tripsis

That is a beautiful cross-section.

They taste even better dried.

Any chance you'll have Cymbopogon ambiguus again?

What did you do to your hand? Beautiful plants, they look healthy to me. Doesn't look unlikely that they will survive the fire. I've found Ephedra growing on the cliffs of Verdon Gorge, not sure of the species; perhaps E. fragilis? Found another species, a scrambler, in Geyikbayırı in Turkey. Like so much of Europe, both were rocky limestone areas. All the species I've found in Central Asia, northern India, Nepal, and Morocco have preferred rocky locations. Same goes for the US.

An reply which fails to answer the question. Traditional doesn't mean safe. Cytotoxic is cytotoxic, whichever way you splice it. And there's plenty of money to be followed along the path of TCM, and in fact, such revered brews like ayahuasca.

The "significant history of consumption" aside, is there really good evidence of these mushrooms having a real medicinal benefit? Showing anti-tumour and anti-cancer properties in a petri dish only really tells us the compounds in question are cytotoxic; this doesn't necessarily translate to tangible medical benefits if consumed. There are plenty of completely bunk traditional "medicines" that have existed for lengthy periods of time which lack any efficacy or scientific basis whatsoever. Homeopathy and acupuncture spring to mind, as does rhino horns, donkey skins, and tiger penises.

Fair point about the slow growth, probably at least part of the reason why it's not more common.

Thanks, Glaukus. Looks more like the taquimbalensis Micromegas posted earlier. This stout-spined tacaquirensis is an elusive plant! I'm quite surprised it's not a more popular / sort after species.

That makes sense. Beautiful plant, but really after the stout-spined tacaquirensis. What's the ABG werd look like? Never seen any photos of it.

Sorry Micromegas, only just seen your message. What are those photos of? The first one looks similar to what I'm after, but perhaps not with the stout spines (which I feel would be closer to chiloensis). The second one - is that the same plant? Looks almost like a skinny pasacana.

Hey @Humboldt, that would be awesome. Looks vwry much like what I'm after. What did you receive / grow that?

I've been after this species for years now, I know it's out there somewhere? Does anyone have a cutting they could spare? I'd give my right arm for a piece! Something much like the below: https://cactilicious.com.au/cactus-trichocereus-rg-rg1-glaukus-tacaquirensis02/

And Colchicum autumnale, the autumn crocus. Photographed in Rodellar, Spain. I love how these beautiful, fragile flowers have come out of the bare, hardened earth.

Can't help myself, a couple of others. Couroupita guianensis, the cannonball tree. Photo taken in a botanic gardens in Sri Lanka.

I feel like I've had the good fortune of coming across some pretty remarkable flowers around the world, so I'll go with something interesting, rather than generically beautiful. I was going to dig up a photo of a cool Amorphophallus I found in Thailand years ago (I'm guessing A. paeoniifolius), but this one will do. These are flowers of Monotropa hypopitys, an epiparasitic plant which does not contain chlorophyll, instead deriving its nutrients from fungi which in turn derive their nutrients from living plants. Because it does not photosynthesise, it has no need for any above-ground structure other than flowers, so all we ever get to see of the plant are these flowers. While this species is currently still in the genus Monotropa, recent genetic evidence suggests it should be moved into its own genus Hypopitys. This photo was taken in the Dolomites in Italy in 2019.