Rabbit suite. European rabbit or common rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The European rabbit or common rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is native to south-western Europe (Spain and Portugal) and northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria). The animal’s decline in its native range (caused by the diseases myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus, as well as overhunting and habitat loss), has, in turn, caused the decline of its highly dependent predators, the Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle.”

European rabbit or common rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) close-up. (© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Spring Treats. White Mulberry (Morus alba) fruits

Morus alba (family Moraceae), known as white mulberry, is a species native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
It turns out that apart from being widely cultivated to feed the silkworms employed in the commercial production of silk, the plant has analgesic, emollient and sedative properties and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries as a remedy for surprisingly wide range of conditions: the fruit — to treat prematurely grey hair, constipation, diabetes, to "tonify" the blood; the bark — to treat cough, wheezing, edema, fever, headache, red dry and sore eyes, and to promote urination.
Extracts of the plant possess antibacterial and fungicidal properties. The root bark, for example, exhibits antibacterial activity against food poisoning micro-organisms, is antitussive, diuretic, expectorant and hypotensive. The roots are harvested in the winter and dried for later use.
The leaf extract has been studied against the Indian Vipera/Daboia russelii venom induced local and systemic effects. The leaves are antibacterial, astringent, diaphoretic (increasing perspiration), hypoglycaemic, odontalgic and ophthalmic, they are taken internally in the treatment of colds, influenza, eye infections and nosebleeds. The leaves are collected after the first frosts of autumn and can be used fresh but are generally dried.
The stems are anti-rheumatic, diuretic, hypotensive and pectoral. A tincture of the bark is used to relieve toothache. The branches are harvested in late spring or early summer and are dried for later use.
The fruit has a tonic effect on kidney energy and is used internally in the treatment of asthma, coughs, bronchitis, oedema, hypertension and diabetes.
Almost all parts of the plant are used in one way or another: recent research has shown improvements in elephantiasis when treated with leaf extract injections and in tetanus following oral doses of the sap mixed with sugar. Finally, it's not widely known that in some Central Asian countries a spirit (a kind of vodka or strong liquor) is distilled from mulberry fruits.
However, the fresh fruits are seldom available at the greengrocer's (probably due to their high perishability). So enjoy this wonder of Nature, even if just in pictures.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) fruit. (© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Allium ampeloprasum

Allium ampeloprasum is a member of the onion genus Allium. The wild plant is commonly known as (Broadleaf) Wild Leek.
Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum) is a plant belonging to the onion genus. It is not a true garlic, but actually a variant of the species to which the garden leek belongs. However, its bulbs taste more like garlic than leek.
Additionally it's cultivated as an ornamental plant in flower gardens, as it also discourages pests.

Allium ampeloprasum flower. (© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Vegetables and Fruits.

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." (Albert Einstein.)

Well, this one is about food, or better say, about some of my favourite foods.
Needless to say, I'm a born vegetarian although I love fish, but my mum used to force me to eat meat (basically free range organic chicken), when I was a child,  until after years of persuasion I've managed to bring it home to her that it is unethical and unnecessary to kill living creatures for food (to me, it's not very different from cannibalism) or any other reason unless, of course, we are threatened with starvation or in self-defence.

There're plenty of animal products for those who, like me, don't want to follow strict vegetarian diet: eggs, dairy produce, and since fish is beneficial for the health, I wouldn't rule out limited consumption of fish without endangering the species, which is right the opposite to the common practice. However, today I hardly ever eat fish as it's stuffed with heavy metals and would probably do more harm than good. That's progress!

From the artistic point of view, vegetables are a veritable feast for the camera in their own right — they come in a rich palette of colours and shades.

Romanesco broccoli or Roman cauliflower, a flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and is a variant of cauliflower. What I find most amazing about this vegetable is that it's an epitome of fractality — just look at the logarithmic spirals of its buds.

Romanesco broccoli. (© 2011 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)