danielcahen's Journal

While I was crouching and taking pictures along a trail in the Tatras mountains of Slovakia, a middle-aged woman caught my attention as she walked by. Intrigued, she curiously inquired about the object of my fascination. I gestured towards a magnificent Chrysosplenium alternifolium and proudly declared, "Behold, this splendid specimen is a Chrysosplenium." (Well, something more along the lines of, "there's an interesting plant; a Chrysosplenium"). As my words escaped my lips, I witnessed a sudden shift in her demeanour—an abrupt vanishing of enthusiasm, replaced by an unmistakable disappointment. With a tinge of regret, she uttered, "Oh, just a plant."