tropicalization

before global warming gets full-fledged, at the moment its effects are somewhat picturesque. the nyt reports that constant slightly increasing temperatures are changing the u.s. plantscape.


"there are palm trees in knoxville and subtropical camellias in pennsylvania...already, some states are facing the possibility that the cherished local flora that has helped define their identities — the ohio buckeye, the dansas sunflower or the mississippi magnolia — may begin to disappear within their borders and move north. by the end of the century, the climate will no longer be favorable for the official state tree or flower in 28 states, according to “the gardener’s guide to global warming,” a report released last month by the national wildlife federation."


(sub)tropicalization has other secondary effects, like shifts in aesthetic taste. it happened to lecorbu, it can happen to you. take dominique gonzalez-foerster, for instance.