I think your right. Some people don't want to care for their pets. They buy them and let them sit as if they were wall hangings. But, some people aren't about status. When I bought 3 betas from the store I had a seperate tank for each of them, one beta tank ( you know the 1 lt tetra tank) and two bowls. I was told that they only live for 2 years. That seemed like an acceptable life span for a fish, and I didn't want to be committed any longer than that. I cleaned their tanks every week, talked to them every day, named them. After 3 years I moved them up to larger living accomidations (even though they are "supposed" to like small places), and they loved them. After a while they gave me the eye attitude resenting the fact that they weren't again upgraded. So I bought them each a 5 gal tank. Again they loved them. Those guys lived 6 1/2 years!!! The pet store couldn't believe it. They had so much personality that after they died I bought another one. I put it in the 5 gal tank. It lived only 1.5 years- and had none of the attitude :( I'm not going to buy another. But, I loved them very much and fussed over them constantly. I had the slim coat, and the special foods and gravel, only the soft plants etc. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that not everyone is irresponsible, just misinformed. And I think your right, the pet store needs to know what they are doing and tell people the optimal not minimal conditions required for a pet. I'm glad I had them, but if I was told they would live for 6 + years I would have rethought the situation- like getting a dog.

And another from the Kansas City Infozine, that CNAH just distributed: NEWS RELEASE The Center for North American Herpetology Lawrence, Kansas http://www.cnah.org 11 July 2005 Kansas City Infozine (Missouri) by Jim Low Beleaguered Salamanders Now Plagued by Deformities Jefferson City, Mo. - Pity the Hellbender. For years, its numbers have been dwindling in the face of indiscriminate killing, illegal collecting, and changes in the streams it inhabits. Even its love life has been affected. Now it faces a new tribulation, physical deformities. What's an amphibian to do? This one is getting help from the conservation agencies. Missouri is the only state that has both Hellbender subspecies [considered by most modern-day herpetologists to be distinct species] - Ozark and Eastern. To the average person, they are indistinguishable. Both are endangered in Missouri. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is building a case for giving both federal endangered status. As recently as the 1960s, the Show-Me State had thriving populations of both varieties. The Eastern Hellbender still inhabits Meramec, Big, Gasconade, Big Piney and Niangua rivers and the Osage Fork of the Osage River. The Ozark Hellbender lives in the Current, Jacks Fork and Eleven Point rivers, the North Fork of the White River and Bryant Creek. However, since the 1970s, Eastern Hellbender numbers have plummeted 80 percent. During the same period, Ozark Hellbender numbers have declined by 70 percent. One of the biggest sources of concern about Hellbenders is the failure of recent surveys to discover young specimens or other signs of reproduction. The species has practically disappeared from the streams it used to inhabit in Arkansas. No single factor is known to have caused these precipitous declines. Dam building took a toll as reservoirs covered cold, fast-moving waters that hellbenders require. Gravel mining in streams and other human activity on nearby land allowed gravel and mud to smother more of their habitat. Declining water quality may have played a role, too. Hellbenders absorb oxygen--and anything else in the water--through their skin. Their extra sensitivity to pollution makes them a "canary in the coal mine" for water quality. Increasing recreational use of the streams where Hellbenders live also has increased pressure on the species. Anglers who accidentally hook Hellbenders sometimes kill them unintentionally. The quadrupling of canoe traffic on some rivers increases disturbance of the rocky bottoms of Ozark streams. No one knows how this might be affecting the big amphibians. Deliberate damage is a problem. Illegal collection for food and medicine in overseas markets and for the pet trade has decimated Hellbender numbers in some rivers. In other areas, dozens of Hellbenders have been found dead on stream banks, apparent victims of human ignorance. Part of the Hellbender's problem is its appearance. They have wrinkled, mottled skin that varies from gray to brown. Tiny, dark eyes peer from the tops of their heads. They are huge compared to most salamanders. Adult Hellbenders are one to two feet long. Jeff Briggler, [state herpetologist] for the Missouri Department of Conservation, sums up their overall appearance, saying, "They're kind of gross." Their unlovely appearance has led to all sorts of misconceptions. The most damaging is the mistaken belief that Hellbenders have "poison spurs" on their legs and can inflict dangerous wounds. With such folk tales making the rounds, it's no wonder that some anglers kill the Hellbenders they catch. Briggler frequently sees mutilated specimens with wounds from fish gigs or fishing lines trailing from their mouths. The rationale often used to justify killing snapping turtles and other aquatic predators - that they eat game fish - won't work for Hellbenders. Their diet consists almost entirely of crayfish, minnows and other small animals. Besides, there are so few Hellbenders, they couldn't possibly have a significant effect on fish numbers. Briggler said it is impossible to mistake a Hellbender for a fish. He says he suspects some are killed by people who want to see what they are but are afraid to touch them. "I know they look weird," said Briggler, "but they are harmless. There is no good reason to kill them." For most animals, losses of this kind would not be a problem. But Hellbenders already are scarce, and they don't seem to be producing young. If the adults currently living in Missouri streams die without reproducing, the species could be lost to the state. As if all this were not enough, now Hellbenders must contend with what could be the final insult - physical deformities. Briggler says an alarming number of Hellbenders he has seen in recent years have misshapen toes, legs or eyes. Some are missing appendages. Others have tumors or other abnormalities. The severity of the problem varies from stream to stream. In the Current River, three-quarters of all Hellbenders have some kind of deformity. "This animal already has so much against it right now," said Briggler. "These abnormalities could be the end of them." The Conservation Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service have brought together other conservation agencies, universities and public zoos to form the Ozark Hellbender Working Group. Together, they are pursuing a bevy of projects to pinpoint the causes of Hellbender decline and reverse it. The public has an important role to play in one of those efforts-population monitoring. "At this point, every sighting is important," said Briggler. "If an angler hooks one and releases it, or if a gigger sees one, we would like to know about it. That kind of information is extremely helpful for keeping track of where these animals still live. I can't tell you how grateful we are to people who take time to call in such sightings." He urged anyone who sees a Hellbender to call him at 573/522-4115, ext. 3201. Several facts will help him make the most of each Hellbender report. Most important is location. He suggests looking for landmarks, such as barns, bluffs or other permanent features. He also needs to know the date of the sighting and the approximate length of the hellbender. Photographs are helpful if they can be taken without keeping the animal out of the water more than a few seconds. Anglers who hook Hellbenders can release them two ways. Removing the hook is best if the animal is not hooked deeply. Otherwise, the line should be cut and the hook left in place. Most animals released this way survive. Besides studying Hellbenders intensively and investigating possible contributing factors in their decline, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group is trying to develop a captive breeding program. Young hellbenders raised at zoos or fish hatcheries could be used in research or to replenish wild stocks. "I am afraid that without artificial propagation the Hellbender may not survive here," said Briggler.

