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Beguiled by blooms: How I caught "Prickly Pear fever"
July 21, 2017 - What is it about cactus flowers? I’ve always been a big fan, because, well, who wouldn’t be? But lately I’ve been beguil...
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Sunflowers: Take a Closer Look
October 17, 2016 - Here’s how we’ve absorbed the basic model of a flower without even realizing it. Because we’re expecting to see sepals,...
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Petals and sepals and bracts – oh my
September 07, 2016 - Everybody knows what petals are. They’re the pretty stuff that make flowers flowers. We learned that back in elementary...
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Sepal secrets: What’s under the Monkshood’s hood?
August 09, 2016 - One of Monkshood’s sepals does something really cool. It forms that distinctive “hood” shape that gives this plant its w...
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Stem vs. stalk: Beyond that pretty flower face
August 01, 2016 - The question came up when I was talking to a friend recently about Columbines (Aquilegia coerulea). We were trying to so...
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The Extravagant Columbine
July 22, 2016 - Field guide writers call it “showy.” I like our Colorado Blue Columbine for its sheer extravagance. Most of our natives,...
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The problem with field guides
July 06, 2016 - You know, there’s just one problem with field guides.
Let me back up a moment. If you’re a person who likes to walk or...
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