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Silk Road: plants travel too!


Silk Road: plants travel too!
Photo Information
Copyright: Dietrich Meyer (meyerd) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 97 W: 15 N: 608] (1488)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-08-22
Categories: Nature
Camera: Olympus SP500UZ
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-02-17 3:39
Viewed: 389
Points: 2
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Silkroad travels: Plants travel too!

Humans were not the ony living things travelling on the Silkroad network since many thousands of years. We were really exited to meet a travel companion in China: we saw Chicory plants (Astraceae; Cichorium intybus; Wegwarte; Chicorée sauvage; Ku ju) along the roadsides. We encountered them from Switzerland through Italy, Albania, Crimea, Balkans, Caucasus, Armenia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan right down to Xingjiang! The plant has reportedly spread with human travel from the Mediterranean basin to all of Eurasia, USA, Australia.

Is it the same species everywhere? I learned from Wikipedia that there might be 5 wild species worldwide (C. intybus; C. endivia; C. bottae; C. spinosum; C. calvum) but the pictured plant fits best with C. intybus.

Another plant accompanied us from home to China on the roadside: its the Wild plum (Prunus insititia; Wildpflaume; Prunier sauvage; Ou ya ye li). Its tempting to imagine the ancient travellers spit out plum pits along the road and in this way plant trees from Rome to Bejing! We presumably planted some, too!
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To Buin: Trümmerorganismenmeyerd 1 02-18 06:17
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Buin Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3260 W: 0 N: 6352] (22229)
  • [2008-02-17 9:44]
  • [+]

Hallo Dieter!
Die gibt's hier auch! ;-) Früher, nach dem Krieg, waren sie oft auf Trümmergrundstücken zu sehen und heute noch an Wegrändern.
Wieder ein sehr interessanter, engagierter und schöner Beitrag - auch fotografisch! Das Grün in diesem Geröll drückt so etwas wie Lebenswillen aus...
Grüße aus dem kalten aber sehr sonnigen Südwestfalen - und eine schöne Woche!
Frank

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