Please take a moment to complete a brief survey:
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vDhu1n1MxWtctpkKYirkCmZfig_utlWEixWTCFiq7DM/viewform>.
Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a shrub
native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It was
first collected by Luis Née in the vicinity of Port Jackson (Sydney) in
April 1797. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery
bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm
(5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear
in summer and autumn (December to April), followed by small green fleshy
fruit known as drupes. The fruit is juicy but stringy when unripe, and
the seeds and skin are inedible. Found in dry sclerophyll forest on
sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soils, P. levis is adapted to a
fire-prone environment; the plants resprout epicormic buds from beneath
their thick bark after bushfires, and can live for over 60 years.
Regeneration also takes place after fire by a ground-stored seed bank.
The longtongue bee Leioproctus carinatifrons is a pollinator of the
flowers, and the fruit are consumed by vertebrates such as kangaroos,
possums and currawongs. Despite its horticultural appeal, P. levis is
rare in cultivation as it is very hard to propagate, either by seed or
cuttings.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persoonia_levis>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1711:
George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo, the first Italian language
opera written specifically for the London stage, premiered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinaldo_(opera)>
1803:
The U.S. Supreme Court, in Marbury v. Madison, declared an act
of Congress unconstitutional for the first time, forming the basis of
judicial review in the U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbury_v._Madison>
1868:
Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. President to be impeached.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson>
1944:
World War II: The United States Army long-range penetration
special operations unit known as Merrill's Marauders began a 1000-mile
(1600 km) march over the Patkai region of the Himalayas and into the
Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders>
2006:
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state
of emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_state_of_emergency_in_the_Philippines>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
technopeasant:
(informal) One who is disadvantaged or exploited within a modern
technological society, especially through inability to use computer
technology.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/technopeasant>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way
to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the
only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found
it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart,
you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just
gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t
settle.
--Steve Jobs
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs>