Published by tbonne on May 31, 2015
Earlier this week, I walked past this Davidia involucrata tree in UBC Botanical Garden and was surprised to see it waving hundreds of white “handkerchiefs” at me. I had never seen a plant with this characteristic before, so of course I had to stop and photograph the unusual inflorescences.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 28, 2015
There is a good chance that you have seen a plant of Trifolium repens, or white clover, today. Originally from Europe, northern Africa,and Asia, white clover (also called Dutch clover) is widely naturalized in most parts of the world. It is commonly found in lawns, parks, gardens, roadsides, rangelands, and in most types of disturbed […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 27, 2015
If you are like me, you have no idea what a complex thallose liverwort is (like today’s Preissia quadrata!). Thankfully, there are many sources available to us as we embark on a crash-course on liverwort morphology.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 25, 2015
Tradescantia occidentalis, or prairie spiderwort, is a perennial monocot found in central North America. Although it has a fairly widespread distribution, there are only four known populations of this species in Canada, where it is listed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Prairie spiderwort grows in grasslands […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 23, 2015
Do you eat the red ones last? I’ve often wondered why some Rubus spectabilis berries are red and some are yellow, so I thought I would write an entry that answers the question.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 22, 2015
Shepherdia canadensis, also known as soopalallie or buffaloberry, is an important species for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). The online field guide, MountainNature, advises hikers in the Canadian Rockies to become familiar with this species, so as to avoid late-summer hiking on trails where it grows plentifully.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on May 20, 2015
Pycnostachys urticifolia is a beautiful plant, with a mouthful of a name. While trying to find a more melodious way of referring to this species, I came across a number of equally-difficult common names; you may also call this species dark blue pycnostachys, groot ystervarksalie, or unkungwini. It is also known by some as simply […]
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