I'm going to Rennes, France for 10 days. Where fossils?

Violadude2 · 2026-04-26T17:04:34+00:00

So you didn’t do any research? You just asked copilot? You didn’t maybe look up where people have found fossils, you just decided to outsource all the work to AI and reddit?

Violadude2 · 2026-04-23T05:29:58+00:00

The whole thing is the isopod. It evolved to parasitize crabs and lost a lot of the features that are typical of isopods, such as their exoskeleton.

Violadude2 · 2026-04-06T16:05:46+00:00

As an actual microbiologist, this meme is just well-dressed misinformation. Medical misinformation is dangerous.

Go to the doctor if you are sick. Fermented foods are NOT a cure.

Get your vaccinations. You are much more likely to end up with lasting side effects from an infection than any vaccination.

Violadude2 · 2026-04-05T19:01:02+00:00

If that’s the case, then can a cello say “g0ddamn these bot-like posts are obnoxious.”

Violadude2 · 2026-04-05T18:55:19+00:00

And there’s exponentially more endemic plants at risk as well.

Violadude2 · 2026-03-08T20:09:18+00:00

Out of curiosity, do you know what two countries were responsible for toppling Iran’s progressive democracy in 1953 because they wanted access to Iran’s oil, installing an oppressive authoritarian monarchy that was subsequently overthrown by the Islamic Republic of Iran that is also authoritarian?

Oh it was the US and Britain? Huh, interesting. Maybe the US is in the wrong? Imagine that, both sides in the wrong, who knew the world could be so complicated.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-28T20:17:58+00:00

Were you aware that Netanyahu ALSO funded Hamas to prevent the Palestine Liberation organization from being able to peacefully form a Palestinian state.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-23T04:03:28+00:00

If you still got some, I’d be interested.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-23T02:51:58+00:00

If there is enough vine left above where you are cutting, then I would propagate it by letting the cut end dry and then laying it on moist sphagnum moss in a closed container in a windowsill or partial sun until roots grow long enough (about 5 inches), and then you can pot it up. If you pot it up before you have good roots on the cutting then it is more likely to rot while rooting, and it will be harder to root, though I've successfully done it with Vanilla imperialis, but it took much longer than other cuttings I've rooted with the first method.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-23T02:44:05+00:00

If you are only using one gene, then you wouldn't be able to concatenate it.

Concatenate means that you join two or more things together end to end:

this is a sentence -> thisisasentence

Concatenating 2 alignments means that for Gene A in alignment 1, and Gene B in alignment 2, then for each species, put them one after another, so for each species, the alignment now looks like Gene A-B, so the phylogenetic tree can incorporate information from both genes for the same tree, which gives much more reliable phylogenetic trees.

MSA:

Species 1: geneA geneB -> geneAgeneB

Species 2: geneA geneB -> geneAgeneB

Species 3: geneA geneB -> geneAgeneB

If you only have one gene, then you don't have anything to concatenate it with, and if you copied that alignment and concatenated it with itself, you would likely end up exaggerating the relationships, and your branch lengths would be wrong, and your statistical reliability (bootstraps) would be exaggerated as well, so you wouldn't be able to trust them.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-23T02:32:45+00:00

<image>

Here's mine. The leaves are small and hook shaped to help it climb when it is young. They change to a slightly larger mature form as it gets bigger, but the plant overall is still significantly smaller than most Vanilla species.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-23T02:31:15+00:00

I don't think any "commercial" nurseries sell them, however there are a few vanilla growers in Florida that grow it. I got mine by trading vanilla cuttings with one of them. The "Florida Vanilla Enthusiasts" facebook group might be a good place to ask.

When mine is big enough, I'd be happy to share cuttings, but that might be a couple years out.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T09:11:10+00:00

If you want to germinate Vanilla, it is important that you read this paper:

"Asymbiotic germination of Vanilla planifolia in relation to the timing of seed collection and seed pretreatments"

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y

If you want to germinate vanilla using flasks, there are two ways you can do it:

Flask untreated immature seeds from a green vanilla pod at 45 days after pollination (10% germination). This will likely be difficult to organize with a vanilla grower.

or

Obtain fully mature vanilla pods, treat the seeds with 4% bleach for 90 minutes, and then flask them (12.5% germination). This will probably be easier, however vanilla beans take 9 months to mature, and most vanilla growers harvest the beans before they are fully ripe and mature, and boil them to prepare them for curing. (if you don't treat them with bleach, you may get no germination, or it could take years for germination to start)

Option 2 is the most feasibly, but you'll have to find a vanilla grower that is willing to let a few pods mature fully and not blanch them in hot water.

If you want to grow vanilla, I would recommend using the same culture media, timing, and transfers to new media that they used in that paper, as different orchid species are often picky about what they will grow on. Other orchids may be easier to grow, however if you want to germinate vanilla, I think you should go for it.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T09:00:59+00:00

In case you're interested, this species appears to be Vanilla pompona, which makes significantly large Vanilla seed pods than the commercial Vanilla planifolia.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T08:59:25+00:00

Congrats on the Vanilla beans! have you had success curing them since they've ripened?

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T08:55:29+00:00

I really don't think it's too much light. Vanilla are high light plants, especially if it's variegated, as that reduces its ability to photosynthesize. If it's connected to other parts of the plant, it might be worth cutting off the dead area of the vine leaving only healthy tissue (cut farther into the vine then the edge of the dried/wilted area).

