By Joseph Mooney Close up of Cercis canadensis flower buds not quite open yet. The flowers are edible. The bark on older eastern redbud trees cracks and peels to reveal a beautiful mottled-purple color palette. This tree, in front of the...

In this space we're posting photos of things that are blooming in our natural areas and around the trails at Matthaei-Nichols. The gallery on top represents the current week's blooms. Week of April 12 2021: Week of April 5 2021:

Each week we showcase a plant that's native to the continental United States. This week’s plant is trout lily (Erythronium americanum)—another spring ephemeral and jewel of the forest floor hiding amid the leaf litter.This Lilliputian native...

A Jack-in-the-pulpit flower. Photo by blues bandit. Jack-in-the-pulpit leaves. Photo by Cranbrook Science. Each week we showcase a plant that's native to the continental United States. This week’s plant is Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema...

By Katie Stannard   Have you seen any cool catkins lately, another sure sign of springtime? Though the dangling blooms on trees and shrubs are intriguing, on closer inspection, you might also notice tiny, magenta red flowers along the bracts, as on this...

In Celebration of Women's History Month we’re highlighting an unsung hero of science and botany in India—the brilliant Edavaleth Kakkat Janaki Ammal. Janaki was born in 1897 in Telicherry (now called Thalassery). Her father had a passion for...

By Katie Stannard   Though the spring equinox occurred this year at 5:37 a.m. EDT March 20, there are several answers to this question. Let’s spring ahead to explore the details! Did you know that meteorologists consider March 1 as the beginning of...

A woodland carpet of spring beauty. Spring beauty flowers. Photo: Missouri Botanical Gardens. Spring beauty flowers with the plant's blade-like leaves. Photo: Kyle Chayka, Minnesota Wildflowers. By Joseph Mooney   Each week we showcase a plant...

By Katie Stannard Did you know that Saturday, March 13 is Pi Day Eve? Are you familiar with Pi Day, its significance and observances? Are you thinking, say what? Or are you all set with your Pi Day plans?Pi Day refers to the annual celebration of all...

Elzada Clover (left) at Hermit Rapids in the Grand Canyon; assistant Lois Jotter standing. Photo: Special Collections Department, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. What was botanist Elzada Clover up against in 1938? “Elzada isn’t wanted...