h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to Smell a Ponderosa Pine - A87787192
Author: Galaxy Babe - U128652

unfortunately I couldn't add the original Researcher Mew Gull U240281 to this article, because he's wiped his details and PS, his number comes up blank

I've given him a credit on the article itself. Not sure what else I can do

Previous article: A1155728
It's never been in PR, only the WW: F136431?thread=310541 and it's been in the Flea Market for 8 years (shame!)

GB

I'd just put a plain text line at the bottom: 'From an original Entry by former Researcher Mew Gull'. No point in linking to an empty PS. The gull has flown

Good, short entry.

The only thing I'd do is split the opening sentence in two. I first read 'also known as Western Yellow Pine, Bull Pine, Rock Pine and Blackjack Pine, on hot summer days' and wondered what it is known as on cold winter days.

Something like 'One of the more unique olfactory pleasures of planet Earth is the rich, deep, vanilla-like aroma produced by the Ponderosa Pine on hot summer days. The Pinus ponderosa is also known as Western Yellow Pine, Bull Pine, Rock Pine and Blackjack Pine.'

Does it smell at any other time of year?

Also, perhaps rename point 2 to 'How to recognise a Ponderosa Pine from quite a long way away'

<BB<

I'd say it is more likely that MewGull's account got lost in one of the many BBC reorgs of the site - you couldn't remove your account like that even if you tried. But a lot of early accounts with very little traffic on them got deleted.

Perhaps then instead of 'former Researcher Mew Gull', it would be better to say 'sometime Researcher Mew Gull'

Reword the first sentence so that it doesn't look as if the pine only has those other names on hot summer days. I suggest you move the "on hot summer days" to after the word "produced".

Plant names such as ponderosa pine normally have lowercase letters. (You still need a capital for the Pinus because it is a scientific species name).

I don't know what "understorey" means. Footnote it.

"(eg more than 60cm (2ft) in circumference)" -- it's not good practice to have nested brackets, unless it is for comic effect.

Possibly spell out abbreviations like BC (British Columbia) and MT (Montana).

Updated

**cute alert** http://www.arkive.org/ponderosa-pine/pinus-ponderosa/videos.html that red squirrel does look awfully like a British red squirrel, rather than the American red. I'm wondering if there's a British red squirrel reserve in the USA or if there are ponderosa pines growing here in the UK

Also check out the photo gallery: http://www.arkive.org/ponderosa-pine/pinus-ponderosa/photos.html

I've added those links but am trying not to add too much more info to the text as I don't want to lose the flavour of what attracted me to the article in the first place!

Twice in two days I have come across something related to Douglas, which I previously knew nothing about. Yesterday it was the Douglas-fir and today it's the Douglas squirrel.

This is brilliant! I love it.

You might add a brief warning to people that if it's 94-100 degrees Fahrenheit for best smelling, they should be careful - that's dangerous heat. Like, 'take water bottle along', something like that.

thank you Dmitri!

I've added that advice

You have the recommendation about Crowsnest Highway and Highway 2 near Libby in twice: firstly in step 1, and again at the end of the entry.

OK, I hadn't realised, I thought that was the conclusion. I've removed it

This is a lovely article - even without smell-o-vision!

I don't mind betting there are ponderosa pines somewhere in the UK - Kew Gardens if nowhere else. But it's not usually going to be hot enough to smell them.

The article says that the scent is a by-product of the tree's resistance to fire, but do you know more than that?

I confess I'd never heard of the ponderosa pine before I rescued this, and I've learned something. Unfortunately not the answer to your question!

Another lovely little Entry.

"The ponderosa pine is a long-needled yellow pine native to the western interior of North America. "
-You've already mentioned that it's native to NA, you can probably drop this repeat.

Sections 4 and 5 seem to be a repeat - set out to find a mature tree, then make sure it is on. Would it make more sense to combine these two, as they are essentially the same thing?

That's it!

Why ponderosa pines are fire-resistant:

'While fire may damage saplings, most surface fires do not harm mature ponderosa. Ponderosa pine has developed many morphological adaptations that make it fire resistant (e.g., thick bark, open crown structure, length of branch-free trunk, and deep rooting habit) (FEIS 1996). The associated understory vegetation also evolved with periodic fires of varying frequencies, and fire suppression has lead to an increase in shrubby understory plants within climax communities that used to be dominated by a herbaceous understory (Wright and Bailey 1982, Peet 1988).'

More info, with tables and full references, at:

http://www.rw.ttu.edu/vegcom/Ponderosa/fire_history.htm

Here's an entire paper on the subject;

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr198/psw_gtr198_n

I quite like this Entry's way of framing all the information it contains, rather than just listing the facts. It's informative in an unusual and entertaining way. Good rescue!

The native range of the Ponderosa Pine includes California.

http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/ponderosapine.htm

http://www.cnps.org/

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=6521

One of things I hoped to see was a very brief mention of the US television series 'Bonanza'
http://voices.yahoo.com/ever-wonder-why-western-tv-show-was-called-bonanza-1650899.html?cat=40

I was one of the longest running series filmed in its period and took place on a huge fictional ranch named the 'Ponderosa' near Lake Tahoe, Nevada (undoubtedly named for the pine tree)


FS

As beloved as that series may be, I'm not sure it's relevant to smelling pine trees.

Amd I say that not only because I detested it growing up.

True. A bit of a Google suggests there are quite a few places named "The Ponderosa _________". I don't think there's much mileage in mentioning them, though...