Natives to Know: Hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata By Joyce Tuharsky, Wild Ones member Hoptrees are fairly common, small understory trees or shrubs, that are native to the eastern U.S and southern Canada, including Michigan. The trunks are slender and crooked; the branches are interwoven. Hoptrees can grow up to 25 feet tall, with a broad, rounded 15–20-foot […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Hoptree"
By Linda Gary, Wild Ones River City President Several Wild Ones members had a chance to share their knowledge and excitement about native plants and biodiversity with 3 classes of 2nd graders at CA Frost Environmental Science Academy in March. Amy Paul, E-Lab Teacher at CA Frost coordinated the visit. Students learned why native plants […] Continue reading "Wild Ones Visit CA Frost Environmental Science Academy"
NOTES FROM PUERTO RICO By Joyce Tuharsky, Wild Ones member I recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico! In addition, to learning about the people and culture of the island, I delighted in discovering its unique tropical plants. Everywhere I turned were “new-to-me” plants: huge, lush leaves with unusual shapes and veining; intricate, lacy […] Continue reading "Notes from Puerto Rico"
VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS, Mertensia virginica By Joyce Tuharsky Nothing signifies the arrival of spring more than the enchanting display of Virginia bluebells gracing a clearing within a moist woodland or along a riverbank. The flowers of this spring ephemeral start out as nodding pink buds that open into pendulant, trumpet-like, lavender-blue blooms–each about one inch long. […] Continue reading "Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)"
Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush – Scirpus cyperinus By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member Woolgrass bulrush is a large, emergent aquatic plant that grows 6-feet-tall in colonies along lakes, marshes, and streams, and in wet meadows or low woodlands. Native to much of the eastern U.S., it spreads by creeping rhizomes or self-sowing in wet soils, […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush"