian Lily” and “Lily of the Incas,” but they are not lilies.

The color variation of this flower is (like most flowers) highly variable, with pink, yellow, red, white, purple variants. But they all have beautiful streaks (variable in color) on their petals or in their central areas. These streaks makes this flower memorable.

Their geologic time range of genus Alstromeria, based on molecular divergence dating, is late Cretaceous to the present. The early history of this genus was likely affected by geographic separation associated with the formation of the Andes Mountain Range, which actively began about 6 to 2 million years ago = Miocene and Pliocene epochs) (Wikipedia, 2026).

This plant has long-lasting trumpet-shaped flowers, that do well even after being cut (as long as their cut stems have a water source [in a container). Thus, this flower is used in floral arrangements. There are many cultivares, which can be pink, deep yellow, red, orange, purple, or white. There can even be bi-colored varieties. Additionally, their streaks of color are variable. This flower, which has six petals, is also known as the “lily of the Incas.” It is native to Chile and Argentina. Today, it can be found in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.

Classification

Kingdom Plantar

Clades (3 of them)

Order Alstroemeriaceae

Family Alstroemeriacea.

Genus Alstroemeria

Type Species: A. pelegrina

In the USA, Alstrolmeria grows well is zones 8-10. They thrive in full sun, and they prefer well-drained soil. They are long-blooming perennials (i.e. they bloom from early summer to first frost).

They are drought tolerant. Also, its leaves grow upside down [= resupination].  Alstromeria readily attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. 

Figure 1. Alstromeria (pink variety). Image via a purchased bouquet.

Figure 2. Alstromeria (three colors). Image taken at Green Thumb Nursery in Saugus, California.

Figure 3. Alstromeria (red variety). Image taken at Green Thumb Nursery in Saugus, California.

THREE INVASIVE PLANTS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

This post concerns my neighborhood, which is in the city of Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles, southern California.

                                                                              1)  Arundo donax

This plant, which is growing in places within the Santa Clarita River drainage system, is also known as the "Giant River reed," one of the fastest growing plants in the world. It is a perennial bamboo-like plant from Eurasia. This plant can be as much as 30 feet in height.

Figure 1. Arundo donax (about 10 feet in height) growing in the Santa Clarita River drainage in southern California.

This plant reproduces from massive shallow-root systems; pieces of which get transported downstream by water flows to new locations, where it can re-root and spread rapidly. It is tolerant of both flooding and drought, and it can survive extended periods of exposure to high salinity.

One acre of Arundo donax can consume 11.75-acre feet, or almost 4 million gallons of water annually (= an enormous amount of ground water). It competes with and kills native vegetation. It also ignites readily and can be fuel for devastating wildfires.

The City of Santa Clarita workers, who are currently actively fighting this plant, have to use bull dozers in order to go deep enough to find the roots and get rid of them. This plant is nothing to joke about! Planting Arundo donax in your yard is not a good idea! 

                                              

                                        2) "Tree of Heaven"

                                                        

Figure 2. The example shown here is a young plant (only a few feet high). This common name is also used for another tree, but the “tree of heaven” I am discussing here is Ailatnthus altissima. Unlike other members of this genus, this species grows rapidly. It is not a tropical plant. It is native to temperate climates in northeast China and Taiwan. This tree has large pinnate leaves organized in pairs opposite one another on the stems. It has bright reddish brown fruit in September. Some of its leaf stems are reddish. 

This plant grows in dense thickets, thus, the area that it grows in resembles a jungle. It spreads rapidly via wind-borne seeds and has underground roots suckers that can sprout from the parent trunk. This plant can also secrete a chemical into the soil and, thereby, making it toxic to other plants. It is truly an aggressive plant. Simply cutting it down can trigger heavy root suckering, which, in turn causes a single tree to grow into a massive grove! Its aggressive root system can also damage building foundations and sewers.

Note: This tree genus has a geologic record dating back to Miocene time (5 million yeas ago).

                                         3) Carpobrotus edulis   

This plant is also known as an "ice plant" (about 3 inches in diameter.) It is just one of several species of “ice plant” found in mild climates throughout the world, primarily near ocean shorelines. Also, it is a “creeping” plant that historically has been used to help stabilize slope along shorelines in the United States, the Mediterranean region, southern South America, South Africa, southern Australia, and also New Zealand. 

This plant also grows on a steep slopes in my southern California neighborhood, which is many miles inland from the ocean. This plant grows year around. Its leaves are dull-green or yellow green that can fade to pink with age. Its yellow flowers are produced in my area from March to October. It is a very adaptable plant that very effectively spreads seeds (hundreds per foot).

“Ice plant” is an invasive species in most places in the world. It threatens or endangers native-plant species near the coast by storing VAST quantites of water. But, its roots are shallow. In the rainy season, the added weight to the hill sides (even sand dones) typically causes landslides. Most people do not care, but if you live adjacent to the ocean and between your house and the ocean are steep muddy hills covered in iceplant…well, you might be in for some challenges.

There have been detailed botanical studies ice plants (Novoa et al., 2023). I could not find any mention about the geologic age of this plant, but I did find that it has been cultivated since 1690.

References

Novoa, A. + 15 other authors. 2023. Genetic and morphological insights into the Carpobrotus hydrid complex around the world. NeoBiota 89:135-160 (free download!). 

Wikipedia, 2026