Early California Landscaping with Canary Island Natives

Plant Profiles: Lotus Berthelotii, Pinus canariensis, Phoenix canariensis, Arbutus canariensis, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Image - Kelly MacDonald (June 2009)

Lotus maculatus 'Amazon Sunset'

Image - silvertree.blog.com

This Parrot's Beak Flower was classified as exceedingly rare early on since 1884 and is believed my many to be extinct in the wild. But some isolated small populations are believe to be still be alive.  The plant is native to the Canary Islands (Tenerife) and believed to have been originally pollinated by sunbirds which have long gone extinct. Aren't humans everywhere wonderful ? If anything can be said about the origins of human ancestry, our first common parents endowed us with inherited stupidity when making many decisions.  Experiments have been done to see if the flowers could have found new pollinators but, as of 2008, none of these experiments have been successful, but some more recent work has shown that these plants could be adequately pollinated by non-specialist flower visiting birds, like the Canary Islands chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis). Most cultivated plants do not set seed. This could be a plus in one sense in that they would not escape into the wild elsewhere. But my first experience with this plant was when I first saw them many years ago in Balboa Park, San Diego where the plants were in huge hanging planters along it's central promenade. They were beautiful and striking. At my mum's place I used them along a retaining wall for trailing down. They did fine until her insanely hyper weiner dog (Dachshund) ripped them out. Stupid dog. At any rate, these are wonderful plants for all types of setting in Southern California. But most people have no idea of their historical endemic origins in the Canary Islands.

Image - isladetenerifevivela.com/

Image - My Photo (2012)

The map above shows where the shaded areas in red where there are two possible locations where this plant may still exist in the wild. These locations are very isolated and I can understand why they prefer the secrecy as to location. This plant was almost collected out of existence as far back as 1884. Hard to believe isn't it ? The photo at right here is our vacation to Tenerife in Feb/Mar 2012. The highway is TF-12 and is in the red shaded area location on the above map in the upper right corner. We pulled over at a small bus stop because there are few pullouts anywhere on these very old highways. The plant community areas here in this part of the island are known as, "Laurel Forests," and they remind me of those high temperate mountain areas of Columbia where Coffee is grown at higher elevation than the tropical areas at lower elevations. The other area on the left side of the map is the same region as that tourist hotspot called, Masca, which I have referenced before in another Tenerife post. Both areas have remote steep access which is why the plants have been safe. However there are goats running wild over this island and inaccessibility is not a problem for them. This is why the other issue for the Parrot's Beak decline was mentioned as herbivore predation.

Interesting References about Parrot's Beak & it's Natural Habitat on Tenerife, Canary Islands

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/165214/0

http://www.elsauzal.es/el-municipio/patrimonio/patrimonio-natural

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 Sea Lavender (Limonium perezii)

Image By Frank Landis (CNPS - San Diego)

Found in numerous San Diego and other Southern California gardens and landscapes, who hasn't seen this plant known as Limonium perezii, Perez's sea lavender (pictured above), which some consider these sea lavenders a weedy invasive which has easily naturalized along the Southern California sea coast. There are only about 350 plants of it left in the wild, all growing on a steep slope on the island of Tenerife in the Canaries. Sad really and the same identical fate as the Parrot's Beak above.

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Image - Pacific Bulb Society

With this next flower I really have to provide someone else's photo because where we first saw it, this flower was always on the north side of Tenerife on those super narrow switch backs and curves with no pullouts. They need more moisture than is available on the more desert south side of the island, so the Laurel Forests work better for them. The plant's common name is Canary Island Bellflower. It's a scrambling vining type of plant which often covers or scrambles over other shrubs. This is similar to plants like the native clematis which scramble over chaparral shrubs in Southern California. It is also identical in habit to Southern California's native wild cucumber vines which go dormant in summer and resprouting every year from a large cluster of tuberous root system. It likes full sun in an open soil with lots of humus, but it is frost sensitive, not liking temps over 75-80 degrees fahrenheit (21-23 C). It would do best along the coast of Southern California, but not inland. Incredibly it also grows a small edible fruit, although I've never seen this. I'll leave a couple of references on it below:

Bellflower References:

http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com - Bellflower

https://www.flickr.com Gallery CANARINA+CANARIENSIS

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Canary Island Madrone (Arbutus canariensis)

