The ecology of plants and seeds
To most gardeners, fall is a time to clean up and prune their lawns and gardens for next season; winter is a time to reflect and plan for the year ahead. But did you know you can skip tidying up the and enjoy your garden even in the dead of…
Peponapis pruinosa- As we prepare to reap the bountiful benefits of the fall harvest crops that inspired our Thanksgiving traditions, we should be thankful for our native pollinators. There are nearly 4,000 diverse varieties of native bee species in North America that go unnoticed for their vital ecological services. Many native…
This year, many of us will enjoy a sweet tasting tuber with our traditional Thanksgiving meal. Although the sweet potato (I. batatas) originated in the tropics of Central or South America, it was rarely used by native people living in cooler regions of North America. Blue Camas (Camassia quamash), a…
Rhizobium Plants need nitrogen, and have to get it from the soil. Unfortunately, many soils don’t have a lot of nitrogen available for plants, and that can limit their growth. But many legumes evolved a symbiosis with a certain genus of bacteria, Rhizobium. The relationship between legumes and Rhizobia is…
From Ashes to Coconuts Biologists classify organisms in many ways: their taxonomy, their ecological niche, their mating habits. One fascinating classification scheme is called the r/K continuum. Two fine scientists, Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson (1967), developed the concept, which was popularized in the following decades. It is a spectrum…
Instinct and Intelligence I love birds. I have two feeders outside my work room window and keep them well stocked with seeds, fruits, and suet. I don’t consider myself a birder by any stretch, but I have done some thinking about birds and seed bombs.The picture on left is a young…
