Author: WPS-with Lily
-
Slip Into the Lady Slippers
May into June is a wonderful time to botanize in the Midwest. Warming temperatures, lengthening days, and increased rainfall- although this year less so- produce an affluence of plants in bloom. May in the Midwest, although, can still dip into freezing temperatures or potential snowfall, so, cold-tolerance adaptations are a necessity for May plants. Orchids…
-
If a Plant Screams in the Woods, Can you Hear it?
As it turns out- you can. Table of Contents: Do Plants Talk? As I’m sure you are aware, reader, plants live completely different lives than animals. Sessile creatures with no obvious organs for sensory, how in the world do plants react to stimuli, grow against gravity, know when to reproduce, and topically, how do they…
-
Plants Are a Liar Sometimes-
Dedicated to my friend and coworker who asks good questions By Lily Rice- 1/20/2023 Recently, my coworker, who shall be named ‘But can I eat it,’ has asked me how evolution works and how new traits evolve in a species. To that I said, “Ah dude, that’s like, an entire biology course of information at…
-
Phylogeny of Angiosperms
This poster is a wonderful reference material on the evolution of flowering plants. In it, you can see the major groups, and the plant families that fall within each of them. If you’ve never read a cladogram before- which is the diagram made up of brackets- the horizontal axis is time and reads left to…
-
Bogs Have a Favorite Child, and Her Name Is Erica
By Lily Rice – September 12, 2022 If you thought I was done talking about wetlands after my last post, you are unfortunately mistaken. Wetlands are quite possibly the most fascinating ecosystems on the planet (in my opinion). Especially peatlands, where select groups of plants have become highly adapted to the harsh conditions present. This…
Watching Plant Sex in the Woods 