Merry Christmas? Happy New Year? Happy Holidays! That covers it. Personally, I celebrated four this year. Enjoy this more-or-less seasonal episode about the New Zealand Christmas Tree.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay.

Information provided by:

• https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/pohutukawa-flame-of-the-north/
• https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/pohutukawa/
• https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/pohutukawa-trees
• https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/metrosideros-excelsa/
• https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-forgotten-pandemic/
• https://www.tanestrees.org.nz/species-profiles/pohutukawa/
• https://help.treesthatcount.co.nz/en/articles/8584808-pohutukawa
• https://meaningoftrees.com/2019/02/05/pohutukawa-metrosideros-excelsa/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%8Dhutukawa

Pass the cranberry sauce! Did you read that to the tune of the Bob’s Burgers song? I hope so.

Music by James Milor

Information provided by:

• https://www.cranberryinstitute.org/cranberry-health-research
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/the-botany-behind-why-cranberries-became-a-thanksgiving-staple
• Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014)
• https://www.cranberries.org/
• Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009)
• Cranberry: Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and impact on human health by Boris V. Nemzer, et al. (2022). Molecules, 27(5), pg. 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27051503
• Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977)
• The Kitchen Witch Companion by Sarah Robinson and Lucy H. Pearce (2023)
• Domestication, genetics, and genomics of the American cranberry by Nicholi Vorsa and Juan Zalapa in Plant Breeding Reviews, Volume 43 by Irwin Goldman (Ed.) (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119616801.ch8

Sorry it sounds so echo-y. I’m dog/housesitting for my parents, so I’m not in my usual recording space. Ruby the Beagle says “hi.”

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Diphylleia grayi-inspired stretchable hydrochromics with large optical modulation in the visible–near-infrared region by Guofa Cai, et al. (2018). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(43), pg. 37685-37693. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b12490 [Abstract]
• https://www.thespruce.com/skeleton-flower-plant-profile-4802581
• Cytological effects of chemicals on tumors, XXV: Further studies on the effect of Diphylleia grayi extracts on tumor cells by Kohtaro Yamamoto and Yanagi Kimura (1964). Journal of the Faculty of Hokkaido University, Series 6 - Zoology, 15(3), pg. 347-352.
• https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/skeleton-flowers-how-does-this-white-flower-turn-transparent-in-the-rain.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphylleia_grayi
• https://www.bhg.com/how-to-plant-and-grow-skeleton-flower-8553286
• Diphylleia grayi-inspired intelligent hydrochromic adhesive film by Gang Yeol Yoo, et al. (2020). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12(44), pg. 49982-49991. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c13185 [Abstract]
• Diphylleia Grayi-inspired intelligent temperature-responsive transparent nanofiber membranes by Cengceng Zhao, et al. (2024). Nano-Micro Letters, 16(65). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01279-z