Tag Archives: Trees

The Ballad of Quercus flatus: A Tale of Spring

The sap is rising in our backyard.  Spring has finally sprung (we think), after a couple of false alarms, and signs of life abound.  Our redbud is budding red, our wahoo is leafing out and preparing to flower (Wahooooooo!!), our … Continue reading

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Backyard Food of the Gods

Still catching up on backyard native plants articles, and the latest is this unseasonal look at the American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), whose Latin name is often said to mean “Food of the Gods”. Some disagree: “…Linnaeus called the persimmon tree … Continue reading

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Pawpaws, Mastodons and Zebras

Snowed in today and dreaming of warmer times.  A good time, it seems to me, to play more catch-up on the backlog of articles on the native plants we have in our yard.  This time it’s  Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)!  What … Continue reading

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Winter Rations

I’ve often thought of our Sweet Gum tree as more of a Bitter-Sweet Gum tree, mainly when I rake up piles of the spiky little balls it sheds with great joy and abandon.  I think I am not alone in … Continue reading

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Fall Medley #1

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The Upper Left-Hand Brick

NOTE:  This posting has an error.   The apple-like oak leaf gall is caused by a midge, not a wasp.  The leaf gall of the wasp is an elongated gall along the veins of the leaf.  I will update the … Continue reading

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Image Galleries—Finally

I’m finally getting around to putting some images up!  You can view them under “Image Gallery” and switch between the different topics at the lower left of the gallery screen, where it says All Categories.  More images will be added … Continue reading

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A Lotta Damn Gall(s)

  (NOTE: Full confession—I goofed!  The following article is partially incorrect. The apple-like galls are NOT caused by one of the generations of a cynipid wasp, but rather by Polystepha pilulae, a midge, a mere dipteran, not a noble hymenopteran.  … Continue reading

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Courtship and Cookies: A Dubious Guide

There are cookies, and then then there are cookies.  These were cookies.  Handsome, dark, subtly sweet, not overpowering, but able to make you want another, and then maybe another after that.  Bad for diets.  Good for indulgence. So, of course, … Continue reading

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