Pritcardia Facts Pritcardia names a genus consisting of 40 rather amazing species of palms endemic to a specific number of tropical Pacific islands. While the IUCN does not currently have a listing for any of them, each of the known species of Pritcardia appears to also be either endangered or threatened. Climate change and habitat […]
Archives for April 2016
Scrub Morning Glory
Scrub Morning Glory Facts Most notably, the lovely Scrub Morning Glory constitutes a rare type of flowering plant. Further, as the common name implies, it is also a member of the large morning glory family. The lovely, not to mention delicate, species also remains endemic to a highly restricted habitat range in North America. In […]
My Second Antarctic Expedition with Robert Swan
I am incredibly happy to have participated in a second Antarctic Expedition with one of the most incredible people I know – Sir Robert Swan, OBE. In fact, Rob is the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles, he is a man of endless inspiration for environmental preservation and leadership, wonderful friend, […]
Bee Fly
Bee Fly serves as the collective term for a unique family of insects. The name derives from their resemblance to various bees. Currently, we know of more than 4,500 types of Bee Fly. Additionally, entomologists suspect that thousands of related species remain unidentified. However, scientists actually know very little about most of these species. Their […]
Wheel Bug
Wheel Bug Facts Perhaps most notably, the attention-grabbing term of Wheel Bug remains quite unique. It also serves as the accepted common name of a particularly distinctive member of a scientific classification Family known as Assassin Bugs. Although most people refer to all insects as bugs, only species placed within the scientific Order of Hemiptera […]
Mandarin Duck
Mandarin Duck Facts The Mandarin Duck ranks as an extraordinarily beautiful, not to mention colorful, variety of duck. It also bears a close relationship to the wood duck of North America. This unique animal now lists as Threatened with the IUCN in its endemic range. The primary reason for this remains habitat loss, due to […]
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle Facts Perhaps surprisingly to some, the term Honeysuckle actually names an entire Family of stunningly beautiful plants placed in the Caprifoliaceae family. Due to this, each of these remarkable species develops as either arching shrubs or twining vines. A remarkable total of roughly 180 recognized species of the plant further exist at this time. […]
Lotus Corniculatus
Lotus Corniculatus Facts The term of Lotus Corniculatus serves as the scientific name of a stunning and extremely unusual, small flowering plant. It also goes by several common names, though. These include the birdsfoot deervetch, and even the comical eggs and bacon. But, regardless of the name one uses for it, the gorgeous plant remains […]
Avery Island
Avery Island Facts Firstly, Avery Island is a truly unique geological site with a decidedly spicy story to tell. That’s because the entire inland portion of the small island actually conceals an enormous salt dome. Quite understandably, the location has been used for salt mining for many centuries. Not surprisingly, the Native Americans also used […]
Bombax
Bombax Facts The rather lovely Bombax forms a rather impressive genus of primarily tropical trees. All of these exist within the mallow family. Currently, experts recognize a total of 5 species within this beautiful genus. Without a doubt, the best-known member of the genus is the visually remarkable B.ceiba. The various species also remain known […]