Image - Wikipedia.org

Image - National Arboretum Canberra

Most people in California would know of the state's native Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii). But the Canary Islands haave their own, probably more related to the Medierranean native Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) which is actually sold in Southern California home improvement centers like Lowes or Home Depot. The native California Pacific Madrone would never really make it in the Southern California urban landscapes. I think it's just too hot and dry and they do better in the cooler moister habitats to the north from Central California all the way up to British Columbia. This would make the Canary Island Madrone or Spain's Strawberry Tree far more ideal. In fact one of the best places for success in a commercial landscape I have ever seen is in Santee California at an elementary school on Cuyamaca St just below the School District office headquesters. There are about six or more large trees in front of the school next to the parking lot. Big bright deep red smooth trucks like that of Manzanita. I actually purchased one a couple years back and planted it at my mum's place in among the volunteer Canary Island Pines which was the result of Canary Pine mulch I brought in from work to spread around my Tecate Cypress setting. I allowed them to grow because I had to replace some Tecate Cypress which were blown over in a windstorm. But the Strawberry Tree is doing wonderfully when I placed it next to the back patio among the California Spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis). Below here is a link to an Australian website where they offer sound advice for proper care of the Canary Island Madrone:

http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree_stories/arbutus

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Image - Mine (2015)

Image 2015

This flower on our February 2015 trip was a wonderful surprise and one I probably would have missed were it not for the Springtime blooms because we went in February. It caught my eye because it looked so strikingly familiar to the Cleveland Sage blossoms I am accustomed to in San Diego county in California. This is the native Canary Island Lavender (Lavandula canariensis). It's different than the other Lavenders in that it has a milder fragrance and it's leaves tend to look a bit fern-like in appearance. This plant was everywhere and added to the familiarity of springtime chaparral blooms I grew up with in San Diego county. I would imagine like most Lavenders, it would do well not only for good attractive landscape plants, but also a beneficial insect predator pollinator. 

Image - Mine (2015)

Image - Mine (2015)

This shrub's common name is called in English, "Canary Island Sorrel," in Spanish it's called, "Vinagrera," which refers to it's vinegar flavour. The scientific name is Rumex lunaria. First time I saw it several years ago among the fringes of Canary Island Pine woodlands and down further in elevation among the cacti and succulents, it looked very much at a distance like Manzanita of Southern California. But as you can see close up it's much different. This is a Canary Island rarity which is endemic to the islands & this one's also medicinal! The roots are used in tinctures for respiratory issues, while the juice from its succulent spoon shaped green leaves has been used to relieve insect bite irritation & clearing up stuffy noses. Found on all of the Canary Islands growing on rough rocky volcanic soil hillsides, which means it's a super tough choice for wild rocky soils. Growing to 3' tall & wide multi-branched sprays of white flowers occur in Spring & aging to gold then a lovely deep shade of rustyness. There's not a lot of info about growing this plant available out there other than what I read from a conversation between two islanders (one from La Palma and the other from Tenerife). Cuttings are hard to get going and seed seems the only option.

Image - grancanaria.com

Sam Mateo Gran Canaria - Almond trees in bloom

Image - Mine (Feb 2015)

These Almond trees in bloom caught my eye on my last trip. I suppose I had never noticed them on previous trips because it was later past the bloom season in late March and they had finished their blooming. But this tree beig here in the first place was spectacular. Unfortunately in many of the areas I drove our car on the way somewhere else in through the steep mountainsides in rugged country, I was unable to pull out anywhere because many of these extremely older narrow highways had not turnouts again. There was just no place to stop safely to photograph whole hillsides where the Almond trees have naturalized and moved up steep mountainsides. I use the term naturalized, because although they are present, they are not likely native and again brought in and introduced by the Spanish when they first colonized these islands in the 1300s. Almond trees are one of those well known middle eastern trees.  

Teide Volcano and Orotava valley, Tenerife Canary Islands

This is another well known iconic tree in Southern California, the Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis). This tree is one of the main reasons I  ever had the desire and motivation to visit the Canary Islands in the first place. I'm always interested in seeing any kind of tree, shrub, perennial or annual in it's native wild native habitat. For me it provides a mental glimpse of what the conditions and requirements are for caring for the plant in an urban landscape setting in SoCal. I've actually written about this tree and it's fire ecology and rainfall attracting importance to these islands, so I won't provide many more details here. You can read about this from the link below:

Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis) Ecology of Fire & Water

Photo by Darren Sears (Environmental Landscape Architect)

Canary Island Date palms in the Valle Gran Rey

Los Angeles Urban Forestry Division

This is yet another major Canary Island native which is another one of those historical iconic trees which lines many of Southern California Boulevards and other roadways, especially in San Diego's and Los Angeles' oldest neighbourhood locations. This is another one of those trees I grew up with and saw first hand. In our neighbour behind our home in El Cajon, the Dreybus family, had one large Canary Island Date Palm right in their front yard. I earn a whole 25¢ for sweeping up their porch back in the early 1960s. Next day it would be a mess all over again. While I find them attractive, they are often very messy trees with all those dates. People don't really eat them, but birds love them. I think it's not only the messiness that turns landscapers off to inserting them into today's modern landscapes, but also the tricky maintenance of trimming these very long palm fronds. The difficult and sometimes dangerous part is near the base of the frond where the frond is attached to the trunk. The usual feather leaves are actually sharp spikes or daggers here. You get stuck by one of those and you'll experience pain for weeks. One of my landscapers who was a tree trimmer by previous profession had one long frond fall and the base end swung down and hit his heavy leather construction grade boot and the needle injected itself into the boot. His foot swelled up and he was out of action for a month.

Canary Island Date Palm-King of the Dates

Canary Island Cacti & Succulent Plants

Image - Teresa Farino

Image - Alflo Cloffi - Crassulacea

There is not much I can say in detail about the Canary Island cacti & succulents except to say many of the succulents you find in Southern California come from these amazing Canary Islands. Often times when I was in San Diego County, I'd go to the Del Mar Fair and at the landscape displays there they would exhibit a coral reef theme made up of entirely different types of succulents and unusual cacti among volcanic rocks. And yet it's this part of the world where many of those plants come from. I never spent a lot of time researching succulents from here, different varieties and their names, photography, etc. There was never enough time. There's so much to see here and not everyone I am with when I visit here is as obsessed with plants as I am. But I'll provide this link which describes their habitats, names and how they can be used in the landscape. The one on the right here may be recognizable to many.

http://worldofsucculents.com/?origins=canary-islands

Succulent Plants Grown in the Canary Islands

Some of the Unwanted Plants from the Canary Islands

Image Tom Chester

Tom Chester of Fallbrook California has written about one such plant which is invading the deserts of the Southwestern United States like Anza Borrego State Park. Without further comment you may read about it here:

http://tchester.org: (Volutaria_canariensis)

Another Iconic tree for honorable mention

image - Peter D'aprix photography, Ojai CA

Image - Ken Harris - Australia

This tree's common name is known as California Pepper (Schinus molle). This is neither a native to California nor is it native to the Canary Islands. But I give it honorable mention here because of it's historical presence in both California and the Canary Islands. Spanish Missionaries no doubt are the ones responsible early on for it's introduction to both locations. I grew up on Pepper Drive area of El Cajon California, even went to Pepper Drive Elementary School across from my house. Both street and school are anmed after this Pepper tree. It can naturalize, but rarely a pest invasive like it's other South American cousin which I dislike. The Brazilian Pepper seems to require more water than the Peruvian or California Pepper. That may be what keeps the California Pepper in check. The Brazilian Pepper is spread by birds who love the pepper corns. Especially will you notice young saplines along fence rows where the birds poop. If you have a chain link fence, you need to immediately eradicate the pepper seedling as the Peruvian will be multi-trunked and destroy the fence. They are hard to get rid of because even a small piece of rootsystem left behind will sprout. It can be a landscaper's nightmare. California Pepper will also need periodic pruning because it want to sprout from the entire trink from ground up. Stil it does wonderfully in hotter drier interior valleys of SoCal and once established needs no water. 

image - therealtenerife.com

San Miguel de Abona in south Tenerife

I could easily live in Tenerife or any of the other place in the Canary Islands. I could leave home, move there and never look back. The familiarity is so strong. It's the hispanic influence and architecture and especially the native plant community there. But also other Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants like Bouganvilla, Plumerias, Papaya, Mango, Yuccas, Prickly Pear Cactus, Banana Plantations, etc, etc, etc. Also charming is the quaint little towns and the outstanding cleanliness everywhere, something I am not use to seeing having lived in and around Latin America much of my life. There are no filthy shanty towns. The fear of criminal activity doesn't exist there (not that it doesn't) and the insanity of all these modern day rent-a-riot protesters which plague the USA now and Europe for even longer don't seem to be there. Well, maybe that's all changed now like everything else across the planet. But at least Southern California landscapers can appreciate a little better some of the history of plants they use in their landscapes and where they originally came from when the Spanish discovered California.

