The Internet is full of wonders.
Here’s another one: A database of all the world’s plants.
It’s called, what else? The Plant List.
The Plant List a working list of all known plant species. It’s goal is to be comprehensive for species of Vascular plant (flowering plants, conifers, ferns and their allies) and of Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts).
It’s a collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical … Read more
A first draft of the “tree of life” for the roughly 2.3 million named species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes — from platypuses to puffballs — has been released.
A collaborative effort among eleven institutions, the tree depicts the relationships among living things as they diverged from one another over time, tracing back to the beginning of life on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago.
Tens of thousands … Read more
A massive study of trees and human health in Toronto yields results that confirm what many sensible people feel.
Trees are good for you.
How good?
The statistics show that having ten or more trees on your block gives the health benefits of being seven years younger.
Yeah. Wow!
Original article:
Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center
Popular article from Toronto Star:
Daniel Atha put on his waders and ventured slowly into the Pool, near West 103rd Street, one of several bodies of water in Central Park. He was after a broad-leaved yellow pond lily and an iris of indeterminate species.
He carefully collected the two specimens, along with a baseball bearing Derek Jeter’s signature. After he studied the iris for a moment, his face brightened. He thought the flower might not … Read more
There are roughly 3 trillion trees on Earth—more than seven times the number previously estimated—according to a tally by an international team of scientists. The study also finds that human activity is detrimental to tree abundance worldwide. Around 15 billion trees are cut down each year, the researchers estimate; since the onset of agriculture about 12,000 years ago, the number of trees worldwide has dropped by 46%.
– Ken … Read more
Michelle Posey of Pelican Produce. Upper Ninth Ward
By Elsa Hahne
Sometimes the vacant lot next door, overgrown with weeds, turns into a beautiful garden. Not by itself, of course, but since nobody’s moved in and no houses are being built there, it can seem like magic.
That’s true for hundreds of neighbors in the Lower and Upper Ninth Ward as well as for residents throughout the city. And in … Read more
