#how to identify

[rebeccathenaturalist]

How to Identify Western Sword Ferns

Originally posted at my blog at https://rebeccalexa.com/how-to-identify-western-sword-ferns/. Click here to learn more about the How to Identify article series.

Name: Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum)

Range and typical habitat(s): West coast of North America from southern California to extreme southern Alaska, and inland to the western Rockies in Idaho; also introduced to a few places in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Widespread through conifer forests at low elevations; while it is most commonly part of the understory of these forests, it may sometimes be found in nearby open areas as an early succession pioneer after disturbance.

Distinguishing physical characteristics (size, colors, overall shapes, detail shapes): This is a large fern, with individual fronds up to six feet long; the entire plant may be six or more feet across in very large specimens. The overall shape of younger plants may be a sort of “fountain” formation; with age and size some of the stems begin to droop downward, giving the overall plant more of a spherical or semi-spherical appearance. The leaves are a medium to medium-dark green; the spore-bearing sori on the underside are a rusty brown.

Underside of leaves showing sori. By brewbooks, CCA-SA-2.0

Each frond consists of a single stem (rachis). This rachis is round, solid inside, and may have a deep furrow down the center. It is green with rust-brown flecks along its length. Individual leaves (pinnae) grow in an alternate pattern along the stem; alternate means that one grows on one side, and then the next on the other just a little further down the rachis, and then the next on the first side a little further down, etc.) Almost the entire rachis is covered in leaves, except for a few inches at the base. Several of these may grow out of the same root/rhizome system, clustered close together, with dead growth from previous years lying on the ground at the plant’s base.

The sword fern is what’s known as single pinnate, meaning that there are leaves arranged in pairs along a single rachis, but those leaves are not further divided into smaller leaflets. Each leaf is lance-shaped with a pointed tip and finely serrated edges. The leaf has a main central vein, with smaller veins branching off of it in pairs, one on each side. On the underside of the leaf, the sori look like little brown fuzzy circles. They are arranged quite closely to each other in two rows, one row on either side of the central vein of the leaf. Each leaf varies from less than an inch to six inches long; the larger leaves are closer to the base of the stem, and get smaller toward the tip. The last few leaves near the tip may not be fully separated from each other. The leaves are attached to the rachis by very slender, short stems (petioles) at their base. The tips of some of the leaves may point away from the center/base of the plant, toward the end of the rachis.

Other organisms it could be confused with and how to tell the difference: While western sword fern tends to be the most common Polystichum species in its range, there are a few other species of the genus that overlap. You’ll need to look at small details to tell the difference; for example, P. imbricans can be distinguished from P. munitum by examining the leaves in relation to the main stem. In P. imbricans, the leaves are actually rotated on their petioles so that they are perpendicular to the stem like rungs on a ladder, rather than growing “flat”:

In addition to paying attention to small differences in things like leaf shape and arrangement, you also want to note where you saw the fern in question. Not every look-alike Polystichum species will be found in every part of western sword fern’s range; P. californicum, for example, only grows from southernmost British Columbia to central California. If you don’t have access to field guides, create a free account on iNaturalist. You can use the Explore function on the phone app or computer browser to see where people have logged observations of just about any species of living being you can think of; while it isn’t as exact as a formal range map, it’s a good substitute for casual use.

Finally, there are other ferns outside of the genus Polystichum that can also be confused with western sword fern. A good example is deer fern (Struthiopteris spicant). While it also has a cluster of individual fronds, each composed of a central rachis with pairs of leaves on either side, deer fern is smaller than western sword fern. A closer look shows that the leaves of deer fern are attached to the rachis by their entire bottom edge (sessile), rather than by a petiole:

Also, deer ferns have specially adapted “fertile” leaves that look different from the rest; western sword ferns lack these. These consist of a dark, tall rachis that has thinner, more widely spaced leaves; these lift the sori higher above the rest of the plant so that the wind can more easily blow away the spores. Their resemblance to deer antlers gives this fern its name:

A good quick guide that may help with distinguishing western sword fern from others in its range is Pacific Fern Finder by Glenn Keator. While it isn’t absolutely complete, it covers the more common species and is a dichotomous key that helps you narrow down your options by looking at various physical characteristics of the fern you’re trying to identify.