Southern California Wildflower Enthusiasts

Southern California 'Super bloom' wildflower trail closed indefinitely after photo-seeking visitors trample flowers

Photo - Andrew Cullen

As thousands of people descend on Southern California's wildflower fields, the impact is evident as stands of flowers are flattened by selfie-seekers, instagram celebrities and new trails through the flowers are created daily

Unprecedented crowds eager to snap up those photos of the California's super bloom have damaged a popular wildflower trail so badly that it is now closed indefinitely. The Wildflower Trail is located at Diamond Valley Reservoir in Riverside County just south from the city of Hemet California is currently concrete barrier blocked after patches of the stunning wildflowers were trampled into oblivion.  The Metropolitan Water District, which maintains the area said the primary problem is that people are walking off-trail to take that prize winning hope it goes viral photo among all the wildflowers. Environmental specialists brought in to assess the damage noted bare patches and flattened flowers like the California Poppies above. Here is the link to th entire story:

http://www.scpr.org - Overly enthusiastic visitors trample wildflowers, leading to trail closure

Photo - Andrew Cullen

When people start pioneering a trail, people behind them follow. And before you know it, they think they’re on a legitimate trail,” Wendy Picht (Environmental Specialist for MWD) said. “So it’s up to us to make sure they have the information to know where the trail is and where they can and can’t go.”  

Wendy Picht and Alex Marks have started putting up signs that say, clearly, “Stay on the trail." They also are tilling compacted soil and may re-seed bare areas with native wildflower seeds. In addition, Metropolitan Water District is placing staff along the trail to make sure people aren’t traipsing into the reserve. A half-mile section of the most heavily trampled area remains closed.

Photo - Andrew Cullen

I don't imagine this is the kind of instragram fame these
wildflower enthusiats were hoping for in this News Report

Selfies vrs Selfless ??? & Doin' it for the "Likes" ???

“It’s sometimes nice to see yourself in a really nice picture with a really cool background,” said Robin Kopf, who was trying to get her friend Christina Barrett, who was sitting cross-legged in a patch of poppies, to pose. The girls had driven two-hours from West L.A. in Barrett’s mom’s minivan with a group of their friends from high school.   

But in order to get the picture, Kopf and Barrett had flattened a patch of poppies. They seemed to feel badly about it.   

“I don’t want to crush them,” Barrett said.   

“They seem pretty resilient,” Kopf said, looking over her shoulder at the poppies. “Lots of people are doing this.”  

Jonathan Pong of Glendale and a friend were climbing an informal trail up a steep slope covered in poppies and lupines. Pong said he knew he was supposed to stay on the trail, but couldn't resist. "But we tried very hard not to touch any of the flowers," he said. "And I think most people do that, but when you have a little too many [people], they probably get trampled."

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Very Interesting Read on Selfie Obsession & Social Networking Sites

It's okay to stop and smell the Roses, just don't stomp and obliterate them 'Godzilla' !!! 

 Huffington Post: Scientists Just Validated Your Instagram Obsession

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Anyone Remember this infamous Classic Bambi meets Godzilla Film Video by Marv Newland back in 1969 ?

Further Reading about this Area's History

Back in 2014 I wrote a series of articles about this region's (western Riverside County) flora as seen through the eyes of both Spanish Explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and Fray (Friar) Pedro Font both of whom recorded the details of massive wildflower displays in their journals. Everywhere they went they seemed to give special prominance to this. How could they not ? The first references of wildflowers started in the Terwilliger area of Anza Valley, thereafter venturing through Bautista Canyon, next through the Hemet & San Jacinto Valley all the way to Mystic Lake near Moreno Valley. The journals first meant a lot to me way back in 1981 (I was encouraged to read it by a US Forest Service employee - Steve Raybould) where I went to the Riverside County Library (no such thing as internet then) and checked out the diary to read about what the area was once like. For me it was my early motivation to explore the area in detail the actual physical geographical locations which back in the early 1980s was not yet insanely developed at that time, but pretty wild with only a few farms and ranches. Diamond Valley Reservoir wasn't even there. The road from Hwy 79 to Sage Rd was called Newport Road. Mostly open range with a couple of dairies. 

