Never one to slack on my life list of esoteric and largely impractical* knowledge, I recently took a class at our botanical garden on Cycads. From the course description, it seemed as if I might find myself in over my head a bit, but they gladly processed my registration, so for past three weeks I joined a motley crew of nurserymen (and women), professional gardeners and wealthy collectors of the obscure for a series of lectures and seemingly endless parade of baffling slide presentations of Cycads in habitat (usually accompanied by slightly rumpled botanical fanatics squinting at the camera for scale).
This morning, we spent our last class meeting with one of the foremost authorities in the field, touring the modest collection of Cycads at the botanical garden. You know, seeing actual plants on a bright Saturday morning, as opposed to slide after slide after slide in a darkened room at the end of a long Thursday shuttling the girl to her various activities and appointments made all the difference. I think I could identify a Macrozamia from an Encephalartos, certainly from a Bowenia.
Quick! Where's my cookie?
* Obviously most knowledge is practical. It's just I seem to have a habit of spending time, effort and, often, money acquiring knowledge that, for various reasons, I will probably never put to good use.
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