Do You Know Ghost Orchids? - Part 1 – Nature 14

One of ghost orchids (credit to The news-Press)

I just read from medias and make me curious about “ghost orchid” (Dendrophylax lindenii).

It is because:

1. Ghost orchid is a rare species, found only in Cuba and Florida
2. Two thousand orchids only live in the Florida
3. Several percentages, about two hundred orchids blooming in summer.
4. Orchids have no leaves
5. Roots cling to the bark of trees.

Uniquely, ghost orchid blooming once a year only from June to August in nature. The blooming could last for several weeks.

As suggested by Russell McLendon (2019: 12 Enchanting Quirks of the Rare Ghost Orchid) that other specific characters of ghost orchid:

- orchid may germinate after infection by certain fungus
- smell likes apples

Another ghost orchid (credit to Florida Native Orchid)

What species of trees which ghost orchids to attach to?

Four important tree species are:

- maple
- cypress
- pond apple
- palm tree

How about with ghost orchid population in nature?

Are they decreasing in number?

# To be continued to Part 2

## Previous postings:

- White Azaleas in the City Garden – Nature 5
- The Amphibians Near Extinct due to Fungus Disease – Science 5
- What is Coronasomnia? - Healthy Life 2

A Traditional Product of Louisiana – King Cake – Part 2

Inside King Cake

Previous posting (Part 1):

- A Traditional Product of Louisiana – King Cake – Part 1

Vietnamese variety cake is quite lighter and flakier.

I like this variation, since less sugar, easy to eat and tasteful. We could find in the store called Dong Phuong Bakery, locates at eastern city of New Orleans.

The bakery made 30 thousand cake during Mardi Gras festival in 2017. Very much compared to other bakery on that occasion.

The bakery sells many kinds of King cake, some of them are:

- cream cheese
- pecan
- and classic cinnamon.

The price is quite higher during festival, depend very much on size and filing:

- Small size about US$16
- Large cake cost US$ 29
- Extra large price US$ 39

Colorful of King Cake

I never made the cake by myself. Just to give you an idea of King cake ingredient is following:

- Dry yeast
- sugar
- butter and milk
- egg yolk and salt
- grated lemon zest and nutmeg
- flour, cinnamon
- and colorful sugar.

Be careful, caloric content is high. One slice of cake could contain 321 calories.

# Previous postings:

- How Many Animals Are Expected to Extinct by 2050? - Nature 4
- Rediscovering of Rare Blue Bee in Florida in 2020 – Science 3
- Can Scientists Create Glowing Plants? - Science 4

Organic Vs Natural Foods – Part 3 – Food 9

The facts of organic and natural foods (Organic Food, 2016)

You may read previous postings:

- Organic Vs Natural Foods – Part 1 – Food 9
- Organic Vs Natural Foods – Part 2 – Food 9

The question: Is organic foods more advantages in terms of more nutritious content and safer?

The answer of this question might be seen at above Table (The facts of organic and natural foods).

We can examine the fact of organic and natural foods from the Table. 

There is no doubt that demand for organic foods is growing faster over the last decade.

As reported by Faber (2016) that organic food is growing in terms of sales (soaring from $3 billion in 1997 to more than $10 billion in 2003); and the industry's share of the U.S. food market (grow from about 2 percent to roughly 3.5 percent by the end of the decade).

Autumn season, just illustration

It is logic that since natural foods have no excessive processing of food items; thus the foods might not disturb the health benefits.

However, as described by Lange (2016) that it is difficult to single out the organic foods only to increase people health benefit, since people also:

- drink healthy water
- take exercise
- and do other good relate healthy things.

# To be continued to Part 4

## Previous postings:

- Russian Covid 19 Vaccine Advantages – Science 2
- Snow Storm in Our City Baton Rouge – Nature 2
- Snowy Owl Re-Appearing after Hiding for 130 years – Nature 3
- Paris in the Eyes of Vincent Van Gogh - Art 1

A Traditional Product of Louisiana – King Cake – Part 1

King cake of Louisiana

One of specific products of New Orleans, Louisiana is King Cake. The colorful and very sweet style pastries.