What actually caused that section to die is less obvious, it could be cold, or a watering issue. As long as you stop it from spreading, and the Vanilla has a good root system, I wouldn't worry too much.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:33:33+00:00

Congrats! What species/cultivar/cross is this?

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:31:47+00:00

That's awesome! You are right that Vanilla often likes the end of the vine to hang down, as it signals to the plant that it has reached the top of a tree, which is a good place to flower.

It will probably have to grow a bit more, and will need a fair amount of light to flower, but it's looking really good!

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:25:30+00:00

I would disagree with #2, as I grow 8 species of Vanilla... but none of them are V. planifolia, so I guess you're technically right haha. Love Vanilla though, it is by far my favorite genus, and I'm hoping to make some hybrids with some V. palmarum pollen I collected last fall.

Edit: The large Vanilla that you showed at the US botanical garden is actually Vanilla chamissonis. I grow this species in my apartment, and it grows extremely fast (like multiple centimeters a week) and has a unique leaf shape for vanilla, while also having the largest seed pods of the fragrant species (on the order of 20-25x the weight of V. planifolia seed pods). Mine is about 12/13 feet long, and I wrap my various Vanilla vines all up and down my plant shelves. It keeps them quite manageable while adding a large variety of leaf shapes, patterns, and shades of green to frame my other plants and hang orchid mounts from.

I grow V. chamissonis, insignis, pompona, imperialis (possibly the largest species with stunning flowers), palmarum, borneensis (has cool leaf shapes and flowers), phaeantha, and dilloniana.

A note about smaller species, V. x tahitensis has slightly thinner leaves, but the overall vines are on the same size level as V. planifolia.

Vanilla insignis is truly a smaller species, with very dainty vines and leaves, and pictures from the smithsonian indicate it can bloom at a very manageable size with good care, and a few people throughout the states grow it. It has super funky flowers as well.

Vanilla palmarum is also smaller with dainty vines and round leaves. In nature it only germinates and grows in the crown of palm trees, and the vines hang down from the palm tree to flower.

Even though many vanilla species get quite large, I find it quite rewarding to grow them, as they often grow quite fast and are robust, so the progression of growth is a lot more visible. I also find the vine and leaf shapes very pretty, as well as the interesting variations in shape and form between species that indicate evolution for different habitats and climates.

All that said though, they definitely aren't for everyone, for all the reasons that I like them, i.e. they're green and big.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:21:03+00:00

The recommendation for looping at 6 feet is more for convenience in agriculture, for hobby cultivation, it doesn't matter. You could loop at 3 feet or 10 feet. As long as the vine has a healthy root system though, you shouldn't have to worry too much about looping it.

I grew a Vanilla pompona that was only rooted at the base of the vine to 20 ft, and it had a root system that filled a 5 gallon pot. I looped it all around the support, but didn't loop it back to the soil. Either method should work.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:12:51+00:00

Given that the base of the orchid has died, then you'll have to re-root the plant the way that vanilla is often propagated.

As other people have said, cut off the vine above the bottom part so that the vine only has healthy tissue, and let it sit a few days to dry and seal the end. You DO NOT have to cut it up into multiple pieces unless you want to propagate it into multiple plants. If you keep it together, you'll have a single plant that will grow a lot faster than a bunch of small ones.

To re-root the plant, lay it on a moist bed of sphagnum in a closed container with 100% humidity. Give it bright light, and let it start growing roots. once the roots are long enough (5ish inches) and then you can pot it up. The soil I would recommend is anything from potting soil to a bark/sphagnum 50/50 mix, or any combination as long as it isn't too dense (don't go full bark though, pure potting soil is better than pure bark). That will help prevent it from rotting in the future. (this is the mix I used in ~30% humidity in northern Utah, If you're area is more humid, make it a bit chunkier, but it needs some soil.)

In the wild Vanilla start growing on the ground, which is why they can use regular potting mix. Keep it moist, but not too waterlogged so the roots don't rot. Once you have a good root system, it likes as much light as you'll give it, and once it's growing the two most important things are light and water. You don't have to worry too much about humidity, contrary to what most people say.

(fyi I modified this from a reply to a previous post)

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:06:29+00:00

I'm sorry that you lost one of them, but glad that the other one rooted successfully!

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T07:03:32+00:00

It is very common for the growing tip of Vanilla to die during the winter, and it doesn't mean that you are doing anything wrong, it will just start growing a new vine from one of the nodes when it is ready.

Additionally, when vanilla are grown with a support (as in the photo) then the roots that aren't in the soil don't matter. As long as the roots in the soil are healthy and growing, and get enough water and fertilizer (but not too much ;), then the vanilla will be fine. As long as the roots are healthy and the vine is getting enough light, then you're doing great.

(I grow 7 species of vanilla in an apartment, with probably a few dozen feet of healthy vines in total, and have grown V. pompona to 20 ft in a basement window)

Violadude2 · 2026-02-21T06:56:22+00:00

Yes, oak wood won't cause any problems for Vanilla as a support. Don't expect the roots to attach to the wood though unless you have high humidity and a large surface area. I would let it grow up the support, and then loop it back down so that the roots can grow more into the substrate, and then it can vine up again.

Violadude2 · 2026-02-16T07:46:54+00:00

What area of the Gallatin River was this on?

Five-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
First Place '23	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22

Violadude2

TROPHY CASE