The plant genus Tillandsia, a member of the Bromeliad family, is found in the deserts, forests and mountains of Central and South America, Mexico and the southern United States in North America. They display an incredible range of form and size, blooming in an impressive palette of extraordinary colors.

Tillandsia species are epiphytes, also called aerophytes or air plants. They normally grow without soil while attached to other plants. Epiphytes are not parasitic, depending on the host only for support. They nourish themselves totally, imbibing rain, dew and whatever nutrients are gathered from the air such as dust, decaying leaves and insect matter.

Although not normally cultivated for their flowers, some Tillandsia will bloom on a regular basis. In late fall-winter, the plants bloom with striking purple flowers. In addition, it is quite common for some species to take on a different leaf color, usually changing from green to red when about to flower.

Tillandsia is a primary ingredient in Allerplex, a standard process herbal supplement used to treat pollen allergies. The genus was named after the Swedish physician and botanist Dr. Elias Tillandz.

Lithops is a genus of succulent plants native to southern Africa. They avoid being eaten by blending in with surrounding rocks. They are often known as pebble plants or living stones. The plants consist of one or more pairs of bulbous, almost fused leaves opposite to each other, with hardly any stem. The slit between the leaves produces flowers and new leaves.

The leaves are not green as in almost all higher plants, but various shades of cream, grey, and brown, patterned with darker windowed areas, dots, and red lines. The markings on the top surface disguise the plant in its surroundings. During winter a new leaf pair, or occasionally more than one, grows inside the existing fused leaf pair. In spring the old leaf pair parts to reveal the new leaves and the old leaves will then dry up.

Yellow or white flowers emerge from the fissure between the leaves after the new leaf pair has fully matured, one per leaf pair. Some species have flowers large enough to obscure the leaves. They open in the afternoon and close in the evening. In tropical climates, Lithops can be grown primarily in winter with a long summer dormancy.

Lithops are popular novelty house plants and many specialist succulent growers maintain collections. Seeds and plants are widely available in shops and over the Internet. They are relatively easy to grow if given sufficient sun and a suitable well drained-soil.

Rattan is the name for roughly 600 species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia. They are not trees but are vine-like, scrambling through and over other vegetation. Unlike bamboo, rattan stems are solid. Most species need structural support and cannot stand on their own. Many rattans have spines which act as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and to deter herbivores.

Rattans are extensively used for making furniture and baskets. When cut into sections, rattan can be used as wood to make furniture. Rattan accepts paints and stains like many other kinds of wood, is available in many colors, and can be worked into many styles. Moreover, the inner core can be separated and worked into wicker.

Along with birch and bamboo, rattan is a common material used for the handles in percussion mallets, especially mallets for keyboard percussion. The fruit of some rattans exudes a red resin called dragon’s blood. This resin was thought to have medicinal properties in antiquity and was also used as a dye for violins.

In early 2010, scientists in Italy announced that rattan would be used in a new process for the production of artificial bone. The wood is heated under intense pressure with calcium and carbon, and a phosphate solution is introduced. The process produces almost an exact replica of bone material. It has been tested in sheep and there had been no signs of rejection.

In forests where rattan grows, its economic value can help protect forest land by providing an alternative to loggers who forgo timber logging and harvest rattan canes instead. Rattan is easier to harvest, requires simpler tools and is much easier to transport. It also grows much faster than most tropical wood. This makes it a potential tool in forest maintenance since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than depletes trees.

Southern Cricket Frogs are very common tiny frogs of shallow water, puddles, ditches and pond margins. As large as crickets, they range from 0.5 to 1.5 inch long. Their calls are slightly reminiscent of a cricket, but more like two small rocks being clicked together. They are very loud at close range.

They have a dark triangle between the eyes and 1 or 2 longitudinal dark stripes on back of the thighs, borderd by light stripes. The Southern Cricket frog can be found in a large variety of colors such as black, green or red.

Their main diet consists of mosquitoes. These frogs will sit quietly and wait for their prey. When their prey is close by, their tongue will dart forward and catch it just like the stereotypical frog.

