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3471. Ronski - 1/7/2006 7:13:39 PM Jay,
For the most part, orchids are not parasites. Orchids live attached to hosts, but they do nothing to harm the thing they are holding on to (by their roots, usually), and can live on dead wood.
They get their nutrients and moisture from rainwater washing over the host and then over the leaves and roots of the orchid plant: the water dissolves minute amounts of minerals from the bark of trees which the orchid makes use of.
There are also terrestrial orchids, but they are not parasitic either.
The exception to all this is only in the very first stage of life for orchids. Fungus must be present to germinate orchid seeds. Sometimes the orchid seed wins, and the fungus is ultimately consumed (making the definition of parasite). But sometimes the fungus wins, and destroys the seed. Explanation here:
[Orchids] are obligatory mycotrophic just like Ericaceae. Their causes differ, though (H. BURGEFF, 1909, 1936). Orchid seeds are extremely small (0.3 – 14 µm). They have usually no cotyledons which means that a seed can germinate but not develop further than to a few-celled state. Further development is possible only in association with fungi that provide the nutrient substratum. Orchids are accordingly parasites if only in the first phase of their life. Many of them (those with green leaves) change to an autotrophic life during a later stage of development. The fungus becomes superfluous.
The mycorrhizal fungus penetrates the tissue of the young seedling (usually through the suspensor), from where it spreads into the developing root. Shoot and root tuber (if present) are generally not infected.
The endotrophic fungi do usually perish in the course of the plant’s development and their remains are absorbed by the orchids. If this host-specific action does not take place, then the fungus spreads and becomes parasitic. That is why only a small percentage of seedlings develops in many orchid species. The inhibition of the fungus growth is caused by the synthesis of an antagonist that was at first named orchinol, and was later characterized as dehydroxyphenanthrin by E. GÄUMANN and H. KERN (1959). This fungicide has an effect on numerous mycorrhizal and terrestrial fungi. Its synthesis is only induced in the presence of the fungus.
3472. PelleNilsson - 1/7/2006 7:57:11 PM A briefer way of saying that is that orchids are not parasites but epiphytes. 3473. Ronski - 1/7/2006 8:00:52 PM Yes, except in that very brief window of having germinated and created a few cells and actual viability as a growing plant. 3474. thoughtful - 1/8/2006 5:43:52 PM Lovely orchid!
Denny's blossoms are finally drying up...one thing about orchids is you get to enjoy their blooms so long. I've long since lost track of which Phaelenopsis is Phil and which is Phoebe, but anyway one of them is throwing a stem now and I hoping for a new stalk of blooms to enjoy in a matter of weeks.
I'm really sorely tempted to buy a few more...but I will have to dump the more ordinary plants I have around. Idon't have the space or patients for too many at one time. 3475. thoughtful - 1/8/2006 5:56:16 PM My xmas cactus at work is blooming beautifully now. It has much larger blossoms than my home one with mostly white and touches of pink and salmon in the throat. Sorry no pics of that one.
But my home one is also blooming. A gift from a gf's mother who was clearing out her greenhouse to make room for orchids. Hard to believe that was back about 1975 and the cactus is still going strong. It's enormous and I'm reluctant to move it except as necessary...it hangs in my back room in a west window. A close up on just one of the blossoms. Variegated pepperomia visible in the background.
 3476. thoughtful - 1/8/2006 5:57:50 PM patience not patients. Sheesh.
3477. Ronski - 1/9/2006 12:30:20 AM 
A "dancing ladies" type Oncidium (note the skirts): Onc. 'Sweet Sugar'
3478. Ms. No - 1/9/2006 7:32:18 PM MSG has never bothered me so I don't pay much attention to it. Once I figured out that it's linked to headaches not cancer I never worried about it. It's a natural by-product of soy, isn't it?
Nellie & Joe's is great --- that's what I used for my pies. I want to find a recipe for Grillo and the lime sauce that you serve it with. So far no luck, but I'm thinking I might be able to cobble something together. 3479. thoughtful - 1/10/2006 5:04:14 PM So I made the chocolate molten baby cakes and they were absolutely delish and very easy to make. I was concerned about how easily they'd come out of the custard cups, but they came out nicely. Only thing is the dessert is definitely only for the choc lovers...intense choc lovers. I also baked them and had them leftover and reheated for a few secs in the microwave and they were good that way too. A very flexible recipe. But definitely in need of vanilla ice cream to cut the deep choc taste for those who aren't intense choc lovers. 3480. Magoseph - 1/10/2006 5:24:25 PM I looked up the recipe, which I find rather complicated--did you change it a bit? 3481. thoughtful - 1/10/2006 6:14:10 PM Nope, no changes. It wasn't complicated at all...melted the choc in a double boiler. Beat the eggs, creamed the butter with the sugar, added the rest of the stuff and poured it into the greased custard cups and popped in the fridge until I was ready to bake. First batch i baked 11 min and it was a bit too long. 2nd batch i did 10 min and it was a bit too short. Timing is a bit fussy to get the exact right consistency of the stuff in the middle, but if too long or too little, it really doesn't matter that much as it doesn't change the flavor at all. 3482. Magoseph - 1/10/2006 6:33:16 PM Well, thank you much--I want to make this recipe because I would like to control Flexy’s intake of chocolate. If I could make this and freeze it, then persuade him to eat it instead of his daily Hershey’s chocolate bar, it would be better for him, I think.