Here are the links to posts about the journals I created back in 2014, but I would encourage FIRST anyone who is genuinely interested to go online and read both Anza's and Font's own journals about what they saw for yourself. Don't take my word! 😏

Oregon State University: An Interactive Study Environment on Spanish Exploration and Colonization of "Alta California" 1774-1776

Word of caution about the above site. It's fascinating and full of incredible information and commentary. There should also be a glossary of terms and expressions (idioms) used by Anza and Font because much of the words or expression are not used anymore. The links below are from my perspective as I'm keen as to how the natural world looked back then. I actually quote more on relevant paragraph quotes that include natural world observations and leave much of the human politics, economics and land aquisition for the Spanish Empire out of it. Although this survey for the Spanish empire expansion is why they wrote about the natural world as their surveyed and documented all natural resourves such as timber, water sources, agricultural potential, etc. So below are my thoughts and observations. As long as my posts are, I didn't reveal the half of what I know because people today quite simply have got very short attention spans. Nevertheless, Enjoy! 😵

(Part 1) Juan Bautista de Anza's Journal sheds light on a past Extinct Ecosystem

(Anza Expedition Part II) The Valley that was, but isn't any longer

This next post is especially interesting because it focusses on the subject of the once (now almost gone) largest and most extensive vernal pool complexes in Southern California which are now mostly all gone in Hemet, Diamond & Menifee Valleys. These breath taking pools and accompanying wildflower mega-blooms are now just a part of the historical past:

Image is western Hemet Valley

This massive flower display are Goldfields which
 are now paved over for development and progress

The Vernal Pools of South and Western Hemet (Anza Expedition extra)

Old Bautista Creek Channel East and West side

The San Jacinto River Valley that Juan Bautista de Anza saw

San Jacinto River Wildlife Refuge & the wetlands potential beyond to Corona

Anza's Dairy & the Lessons Learned

Update: April 21, 2017

Wildflowers in the high deserts of eastern San Diego County within isolated portions of railroad right-of-way.

Photo by Alexander Elling 2017

The old San Diego Arizona Eastern Railroad right-of-way in eastern San Diego County now abandoned and being partially reclaimed by the nature world.

   

How dumping the "Argument from Poor Design" dogma might just help the planet

Fact: Trashing Designs found in Nature for the biased purpose of scoring Brownie Points against conventional Religious Fundies has had a Degenerative Trashing effect on the Earth's natural world

Illustratiom by bookofbadarguments.com

https://bookofbadarguments.com

The online 'Book of Bad Arguments' link above is an interesting read if you've got the time. It really illustrates just how twisted this world has become when it comes to people coming up with all sorts creative ways to justify another failed worldview. The lengths and idiocy to which many people use to win arguments or pimp a worldview is nothing but time wasting because it so often falls well short of reality. Today I watched a video posted by the California Native Plant Society's chapter of San Diego. It's an organization which is dedicated to the promotion of native California plants. But only Cal-Natives. That's kool, I love cal-native plants. But like so many organizations championing any kind of cause today, they are generally intolerant of any other types of ecosystem plants being introduced into the urban landscape within California. Okay, I get not wanting something to escape into the wild and becoming a terrible invasive problem, but not every exotic plant is going to be a problem plant. Well anyway, watch the video below, it's only about a couple of minutes.

I understand the benefits of planting natives into the historical range for the purpose of attracting all manner of native wildlife to your landscape. My mum's yard has both natives and non-invasive non-native plants accompanying them which have similar environmental requirements. The various local wildlife (birds, insects, reptiles, animals, etc) also utilize them as well. We've never experienced any problems. But now take special note here of what the narrator in the video, Lisa Novick, stated in this quote below:

"What if people said, 'We should just wait for the Monarchs to throw a random gene that will make their caterpillars be able to eat something other than Milkweed. I'm not willing to take that chance."

