DESKTOP 894 - LADYBUG

This post is part of the I Heart Macros meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Saturday Show Off meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 893 - SUNRISE SILHOUETTE

The tree in silhouette is an Australian native, Casuarina equisetifolia or Australian pine tree. It is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina of the family Casuarinaceae. The native range extends from Burma and Vietnam throughout Malesia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and south to Australia (north of Northern Territory, north and east Queensland, and north-eastern New South Wales).  The species has been introduced to the Southern United States and West Africa. It is an invasive species in Florida and South Africa.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 892 - NARDOO

Marsilea drummondii is a species of fern known by the common name nardoo. It is native to Australia, where it is widespread and common, particularly in inland regions. It is a rhizomatous perennial aquatic fern that roots in mud substrates and produces herbage that floats on the surface of quiet water bodies. It occurs in water up to one meter deep.

It occurs in abundance after floods and can form mats on the water's surface covering the ground in carpets as floodwaters recede. It is variable in appearance and occurs in many types of wetland habitats. In general the frond is made up of two pairs of leaflets and is borne erect when not floating. The plant produces sporocarps which can remain viable for 50 years and only release spores after being thoroughly soaked. The sporocarps are dispersed by birds that eat them but cannot digest them, and also spread by flowing water. Sporocarps are hard, woody structures about 0.5-1 cm long that are produced on stalks that arise from the rhizome. They bear sori, which are the structures in which the fern spores are produced.

The sporocarp is used for food by Australian Aborigines, who collect and grind them to powder which they mix with water to make a dough. The sporocarp can be toxic due to high levels of thiaminase, which destroys thiamine (vitamin of B1). Consumption of large amounts of nardoo can cause beriberi. It has been known to poison sheep, as well as humans, including the leaders of the Burke and Wills expedition. Nardoo must be prepared properly before consumption to destroy the thiaminase.

Burke and Wills ground the sporocarps dry, then cooked the flour in much the same way that wheat and barley are ground and cooked. This method of preparation contrasted with that used by the Aborigines, who ground them with water to make a thin paste. As nardoo sporocarps contain large amounts of the enzyme thiaminase, mixing the flour with water stops the enzyme's action and also dilutes the other chemicals that are needed for the enzyme to destroy thiamine. In their preparation method, the Aborigines did not allow the watery paste to come into contact with bark or leaf utensils. Had they used bark or leaf, amino acids from them could have activated the thiaminase.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of Pippa's Week That Has Been Friday meme.

DESKTOP 891 - FILAREE

Erodium moschatum is a species of flowering plant in the geranium family (Geraniaceae) known by the common names musk stork's-bill and whitestem filaree. This is a weedy annual or biennial herb which is native to much of Eurasia and North Africa but can be found on most continents where it is an introduced species.

The young plant starts with a flat rosette of compound leaves, each leaf up to 15 centimeters long with many oval-shaped highly lobed and toothed leaflets along a central vein which is hairy, white, and stemlike. The plant grows to a maximum of about half a meter in height with plentiful fuzzy green foliage. The small flowers have five sepals behind five purple or lavender petals, each petal just over a centimeter long. The filaree fruit has a small, glandular body with a long green style up to 4 centimeters in length.

This is widely known as a common weed of gardens, roadsides, disturbed sites, waste areas, crops, and pastures. However, it also grows in natural areas, such as grasslands and open woodlands, and is sometimes regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria. It appears on some local and regional environmental weed lists in this state (e.g. in Banyule Shire and in the Goulburn Broken Catchment), is an invasive weed of woodlands on granitic hills, and is also present in conservation areas (e.g. Brisbane Ranges National Park). It has also been described as an invasive coloniser of grasslands in South Australia, and is widespread in conservation areas in this state (e.g. Cleland Conservation Park, Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park, Coorong National Park, Belair National Park and Para Wirra Recreation Park). It has also been recorded in conservation areas in Tasmania (e.g. Greens Beach/Kelso Coastal Reserve and Tasman National Park).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,

and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 890 - ZURICH

Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 400,028 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million, and the Zurich metropolitan area 1.83 million.

Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Permanently settled for around 2000 years, Zürich has a history that goes back to its founding by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it Turicum. However, early settlements have been found dating back more than 6400 years ago.

During the Middle Ages Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli. The official language of Zürich is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Zürich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres despite a relatively low population. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking giants. Most of Switzerland's research and development centres are concentrated in Zürich and the low tax rates attract overseas companies to set up their headquarters there. Monocle's 2012 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Zürich first on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within". According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe.

 Many museums and art galleries can be found in the city, including the Swiss National Museum and the Kunsthaus. Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme 
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 889 - INDIAN PAINTING

Indian painting has a very long tradition and history in Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the petroglyphs as found in places like Bhimbetka rock shelters, some of the Stone Age rock paintings found among the Bhimbetka rock shelters are approximately 30,000 years old.

India's Buddhist literature is replete with examples of texts which describe palaces of the army and the aristocratic class embellished with paintings, but the paintings of the Ajanta Caves are the most significant of the few survivals. Smaller scale painting in manuscripts was probably also practiced in this period, though the earliest survivals are from the medieval period.

Mughal painting represented a fusion of the Persian miniature with older Indian traditions, and from the 17th century its style was diffused across Indian princely courts of all religions, each developing a local style. Company paintings were made for British clients under the British Raj, which from the 19th century also introduced art schools along Western lines, leading to modern Indian painting, which is increasingly returning to its Indian roots.

Indian paintings provide an aesthetic continuum that extends from the early civilisation to the present day. From being essentially religious in purpose in the beginning, Indian painting has evolved over the years to become a fusion of various cultures and traditions.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 888 - TOY CARS

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

DESKTOP 887 - CURIOUS CAT

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Saturday Show Off meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 886 - SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 885 - BASIL

Basil, Thai basil, or sweet basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum of the family Lamiaceae (mints). Basil is possibly native to India, and has been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years.] It was thoroughly familiar to the Greek authors Theophrastus and Dioscorides.

It is a half-hardy annual plant, best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in Southeast Asian cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Taiwan. Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, often sweet smell.

There are many varieties of Ocimum basilicum, as well as several related species or species hybrids also called basil. The type used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora), lemon basil (O. X citriodorum) and holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including holy basil and a cultivar known as 'African Blue'.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.