Melampus Daisy

Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey

Melampus Daisy

Oct 03 2023 | 00:04:27

00:00 / 00:04:27

Show Notes

There are a dozen species of Melampodium and I wonder which one Linnaeus was looking at when he honored Melampus with the genus name. And, I wonder when the genus name started being misinterpreted to mean blackfoot and not honoring the mythological soothsayer. Anyway, another cool thing about Melampus, besides him being a legendary soothsayer was that he was “reputed to understand the speech of all creatures.” My kind of guy…er, god. So, a fun discovery for me in an old paperback booklet of plant names. Lemme see…oh, if you are interested in other plants named from Greco-Roman mythology (not…

Other Episodes

Episode

May 22, 2019 • 00:05:32

Hartweg’s Sundrops

Oh my goodness, there are beetles, bees and moths that visit the open flowers of Calylophus harwegii from late afternoon and through the night....

Episode

February 13, 2019 • 00:04:50

Amen Anemone

Desert anemone (Anemone tuberosa) is in the Buttercup Family. Buttercups are the genus Ranuculus and so the family name is Ranunculaceae. It’s probably just...

Episode

January 11, 2018 • 4:43

I am Andropogon

The native grasses of southeastern Arizona are fun to learn. I’m not a botanist…hopefully that’s not a surprise…and so I learn them from friends,...