Anything else worth mentioning? Western sword ferns are not among the few species whose fiddleheads (young, curled-up fronds) are safe to eat. Reportedly the rhizomes have historically been used as a last-resort food source by some indigenous people. However, concerns about carcinogens mean this plant should not be considered a regular edible.

10000 Things of the PNW has a more detailed write-up of this species here.

Further reading:

Native Plants PNW: Western Sword Fern

OSU Extension’s Tourism Blog: Western Sword Fern

CalScape: Sword Fern

10000 Things of the Northwest: Polystichum imbricans (as a comparison to P. munitum)

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[deathnotereplicawatcha506r]

How to Identify a Fake Cartier Ring: A Comprehensive Guide

Cartier rings are synonymous with luxury, elegance, and timeless beauty. However, the popularity of these exquisite pieces has led to an increase in counterfeit products. Knowing how to identify a fake Cartier ring is crucial for any buyer, whether you're investing in a piece for yourself or purchasing a gift for a loved one. In this article, we will guide you through the essential steps to spot a counterfeit Cartier ring, ensuring that your investment is genuine.

1. Check the Packaging

Genuine Cartier rings come in high-quality packaging. The box should be sturdy, often featuring the iconic red color with a gold Cartier logo. If the packaging looks cheap or flimsy, it could be a sign that the ring is not authentic. Always inspect the box for any signs of wear and tear, as well as the authenticity card that should accompany the purchase.

2. Examine the Hallmark

Cartier rings are usually stamped with a hallmark that indicates the metal type and authenticity. Look for the Cartier logo, which is typically engraved in a precise, clear manner. Additionally, the hallmark will often include a unique serial number. If the hallmark appears blurred, poorly executed, or missing altogether, the ring is likely a counterfeit.

3. Assess the Weight and Feel

Genuine Cartier rings have a certain heft to them due to the quality of materials used. If the ring feels light or flimsy, it might be made from inferior materials. Use a jeweler's scale to weigh the ring; compare it to the weight specifications that Cartier provides for similar models.

4. Inspect the Quality of Craftsmanship

Cartier is renowned for its exceptional craftsmanship. Look closely at the details of the ring, including the setting of the stones, the smoothness of the edges, and the overall finish. Any signs of rough edges, uneven prongs, or poor stone placement indicate that the ring may be a fake. A genuine Cartier ring should have immaculate craftsmanship.

5. Analyze the Stones

If your Cartier ring features stones, examine them carefully. Cartier uses high-quality gemstones that are well-cut and securely set. Faux stones may appear cloudy or poorly cut, lacking the brilliance and clarity of genuine gems. Additionally, consider having a professional jeweler assess the stones to confirm their authenticity.

6. Seek Professional Authentication

If you're still unsure about the authenticity of your ring, consider taking it to a professional jeweler or an appraiser who specializes in luxury items. They can provide a thorough evaluation and help determine whether your Cartier ring is genuine.

7. Purchase from Reputable Sources

To minimize the risk of buying a counterfeit Cartier ring, always purchase from reputable sources. Authorized retailers and well-known online platforms are more likely to offer authentic products. If you're considering buying online, check the seller's reviews and reputation. For those looking for luxury replicas, Luxe Replica Watche provides a range of high-quality replica options that closely resemble genuine pieces, ensuring you get the look without the hefty price tag.

Conclusion

Investing in a Cartier ring is a decision that requires careful consideration and vigilance. By following these steps to identify a fake Cartier ring, you can protect yourself from counterfeit products and ensure your purchase is genuine. Remember, when in doubt, seek professional advice, and always opt for trusted sellers. Happy shopping!

[news4nose]

Why not make someone’s day by returning their lost AirPods!!!        

Know these simple steps on how to identify and locate the owner of lost AirPods.

