I wish that Anu would start a new forum called something like 'botanicals' or 'flora' or maybe 'The Hothouse'--so we'd have a specific place to go to to discuss botany. I love having this safari for discussions built around animals, but I do wish we had a separate place for botany.

Just wanted to say just that, not that Anu would visit down here in the first place, but.

Good thought, ma'am.

We always called our school teachers ma'am. I suppose that's not used now, but it did get over the Miss or Mrs problem. (Ms hadn't been dreamt of then!)

Serious question: Where would it end?

If we have a forum devoted to botany, what about one for knitting, or sports, or astronomy, or god forbid, religion?

I do not see any appreciable merit in adhering to any rigid separation of posts by forum titles. The only important consideration is that an effort be made to make posts interesting to other members.





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Well, Q&A does very, very well, as do Miscellany, Weekly Themes, I&A, and that humor one. Down here, Animal Safari doesn't do too badly--and the other ones down here are mostly up for grabs and basically meaningless.

So, I wish one of these down here could be botanically based since that would cover the animal and plant kingdoms. Meta-words is hardly ever used for meta-words, so perhaps it could subsume botanicals. I know German whatever is really supposed to be football, but it's hardly ever even used for that--and I suppose it is good having it there for the occasional query into the German language.

It's a bit silly proposing a whole forum on knitting and foozeball, but if we take a giant step back from our planet and see that one of the fora is devoted to the animal kingdom, then, is it not logical to think perhaps that would be another devoted to words of the plant kingdom?

I'm just asking.

Besides I love plant names . Bothe the Latin translations (Douglas fir = pseudotsuga menzisi = fake fir) And the common names which were often poetic but are now being forgotten: Queen Ann's lace, Johnny jump-up, Love-lies-bleeding, Jack-in-the-pulpit, forget-me-not, Ocean spray...

I vote we use animal safari, after all where would the animals be without plants.

zed, you should get your self to a good library and find a copy of Edward Lear's Complete Works-- if you like botanical and Latin names of plants, you 'll love his collection of 'botanicals'-- great word play and fun..

(i like lear's poetry as well)--i think Dover publishing has a paperback edition, available, too, not too expensive)

Thanks, I'll check it out. I do like nonsense.

Identification of trees is hard enough. What I would also like to find is a good site with pictures of wild flowers, and a good site with pictures of weeds, by regions, in US.

For our Oz friends, pictures of Australian flowers:
http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/species/actinotus-helianthi.html

careful Dr Bill you may start a whole new discussion on weeds vs wild flowers. Personally I like dandylions and my Mom was openminded to put the dandylion bouquets we broght home out on the table. Kamloops is borderline desert so there weren't many other "wildflowers" available.

Well, maybe Anu could be persuaded to expand the name of 'Animal Safari' to include something botanical, like "Animal Safari by the Greenhouse"...or something along that line so that people who happen in would know that this is the place where we discuss plants and animals--and associated vocabulary, of course. I, for one, would probably end up spending most of my free time online here since wildlife and its associated language draws me like a magnet.

Should I ask Jackie about the possibility of expanding Animal Safari's name?

Dear WW: the only thing I would like to see Wordsmith change is to keep copies of PMs sent, at least for a week. That I would find useful.