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