Covering 595,000 acres, the Atchafalaya is home to myriad plants and animals, including the inevitable alligator, at least 250 species of birds and the endangered Louisiana black bear.
From there to Earth Mother Botanicals (I felt my fingers grow greener with every minute), where partners Amy and Sandra talked us through the natural beauty products they create from the myriad plants in their own small garden.
It is the grammar of the living world and provides biologists with the means to make sense of our planet's myriad plants and animals, a view shared by Attenborough whose entire Life on Earth programmes rests on the bed-rock of Darwinian thinking.
Myriad plants and animals use Velcro-like attachments, she says, and engineers are now studying nature to learn how to create a "super-Velcro" that would be strong enough to fuse the pieces of a computer or maybe even a car.
A synthetic organic chemist by training, she returned to Mauritius in 1987 after completing her bachelor's degree and Ph.D. in England, shifting her focus toward investigating the natural chemical compounds of the island's myriad plants and their potential medicinal properties.
A walk in the park With its green displays of bamboo, cacti and myriad plant species and architecture painted in the cobalt hue known as Majorelle blue, the tranquil Jardin Majorelle (24), Avenue Yacoub El Mansour (00 212 5 24 31 30 47; jardinmajorelle.com) is a must-see.
Additionally, myriad plant extracts have shown activity, both in vitro and in vivo, against a large range of viral pathogens, including hepatitis B and C viruses, herpes simplex virus, influenza virus, poliovirus, dengue viruses, and human immunodeficiency virus [ 10].
The most intriguing is "Home," a sprawling, flat-roofed structure with scraps of green lawn and mandatory pool, but sitting alone in the Arizona desert, surrounded by myriad cactus plants.
Andela's eighth-floor apartment was cosy, spick and furnished in a style from around 1974 (western calendar) – bamboo-effect bookshelves rising to the ceiling, round-backed wickery chairs, myriad spider plants.
Each is made of blown glass and silicone, and filled with myriad tropical plants, including begonias, creeping miniature figs and a smorgasbord of ferns with names like maidenhair, fluffy ruffles and Suzi Wong.
Water occurs as a liquid on the surface of Earth under normal conditions, which makes it invaluable for transportation, for recreation, and as a habitat for a myriad of plants and animals.
