Get Your Botany On!

This May, Lindsay and I came across a single flowering plant of Liparis loeselii in a shrubby old-field on our property in northern Indiana...

In continuing to catch up from my excursions this spring, I recently posted about surveys I conducted in late May and about  several sand ...

I've been absent from the blogging scene for a couple of months due to other commitments.  Happily, I'm back and have posted one of ...

I found some Spikenard blooming in a ravine near Turkey Run State Park yesterday. I was not familiar with this plant, and it was fun to fin...

I was recently sent the following link to a song about the life of the ecologist... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8f8_am8G7Q&feature...

Commelina communis was named for three Dutch botanists. All named Commelin, two were accomplished in their field (hence the showy blue peta...

Gymnocladus dioica is one of the few trees in Indiana with bipinnately compound or "bipinnate" leaves. Is it the only one? I don...

The unusual inflorescence of Carpinus caroliniana offers a serious challenge to one of our most recognized birds. The Cardinal sometimes ca...

I looked around this carny but didn't see any stipes on display. Nor did I see any rachises, pinnae, or sori. In fact, I didn't see ...

I was stunned to see this common fall flower in a state of FGB ( full, glorious bloom ) today, June 8th (!) on a roadside in Marshall County...

Opuntia humifusa has to be one of the most unusual plants in Indiana, and it is surprisingly widespread in the state. The actual leaves are...

This showy little snapdragon is one of several attractive non-natives that seem to prefer growing along railroads. Others include Railroad V...

This little seedling was growing along the edge of a parking lot at a playground for small children in a northern Indiana city. Not what I w...

Three cheers for DenPro! On March 22 I posted this photo of a vegetative plant I didn't recognize, hoping someone would be able to name ...

I recently posted the following plant quiz... ---------- The photograph below was taken in St. Joseph County, Indiana.  This should be an...

Good Call, A.L. and M.Y.O.Q. It is Valeriana pauciflora . It is interesting to note that “ pauciflora ” means few-flowered, but the common n...

Silene virginica is one of those striking plants that just has to be noticed in shady forests in late spring. I saw it again today and tried...

Smilacina stellata is one of the easiest natives to grow at home. It spreads like crazy from abundant rhizomes, and grows in just about any...

Whatever it is, I would love to have that in my street address. I'd call it Wood Sedge Road, and I'd get return address labels with ...

Common in forests and dry, open prairie remnants, the showy Camassia scilloides can be extremely abundant where it grows. Photographed in b...