Tag: nature

Euphorbia Ingens

September 27, 2024

Melissa was working on her succulents over the weekend and called me out to see what was going on with her plants.  We had placed two tables in the flower bed on the north side of the house that we have yet to figure out what to do with.  Melissa decided in the short run this would be a good place to put some of her hardier cacti to take advantage of the outside.  Although these plants are visible through the porch windows, Melissa does not get out to physically check on them more than once a week.  As with most cacti and succulents, a good rule of thumb is to leave them alone and let them thrive on their own.  One of the plants has been growing particularly well over the last two years and is over 3 feet (1 m) tall.  The third section of the plant had developed greenish-yellow buds along its ridges which appeared to be ready to bloom.  When I asked, she told me this was a Euphorbia ingens (I sometimes think she uses the scientific names just to throw me off).   

When I looked online, I found the candelabra tree (Euphorbia ingens), or naboom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae native to dry and semi-savanna areas of southern Africa.  This tree is a tall succulent with green round-like branches resembling a balloon that grows to 19.5 to 26 feet (6 to 8m) tall.  The trunk of the candelabra is thick, and the stems have 5 ridges each and are 1-1/3 to 3 inches (3.5 to 7.5 cm) thick.  The segmented stems are dark-green and young sprouts have paired spines 3/16 to 5/64 inches (0.5 to 2 mm) long.  The plant blooms from autumn to winter and the small greenish yellow flowers sit on the ridges of the topmost segment.  A red, round, three-lobed capsule fruit turns purple when ripe.  The plant’s flowers are attractive for butterflies, bees and other insects, which pollinate them when gathering pollen and nectar.  The seeds are edible for birds, who also like to make their nests in the branches of these trees.  The light and solid wood of the main trunk is used in door, plank, and boat production.  The milky latex sap of the tree is highly poisonous and can cause blindness, severe skin irritation, and poisoning (when ingested) in humans and other animals.  The plant has few pests due to the toxic sap.

Euphorbia ingens grows well both indoors and outdoors and has become a popular choice for rock gardens and indoor houseplant collections due to its stately appearance and low maintenance.  In their natural environment, these succulents can grow up to 40 feet (12 m) tall, but they usually top out around 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 m) tall when grown indoors.  Still, even this would take a high ceiling to accommodate a mature plant.  When grown indoors or in containers, it is extremely uncommon for this species of euphorbia to produce blooms.  Since Melissa’s plant has budded, we are waiting to see if it will break into full bloom.

THOUGHTS:  The buds on the Euphorbia ingens are only the latest of Melissa’s accomplishments.  Over the last two years she has repeatedly shown me the flowers that have bloomed on many of the succulents and cacti that are under her care.  In my case, with the exception of the ground cherry (Physalis angulate) that I did not plant and the red burgundy okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) I do not like to eat, I have often struggled with production of my plants (pole beans are another exception).  Melissa’s mom was a prolific gardener whose secret was to spend hours tending her flowers.  The same it true with Melissa who spends hours with her succulents.  I am willing to plant, water, and harvest.  Perhaps there is a lesson there.  When we are willing to put in the work, we can achieve most tasks.  That is true for gardening.  That is also true for creating positive human interaction.  Do the work.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Leopard Darters

September 25, 2024

Last week the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AFGC) released 80 leopard darters into the wild with the help of state and federal partners along with Conservation Fisheries LLC, a private hatchery specializing in propagating rare and threatened species.  According to Chance Garrett, fish ecologist for the AGFC, this release is the first of two scheduled for the Cossatot River in western Arkansas this year and is the first historical reintroduction effort of leopard darters anywhere.  The fish were grown from broodstock taken from the Mountain Fork River which flows from Arkansas into Oklahoma.  Another 250 fish are planned for release in early October.  Garrett said, “They originally thought it was only found in Oklahoma, but some populations were found in the Rolling Fork and Cossatot after its listing.  Those two populations are thought to no longer exist, so this effort to re-establish them is extremely important.”  This is the second year of the project, but the first year saw a low survival rate as the hatchery and were added to the broodstock rather than being released.  The leopard darters measured and an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) at stocking size and were transported from the hatchery to their destination in one day.

When I looked online, I found leopard darters (Percina pantherina) are a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, from the subfamily Etheostomatinae.  The family (Percidae) also contains the perches (Genus, Perca), ruffes (Gymnocephalus cernua), and pikeperches (Genus, Sander).  The species is native to the US and is only be found in the Little River drainage in Oklahoma and Arkansas.  A typical habitat is medium to large streams with rubble and boulder substrate.  The leopard darter feeds on small invertebrates on the riverbed and spawns in March and April.  Adults rarely exceed 3 inches (8 cm) in length and have 11 to 14 large, dark spots on their sides, which contrast against a light background that ranges from pale olive on the back to yellowish olive on the underside.  The back of the fish has numerous saddles and bars.  The leopard darter is threatened by impoundment, habitat loss, and runoff from agricultural activity.  It has never been a common species and has been listed as a threatened species in the US since 1978.

Transporting and releasing the leopard darter was a full day affair.  They left the Conservation Fisheries hatchery in Knoxville, Tennessee in the morning, were met by AGFC personnel in Memphis, and driven to the other side of other side of Arkansas by 6:30 p.m. that evening.  Once at the river, the fish had to be tempered to adjust to the river water.  They arrived in bags which were floated to slowly acclimate to the temperature of the river water.  Then some river water was let into the bags to help them adjust slowly to the chemistry of that location.  Finally, they are ready for release.  The staff scanned the release pool the next day and found many of the fish had dispersed.  Garrett said. “Hopefully we’ll see them in future survey efforts . . . Ultimately our goal is to see some spawning activity in spring.”  The leopard darters represent one of the longest-standing members of the Endangered Species Act.

THOUGHTS:  Leopard darters typically live less than two years, but individuals older than three years have been found.  Introduction of these 320 fish (total) could reintroduce a viable population into the Cossatot River, but the fragile species still faces the loss of habitat due to construction of reservoirs and population isolation, along with agricultural and industrial activity, that drove them to decline in the first place.  Species reintroduction and preservation takes the combined efforts of government agencies, business, and individual landowners to be effective.  While it may take a village to raise a child, it takes concerned communities to preserve endangered species.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.