Orchid Borealis

Neobathiea is a small Angraecoid genus with 6 recognized species; N. comet-halei , N. grandidierana , N. hirtula , N. keraudrenae , N. perrieri , and N. spatulata .  All 6 species are endemic to Madagascar  and the Comoros  (Cribbs and Hermans 2009).  Among these, N. grandidierana seems to have the widest geographic distribution, and it occurs both in Madagascar and in the Comoro Islands.  Within Madagascar, it is found in  Antsiranana ,  Antananarivo,   Fianarantsoa , and Toliara , covering from the northern end to the southern end (Cribbs and Hermans 2009).  In the Comoros, it occurs in Anjouan and Grande Comore (Stewart et al. 2006).  The habitat of this species is in humid forest on west-faching slopes at the elevation range of 1000-1650m (Stewart et al. 2006).  In nature, this species seems to flower in spring to early summer. This plant came from Malala import by Louisiana Orchid Connection  (LOC).  During t...

Happy Valentine's day!  In the US, the dark side driven by hate and fear is strong at this moment, but it may be a good time to think about love.  Since I'm not religious, I had to look up the origin of Valentine's day ( link to wikipedia).  St. Valentine was killed because of the difference in religious views more than 1700 years ago. It is pathetic that there are still primitive people who can't accept religious freedom (as seen in the recent events).  Regardless of religion, nationality, or ethnic background, we all share the fundamental emotions such as love, joy, sadness, anger etc.  Once we are blinded by the idea of right or wrong, the brain seems to focus on the differences rather than similarities within human (and animals).  Many people can love people close to one another, but they cannot connect to people whom they do not know well or who do not share their values.  This is obviously an evolutionarily adaptive response, but we can hope t...