Seriously, a random mutated gene ??? Do people still think this way now ??? This old archaic dogma is so outdated in view of newer understanding. Unbelievable, especially in this day and age with regards the increased study and understanding of how the genome really works and the part of genetics termed "epigentics" which in actual fact purposefully engineers incredibly ordered changes influenced by any number of stimuli from environmental cues as opposed to the past historical ignorant belief of random copying errors caused by dumb luck creating wonderful amazing outcomes for no logical reason or goal oriented purpose. But why would she use such unscientific nonsense terminology which started out decades ago as nothing more than some group minority's worldview ??? Brilliant scientific research by dedicated serious scientists have long since proven this to be false. Random copying errors do not innovate, they cause sickness, diseases, cancers & death. Nevertheless, such religious dogmas diehard. This thinking is so ingrained into the average psyche of many folks as a consequence of early indoctrination at elementary school. Clearly many people later in life need to go through some type deprogramming therapy before being re-educated about how our natural world really works. The big question here is, how does one go about experimenting or testing for random mutations caused by dumb luck and expect to obtain any beneficial innovation which results in practical application ??? You don't and that's why we experience a natural world where various ecosystems that are completely unraveling before our very eyes because we have a Scientific Orthodoxy out there promoting nature as flawed, imperfect and badly designed and that only the superior intellect of humans can fix those flaws and save us. But insisting Nature is flawed only seems mask the gross imperfection of human ignorance on the subject about how our natural world really works. Take for example the world's biotechnology industry. Biotechs justify their existence and methods of technology because they say changes in life happen all the time by means of something called Horizontal Gene Transfer. Hence their transgenic manipulation of organisms is justified in their worldview because it happens in Nature anyway. Except that leads to the assumption that their services really are needed or the world fails. Take the following example below of this subject, "Argument from Poor Design" which like Junk DNA, does nothing more than hide and sweep under the rug the scientific community's past ignorance and stupidity from decades past. Take note of the first person most responsibe about Argument from Poor Design. His writings in his first book are loaded with what he imagined as perfect examples.

One would have to ask, what scientific experiment the Father of Evolutionary Theory, Charles Darwin, use or create in arriving at this conclusion ??? Indeed, how could any scientist have created a verifiable repeatable empical data laced experiment to get into the mind and motivations of an intelligent agency which he already has a bias against in believing a Creator doesn't even exist ??? And by what code of morality is Darwin using ??? By what authority does his version of morality equate truth ??? Really Chuck ??? His followers have grabbed hold of this same strategy and taken this narrative to new lows. I hope everyone understands Nature cannot be judged by human views of morality or in other words, what's right and what's wrong. For example take this grossly flawed blind faith assertion, CRISPR Co-Inventor Jennifer Doudna: 

"It amazes me to realize that we are on the cusp of a new era in the history of life on earth—an age in which humans exercise an unprecedented level of control over the genetic composition of the species that coinhabit our planet. It won’t be long before CRISPR allows us to bend nature to our will in the way that humans have dreamed of since prehistory."

In that very same interview which contains that quote above, Jennifer Doudna, also spoke about ridding the planet of disease carrying mosquitoes thru CRISPR where sterilized GMO Mosquitoes would make sterile eggs and kill off the majority. Since then and against protest they have already done their dirty work and released their Franken-Mosquitoes despite angry cries not to release. And the results ???

UPDATE: September 17, 2019 (Below)

TheScientist.com: GM Mosquito Progeny Not Dying in Brazil: Study

Today's GMO apologetics are also based and indeed justified on this unscientific dogma, "Argument from Poor Design," which is exactly why these geneticists, biologists and other researchers employed by the various biotechnology companies confidently justify all their valuable time playing the gene manipulation game because in their corrupted view of the natural world, it's Nature that is flawed, poorly designed and only their collective credentialed genius can fix those glaring imperfections. The reality is, very few of these Biogeneticist engineers have any clue or understanding of how whole plant ecosystems actually function and maintain themselves out in the wild. Yet, in their worldview, Nature is still flawed and only their collective genius can provide a correction. Seriously ??? 😨 Take a look at this promotional advertisement below on Monsanto's work to gene manipulate crop plants to withstand the present and future global warming.

