Ladder Fern -- Some Photos and Facts

A Plant with Several Common Names

 

 

Farmers grow acres of these bright green plants, in Okinawa.

They are used primarily in landscaping and, flower arrangements, known as ikebana.

Tamashida (タマシダ) is what the locals would call the fern.

Sword Fern, Herringbone Fern and Fishbone Fern are some other names you could use.

Research gave me two Latin names.

Nephrolepis auriculata and Nephrolepis cordifolia, are synonyms for this fern.

The plants don't produce any flowers.

They spread by way of underground tubers and, reproductive spoors under the leafs.

Native to Australia and Asia, the plants are pests in New Zealand and Florida.

Experience has taught me something about vegetation.

When a plant becomes a pest, humans usually had something to do with the situation.

Ferns don't go around disrupting the earth; people might, though.

Pros and Cons from the gardeners, with this plant, are worth reading.

They probably couldn't escape from planters, too easily, if you keep an eye on them.

In Hawaii this plant is called Kupukupu.

It can grow on trees and stone walls.  It makes a good ground cover and controls weeds.

One Man's Weed Is Another Man's Treasure

 

 

It looks to me like some folks let this plant get out of control.

Just look at the green in these images and, relax your tired eyes for a few minutes.

Some gal in Japan, figured out how to decorate her hair with these fern.

People calling these ferns weeds, need to get educated ! 

Surprised While Taking Fern Photos in Yambaru Forest



Who Would Have Guessed: Insect Repellant ?

 

 

It's November and Christmas is just around the corner.

When we went north in Okinawa, I offered Map It Dude some bug spray.

He was hiking, to the highest peak on this island.

Not me. Been there before, a few times and decided not to do the 2 hour climb.

I said, bug spray and insect repellant are in my pack.

"Nah, there won't be any mosquitoes; it's too cold for them."

There wasn't any wildlife, being active so, I decided to shoot plants and ferns.

I, left the bug spray and crèmes in the vehicle.

Shooting images of ferns from different angles can keep me busy for a few hours.

It was so quiet, in the jungle, you could probably hear a snake slithering.

But, that wasn't the only thing that surprised me.

The weather warmed up and, it woke up the mosquitoes.

There were plenty of fern photos taken so, I headed back down the trail.

That's when I met these red ferns, alongside the highway.

Confirmation, on their names is pending, along with lots of other things.

Remember that movie star, Robert Redford ?

Well, he gave me an idea.

For the time being, I'll just call these guys the Redfern Brothers.

Does anyone else have a better idea ?


NOTE: The weather in Okinawa, Japan can fool you sometimes.

So, it's a good idea to always be prepared for tropical sunshine.

Insects don't follow the calendar; they follow the thermometer.

And, the weather on the Ryukyu Islands doesn't necessarily follow any calendar, either.

In years past, I recall going to the beach, to swim, during winter months.

The sun doesn't burn me and bugs won't bite me, usually.

Most of the repellants and cremes, I carry, are for others to use.

Something tells me, the secret ingredient, that protects me is in Orion Beer.

Well, the past few days I was on some strong medicine, trying to kick a cold.

Doctors orders:  No Alcohol

Those pesky bugs feasted on me, yesterday because my Orion levels were depleted.

The cold is all gone.  No more drugs.

Downtown, I have some catching-up to do.

Have a great weekend !

Trees, Flowers, Ferns and a New Redneck Stuff Page

Today I've been busy as a beaver trying to get organized for the New Year.

If I learned anything over the months of 2011, it was this:

People like to look at pictures of trees, flowers and ferns.

So, I spent the better part of the day making a new page for them to click on.

Now they can find Trees, Flowers, Ferns without having to dig through the whole pile.

Not wantin' to leave anybody out,  I made a special pile of REDNECK STUFF, too.

Ya'll better hope it quits rainin' soon cuz this stayin' indoors is drivin' me crazy !

