I hope Jaro does not take offense to my tweaking of his suggestions, but given my prior visits to New Caledonia, I hope I am not out of line to submit the following: La Tontouta is the only international airport in the territory, and it is almost an hour northwest of Noumea, as, despite the seemingly short distance, only a small portion of the road was 4-lane motorway as of my last visit (the rest was one lane paved in each direction). Alas, this is a common situation in NC, so you have to factor in a good deal more driving time than the apparent distances might suggest. By car, you will likely be able to actually see many of the 46 species of gymnosperms existing in the country (all but one are supposed to indeed be endemic). However, I would be greatly surprised if you actually got to see a live plant of Parasitaxus ustus. Although it is reasonably well-distributed throughout the country, in my experience it is sited in seriously remote and inaccessible areas. Only people in the know can lead you to the assorted locations where it grows. Unlike other conifers, including far more rare species, which you might see growing in arboreta or planted displays (a small but lovely one can be found at the IRD headquarters at Anse Vata district in Noumea), to my knowledge, no one has yet successfully propagated or transplanted and grown this species in a horticultural setting, so you are unlikely to find it even in a garden. Port Boisé is indeed near the only known locality where Araucaria nemorosa grows in the wild. The species, however, does not grow at Port Boisé itself, but rather just before the road descends from the plateau down to sea level to the Gite Kanua at Port Boisé. Although one can certainly reach the spot via the Chutes de la Madeleine, that would be a considerably less direct route over roads which are confusingly marked (and often unpaved) on the local map. A more easy-to-follow route (and faster, despite seemingly being a bit more circuitous), is to go directly to the southeast coast via the main road to Yate, through to, and continuting past, Goro, to where the road turns inland upwards into the plateau (for a view of what you'd see behind you as you climb to the plateau on that road, see www.garystutler.com/Pages/Works/LeColDeGoro.html www.garystutler.com/Pages/NCgal01.html Once you turn inland, you will reach a clearly marked crossroads pointing the way to Port Boisé. Shortly before that cross-roads, you will cross a small river. Look closely at the near bank of the river before crossing. You will see Retrophyllum minor and Podocarpus novaecaledoniae. Throughout the plateau region of the South (also known as the Plaine des Lacs), Dacrydium araucarioides is exceedingly well represented. At the higher elevations you will see interestingly shaped Agathis ovata dotting the area. Despite not being the most direct route to see A. nemorosa, the Chutes de la Madeleine is well worth a visit, not just because of the beautiful waterfall, but because of the astonishing diversity of conifers and other flora, which you are unlikely to see anywhere else. In fact, this preserve is probably the only place where you will be able to actually see Neocallitropsis pancheri and Dacrydium guillauminii. Downstream from the main viewing area (and across the river itself) you can see some pretty huge Araucaria muelleri (although they might be rulei . . . a bit tough to see from that distance, and they are not readily accessible by foot). Although it is absolutely true that there is one or two tiny populations of montane N. pancheri, I am informed that they are located in the Montaigne des Sources preserve (which is closed under lock and key to incidental human access), and in one other highly protected and very remote area which mere mortals are seldom given the chance to even approach. Trust me: If you want to see N. pancheri outside of an arboretum or garden, you must visit the Chutes de la Madeleine preserve, not just for the beautiful waterfall, but for the amazing flora (both gymnosperm and angiosperm). (By the way, although in the old days, N. pancheri was indeed exploited for its perfumed resin and other qualities, the tree is today so exceedingly rare and protected, that it would genuinely amaze me if resin could actually be purchased nowadays for something as trivial as a tourist souvenir. I can't say it's impossible, but I have never seen it offered for sale in NC or anywhere, and I would be thrilled to find out where I can get some during my next visit, if you do indeed locate a source of something like this). By the way, although the Parc Rivière Bleue is open to the public and well worth visiting because of the visitor centre and the extensive plantation of numerous endemic conifers, virtually all of the most interesting wild areas of the park have been closed to incidental traffic as of a few months ago. This is because a hurricane (cyclone in that part of the world) damaged a crucial bridge, rendering it unsafe for traffic, and cutting off the heart of the park from the main highway. It is possible that repairs have been done since my last visit, but from my conversations with friends, it seems that the money simply wasn't there. I hope that this is not the case, as the forested heart of this park is magnificent, simply chock full of amazing flora: Giant Agathis lanceolata, huge Dacrycarpus viellardii, Acmopyle, Libocedrus, Falcatifolium, and the list goes on. But the visitor centre is itself very well done and worth the visit, even if the heart of the park is closed. If you want to see some nice specimens of very rare (and hard to get to gymnosperms), you should take the time to visit the IRD's small garden (interior atrium), Parc Rivière Bleue's conifer plantation, and the Parc Forestier on top of Montravel in the heart of Noumea. The latter is a glorified zoo, but it also has several huge Agathis and Araucaria (and perhaps now other genera as well --- they were working on it not long ago). As for collecting seed or plant material, I wouldn't recommend it. Americans are not viewed with the highest esteem at the moment around the world. Although you may well have the odds in your favor and leave the country after successfully violating their rules about collecting and exporting germplasm, if you do get caught, not only would you personally get into some deep do-do with the gendarmerie, but you would intensify the official hostility against Americans who are working hard to establish official contacts for scientific purposes with the responsible Caledonian agencies. Enjoy your stay in NC.