Any way, I could too use this “Smart Balance® 67% Buttery Spread--
This delicious spread is ideal for cooking, baking and table use. It contains no hydrogenated oil, no trans fatty acids and a precisely balanced oil blend to help balance fats in your diet. It also provides a favorable ratio of Omega-6 to Omega 3 fatty acids we call, Omega Balance.”—what do you think?
3483. thoughtful - 1/10/2006 7:26:48 PM Oh dear, no, i don't think this would be better than flexy's daily hershey's bar! This cake is like a giant hershey's bar with added eggs sugar and butter. It is very rich. To be eaten only as a special treat, not as a regular part of one's diet.
Rather, it would be better to switch flexy away from hersheys and to a very dark choc...something with at least 70% cocoa and semi to bitter sweet choc. Trader Joe's carries a selection of 70%+ chocolates. You want to cut down on the sugar consumption. Hi cocoa choc that's very dark is actually not that bad for you being high in antioxidants. And then of course, if he can eat half a bar a day instead of a whole one would be much better.
I have to have chocolate every day. I've managed to generally satisfy my choc tooth with a viactiv or 2 a day which gives me extra calcium besides.
3484. thoughtful - 1/10/2006 7:29:42 PM From Dr. Weil on Chocolate:
The latest news about chocolate – that it makes blood vessels more flexible – adds to accumulating evidence that chocolate offers a number of health benefits and may be good for the heart. Earlier findings had shown that chocolate contains polyphenols, the same kinds of antioxidants found in red wine and green tea; stearic acid, a type of fat that doesn’t raise cholesterol levels; and flavonoids, which reduce the stickiness of platelets, inhibiting blood clotting and reducing the danger of coronary artery blockages.
In the most recent study, researchers at Athens Medical School in Greece recruited 17 healthy young volunteers who agreed to eat a 3.5-ounce bar of dark chocolate and then undergo ultrasound tests to see how the chocolate affected the functioning of endothelial cells in blood-vessel walls. Normally, these cells control the stiffness of blood vessels by secreting substances that regulate flexibility.
The researchers found that on the days the
volunteers ate dark chocolate (as opposed to those who ate fake chocolate), endothelial function was improved for about three hours. These are interesting findings, but we don’t yet know what they mean in terms of preventing cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, or deaths. This study doesn’t tell us whether eating dark chocolate on a regular basis would reduce the risk of heart disease.
We do know, however, that eating too much chocolate can lead to weight gain, which might cancel out any beneficial effects that chocolate confers. So the good news about chocolate isn’t a license to overindulge. I enjoy high-quality dark chocolate from France, Belgium and Venezuela. It is so richly delicious that a single piece is a satisfying snack or after-dinner treat. Limit yourself to an ounce several times a week. If you can’t find good imported chocolate, look for a domestic brand that contains at least 70 percent cocoa.
Andrew Weil, M.D. 3485. thoughtful - 1/10/2006 7:39:31 PM As far as the smart balance stuff, I've seen it, but I've grown such an aversion to artificial stuff that I've decided to avoid it. It may not be harmful or it may even be good for you, but I don't know how they make it or what it's made from. Just like the hydrogenated oils which seemed to have such beneficial properties but have turned out so harmful for you, I err on the side of caution, opting for real food. As Dr. Schwarzbein says, eat what you could fish, hunt, pick, milk or grow. So I eat real butter, mayonnaise and sour cream. I don't eat margarine, artificial sweeteners, or "cheese" that comes in cans.
Rather, the way I get a balance of fat is to take a spoonful of flax oil every day...actually hubby takes that...I take Barlean's Essential woman which also has soy isoflavones in it as I'm at that stage of life where a little extra estrogen boost can't hurt. 3486. alistairconnor - 1/11/2006 11:32:21 AM Ah, that's your hippie roots, Thoughtful.
Almost un-American, to prefer natural to processed foods...
and very un-French of you, Mago, to prefer the opposite...
down with stupid national stereotypes! 3487. Magoseph - 1/11/2006 2:00:33 PM I really don't prefer the opposite, Ali--I just want to replace the snacks Flex buys with something healthier, that's all. Personally, I eat no meat, only fish, fresh fruit, vegetables and unprocessed cereals. Flex's diets is similar to mine, except for the darn snacks. 3488. Magoseph - 1/11/2006 2:01:23 PM But you're correct, I am very un-French. 3489. thoughtful - 1/11/2006 3:42:47 PM Hippie roots? Hahahahahaahahaha. Hardly.
I was raised in a hard rock goper town that was so conservative that i actually remember when the town voted to no longer be dry. Up until that time, it was actually illegal to have alcohol in your house.
You are talking to a gal who marched on washington in the 60s...in a 'Victory in Vietnam' rally. Would you believe it? 3490. wonkers2 - 1/11/2006 4:40:09 PM Speaking of national stereotypes, how about tippling Englishmen--William Pitt, Churchill, Charles Kennedy and "George Brown, a labor foreign secretary in the 1960s who is once said to have stumblingly inviteed a guest in flowing purple robes at a reception in Peru to dance. But it was not to be.
"'First, you are drunk," the guest is said to have replied. 'Secon, this is not a waltz; it is the Peruvian national anthem. And third I am not a woman; I am the Cardinal Archbiship of Lima.'" More on British drunks here.
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