An impressive characteristic of the Southern Cricket Frog is their ability to jump long distances, sometimes as far as 8 feet with each jump. A quick walk along the water’s edge will usually flush cricket frogs from cover. Most will stop jumping after a series of erratic leaps.

The Belted Kingfisher is a stocky, medium-sized bird with a large head and a shaggy crest. Its long, heavy bill is black with a grey base. Both sexes have a slate blue head, large white collar, a large blue band on the breast, and white underparts.

It is often seen perched prominently on trees, posts, or other suitable watchpoints close to water before plunging in head first after fish. It also eat amphibians, small crustaceans, insects, small mammals and reptiles.

The Belted Kingfisher migrates from the northern parts of their range to the southern United States and Central America in winter. In warmer areas it is a permanent resident. It frequently announces its presence with a loud rattling cry.

The breeding distribution of the Belted Kingfisher is limited in some areas by the availability of suitable nesting sites. Human activity, such as road building and digging gravel pits, has created banks where kingfishers can nest and allowed the expansion of the breeding range.

Holly has been a mainstay of Christmas decoration since the fifteenth century, mentioned regularly in churchwardens’ records, but many of the specific traditions about it are found in much later accounts. It has been said that the kind of holly that comes into a house at Christmas could determine who would be master during the coming year, the wife or the husband. If the holly is smooth the wife will be master, if the holly is prickly, the husband will be the master.

Holly is palatable to livestock despite its spines and was extensively used as a winter fodder for livestock in medieval times. Hay and grains for wintering stock would often run short, and the livestock would eventually have to be slaughtered, causing problems to medieval economies in the following years. Thus, a supply of fresh browse would have been extremely valuable. Written records of payments and agreements involving the use of holly for livestock cover a wide period from the late 12th century to the mid-18th century, by which time the practice had been largely abandoned.

In the past, many believed that it was extremely unlucky to decorate before Christmas Eve. It was once thought that if every scrap of Christmas decoration was not removed from the church before Candlemas Day on February 2nd, there would be a death within a year in the family occupying the pew where the leaf or berry was left.

The Anhinga, sometimes called the Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird.

It is a cormorant-like bird with a very long neck, and often swims with only the neck above water. When swimming in this way the name Snakebird is apparent, since only the light-colored neck appears above water, making the bird look like a snake ready to strike

Unlike ducks, the Anhinga is not able to waterproof its feathers using oil produced by the uropygial gland. Consequently, feathers can become waterlogged, making the bird barely buoyant. However, this allows them to dive easily and search for underwater prey such as fish and amphibians. They remain submerged for significant periods.

When necessary, the Anhinga will dry out its wings and feathers. It will perch for long periods with its wings spread to allow the drying process. If it attempts to fly while its wings are wet, it has great difficulty getting off the water and takes off by flapping vigorously while “running” on the water.

Anhingas will migrate towards the equator during winter but this range is determined by the amount of sunshine to warm their chilled feathers. They have been found as far north as the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. A flock or group of anhingas is known as a kettle.

Bauhinia purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family native to Southeast Asia. Common names include Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Purple Camel’s Foot, and Hawaiian Orchid Tree.

It is an evergreen tree or vine with large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 3-5 inches across and bloom from early November to the end of March. The generic name commemorates the Bauhin brothers Jean and Gaspard, Swiss botanists. The two lobes of the leaf exemplify the two brothers.

Although now cultivated in many areas, it was discovered in 1880 near the ruins of a house on the shoreline of a western Hong Kong island near Pok Fu Lam. Apparently, all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens and widely planted in Hong Kong starting in 1914.

The Bauhinia double-lobed leaf is similar in shape to a heart or butterfly. A typical leaf is 7 inches wide, with a deep cleft dividing the apex. Local people call the leaf “clever leaf” and regard it as a symbol of cleverness. Some people use the leaves to make bookmarks in the hope that the bookmarks will bring them good luck in their studies.