[reedsues]

@swsource​ star wars week: day 5 – don't make me nickname you clones & chosen names

no guarantee or ambition for absolute completeness

[afrenomes]

Women have every right to label this a misogyny issue without having to put several asterisks on it

[just-your-average-tangerine]

The line between binary and nonbinary trans people is nowhere near as clean as some of yall think it is

[linddzz]

Thinking about Weird Barbie and how she's the very obviously queer outsider of the Barbie world, she straddles the lines between Barbie and the Real World. She's the most aware of the performative nature of it all. She supports Barbie while also gently mocking her panic at losing the hyperfeminine perfection. Her weird house is also home to the discontinued reject weird Barbies, the outcasts (including very gay earring Ken) who never fell into either the original matriarchy or the Kentriarchy brainwashing.

The other more classically heteronormative and beautiful Barbies both pity and fear her, and at first the narrative pities her as well. She's the vessel of girls going weird and crazy and feral on their dolls and that's amazing. Weird Barbie is aware of who she is and how the world sees her and she loves it. She's Weird Barbie and She Owns It.

[doberbutts]

Thank you for defending Nazis. They're just little guys. Just misunderstood, with genuine grievances. I noticed you accidentally forgot to defend child rapists. Dumb commies like you are all the same 🙄

Piss on the poor! Also I'm not a commie and never claimed to be one.

[britcision]

Guys I have spoken to teens on this website and it never occurred to me before but

How are the kids finding us these days

Y’all seeing the memes and posts on other platforms and just following over? Are we “cool” again? I’ve only been back since mobile was a feasible option but I find this fascinating from an anthropological perspective

I’ve got a decade on most of my cousins and I doubt any of them have even heard of tumblr but they’re hitting 20s now so have we looped back around?

Guys is tumblr retro????

Please do not tell me your actual age just give me the vibes

[wis-art]

I was busy doing commissions and dealing with chronic pain, but it's still lesbian visibility week so i hope you all feel seen :)

Both characters are trans women (she/her)

[playingwithapparel]

Acting as the Default Parent

Raising children involves minute-by-minute decisions and actions, and it can be difficult to share these responsibilities evenly. However, what do you do when it becomes clear that the roles are divided so unevenly that you are making nearly every decision, completing nearly every chore, and responding to nearly every one of your children’s requests? Psychologists call this “The Default Parent…

[bunnieswithknives]

Fop redesigns for funsies but also bcs I saw some star heel boots and had to put Dale in them immediately.

[inkskinned]

crows use tools and like to slide down snowy hills. today we saw a goose with a hurt foot who was kept safe by his flock - before taking off, they waited for him to catch up. there are colors only butterflies see. reindeer are matriarchical. cows have best friends and 4 stomachs and like jazz music. i watched a video recently of an octopus making himself a door out of a coconut shell.

i am a little soft, okay. but sometimes i can't talk either. the world is like fractal light to me, and passes through my skin in tendrils. i feel certain small things like a catapult; i skirt around the big things and somehow arrive in crisis without ever realizing i'm in pain.

in 5th grade we read The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time, which is about a young autistic boy. it is how they introduced us to empathy about neurotypes, which was well-timed: around 10 years old was when i started having my life fully ruined by symptoms. people started noticing.

i wonder if birds can tell if another bird is odd. like the phrase odd duck. i have to believe that all odd ducks are still very much loved by the other normal ducks. i have to believe that, or i will cry.

i remember my 5th grade teacher holding the curious incident up, dazzled by the language written by someone who is neurotypical. my teacher said: "sometimes i want to cut open their mind to know exactly how autistics are thinking. it's just so different! they must see the world so strangely!" later, at 22, in my education classes, we were taught to say a person with autism or a person on the spectrum or neurodivergent. i actually personally kind of like person-first language - it implies the other person is trying to protect me from myself. i know they had to teach themselves that pattern of speech, is all, and it shows they're at least trying. and i was a person first, even if i wasn't good at it.

plants learn information. they must encode data somehow, but where would they store it? when you cut open a sapling, you cannot find the how they think - if they "think" at all. they learn, but do not think. i want to paint that process - i think it would be mostly purple and blue.

