The pits.It may have taken a half century, but a pre-historic garden is finally being brought back to life next to the La Brea tar pits La Brea Tar Pits Fossil field in Hancock Park (formerly Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. It is the site of “pitch springs” oozing crude oil, formerly used by local Indians for waterproofing, and was explored by Gaspar de Portolá's expedition in at the Page Museum. "The idea has been floating around forever," said Chris Peterson, the school visit coordinator at the museum. "At least since the renovations in the 1950s." Constructed between the asphalt of the parking lot and the sulfurous sul·fur·ous adj. 1. Of, relating to, derived from, or containing sulfur, especially with valence 4. 2. Characteristic of or emanating from burning sulfur. goo of the tar pits, the Pleistocene Garden will look like the landscape did for the animals that lived in the area 25,000 years ago. "Not only animals, but seeds and plant materials were captured in the asphalt," said Peterson. Redwoods, sycamores and oak trees, which were found in the ancient tar, still grow in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Since the plants still exist, the museum staff won't have to try to coax primordial primordial /pri·mor·di·al/ (pri-mor´de-al) primitive. pri·mor·di·al adj. 1. Being or happening first in sequence of time; primary; original. 2. plant seeds to take root. "We ordered the plants by phone," said Peterson. "They are sitting in five-gallon buckets right now." The first plants will go in the ground by the end of the year, and the garden should be in full bloom full bloom the stage of a crop when two-thirds of the plants are in flower; the crop is mature. by spring. |
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