As I mentioned ultimate development varies widely with site conditions, within the same geographical area. Otherwise general tendencies for slower growth, smaller ultimate size due to colder winters for instance might be more directly linked to USDA Hardiness Zones than State boundaries. But databases of champion trees aren't really going to contain any applicable gardening information that translates into conclusions like "If you plant a redbud in Duluth it will grow 20 ft. tall". What these do tell gardeners is things like "red-buds have the ability to grow [whatever heights the champions are] so that spot I have for a 15 ft. shrub is probably too small for one of these". Possible local performance under horticultural conditions is best discovered by learning results gotten from same kinds in any existing arboretum, botanic garden, demonstration garden, private or test plantings there may be. So how does one predict how tall a tree or shrub will get in their landscape? The best way is to observe the plant of interest in your region – how tall does it get? How wide is its crown? After many of these observations you will have a predictive range of heights to use. If there are not enough specimens in your area, or they are not mature, explore the web for information on plant performance in other geographic regions with similar climate conditions. https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/tree-heights.pdf

Western Australia's state flower is the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw: Kangaroo paws come in a variety of colours including pinks, oranges, yellows and reds, some solid colours, some mixed colours; and they grow to varying heights. Some varieties get to 2'-3' tall, and others only 1' tall. Interesting, the Cherokee Rose looks like what we would call a York Rose. Is it a true rose, or something that just resembles one? York roses used to be very common around here but now you rarely see them :-( California poppies self seed themselves all over my garden every year. Just as well, because I don't plant anything :-) I love to see their sunny faces. Some of these flowers, like the columbine and the mountain laurel, don't look like they can be real. Isn't nature amazing? Edited to add photos that didn’t stick the first time around.