Comment by Mordisquitos | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Mordisquitos | Hacker News Reader

I am irrationally angry that they chose a palm tree as the icon to represent the Mediterranean climate region on the map, when it is absolutely not characteristic to this climate. A much better option would have been an olive or an evergreen oak (Quercus ilex): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_ilex

> A much better option would have been an olive [...]

Ironically, olives seem to be missing from Spain's and Greece's list of fruits.

That's because they are served cured and fermented and never fresh. So there's no season for them.

I see, that makes sense.

Is included as a vegetable here

I also come from the south of the mediteranean (probably more south than you :) ) and I couldn't care less :)

And yes, we do produce tons of olive oil that the Italians or Spanish buy and sell as their own oil. The truth is that it can get quite hot from this side of europe :)

There are plenty of palm trees in the iberian penisula.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardim_do_Rossio#/media/Fichei...

https://olhares.com/largo-das-palmeiras-foto3262.html

https://www.pxfuel.com/pt/free-photo-eiuzw

Sure, none of them native though.

Well, tomatos, potatos and chilli are also not native to Europe, maybe we should remove them from our gastronomy.

I think the point is that they should choose a tree that's representative of the native habitat.

Which is my point as well, from which century are we counting as being the native habitat?

Let's put it this way. Just because we have zoos doesn't make those animals native. There is probably some threshold of self sustainance and propagation in the region to call it native, after many centuries I would presume.

More to read here :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_species

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?!

The GP may or not be suggesting that, but coconuts do migrate. Their physical structure enables that: a sealed capsule that can float, with rich nutrient density inside, and airtight, so due to all that, stays viable while it is carried across oceans from one country to another. And germinates and grows at the destination. Read something to that effect somewhere, maybe in Wikipedia or similar.

Winds and tides and ocean currents and waves do the rest.

The plants that developed seed dispersal in micronesia are fascinating. It's a tough evolutionary nut to crack. Honestly though, I was making a holy grail joke ;^)

All of nature and natural mechanisms are fascinating. So much of math and science and beauty in it, as scientists and the lay public keep discovering. Just today, sitting at a cafe outside a town, I saw something new to me: a small frog, just about one inch in length, sitting vertically on the low side wall of the cafe. I think it was actually climbing up the wall. At first I thought it was a large insect. Then went closer and saw it was a frog. Took a photo of it.

Edit: If I can, I will post a link to that photo here. (Have some constraints for that at present.)

I didn't get the holy grail joke. Googling seems to show it is related to Monty Python shows, which I do not watch, Guido knows why :)

Some of they definitely are. One of the most famous, Phoenix canariensis is endemic from Spanish Islands. The Mediterranean has also several native palms, and even ecosystems when palms are one of the dominant species. Chamaerops humilis, the palmito, is a small palm. Is a 100% legit European palm (and a fairly decent vegetable also that could fit perfectly in this list).

For many northern Europeans, Southern Europe is pretty much the same as Africa. With all the same prejudice included. It is what it is.

I'm Portuguese (Southern European) and cannot possibly understand this comment ..

What do you care what others think?

What matters is that (at least my country) has reached a level of cultural and technological development that cannot be compared to what it was 20-30 years ago.

And I don't think the well educated younger generations share your silly inferiority complex too ..

As a Northern European, it's such a shame to see this attitude spread in Southern Europe. You see it a lot on /r/europe these days, this idea that people in Northern Europe are biased against people from the South.

Us Southern and Eastern Europeans constantly experience prejudice from Northern and Western Europeans. It’s especially noticeable if you’re an immigrant.

It’s not an attitude, merely an observation.

Tribalism: https://youtu.be/7y-b7f6CK2M

North Tribe vs South Tribe

White vs Black

Democratic vs Republicans

etc :)

We definitely have an African component in our flora, yes. This makes our ecosystems (and our kitchen) special and our nature much more interesting with lots of African endemisms. Spain is (probably [1]) the European country with a higher biodiversity. Italy comes close in that rank also.

[1] excluding Russia, that is a special case (being Asian and European at the same time).

There are plenty palm trees near the Alps, so I wouldn't be angry if I were you.

But indeed I would have picked an oak or olive, it's culturally and historically more appropriate.

Just out of curiosity, where are you from?

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