The cake is made, eaten and associates with Mardi Gras celebration. It was tradition from French since 300 years ago.

The cake is commonly sugar (colorful sugar) on the top, but there are many variations of filling of inside the cake.

What inside the King Cake is depend on the countries tradition outside French.

In Louisiana, it is commonly bean inside. Moreover, many cakes are filling with combines of several these items:

- chocolate
- pear
- apple
- cheese
- banana
- and almond.

A kind of food, illustration only.

There are a lot of migrants from many countries settled in New Orleans. One of them is Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese communities in New Orleans, Louisiana have their own varieties of King Cake.

What different between local and Vietnamese varieties?

# To be continued to Part 2

## Previous postings, in case you are interesting:

- Wild Flowers in the Backyards – Nature 1
- Wreaths for Mardi Gras in Louisiana
- A Tropical Plant Called Pineapple – Food 1
- A chocolate as a Gift for Valentine’s Day

The Disease that Kills 28.4 million People – Part 3 - Cardiovascular 2

Fruit in the commercial market, illustration only.

Previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2):

- The Disease that Kills 28.4 million People – Part 1- Cardiovascular 2
- The Disease that Kills 28.4 million People – Part 2- Cardiovascular 2

As from Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC, 2021), USA that there are five major symptoms of heart attack.

They include following symptoms:

- chest pain
- pains in the neck, back and jaw.
- feeling very weak
- arms and shoulders are pain
- breaths are shortness.

These five (5) major symptoms of heart attack should be recognized.

if somebody notice these symptoms or might be she/he saw someone else has these symptoms, call 911 immediately.

Ice cream for illustration only.

There are many other symptoms such as:

- dizziness or headaches
- nausea or vomiting
- cold sweats
- heart burn
- fatigue
- exhaustion

# Previous postings:

- Nobody Can Replace a Mama's Love – Cardiovascular - Part 2
- Important of Microorganisms in Food Industry – Healthy Life 1

Organic Vs Natural Foods – Part 2 – Food 9

A kind of cacti plant, sold in the traditional market.

Previous post (Part 1):

- Organic Vs Natural Foods – Part 1 – Food 9

We could distinguish the different between organic and natural foods in terms of:

- food labels
- production
- food demand and availability
- and certification agencies.

Moreover, we might hear many people said the phrase of "Go Organic," it is because they believe organic food have advantages than other foods produced or proceed by other methods (in this case is natural foods).

The facts that market share and revenue for organic foods tend to increase year by year.

The question then?

Salt fish, one of favorite foods in certain countries.

Is organic foods more advantages in terms of more nutritious content and safer?

To answer this question, we need to search through google search engine to collect data about advantages and dis-advantages from organic foods and natural foods, including their nutritional values.

# To be continues to Part 3

# Previous postings:

- Local Event Called as “Mardi Gras” In Louisiana, USA
- Making Perfume in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory - Science 1
- Nobody Can Replace a Mama's Love – Cardiovascular - Part 1

The Disease that Kills 28.4 million People – Part 2- Cardiovascular 2

Ornamental plant, for illustration only.

You may read Part 1:

- The Disease that Kills 28.4 million People – Part 1- Cardiovascular 2

This disease kills over than 17 million people every year, number one cause death in this planet (World Health Organization).

Every other second, this disease takes human life; every time we take breath. When someone stops breathing at all, it is may be caused by cardiovascular disease.

It is a kind of an alarm that everybody needs to care about. Knowing their risk factors will be helpful for prevention.

While some people have no symptoms about heart disease that lead to the “silent killer” but some signs can be recognized so that the fatality could be reduced.

If somebody notice these symptoms or might be she/he saw someone else has these symptoms, call 911 immediately.

Old chair, just for illustration.

CDC works with public health to improve cardiovascular health through their strategies and policies such as healthy lifestyles and healthy environments and communities.

Million Hearts^® 2022 that aims in preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes that will save one million lives in 5 years.

# To be continued to Part 3

## Previous postings:

- Wild Animals and Birds in my Backyard – Nature 8a
- Do You Know about Golden Kiwis Fruit? - Food 3