Tag Archives: Botany

Winter botany quiz #1

Can you identify these plants and tell what they all have in common (#1-5)?  Answers and more in the next day or two. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Bonus – Identify this plant: Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2009

Posted in Betulaceae | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Top Ten of 2008

For the first post of 2009, I begin with a look back at some of my favorite photos from 2008 (idea stolen from Alex Wild and others).  I initially hesitated to do a “best photos” post since I’m not really … Continue reading

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Asilidae, Asteraceae, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Cupressaceae, Diptera, Onagraceae, Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A sand prairie autumn

Ask any astronomer when autumn begins, and they will likely tell you it begins at the autumnal equinox – when shortening days and lengthening nights become equal as the sun crosses over the celestial equator. According to them, fall began … Continue reading

Posted in Ascalaphidae, Asilidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Coreidae, Crabronidae, Diptera, Fabaceae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Myrmeleontidae, Neuroptera, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Sphecidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Loess Hills in Missouri

The term Mountains in Miniature is the most expressive one to describe these bluffs. They have all the irregularity in shape, and in valleys that mountains have, they have no rocks and rarely timber. – Thaddeus Culbertson, missionary, 1852 One … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Agavaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Fabaceae, Orthoptera, Poaceae, Scarabaeidae, Scrophulariaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Sand Prairie Conservation Area

I have a love-hate affair with Missouri’s Southeast Lowlands (formally known as the Mississippi River Alluvial Basin, but simply called the “bootheel” by most folk in reference to the shape of its boundaries). Of the four main physiogeographic regions in … Continue reading

Posted in Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Cactaceae, Cerambycidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Glades of Jefferson County

We stood a moment to contemplate the sublime and beautiful scene before us, which was such an assembly of rocks and water—of hill and valley—of verdant woods and naked peaks—of native fertility and barren magnificence… – Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1818-1819 … Continue reading

Posted in Anacardiaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Buprestidae, Coleoptera, Cornaceae, Cupressaceae, Fagaceae, Mammalia, Onagraceae, Poaceae, Polemoniaceae, Ranunculaceae, Reptilia, Rosaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Ozark Trail – Marble Creek Section

If you know wilderness in the way that you know love, you would be unwilling to let it go…. This is the story of our past and it will be the story of our future. – Terry Tempest Williams During … Continue reading

Posted in Asclepiadaceae, Aspleniaceae, Asteraceae, Buprestidae, Caryophyllaceae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Commelinaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Ericaceae, Fabaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Osmundaceae, Primulaceae, Rosaceae, Santalaceae, Violaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Pipestone National Monument

Grandson, do not expect to accomplish much in this lifetime, for no one shares your vision… – The Oracle Wednesday was my birthday, and it has been my custom for many years now to take the day off and go … Continue reading

Posted in Anacardiaceae, Fagaceae, Fungi, Oleaceae, Rosaceae, Ulmaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments