Adiantum viridimontanum, commonly known as Green Mountain maidenhair
fern, is a rare fern found only in outcrops of serpentine rock in New
England and Canada. It is named after the site of its discovery in the
Green Mountains in Vermont; it has since been located in Quebec and in
one site on serpentine in coastal Maine. Until 1991, it was grouped with
the western maidenhair fern A. aleuticum, which itself was classified
as a variety of the northern maidenhair fern A. pedatum. It was then
established that A. viridimontanum was a hybrid species and that the
other two ferns were distinct species, although it is difficult to
distinguish between the three species in the field. Due to the limited
distribution of A. viridimontanum and its similarity to other species,
little is known of its ecology. It thrives on sunny, disturbed areas
where ultramafic rock is covered with thin soil, such as road cuts,
talus slopes, and asbestos mines. Individual plants seem long-lived, and
new individuals only infrequently reach maturity. It is one of four
species endemic to serpentine in eastern North America and is considered
globally threatened due to its habitat restrictions.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiantum_viridimontanum>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1703:
The Great Storm of 1703, one of the severest storms to strike
southern Great Britain, destroyed the first Eddystone Lighthouse in
Plymouth, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddystone_Lighthouse>
1815:
As specified by the Congress of Vienna, the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Poland was signed for the newly recreated Polish state that
was under Russian control.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland>
1940:
The Iron Guard killed over 60 political detainees at a
penitentiary near Bucharest and followed up with several high-profile
assassinations, including that of former Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae
Iorga (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Iorga>
1978:
The Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been in conflict with
Turkey over the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Workers%27_Party>
2005:
French oral and maxillofacial surgeon Bernard Devauchelle
performed the world's first partial face transplant on a living human,
replacing Isabelle Dinoire's face, which had been mutilated by her dog.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
ace:
(UK, slang) Excellent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ace>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing.
Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that
state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself
in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving
of your whole being, without exclusion.
--Bruce Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee>