At the end of summer, most of the fly species found in our garden chose the overripe fruits of the fig tree as their favourite food. However, it seemed a Sarchophaga fly did not want to share this resource with the others. It tried to keep its competitors away by spreading its legs out to the …
The chayote (Sechium edule) is a great species of Cucurbitaceae, because almost all parts of the plant are edible. Besides the fruit, a lot of nations consume the root, the seeds, the stem, and the heart-shaped leaves. The chayote was unknown to me until it crawled over a three-meter-tall, stone wall from the neighbour. Thence, …
The pink-headed persicaria (Persicaria capitata; its former scientific name was Polygonum capitatum) is native to Asia and is an invasive plant in the Azores archipelago and many other places worldwide. It spreads quickly and covers even barren rock surfaces in very large densities, thus displacing native species. However, its little, pinkish flowers attract a wide …
