The little king is his name, the basilisk, from the Greek word “basilikos”, Latin “regulus”. A mythical creature with the head of a cockerel and the body of a snake, he was chosen as king of the serpents. It is many years since I first discovered this fascinating creature on the last page of a…
The Seleger Moor – flowering Rhododendrons, ferns and other jewels.
The Seleger Moor, situated between Hausen am Albis and Rifferswil in the Säuliamt region of Kanton Zurich, is a unique park. Its protagonists, the flowering Rhododendrons and Azaleas, bathe the place in an intoxicating sea of colour between the beginning of April and the end of May, causing the visitor for a brief moment to…
The Olive Tree (Olea europea)
It all began with a contest. The Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, Pallas Athena, and the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, were vying for patronage of Greece’s most important city. Both promised its citizens a present. Poseidon wanted to offer as thanks a saltwater fountain, Athena an olive tree. The favourite daughter of…
