i got one for xmas in fl and i decided to keep it to see if it'll rebloom for summer. i have another short-day length plant that i rebloomed successfully sev times: begonia reiger. so i figured why not try ? it has produced new colored bracts for me in march (2 clusters) - i kept some of the older ones (4 total) to keep it going like ronalawn advised in prior post in 2012. it is still developing new flower buds. am waiting to see if those will color up. i did not give it any 'dark treatment'. it self-branches quite nicely. i still have sev older branches with pink bracts doing well and growing new colored bracts. and the way it goes - i think i will get re-bloom in the fall: my xmas cactus and begonia reiger (both short-day bloomers) rebloom in the same position west window without special dark treatment, just natural nights. even though i do get some street light. Here is a link that might be useful: prior post with my pics in jan and march This post was edited by petrushka on Sun, May 4, 14 at 22:59

jmcat - Pretty simple really once you begin to understand taxonomic nomenclature, genetics and natural evolution. Papilio polyxenes polyxenes is the nominate form... and Papilio polyxenes asterius is one of it's named subspecies. So some confusion is common when listings lump any bug into a generalized species name like this by not including the next subordinate level of classification if they are assigned - subspecies. Subspecies are named usually because they differ from the nominate form for any of several possible reasons (environment/habitat, isolation, distribution, etc) to where they have evolved into a slightly different bug than the nominate form. In this case the range of the nominate form is Cuba, and except for possible strays it probably doesn't intergrade naturally with the subspecies of it found in their own ranges outside of Cuba, while the subspecies who do have over-lapping ranges probably do intergrade naturally. Hmmm, maybe in better laymanÂs terms, the P. p. polyxenes nominate form is mostly isolated in Cuba. So the named subspecies of it are probably the result of strays of the nominate species that established new colonies outside Cuba or a result of ancestral land mass separations that isolated them from each other. Kind of a reverse isolation I guess in that those colonies not continually strengthened by the nominate form gene pool have evolved into subspecies that differ from the nominate species. Probably as clear as mud, but hopefully at least starts to answer your question. L.

Jessica, I've also made a chocolate beet cake, although mine didn't have the spiced creme anglaise that this one has, which sounds like a really nice addition. Other than that, our recipes are identical. Oh, the cake is very good, really it is, but I'm not sure it's all that healthy, LOL. Chocolate Beet Cake From Straight From the Farm 1 cup butter, softened, divided 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar 3 eggs at room temperature 2-3 oz. dark chocolate 5 medium beets (2 cups pureed) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg confectioners sugar for dusting Make the beet puree by trimming the beets and simmering them until tender. Drain the liquid and cool the beets (you can run water over them to cool them off.) Slide the skins off, then place them in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Let the puree cool slightly before using it in the cake. Cream 3/4 cup of the butter with the dark brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Melt the remaining butter together with the chocolate, either in the microwave or in a double boiler over simmering water. Cool slightly, then add the chocolate mixture, beet puree, and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture (it may look separated at this point.) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 10-inch springform pan; bake at 375 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (I started checking around 50 minutes.) Cool the cake in the pan 15 minutes before unmolding and removing to a cooling rack; cool completely before dusting with confectioners sugar. Spiced Creme Anglaise 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup sugar 4 large egg yolks 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger Set a bowl over ice water and have a strainer nearby youll want this ready so you can stop the sauce from cooking when its ready. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar and set aside. Combine milk, cream, and spices in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat just until the mixture starts to simmer. Whisk some of it slowly into the egg yolk mixture, then slowly add the rest of it while whisking. Pour the whole thing back into the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until its thick enough to coat the spatula or spoon this usually takes about a minute or two longer. Dont boil it or the egg will harden. Strain into the bowl set over ice water to stop the mixture from cooking further. Chill in the refrigerator until youre ready to use it. Oh, and I used leftover beets that I had cooked for supper and didn't eat all of, I didn't cook beets especially for this recipe! Annie

Has everyone checked out all the vegetarian recipes at this website? Goodness, there are a lot of them! I've just spent the last hour going through some of them and printing out the ones I'd like to try soon. I hope you all enjoy this site as much as I do. Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe Source