I left out Gnetophytes, mostly because so much of the evidence seems to be contradictory. Most genetic analysis I've seen suggest Gnetophytes aren't all that close to either other gymnosperms(conifers included) nor angiosperms, but branched off from other gymnosperms well before the split between angiosperms and gymnosperms, while most morphological and fossil evidence seems to suggest an intermediate position for Gnetophytes between angiosperms and other gymnosperms. I will say, I haven't read any genetic studies more current than about 3 or 4 years old though. Good point treelover2, both Sciadopitys and Ginkgo are quite old also. But from recent studies Ginkgo is no longer considered a conifer, but it's still a gymnosperm. The latest I've heard is that Gingko is more closely related to Cycads than to conifers. But nobody has addressed which living genus is the oldest conifer? I've also heard that Cedrus has been shown to be basal in the Pinaceae which is basal to all other conifer families(basal within Pinales). Is this the current thought still or is it something else?

Greetings folks. I have a ritual but I'm getting too old and tired to continue it. Every year I strip off the discolored top layer of my Brazilian Cherry (Massaranduba) hardwood deck and refinish it. I had the misguided notion that it would last forever and be low maintenance. It may last forever but it is far from low maintenance. I have come to view it as a very expensive mistake. I have tried many different coatings but always with the same result. The beautiful cherry color soon turns to a drab brown and stays that way until I get the time and energy to start the process again. The unshaded northern exposure in the northeastern U.S invariably takes its toll. Currently I power wash the deck at pressures that would tear up a pine deck and apply a different coating in the hope that this year will be different. I have tried CWF, that was bad. For a few years I was using Penofin Marine Wood Oil. In my desperation I confess that I smuggled it into my state. Then for a few years I mixed my own; a concoction of Boiled Linseed Oil, Turpentine and Paraffin or Varnish. All because I wanted to try preserve the appearance of the natural wood. Now I am starting to consider what was previously unthinkable: a solid stain. There I said it. I know this is a very 1st world problem and you would within your rights to laugh at my perceived problem but if you have a opinion of what I should do, I'd like to hear it. Solid stain or something that I haven't tried? Thank you.

greasetrap - If you are going to cut and paste the work of others, provide a citation or link, please. That way folks can be assured of the full context and you won't be infringing on copyright. Greensand, birm, Filox, Pyrolox, Terminox are different forms of oxidizing filtration media and are all viable options for removal of iron and H2S in your water. Which one is appropriate depends on your water and the amount of flow you can achieve from your well. They required relatively high flow rates for backwash. Aeration or chlorine injection are also good options. They require a little more expertise on the part of you water treatment pro. With any of these options, treatment equipment must be in the correct order, and each have their pros and cons: Aeration or chlorination: oxidizing unit --> holding tank --> media filter (often GAC) --> softener [relatively easy, particularly aeration, but holding tank blowdown can become problematic] Oxidizing filtration: Aeration (possibly) --> Ox/filt unit --> softener. [very easy to operate and maintain but backwash flow rate is critical and some residential well systems may not be capable of providing adequate flow] Carbon for H2S: Catalytic carbon (NOT GAC) --> softener [media units tend to be quite large as 3-5 minutes contact time is needed]