![[Charles
Darwin]](darwin.jpg)
The Darwin's Day
Phylum Feast
is a shared
potluck meal
composed of
as many taxa
as
possible,
celebrated by
naturalists on
Charles
Darwin's
birthday,
12 February,
to commemorate
the relatedness
of all organisms.
area map
contact us
-
at the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
We weren't going to have a public Darwin's Day feast this year, but when the Steve Marks-sponsored "Mudpuppy Nite AKA Annual Mid-winter Canadian Herping Trip" of herpetologists from remote regions of Ontario was scheduled to fall on the day, we invited them in. The gathering comprised Carolyn, Dave, and Dawn Seburn (Ottawa), Steve Marks (Windsor), Roxanne St. Martin (Peterborough), Kevin McAvoy, Roxanne Dibbley (came with Roxanna and Steve, all from Guelph), Christina Davy, Christopher Blair (University of Toronto), Brenan Ackert, Jeff Hathaway, Aaron Fishdix, Robin Manley (Orillia), Lindsay Valliant (University of Western Ontario), James Baxter-Gilbert (Sudbury), Jolene Laverty (Clinton), and Katherine Yagi (St Catherines). Items were purchased all along the road, including some unidentified salads, for which we thank Rosa Suddes, Customer Care Specialist of Metro Stores Ontario, for ingredient lists sent by e-mail.
Well, it was some kind of a Phylum Feast - with Bear and Pomegranates and Dulse and Hypsizygus. We crowded 21 people into the living room, and stuffed them full of diversity. Acquiring the diversity was a lot easier because the Seburns came, and they're as good at squeezing diversity out of the grocery stores as we are at scraping it off the road or pulling it out of a swamp.
Despite appalling weakness among the Arthropods (2) and Mollusca (1), our taxon total was 106 or possibly a few more, since ambiguous ingredient choces weren't totalled. This is higher than previous totals, though there were many species available in our cupboards which weren't brought out. However, the fact that some species that were set out never reached the table (asterisked below), suggests that there may be something like a limiting or equilibrium value for the number of species represented in a hastily assembled meal - you just can't get many more species on the table at once without a lot of planning. Afterwards, we went out and reveled in killer-cute Mudpuppies for an hour and a half.
SPECIES LIST
Prokaryotes (2 recognized, myriad others also consumed)
Cheese bacterium, Lactobacillus acidophilus
xanthan gum bacterium Xanthomonas campestris
Fungi (5)
Manitoba Maple Oyster Mushroom, Hypsizygus ulmarius
Brown Beech Mushroom, Hypsizygus tessellatus
Cloud or Wood Ears or Black Fungus, Auricularia polytricha
Bread & Wine Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Brie cheese mold, Penicillium candidum or P. camemberti
Protista (only seaweeds, 5)
Rhodophyta
Nori, Porphyra
Dulse, Palmaria palmata
agar-agar, Agarophyte Red Algae cf Gracilaria and Gelidium
Irish-moss (as carageenan), Chondrus crispus
Phaeophyta
Arame, Eisenia bicyclis
Wakame, Undaria pinnatifida
Plants
Gymnosperm Conifers, Pinophyta (1)
Eastern White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis as tea
Monocots (13)
Wheat & Kamut, Triticum
Rice, Oryza sativa
Sugar Cane, Saccharum officinarum
Corn, Zea mays
"Bamboo shoots" (subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae)
Leeks, Allium ampeloprasum
Onions, Allium cepa
Garlic, Allium sativum
Coconut, Cocos nucifera
Oil Palm, Elaeis guineensis
Date Palm, Phoenix dactylifera
Vanilla, Vanilla fragrans (V. planifolia?)
*Cattail, Typha x glauca
Dicots (61)
*Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album
Poppy, Papavar somniferum
Olive, Olea europaea
Lemon, Citrus limon
Lime, Citrus aurantifolia
Orange, Citrus × sinensis
Mandarin Orange, Citrus reticulata
*Goutweed, Aegopodium podagraria
*Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca
Bay Laurel (leaves), Laurus nobilis
Grape, Vitis spp.
Ginger, Zingiber officinale
Cardamom, Elettaria or Amomum, Zingiberaceae
Turmeric, Curcuma longa, Zingiberaceae
English Walnut, Juglans regia
Pecan, Carya illinoesis
Almond, Prunus dulcis
Hazelnut, Corylus avellana
Jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus or A. heterophylla, Moraceae
Cranberries, Vaccinium macrocarpon
Blueberries, Vaccinium cf corymbosum
Cucumber, Cucurbita sativus
Long Squash, Cucurbita moschata
Watermelon (mini seedless), Citrullus lanatus
Guar (gum), Cyamopsis tetragonolobus
Garden Peas, Pisum sativum
Lentils, Lens culinaris Soy, Glycine max
Gum Arabic, Acacia senegal
Pomegranate, Purica sp.
Black Pepper, Piper nigrum
Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum
Potatoes, Solanum tuberosum
various Red Peppers, Caspicum ssp.
Paprika, Capsicum annuum
Cabbage (Savoy), Brassica rapa
Canola, Brassica napus
Wasabi, Cochlearia wasabi
Water Cress, Nasturtium officinale
Fig, Ficus
Avocado, Persea americana
Sesame, Sesamum indicum
Banana, Musa acuminata
Cacao, Theobroma cacao
Manioc, Manihot esculenta
Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (C. verum?)
Apple, Pyrus malus
Asian Pear, Pyrus pyrifolia
Pear, Pyrus communis
Umeboshi Plum, Prunus mume
Strawberry, Fragaria hybrid
Sweet Potato, Ipomoea batatas
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus
Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus
Lettuce, Lactuca sativa
sugaring Maples, Acer cf saccharum
Cumin, Cuminum cyminum, Apiaceae
Coriander, Coriandrum sativum, Apiaceae
Parsley, Petroselinum crispum
Carrot, Daucus carota
Parsnip, Pastinaca sativa
Thyme, Thymus
Animals
Vertebrates (13)
Teleostomata
Alaskan Pollack, Pollachius virens
possibly Pacific Whiting, Merluccius productus (from seafood salad ingredient list)
Tuna, Thunnus
Salmon, Atlantic, Salmo salar, or Spring, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, or Chum, O. keta (from pate ingredient list)
Herring, Clupaea harengus
Mammalia
Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
Black Bear, Ursus americanus
Cattle, Bos taurus
Bison bison
Elk, Cervus elephas
Swine, Sus scrofus
*Goat, Capra hircus - as cheese
Soylent Green, Homo sapiens sapiens (it is not clear which participant was processed in this way, or which other participant recognized subspecies in H. sapiens.
Aves
Chicken, Gallus domesticus
Pheasant, Phasianus
Ostrich, Struthio camelus
Crustacea (1)
commercial Shrimp, Penaeidae
Mollusca (1)
Cephalopoda (cf Ilex, commercial Squid) – Lindsey Valliant
Insecta (1)
Bee Honey, Apis mellifera
* species prepared for the meal, but not actually put out on the table