29-OCT-2006
Fiddleheads
One characteristic of true ferns is the method of sprouting new leaves, which first appear in tightly coiled forms resembling the head of a violin (fiddleheads). Gradually the fiddleheads uncoil upward and if the leaf is compound, the main axis uncoils upward and the lateral parts outward. This method of growing is called circinate vernation, and is typical of true ferns.
23-OCT-2006
Beija-Flor
Beija-Flor is the portuguese name for the hummingbird...literally, beija = kiss, flor = flower.
This one flew in the bedroom window as I was lying in bed reading. My wife seems to think it could sense (smell?) the sugar she was using when she was baking in the kitchen, but I'm not sure about that.
It seemed a little afraid of the flash, & I didn't really have much time to use a tripod; not the best photograph.
I think this is the Glittering-Bellied Emerald as it's known in english, Besourinho-de-bico-vemelho in portuguese.
Chlorostilbon aureoventris
13-OCT-2006
Ferns: Rootstalks
All ferns can produce spores, but some also multiply by creeping rootstalks.
10-OCT-2006
Coexistence
Echeveria strictiflora and Polypodium
The fern was in a hanging pot above the succulent; it apparently reproduced by sending down long rootstalks and/or spores.
