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| Gardening safely in a pandemic: the birdcage protocol. |
The month of June brings the strangest sights to the garden. Heliconias, for example. Now these imposing plants are related to the edible banana. Heliconias are, however, not to be eaten; rather, one must enjoy the eye-catchingly colorful bracts and bold demeanor they flaunt. But there is, as usual, confusion about numbing nomenclature; you see, botanists are a fickle bunch (bad pun says my ever-vigilant editor, sipping on a banana daquiri spiked with hydroxychloroquine). Yesterday they swore Heliconias were related to the banana (Musa species). Today they insist upon placing it in the Zingiberales family (i.e. ginger) and I am only slightly embarrassed to bring such dissension to your attention. The modern covid predicament: not only must one garden with masks and gloves, one must deal with quacks and the raves of family-swapping thugs. I protest.
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| Heliconia rostrata |
haha the birdcage protocol!!! :-)
ReplyDeletei am really thrilled with the cartoons, and Kiki is a fan too, we both look at them and comment and laugh :-) you have discovered a true calling! :-)
heliconia, what a dream! i like the name too...
there is the same confusion about asters, and they are much humbler flowers :-)
There is confusion about everything. This is why I thrive.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why I pay no attention to Latin names, lol. Too many reclassifications in recent years, and I don't want to relearn anything. I'm lazy. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI agree. Latin names ought to be reserved for lawyers, not gardeners.
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