Names of flora and fauna

[umslopogaas]

Post 14 Mercia

Yes, Impatiens noli-tangere L. (Touch-me-not) is a member of the genus Impatiens in the family Balsaminaceae. It is described in my 1960s flora as "Very local by streams and in wet woods in NW England and N. Wales." So called because when the seed pods are ripe, they burst at the slightest touch and send seeds flying in all directions.

In my part of the world (Devon) we are increasingly overrun by another species, Himalayan Balsam (I. glandulifera Royle) which is turning into a serious invasive weed.

And vinteuil post 15, congratulations on getting the presentation of the latin binomial correct. Genus name in italics with the first letter in upper case, species name in italics and all lower case, taxonomic authority not in italics and abbreviated, if appropriate, according to the approved convention: in the case of Linnaeus, either Lin. or L. seems to be acceptable. If you want to be really exhaustive, add the date of the description, but this is usually omitted except in purely taxonomic publications.

[Richard Tarleton]

Troglodytes troglodytes is one of my faves too... I also like Buffo buffo, and of course Turdus turdus - and perhaps especially the hoopoe - Upupa epops...

Also Puffinus puffinus which is, unhelpfully, the Manx shearwater

[vinteuil]

Also Puffinus puffinus which is, unhelpfully, the Manx shearwater

YES - thank you! - I had forgotten that one. The Manx Shearwater, one of my favourite birds. I often use it as the ideal exemplar for parenthood - the adult birds lay their eggs on, for example, Skomer (Pembrokeshire) - feed up their fledglings 'till they're like butterballs - then the parents fly off on their migration to the Falkland Islands - leaving their offspring behind - the offspring whimper for a bit - but when they realise there is no more food forthcoming - they tumble out from their cliff-edge nests - and make their very first flight - all the way across the Atlantic to the Falkland Islands....

Why can't we humans have a similarly robust attitude to the upbringing of our offspring?

[mercia]

Pica pica

[Richard Tarleton]

Yes, they are inspirational birds. The young are occasionally confused by lights, and head off in the wrong direction, crash landing in some odd places - I've re-launched one or two ex-Skomer birds in the right direction, from an approved headland.