By request: My homework

There was some interest in my final paper for my Evolution and Biodiversity class, so what the heck, I've posted more embarassing things. I'm not in love with this paper--I think if I gave it a few more hours of research and general rigor it would be much better. But I did it for a grade, not to improve the quality of Oniscidean information available, so it succeeded on that level, if nothing else.

( Click for 10 pages of schoolwork )

Photo catch-up: Callahan State Park

Last week we (cottonmanifesto, the dogs, and I) went to Callahan State Park, in Framingham. Framingham's main claim to importance in the universe is convenient highway access (exits on the Mass Pike and Rt. 9) and the shopping malls that highway access demands. But it also contains Callahan State Park, 800 acres of healthy forest. We saw many forest wildflowers, and no garlic mustard! Here are my pictures:

( click for the pictures )

365 Urban Species. #156: Bittersweet Nightshade

Urban species #156: Bittersweet nightshade Solanum dulcamara


Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location: Jamaicaway at Olmsted Park, Boston.

Many plants in the family Solanaceae have had long associations with humans. The New World plants tomato and hot pepper changed cuisine around the world, while potato and tobacco affected history itself. Bittersweet nightshade, a rather humbler European herb, was formerly used for a variety of medicinal applications. Today it is simply an attractive weed, a weakly climbing vine that produces colorful tomato-like berries as well as purple and yellow flowers. It is considered invasive, but is generally easier to control than many others. The main worry concerning this plant is that all parts of it, including the enticing fruits, are toxic. It is likely through familiarity with this plant that Europeans mistook the tomato to be poisonous for many years.