Ensuring the Future for Healthy Prairies
Whenever I walk out onto The Nature Conservancy’s Bluestem Prairie preserve, one of the best and largest tallgrass prairies in Minnesota, I love spotting the brilliant blue flower of a…
Floral Arrangement: Can Floating Flower Mats Reduce Nutrient Pollution?
Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez has a new favorite flower in her South Florida garden. She’s looking at it as she explains her research process for the dissertation she recently defended at Florida…
The Search for “Lingering Trees” Offers Hope for Imperiled Species
As some of North America’s iconic tree species are severely threatened by invasive forest pests and disease, scientists are finding hope in the rare individual trees that somehow manage to…
Tree Tapping Isn’t Just for Maples
March is tree tapping season across the upper Midwest, New England, and southern Canada. As the cardinals start to sing again in the northwoods, the long-dormant timbers are also responding…
A Natural and Human History
It’s that time of year again, when it’s difficult to avoid certain songs. Like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” The tune, written by British lyricist Tommy Connor and performed…
Fossil Pollen Reveals the African Origins of Asia’s Tropical Forests
Dipterocarps dominate Borneo’s famous rainforests. Trees from this family are the archetypal rainforest tree: Wide buttress roots anchor them to the earth, while their smooth, straight trunks soar skyward before…
Cattle, Milkweed, and the Implications for Monarchs
Most researchers assume cattle avoid milkweed due to toxic compounds. New research finds that cattle graze milkweeds at least as much as grasses, which could have implications for monarch butterfly…
Frogs as Pollinators? – Cool Green Science
Nestled on a branch in the forests of Brazil lives a frog that may well be helping trees reproduce. It could be an inadvertent effort – the frog wants to…
Wildflower Watching as a Source of Solace and Diversion
As a nature photographer, I can’t resist photographing a beautiful blossom. Sometimes a single, delicate bloom, no bigger than my pinky nail peeks at me from the forest floor. Other…
Going the Distance to Save Cape Town’s Water
Here’s how the expedition started. We were flown in a bright-yellow chopper to the Boland Mountains on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Camping and abseiling gear: Check. Food…