Category Archives: Plantae

Plants

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Last week I attended the Entomological Society of America (ESA) meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was my first ESA attendance in more than ten years, so I took full advantage of the opportunity by speaking at the insect macrophotography symposium, … Continue reading →

Posted in Pinaceae | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

9th Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip: Day 1

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Once again, I have embarked upon my Annual Fall Tiger Beetle Trip, this being the ninth consecutive year that I have done such a trip. Unlike previous editions, however, the quarry on Day 1 (Sept. 15) was not a tiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Asteraceae, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Fathers Day at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Yesterday my girls (wife Lynne and daughters Mollie and Madison) took me and my father to the Missouri Botanical Garden for Fathers Day. Although I’m an entomologist, I also have a strong botanical bent, and although my wife and father are … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchidaceae, Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friday Flower: Phacelia purshii

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

It’s been rather a long time since I’ve featured a botanical subject here, so it seems a good time to resurrect my “Friday Flower” meme with this delightful little wildflower seen on my birthday field trip a few weeks ago. Phacelia purshii … Continue reading →

Posted in Hydrophyllaceae, Plantae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friday Flower – Spring Coralroot Orchid

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

As flowers go, I have a passion for orchids.  Despite comprising perhaps the largest family of flowering plants on earth, most people think of orchids as rare, epiphytic plants restricted to the lush, hyper-diverse, tropical rain forests of South America and southeast … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchidaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Friday Flower – “Palo Borracho”

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Ceibo may be Argentina’s national flower, but Ceiba is its most iconic flower.  That’s right—Ceibo and Ceiba are two, completely unrelated species!  Ceibo is the common name in Argentina for Erythrina crista-galli, a tree in the family Fabaceae, while Ceiba is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bombacaceae, Plantae | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Friday Flower – Hedychium coccineum

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

Distrito Joaquim Igidio is one of four “districts” surrounding Campinas, Brazil.  It is the most remote of the four, with farmsteads dating back more than a century interspersed amongst some of the most significant tracts of Atlantic forest still remaining in the area.  Many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Zingiberaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Friday Flower – Ceibo

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the major flowering spectacles in Argentina is Erythrina crista-galli, or “ceibo” (also spelled “seíbo”).  So great is this spectacle that both Argentina and Uruguay have declared it their national flower.  I’ve seen only hints of it myself, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Fabaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments