Walking around corfu

[kevin-beverly]

HI

Sagebrush

Artemisia 

Is a large, diverse genus of plants belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae, with between 200 and 400 species. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush. Artemisia comprises hardy herbaceous plants and shrubs, which are known for the powerful chemical constituents in their essential oils. Artemisia species grow in temperate climates of both hemispheres, usually in dry or semiarid habitats. Notable species include A. vulgaris (common mugwort), A. tridentata (big sagebrush), A. annua (sagewort), A. absinthium (wormwood), A. dracunculus (tarragon), and A. abrotanum (southernwood). The leaves of many species are covered with white hairs.
It is native to Europe and Asia and has naturalized much of the world; it is fairly common throughout the UK.

leaves are green on top and white underneath, they have pointed tips and purplish stems. They are deeply lobed and have an aromatic scent, similar to rosemary or sage.
Artemisia species grow in temperate climates of both hemispheres, usually in dry or semiarid habitats. The small flowers are wind-pollinated.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:   Plantae
Phylum:   Tracheophytes
Clade:   Angiosperms
Clade:   Eudicots
Clade:   Asterids
Order:   Asterales
Family:   Asteraceae
Subfamily:   Asteroideae
Tribe:   Anthemideae
Genus:   Artemisia
L.
Type species
Artemisia vulgaris

Artemisia species are found on every continent except Antarctica, and have become part of many ecosystems around the world as a result. Below is currently a partial view of the importance of Artemisia species in ecosystems around the world.

HABITAT
Wasteland and disturbed land beside busy tracks and on untended grassy roadside verges hot dry
: Most Artemisia species prefer a sunny spot (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight) to develop their best foliage color and maintain a compact growth habit, but can tolerate part shade. Soil: Plant Artemisia in poor to moderately fertile, well-draining soil.

Nursery starts can be put in the ground in the spring as soon as the soil is soft enough to be workable. Tease out the root ball and dig a hole just big enough to accommodate it. Place the plant in the hole so that the top of the root ball is even with the ground and cover the roots with soil, gently tamping it down to provide stability before watering.
A hard cutback of the plants in summer can be beneficial to encourage new growth of previously suffering plants
grows 2-4 feet tall and wide. The plant flowers from mid to late summer with greenish-white blooms.

HISTORY
very important species in the history of medicine, formerly described in medieval Europe as "the most important master against all exhaustions". It is a species known as a medicinal plant in Europe and also in West Asia and North America.
traditionally used as a remedy for a variety of complaints, especially those of a gynaecological nature, and so the wormwood genus bears the name of the Greek goddess of childbirth, Artemis. The specific name derives from apsínthion, the Greek term for the plant.
Artemisia I (flourished 5th century bce) was the queen of Halicarnassus, a Greco-Carian city in the ancient district of Caria (in southwestern Anatolia), and of the nearby islands of Cos, Calymnos, and Nisyrus about 480 bce.
Artemisia led a fleet of ships to the island of Cos to slaughter the Coans, but the gods intervened. After Artemisia's ships were destroyed by lightning and she hallucinated visions of great heroes, she fled Cos. However, she later conquered the island.
The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name Artemisia derives from the Greek goddess Artemis (Roman Diana), the namesake of Greek Queens Artemisia I and II.[6] A more specific reference may be to Artemisia II of Caria, a botanist and medical researcher (also a queen and naval commander), who died in 350 BC.









                                               



The entire plant is toxic if ingested. And to PETS


Landscape Gardens Parks Patios pots Artemisia tea can be prepared with the flowers or leaves of this plant. Some chemicals contained in Artemisia herba-alba seem to kill parasites and bacteria.


used for the treatment and prevention of fever, chills and malaria, in traditional and modern medicine (Hien and white 1993)
Parasitic infections such as roundworms, pinworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and flukes. There is some evidence that taking an Artemisia herba-alba water extract might reduce symptoms and cure pinworm infections in adults and children after 3 days of treatment.
There is not enough information to know if Artemisia herba-alba is safe.
Some people involved in a research project that studied Artemisia herba-alba experienced lowered blood pressure and lowered heart rate. The significance of these effects is unknown.
Artemisia herba-alba for cough, stomach and intestinal upset, the common cold, measles, diabetes, yellowed skin (jaundice), anxiety, irregular heartbeat, and muscle weakness.

[kevin-beverly]

HI
I remember that Vivian posted a photo of Bee eaters so i done a bit of a investigating

European Bee Eaters

Merops apiaster

containing three genera and thirty species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All have long down-turned bills and medium to long wings, which may be pointed or round. Male and female plumages are usually similar.
Most bee-eaters are gregarious. They form colonies, nesting in burrows tunnelled into vertical sandy banks, often at the side of a river or in flat ground. As they mostly live in colonies, large numbers of nest holes may be seen together. The eggs are white, with typically five to the clutch. Most species are monogamous, and both parents care for their young, sometimes with assistance from related birds in the colony.

Bee-eaters may be killed by raptors; their nests are raided by rodents, weasels, martens and snakes, and they can carry various parasites. Some species are adversely affected by human activity or habitat loss, but none meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature's vulnerability criteria, and all are therefore evaluated as "least concern". Their conspicuous appearance means that they have been mentioned by ancient writers and incorporated into mythology.As their name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat flying insects, especially bees and wasps, which are caught on the wing from an open perch. The insect's stinger is removed by repeatedly hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface. During this process, pressure is applied to the insect's body, thereby discharging most of the venom.

Domain:    Eukaryota
Kingdom:    Animalia
Phylum:    Chordata
Class:    Aves
Order:    Coraciiformes
Family:    Meropidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Genera
Nyctyornis
Meropogon
Merops

The bee-eaters are morphologically a fairly uniform group. They share many features with related Coraciiformes such as the kingfishers and rollers, being large-headed (although less so than their relatives), short-necked, brightly plumaged and short-legged. Their wings may be rounded or pointed, with the wing shape closely correlated with the species' preferred foraging habitat and migratory tendencies. Shorter, rounder wings are found on species that are sedentary and make typically short foraging flights in denser forests and reed-beds. Those with more elongated wings are more migratory. All the bee-eaters are highly aerial; they take off strongly from perches, fly directly without undulations, and are able to change direction quickly, although they rarely hover.

HABITAT
 typically nest alongside rivers in the countryside, woodlands, meadows, and even on farmland. In Africa, they can be found in the savannah, forest, shrubland, and grasslands. European bee-eaters often live in arid or semi-arid environments.

SUBCONTINENTS
China, Spain, Portugal, France, Finland, United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Macedonia

HISTORY

The European bee-eater was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Merops apiaster. The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and apiaster is Latin, also meaning "bee-eater", from apis, "bee".
In Greek mythology, the Theban Botres was fatally struck by his father when he desecrated a ritual sacrifice of a ram to the god Apollo by tasting the victim's brains. The god took pity on him, turning him into a bee-eater.
The Ancient Egyptians believed that bee-eaters had medical properties, prescribing the application of bee-eater fat to deter biting flies, and treating the eyes with the smoke from charred bee-eater legs to cure an unspecified female complaint


Bee-eaters of both sexes alternate between being breeders and helpers in their clan. Each bird lives in an extended family with members of four overlapping generations. They appear to recognize parents, siblings, offspring, friends, and nesting neighbors, likely from voice recognition.

These birds have been found to live up to 4.6 years

Population number
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the European bee-eater is around 14,000,000-25,250,000 mature individuals. In Europe, the breeding population consists of 2,800,000-5,050,000 pairs, which equates to 5,600,000-10,100,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.



https://waldridgenaturalist.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-waldridge-naturalist-in-corfu-last.html

[kevin-beverly]

HI

If you are on a walk around the small villages near Arillas look in the locals gardens NOT walk around the garden just look over the fence line look at the pots tubs a old tin you can see array of plants gorwing

Spinach

Spinacia oleracea 

 Is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fresh, or after storage using preservation techniques by canning, freezing, or dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming.
It is an annual plant (rarely biennial), growing as tall as 30 cm (1 ft). Spinach may overwinter in temperate regions. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, and very variable in size: 2–30 cm (1–12 in) long and 1–15 cm (0.4–5.9 in) broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in diameter, and mature into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) across containing several seeds.
As opposed to the great majority of the flowering plants or plants used as vegetables, spinach is a dioicous plant, meaning different plants can have either female or male flowers The flowers are small, green and unattractive to pollinators. Rather, pollination occurs via wind anemophily, for which the pollen has evolved to be very small and light so it can be carried large distances, often miles away.

Kingdom:   Plantae
Clade:   Tracheophytes
Clade:   Angiosperms
Clade:   Eudicots
Order:   Caryophyllales
Family:   Amaranthaceae
Genus:   Spinacia
Species:   S. oleracea
Binomial name
Spinacia oleracea

HABITAT
Spinach is native to Asia and a common crop throughout the world. It may escape from cultivation, and is sometimes found in waste areas, gardens and dumps in scattered locations
These compact plants (up to 20cm/8in tall) are handy if space is tight and they can be grown in containers too. Spinach is also a useful crop for cooler, shady spots in early or late summer, out of midday heat. It needs full sun at other times of year. 
Spinach is quick to grow, but needs fertile soil that doesn't dry out. It does best in milder temperatures (ideally 15–20°C/60–70°F), as cold or hot, dry conditions can cause it to start flowering prematurely (bolting), putting an end to harvests. Sow in light shade in warmer weather to keep it cool, and water regularly.
There are two basic types of spinach with either smooth leaves or crinkly (savoy) leaves. The smooth types are normally grown for freezing and canning because they grow faster, yield more and are easier to clean.
The genus Spinacia consists of only two spinach species: Spinacia turcestanica and Spinacia oleracea. However, only the Spinacia oleracea species is grown as a leafy green vegetable. There are numerous Spinacia oleracea varieties with new spinach cultivars added each year.

HISTORY

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a hardy annual related to beets and Swiss chard that has been used by humans for a long time. Native to southwest Asia, it was first cultivated in Persia (Iran) over 2000 years ago and used by the Chinese in the 6th century.
Spanakopita is one of Greece's signature dishes. It is ubiquitous all over the country, but some of the most famous versions come from the northwestern region of Epirus. Historically master foragers, Greeks in that region and beyond, have used wild greens as the backbone of their diet. It was only a matter of time before they started finessing them into pies. But when did the actual spinach arrive? Spinach originated in the Middle East and merchants brought it to Spain. Finally, during the Byzantine Empire it arrived in the rest of Europe. Farmers in the area that comprises present-day Greece discovered that they could cultivate this leafy green very easily.
Like the arrival of spinach in Greece, phyllo emerges during Byzantine times, and with it come the pies that it makes become a cornerstone of Greek cookery. Phyllo is a basic dough with flour, salt, water, olive oil, and sometimes yeast or another leavening agent like baking powder. It's an easy dough to make, but one that takes time and finesse to roll out. The quickest way to make the pies today is to use commercially produced phyllo. All you have to do is brush each paper thin layer with olive oil or butter to create an incredibly satisfying pie.
If you don't want to seat down in a restaurant, you can taste many kinds of traditional pitas.
The most famous one is called Tiropita, a sort of puff pastry filled with Feta cheese, but are delicious also other pitas filled with spinach, ham and cheese or minced meat.

The comics and cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man is portrayed as gaining strength by consuming canned spinach. The accompanying song lyric is: "I'm strong to the finich [sic], 'cuz I eats me spinach. This is usually attributed to the iron content of spinach, but in a 1932 strip, Popeye states that "spinach is full of vitamin A" and that is what makes people strong and healthy










NONE

Tubs,Pots, Culinary, Drinks

Spinach Is A Superfood
The leafy greens like kale and spinach in green smoothies are a great source of vitamin K1. Research has shown that people with a high intake of vitamin K1 are have a lower risk of bone fractures, osteoporosis, and decreased bone mineral density. Leafy greens are much higher in vitamin C than other vegetables.
The leaves are used for food and to make medicine. As a medicine, spinach is used to treat stomach and intestinal (gastrointestinal, GI) complaints and fatigue. It is also used as a blood-builder and an appetite stimulant. Some people use it for promoting growth in children and recovery from illness.
Calcium:
Magnesium:
Iron:


Prevents Cancer
Spinach has a high source of zeaxanthin and carotenoids that can flush out the free radicals from your body. These free radicals make your body prone to many diseases including cancer and as a result, spinach is said to prevent cancer. So all you need to do is to consume spinach and prevent yourself from stomach cancer, mouth cancer and oesophagus cancer.

Reduces Blood Sugar
Aids in Good Bone Health
Aids in Weight Loss

Good For Your Eyes
Spinach benefits for eyes are evident through the antioxidants found in it, lutein and zeaxanthin, which contribute to good eyesight and protect against issues like cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and other eye problems. Additionally,The vitamin A found in spinach, benefits in maintaining mucus membranes that are essential for normal eyesight.

Reduces Hypertension
Has Anti-inflammatory Properties
Keeps Your Brain Functioning Normally
Prevents Anaemia
Prevents Acne

Natural Anti-Ageing Properties
Premature ageing is one of the most common problems that most youths are facing today. However, spinach comes loaded with antioxidants that have the tendency to destroy and prevent free radicals that cause premature ageing. Consuming spinach on a regular basis will benefit your skin and give it a shiny texture. Instead, it will rejuvenate your skin and make you look younger and healthy.

Spinach leaves have a long-standing reputation in folklore medicine for their diverse medicinal uses. Spinach has been used traditionally to address skin issues such as ringworm, scabies, and leucoderma (skin whitening). Additionally, it has been associated with potential benefits for urinary calculi (kidney stones) and may aid in controlling symptoms of urinary tract infections.