the book was not about me, it was about a young boy. his life was patterned into a different set of categories. he did not cry about the tag on his shirt. i remember reading it and saying to myself: i am wrong, and broken, but it isn't in this way. something else is wrong with me instead. later, in that same person-first education class, my teacher would bring up the curious incident and mention that it is now widely panned as being inaccurate and stereotypical. she frowned and said we might not know how a person with autism thinks, but it is unlikely to be expressed in that way. this book was written with the best intentions by a special-ed teacher, but there's some debate as to if somebody who was on the spectrum would be even able to write something like this.

we might not understand it, but crows and ravens have developed their own language. this is also true of whales, dolphins, and many other species. i do not know how a crow thinks, but we do know they can problem solve. (is "thinking" equal to "problem solving"? or is "thinking" data processing? data management?) i do not know how my dog thinks, either, but we "talk" all the same - i know what he is asking for, even if he only asks once.

i am not a dolphin or reindeer or a dog in the nighttime, but i am an odd duck. in the ugly duckling, she grows up and comes home and is beautiful and finds her soulmate. all that ugliness she experienced lives in downy feathers inside of her, staining everything a muted grey. she is beautiful eventually, though, so she is loved. they do not want to cut her open to see how she thinks.

a while ago i got into an argument with a classmate about that weird sia music video about autism. my classmate said she thought it was good to raise awareness. i told her they should have just hired someone else to do it. she said it's not fair to an autistic person to expect them to be able to handle that kind of a thing.

today i saw a goose, and he was limping. i want to be loved like a flock loves a wounded creature: the phrase taken under a wing. which is to say i have always known i am not normal. desperate, mewling - i want to be loved beyond words.

loved beyond thinking.

[trans-axolotl]

my gendered experience growing up as an intersex person was overwhelmingly defined by my responses and resistance to everything that got me labeled as a failure: failure to quickly get a gender assigned at birth, failure to go through a normal puberty and grow up into a woman, failure at meeting the standards for "complete womanhood" because of my intersex sex traits, and yet simultaneously failing to ever be acknowledged as a "real man" and being treated as a threat when I expressed I wanted to transition.

before i realized i was a man and came out as trans, the ways that girlhood was denied to me was very often humiliating and painful. locker rooms filled with other girls were a frequent source of shame. there were many big and small ways that i was told that my intersex body made me insufficient, incomplete, broken. i was forced onto estrogen, forced into shaving my body hair, and was constantly being told to change myself to better fit this mystical idea of a "normal woman." and even though I ultimately ended up becoming a man, the denial of girlhood was painful.

but i think that these things would have been even more difficult to navigate as an intersex girl if on top of everything I already said, i was having to cope with the denial of my girlhood while i was forced into boys locker rooms. if my doctors were forcing me onto testosterone hrt and refusing to even discuss estrogen, if all my legal paperwork had "M" on it and was a logistical nightmare to change, if every support group for my intersex variation labeled it as a "men's support group," if the LGBTQ community spaces i tried to join were misogynistic towards me often to the point of exile, if my self determination as an intersex girl was denied in most spaces of my life, and on and on and on. while listing all these things out i also don't want to make it seem like it's all about suffering and pain--so much of transition for me has been about joy in my self determination and how much it feels like a reclamation of autonomy to decide what I want my body and self to be like--i know this is an experience i share with so many of my trans intersex friends.

as an person who was AFAB, although there were many ways that trying to grow up as an intersex girl were a painful, logistical nightmare, many times and places that i was excluded from woman's spaces, etc. however, there was a simultaneous affirmation that i was right to strive for that in the first place. which is logic rooted in some fucked up compulsory dyadism, but also which would have made some things slightly easier or even possible at all if i had wanted to embrace being an intersex girl within this fucked up system.

pretty much every time i've seen people on tumblr talking about "afab transfems" in an intersex context, people seem happy to collapse these experiences and act like there's no meaningful distinction or point in distinguishing between different types of intersex embodiment. it seems incredibly extractive, to be perfectly honest with you--taking terms already used by a community to make meaning of their experiences and to expand and dilute that term enough that it means something pretty different than the original.