Advertisement - Monsanto

This is Monsanto's latest development of their infamous "Droughtgard Hybrid" crop seeds. They've informed the public that they only want to feed the world and there's this new problem that hinders this goal and it's called Global Warming. Okay, I understand that. But take a look again at their promotional advert above. They explain that in order to create drought resistant crops like maize or corn or soy, they need to acquire a special stress response gene for encoding cold shock protein B (cspB) from a soil bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, and then insert it into some corn variety's genome. It's also known as “RNA Chaperone” RNA Chaperone from Bacillus subtilis. Yet one wonders why they went to all that time and expense in developing such drought tolerance when Nature has already had these drought resistance tools for countless 1000s of years ??? 😲 Research time is lengthy and expensive because the seed patenting most often runs into the millions of dollars for biotechs. The real problem is that these researchers are in charge of providing their corporations with a regular consumable product. That ensures an annual profit year after year. Utilizing a practice and tool from Nature is free and that is unacceptable. These transgenic seeds are also engineered to work in conjunction with a plethora of other consumables like synthetic science-based fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, miticides, etc. This further ensures huge annual profits for their employers. Yet nature while complex, takes an easier road and is far more sustainable when left alone. Take this mycorrhizal Corn field experiment below by the University of Florida on drought resistance and heat stress with Corn. Here, nutrient and water uptake are improved between 200% to 800% depending on environmental soil conditions and drought tolerance is achieved in one single season, not decades of transgenic manipulation and cross breeding.

Image - Mycorrhizal Applications Inc

So what do you observe above here. Clearly there is a stark contrast. lower left and upper right are Corn whose root systems are colonized by mycorrhizal fungi and creating a network or grid of mycelial strands extended well beyond the plant root zone. At the upper left and lower right is the science-based conventionally grown corn which as been fertilized with synthetic fertilizers. This soil also is a sandy soil which is not known for it's water holding capacity. Do you notice the fungal strands moving under the soil ??? No ??? At the bottom right look at the first two corn rows in the control corn. Notice how thet have improved in vigor over their partners in the conventionally grown field ??? The mycorrhizal fungi has move from the healthy field square on the left and colonized their rot systems. There is no elusive drought gene for Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta or any other Biotech to acquire and insert in the genome of crop seeds. It's a scam and it effects the health of our planet, 

I have absolutely no problem with any kind of business venture researching, developing, manufacturing and selling a product for profit. But at least when a company like Mycorrhizal Applications Inc develops, manufactures and sells a product for profit, their product doesn't trash our planet. This reminds me of that discussion line of debate from a scene in the Sci-Fi film Jurassic Park. 😆

John Hammond: "All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!" 

Dr. Ian Malcolm: "Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists."

Oddly enough, most all of these biotechs know and understand that the microbial community within the soil is the most efficient and safest way to accomplish good farming, but until now have refused to admit this to the public just how dirty their formula for industrial farming really has been to our natural world. Interestingly, some are now attempting a public relations stunt to colour green their image as promoting that they were always on board with microbes all along, but they then spin how it may not have always looked that way at the beginning. It's all about smokescreen folks. It's about public relations green washing. The facts bare out that their version of worldview about nature being inept and flawed has brought incredible ruin to our planet through their industrial rose coloured vision of things. 

Now while many are now just starting to admit designs copied from nature really have brought incredible advancement, economical savings and enhanced ecological benefits, more has to be done in a hurry. Here are just three more examples of incredible design copying from Nature which has saved some industries millions of dollars and helped vastly improve the environment.

Airbus A380 winglets, inspired by the Steppe Eagle

During an Eagle's flight, the feathers on the tips of it's wings are practically verticle. This configuration gives maximum lift with minimum wing length. Engineers have studied such soaring birds such as eagles with a view of designing more efficient aircraft. The introduction of modified wing design that includes winglets has improved aircraft performance by as much as 15%. Planes can now fly farther and carry more passengers while saving fuel. In the decade following the introduction of up turned wing tips, airlines worldwide saved six thousand seven hundred million liters or two billion gallons of jet fuel. But the eagleäs amazing design is not limited to flight. As the eagle descends upon it's prey, it's eyes continuously adjust to maintain sharp focus throughout the approach. What man made camera ever comes close to this rapid refocus ?

Mercedes-Benz bionic car

"The concept models of the Mercedes-Benz bionic car are appearing as part of the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which showcases innovations in the fields of design and science. 

Bionic Car ConceptOne of the highlights of the exhibition is the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, which was first unveiled in June 2005 at the Innovation Symposium organized by Daimler AG in the US capital, Washington DC.   

Engineers, designers and biologists at Mercedes-Benz worked hand in hand to develop the Mercedes-Benz bionic car. Its template was a sea dweller from tropical latitudes: Ostracion Cubicus – more commonly known as the boxfish.  

Despite its unusual-looking shape, the fish is extremely aerodynamic and can therefore move using a minimal amount of energy. It is also able to withstand high pressures and, thanks to an outer skin consisting of hexagonal bone plates, can survive unscathed following collisions with corals or other sea dwellers."