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Flowers, Ferns, Caves and Castles on a Rainy Day (Photos)

Today the weather gurus predicted thunder storms.  We don't get thunderstorms in November.

Thunderstorms are supposed to be a summertime thing, I thought.

So, when RyukyuRu came by, we decided to go shoot photos of some caves and castles.

This photo of a whatchamacallit (some kind of tree with flowers on it) was on the grounds of the first castle ruins we stopped at.  The sky was already turning violent-looking colors so, I picked on flowers instead of castles.  The castles, I'll get photos of when the sky is blue, not gray.

Here's a closer look at the bell-shaped flower-things.  I figure somebody out there knows the name of them and I won't have to lose another bet with my wife over them.  She knows almost everything, you know, except how to make beer.

Before leaving this castle ruins, I decided to let some sky creep in because I want to remember this location.  Barely visible in the center of this photo are rocks that make up the castle walls.

These ruins are on Okinawa's east coast.  We met a few characters who live nearby and discovered they like karaoke and maybe, some spirits to drink.  So, I promised to stop by again, someday when the weather is more cooperative and we'll do that castle, right.

Off to the other side of the island, we went.  And the thunderstorms happened.

This is the terrain around castle ruins we discovered on Okinawa's west coast.

The rain slacked off.  In between gusts of wind and a few more sprinkles, I managed to capture a few photos of the ferns and wet, jungle vegetation.

There is a cave entrance in the center of this photo, just beyond the ferns.

Several places around these castle ruins have huge cave entrances but, they looked too slippery and dangerous to enter without flashlights.  We decided to return here, another day and I'm glad we did.

Just before getting back in the car, we ran across someone who lived nearby that cave.

He told us, he decided to explore that cave one day, just as a typhoon was approaching Okinawa.

When he got to the cave entrance, the cave had filled to the brim with water.

It's probably not the ideal place to go on a rainy day.

The weather is supposed to be stormy for the rest of this week.  The castles and caves will have to wait.  Flowers and ferns can be fun to shoot on rainy days but, for now I think it's more important to get the right equipment for exploration, dry and recharge my cameras and do some beers !

Flowers n' Ferns

Luckily I packed almost all my camera gear in a bag for this trip. Thinking I'd get some nice close-ups of the Azaleas it was kind of disappointing the way the weather turned out. The wind in the mountains and harsh sunlight kind of wilted all the flowers.

When you go out on a shoot like this, you better be flexible. Mother Nature takes a turn for the worst, you just have to outsmart her. For this shot I got up high in a tower and looked down into a valley where the wind wouldn't have much effect on me or the scene. I set my tripod in a position where a concrete barrier protected it from the breeze. The Giant Ferns in the upper-center of the frame weren't moving, so I knew the valley was also, sheltered from the wind. I stopped-down a few clicks on aperature and used the camera's 2 second timer, held my breath and fired-away.

To this day, I couldn't tell you what an Azalea looks like; even if I tripped-over a flock of them ! What I really wanted was the picture of the Giant Ferns ! About a month ago, I shot this curly wachamakallit, golden plant sprouting at the base of another mountain. I was on a Cherry Blossom assignment that day and it was another windy day on the top of a mountain with me trying to get nice, slow shutter speed shots of (ugh) flowers moving in the wind ! The gal writing the story I was shooting for spotted the plant on our way down the hill and started shooting it with her point and shoot (toy) camera. I noticed the way the sun was hitting it, just right and knew if I took the time to set-up my tripod, it'd be too late; the sun would move. So, I just laid down behind a log and rested my lens on a log and captured it !

One of the things I really like about the web; if you post something (you have no clue as to what it is) on a website and be honest about it, somebody out there will tell you. A few days after I posted it, it was identified ! It's a baby Giant Fern and IT's EDIBLE ! To me, that's what Flower Photography should be all about !

Now, all I have to do is find out the scientific name of these Giant Ferns and I might get a Nature Magazine to buy them. I can Google that easy. Meanwhile, anybody out there who can tell me how you cook them ?