it's making me think about the concept of epistemic injustice, which is a term coined by Miranda Fricker to describe oppression related to knowledge, communication, and making meaning of the world. There's two subtypes of epistemic injustice: testimonial injustice and hermeneutical injustice. Testimonial injustice refers to the dynamic where marginalized people are labeled as not credible, excluded from conversations, and their testimony and knowledge is labeled as unreliable, even when they're the ones who are experts and have first hand experience of what people are talking about. (this is why i probably won't make this post rebloggable--i've noticed this pattern on tumblr many times where trans men speaking about transmisogyny get lots of notes and are given a lot of grace, where trans women are silenced, attacked for not having perfect wording, and otherwise delegitimized.)

the second type is called hermeneutical injustice. it describes how marginalized people are denied the right to make sense of the experiences in their own lives. this can look like preventing people from building community, terminology, a political understanding of themselves, and the interpretive resources needed to process how you live in the world.

this is a form of injustice that I think almost all intersex people are very familiar with--we are denied community and interpretive resources to the point that we're told we don't even exist, that intersex isn't a real word, and so many more examples that leave us isolated and with very few options for understanding what we're collectively experiencing. as an intersex person i really intimately understand how frustrating, confusing, and painful it is to not have words for your experiences, your identity, your life.

so it makes me really sad and pissed off when it seems like intersex people seem to be replicating this exact same type of epistemic injustice towards transfems and specifically towards intersex transfems. pretty much every time recently i see people talking about "afab transfems" they're doing so in a way that seems to deny that trans women even have the right to make sense of their own experiences in the world. there seems to be this mindset that these political frameworks, these interpretive resources that transfems have built up are just up for grabs for anyone. and then on top of that has come with it a lot of cruel, hateful language and direct attacks towards many intersex transfems who are facing so much harassment right now.

an important value to me is this idea of reciprocity as a foundation for solidarity. to me reciprocity means that we're prioritizing the ways we care for each other, we're thinking about how we can uplift each other, and we're watching out for extractive or exploitative patterns where one group is constantly expected to be in "solidarity" with another group without getting the same respect and care back toward them. i think that there could be so many ways that intersex people of all genders could share our overlapping experiences and actually be in true, meaningful solidarity with each other, but i barely ever actually see that happen on tumblr. and that pisses me off, because i do think that there's so much we have in common that we could celebrate and support each other with. i feel so much kinship with so, so many of my trans intersex friends, and ways where i see our lives converge. but i don't think that can happen in an environment where there's no acknowledgment of the ways that our experiences will sometimes (often) differ from each other, and the ways that we have unique needs.

another frustration i've had based on this most recent couple months of transmisogynistic intersex posting on tumblr is how intersex people have been mostly ignoring intersex community resources and devaluing the existing intersex terminology that people created to try to meet our needs. so much of what i've seen people describing on tumblr seems to really line up with the term ipsogender. Ipsogender is a term coined by an intersex sociologist Cary Gabriel Costello, and is used to describe intersex people whose gender matches the gender they were medically assigned at birth, but who might not feel like cis or trans fits them, might experience dysphoria, and who might feel like they've ended up transitioning medically or socially in some ways. this is a word that exists that an intersex person put time into coining because they wanted other intersex people to feel seen, embraced, and have ways of understanding themselves and communicating to others, and that's something that's super meaningful to me! and yet, i've rarely seen anyone reference it, and also seen multiple people making fun of it in other spaces online.

there's also intergender, which is another intersex specific gender term used to describe when your gender is inseparable from your intersex traits, and that your intersex identity is intertwined with your gender identity in some way. some people just identify as intergender, others use it as an adjective and exist as an intergender man or woman. intersex terminology like this is really important to me, especially because we're so often denied the right to make sense of our own experiences.

i think ultimately what i wanted to say with this post is just that when i think about intersex community, some of the most important values of intersex community for me are solidarity, care for each other, and affirming our right to define our own existence. and i don't think that can happen in a community where people are acting in extractive ways, harassing and attacking their fellow community members, and being dismissive of the realities of other intersex people's lives.

[vanmarkus]

EVAN BUCKLEY + close-up 24/?

[izuizzy]

“First Word” 💙💙

made a comic to express the relief and joy sonic felt when talia finally spoke for the first time once she became more comfortable. [read from left to right]