Too Many Possible Titles, So I Chose This One

So Las Cruces is pretty mazing, and I’m behind on many things already, including (but not limited to) readings, blog entries, knowing scientific terms for things I have no reason to know already, and, of course, sleep.

On Thursday, we toured the gardens with Rodolfo (Rodo), one of the important people here (not sure of his title, exactly). He is quite the character, and is pretty funny: “Questons? Comments? Regrets?” The garden has species from all over the world. I can’t really explain it without pictures, I guess.

We split into two groups that day, and half went on the garden walk and half went to the neighboring town of San Vito to buy snake boots (5700 colónes, or about $11) and various other supplies. The boots aren’t that comfortable, and they are the hottest, sweatiest footwear I’ve ever had. Plus, they don’t protect you against the big snakes, only the little ones that you don’t see, which is what your regular shoes could do. Kind of silly.

A few of us went on a night walk in the garden that night. The bugs and sounds and smells (and temperature, of course) are all very different when the sun is sleeping.

So far we’ve had various lectures on Costa Rican history and politics, one on coffee, various plant, fruit, and insect taxonomy/morphology (blegh), and about biological vs. statistical hypotheses. Oh yeah—and one on “Dangerous and Annoying Creatures," such as this one (sorry, Darby):

I’m already feeling pretty behind, because many/most of the kids in the group have definitely had taxonomy classes before. Did I know what the hell a Bromeliaceae was before I got here? No. But most of them did; apparently it’s the family that pineapple belongs to. Most of them are epiphytes, pineapple being a terrestrial exception. Yep, didn’t know what an epiphyte was either. Nor did I know what Cyclanthaceae, Moraceae, Marantaceae, Melastomataceae, Heliconiaceae, Rutaceae, Rubiaceae, Passifloraceae, Piperaceae, or Zingiberaceae were. I still don’t know, actually. Those are just plant families, much less the other terms for parts or insects, which are even harder. Ha. The Costa Rican students definitely know way more than any of us, though. They learn the scientific names in school like nobody’s business. This is going to be tricky. I wish my teachers had emphasized scientific names, but they definitely haven't

The next morning we took the jungle trail to the Rio Java, which is mostly a creek in the dry season, to observe the layers of the forest (canopy, undergrowth, etc., etc.).

See the snake boots in action!

Last night we had our fruit “lab,” which was basically just a feeding frenzy on local fruits (and vegetables). Some were gross, some were good, some I just couldn’t make myself try, such as Noni.

But speaking of fruits, I’ve found the answer to the fruit/vegetable conflict regarding our familiar tomato. In 1883, the U.S. government declared tariffs on all vegetables. This list included the tomato. However, a farmer in Florida challenged this, saying his tomatoes were in fact fruits, not vegetables. The Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes were indeed vegetables, because they were usually served with the meal, and not with dessert. What kind of bogus answer is that? Tomatoes are in fact fruit, since they are the seed-bearing part of the plant.

Also, oranges (and lemons and limes) are technically berries, each little ball on a blackberry is itself a fruit (it’s called an aggregate fruit), and each little diamond-shaped thing on the side of a pineapple was one flower—pineapples are called “multiple” fruits. Each one of a strawberry’s seeds is in fact a fruit, and the rest of the fleshy material is simply an enlarged receptacle; the seeds are individual achenes. Squash and cucumbers are also fruits (they are the ovaries, containing the seeds used for reproduction), but we classify them as vegetables because we’re silly. Any part of the rest of the plant should really be called the vegetable part. Look up the definition of a vegetable on different websites, and you’ll get different answers everywhere.

Yep. Bet you didn’t know.

Today is a free day. I went to breakfast at 6:30, then came back and slept until ten. It was quite glorious. Some people went into San Vito, some went on a hike, and I decided to stay here and participate in academia. Boo.

A shout out to those back home who still don't have power: that really sucks. It's warm here. I'll enjoy it for you.