Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2012 - 10:19am PT
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i think you're reading too much into the possible factors of microenvironment, skip. on a trail into a new secret canyon last week i saw several leaf types within a few feet of each other in the same shady glen. kallas mentions mimicry in other plant species, such as the hairy nightshade. time for us amateurs to dig up a real phd here.
we could volunteer for the hands-on fieldwork, taking dna samples for the subspecies study. i think one argument against a subspecies factor would be that they wouldn't be found interbedding with each other in an established environment. we're talkin' old growth santa monica mountain poison oak--the closest we come to a natural treasure down here. i'll bet dingus only admires sequoia trees.
they made a lot of tarzan movies in this area. i wonder if johnny weismuller swung on those vines.
Does this mean I'm going to get slipped a PO micky in my locally-foraged salad next time I have dinner at your place?
i find it best not to mention this. people just come back, marvelling at their sudden immunity.
last night's dinner menu included the finest in SFV alley-grown wild spinach. i found a strain about 8 blocks west of here with leaves twice the size i've seen anywhere. when they go fully to seed, i plan to plant some in our backyard. also found a big pomegranate tree overhanging a closer alley--ought to be red & ripe in about 6 weeks. the local purslane seems to come with and without that seductive lemony tang that can give it so much charm. either way, it's a nice, crunchy element in salad, and ought to disguise, if not mollify, the odd PO leaf that might find its way in there. family appears alive and healthy this morning.
proximity to rocketdyne has been known to accelerate evolution. i heard that someone saw a deer with three ears on black canyon road.
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