(Source: carbodydesign.com)

"The Shinkansen Bullet Train which belongs to the West Japan Railway Company is the fastest train in the world which can travel up to 200 miles per hour.   

While they were designing the bullet train, they had a massive problem. The train was very noisy. Every time the train came out from the tunnel, the air pressure changed which resulted in large thunder claps. This noise caused residents a quarter of a mile away to complain.   

The train’s chief engineer and a keen bird-watcher turned to nature to see if they could find something travels quickly and smoothly between two very different substances. They found out that the shape of a kingfisher’s beak was ideal for this situation. Their beaks were ideal because a kingfisher will dive into a body of water to catch a fish with very little splash.   

Once they had copied the shape of the kingfisher’s beak, they modelled the front of the train from that design. Not only did this design result in a quieter train, it also made the train use 15% less electricity while travelling at a speed 10% faster than what it was originally designed for."

(Source: technologybeyond)

Suddenly now we are seeing a surge in all types of Biomimcry organizations claiming they've known all along about the benefits of designs found in nature, but they often refuse to disassociate themselves from the "Argument from Poor Design" dogma. When I've read some of the nature design celebratory articles published by the Biomimicry Institute and their author Janine Benyus, and asked this question aout past worldviews, all I ever get are 'cricket sounds.' Any time I've ever pressed any of the other so-called Biomimicry organizations about this same subject, they too simply refuse to respond. It would appear that deep down inside there is just a little bit of nostalgia for that old time religion. But that old time religion's days are numbered. The Earth can't handle their worldviews anymore. While there has been some push forward in a positive direction from the examples above, it's more than likely not enough. This respect for natural designs in nature should have been followed decades ago.

Now for those who think I'm kidding or exaggerating about the degenerative side effects of pimping one worldview over another causing a serious infection within the Scientific Community, take real close look back at an old well known animated TV commercial from 1977 by Chevron promoting their Ortho Agro-Chemical Division's products which were created & justified based on the blind faith religious concept of Nature being poorly designed until their industrial science White Lab Coats stepped in and saved the day. Seriously, pay real close attention to an example of their twisted worldview they had of nature back in the 1970s where they actually marketed to the public that Nature was completely harsh, unforgiving and inept at growing things and making the consumer wonder how life was even able function prior to these guys at ORTHO coming along and saving the day with their synthetic chemical wonders.

Those of us who are old enough to remember these worldview re-programming indoctrination infomercials saw this barage of propaganda day in and day out for a couple of decades. This infection came out of World War II when bomb  producing chemical corporations could use those same bomb chemicals to grow plants. In the 1950s this was called the Green Revolution and everybody fell for it because Scientists said it was okay. Nobody questioned anything. For many today the answer for correcting the mistakes of the past is unbridled angry Eco-Activism protesting everything and anything that they imagine to be offensive. But that isn't a viable answer either. I'm finding that eco-activism is turning more and more people off towards an ecological stewardship of the earth far more than it's converting the public to get on board. Why ??? Because we are now living in a time where people find it hip to promote themselves as overly sensitive and outraged at the drop of a hat. Any little news report item today that even remotely has the mere appearance of being out of place according to the new rules of definition shell gaming, must be watered down, because even if it's the glaring in your face factual indisputable Truth people still freak out. There are however many sincere ecology minded people who genuinely do care about the environment, but they are paying the price for some of the people they've invited or have allowed to come on board their Cat Stevens "Peace Train" to fight the evil industrialists. Here's one glaring spotlight example below that's recently been in the News and caused incredible anarchy which has resulted in terrible ecological destruction.

Trust me, many of the Native Americans did not feel the same way about the white outside protesters who took the initiative and invited themselves to the Dakota 'Burning Man Festival', I mean Standing Rock Pipeline Protest. Actually the Native American tribal elders were so upset by the outrageous conduct of all the white protester who came out from New York, California and Oregon who brought in loud music, booze, drugs and sponged off the donated food. When the protesters left they left abandoned 200+ plus junk cars they used to get there and many cars even ended up leaking oil in the very river they were supposedly claiming to want to save. Not a happy outcome when the Natives were left with the responsibility and cost of cleaning up their filth. And amazingly these anarchists are supposed to by the ultimate Ecology People.

Here's an interesting observation by Dr. Michio Kaku and the Problem with the learning system in school especially where science is concerned.

 

Stay tuned! 😸