Here’s A Splash of Color for a Gray Rainy Day
The onset of needed rain in Washington’s Cascades also brings gray skies and a monochromatic feel to our day. Last week, my family hiked to Easy Pass in the North Continue Reading →
Category: Botany
Curious About…Shrub-steppe, Fireworks, and Wildfire?
Fireworks are a main cause of human-started wildfires in sagebrush county. Invasive grasses are putting sagebrush country at risk of severe wildfires. This vibrant ecosystem is vital for people and wildlife. We need to do our part to protect it, especially with fireworks this weekend. Watch and share this new video to learn what we need to do to stop the spread of invasive grasses and restore degraded sagebrush habitats. Continue Reading →
Curious About … Plant Recovery After Fire?
Plants are closely attuned to the places they live, their habitat. Plant species differ in their ecological amplitude to respond to changes to their habitat. They grow successfully in places within their tolerance levels for environmental factors such as cold, shade, or drought combined with abiotic factors such as soil type and geographic locale. In addition to usual fluctuations in the growing conditions habitat can be altered, at times dramatically, by disturbances such as fire or flood. Continue Reading →
Curious About … More Endemics, Still Happily Not Pandemics?
Botanists call our region “The Wenatchee Mountains,” that has the highest concentration of endemic plants in Washington. 35 are state-classified as rare plants and 30 more are “just” endemics. Many rare plants are endemic, but not all endemics are rare! Continue Reading →
Curious About … Going Native In Your Yard?
Using native plants as home landscaping gardens can result in easy-care, beautiful displays that support native pollinators and use little water. Continue Reading →
Curious About … Backyard Nature Journaling?
Nature journal artist Jane Zanol introduces the practice of nature journaling using common backyard plants, a pen, a pencil, and watercolor paints. Continue Reading →
Curious About … Western Larch Green-Up?
Washington’s only native deciduous conifer is western larch. Each spring, new needles grow. “Gus” is the champion tree, largest of its species, growing near Seely Lake, Montana Continue Reading →
Curious About … Biological Soil Crust?
biological soil crust is an essential element of healthy soil. A mix of moss, lichen, and blue-green algae form a thin cohesive layer providing nutrients and water to sprouting seeds. Continue Reading →
Curious About … Endemics (happily not pandemics)?
Snow Douglasii is a Wenatchee Mountain endemic native perennial wildflower that blooms as snow is melting. Continue Reading →
Shrub-steppe Sprouts from a Forgotten Seed Cache
Forgotten seed caches sometimes sprout in the shrub-steppe. Rodents like deer mice, voles, and pocket gophers cache seeds from antelope bitterbrush and lupine that if un-eaten, sprout and grow in to the next generation of plants. Continue Reading →