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Fair ~ High: 78°F ~ Low: 53°F Friday, May 24, 2013 |
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The venerable Black WalnutPosted Friday, June 15, at 3:28 PM From the stocks of military muskets to the rich veneer of the finest Victorian furniture, the American Black Walnut, Juglans nigra, is the most venerated American hardwood since European settlers first stepped foot on American shores. The wood was exported to England as early as 1610. ...
Water. It is the essence that makes all life on earth possible -- two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Sometimes we don't have enough water. Sometimes we have too much water. Sometimes we have water in places where we wish it were not. As we take time to celebrate the springs on June 8-10, we are reminded of water and how we take it for granted, like the air we breathe...
Elder is blooming, whether you call the plant elderberry or elderflower, both of which refer to our common species Sambucus canadensis, known in some circles as Sambucus nigra subspecies canadensis. All parts of elder are potentially toxic when fresh, but the flowers and fruits are generally thought to be safe if dried or cooked...
Of the 250 or more species of Asclepias, Asclepias tuberosa is perhaps the showiest. Butterflyweed, or pleurisy root, is one of the more glorious flowering roadside plants in America, and here in the Ozarks it has started to bloom. Historically, it is considered one of the better herbal remedies for pleurisy, hence the name pleurisy root, and it attracts hordes of butterflies, thus is called butterflyweed. ...
Looking more like an inhabitant of Asian jungles than a tree of eastern deciduous forests, catalpas are an oddity. Two species occur in temperate North American, Catalpa bignonioides and Catalpa speciosa. An additional 12 or 13 species occur in East Asia. They belong to the Bignonia family (Bignoniaceae), which is primarily tropical and subtropical with only a few genera extending into the Northern Hemisphere. Catalpa is an ancient name by which the tree was known among the Cherokee...
This time of year reminds me of 1980, my first summer in the Ozarks. The memory trigger is the blooming of Echinacea along our roadside limestone glades. I was intrigued by the plant and when I closed my eyes in the evening, I saw brilliant Echinacea flowers. Hmmm, I thought, I better pay attention to this plant, and I did...
It's spiderwort time, with narrow, grasslike leaves zigzagging up the stem, topped by cascades of pink, blue, violet or white flowers, Each blooms for only a day, as the next day's three-petaled flowers get ready to burst open early in the morning, fading in early afternoon...
In 2000 I served as a trainer and consultant on behalf of the National Park Service for Level 1 Law Enforcement Park Rangers and US Park Police Officers. The subject was plant protection and preservation. When most people visit parks they take only photos. We've all read signs when visiting federal lands warning us not to pick plants, take rocks, animals or otherwise mess with our collective heritage...
I walked into the Citizen office last week and C.D. White asked what the tree with the white (and pink) flowers that looked a little like wisteria might be. Those loose, pendulous racemes of pea-like flowers are from a tree we don't notice except for a week or two in spring -- black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)...
This past Saturday, a graduate student in botany from the University of Arkansas, Jennifer Ogle, showed up a Lake Leatherwood City Park asking, "Have you seen any garlic mustard growing in the park?" One phone call led to another, and finally she reached me...
Sitting on the patio of the Stonehouse last Friday, bemoaning the fact that redbuds has come and gone before the first of April, I was surprised to see yet another mid-spring bloomer beginning its show of flowers before the end of March. It is royal paulownia, also known as empress tree or princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa. You've seen it...
Writing about dogwoods in March? Yes, it seems the entire spring blooming season is accelerated by about three weeks. The beautiful dogwood blooms are veils of illusion. Those creamy white "petals" -- the showy display and chief beauty of the tree -- are not flowers at all, but bracts -- four modified leaves surrounding the crowded flower head of inconspicuous pale yellowish-green flowers...
From mid-March through early April, redbud's rose-lavender wisps of color hail the onslaught of spring verdure. Blooming just before dogwoods, redbud is one of the better signals that winter is gone. The Kiowa Indians of Oklahoma welcomed the blooming redbud as the dawning of spring. Flowering branches were broken off and taken into people's homes to "drive winter out." Sure, there'll be a few more cold nights after redbud blooms, but so what? Wood-splitting and heating bills are near an end...
I went to California for five nights, and arrived home Monday to find full blown springtime! I hope this will not be another false spring like the one we add three years ago, with a beautiful March, followed by a bitter cold Arctic blast in April. Ever wonder what those trees dotting the hills this time of year with billowy white flowers are? It's serviceberry or "sarvis berry" as we say in the Ozarks...
It's forsythia time! In every town in America, spring is marked by the bright yellow blooms of forsythias, defying another cold snap. Forsythias are adaptable to many soil types, grow with ease, and as required in my garden, thrive on neglect. They are such a common part of the American landscape that they are taken for granted by most, and few people ever consider the plant's origins...
You know that spring is a heartbeat away when a vase of jonquils sits on the dining room table. Those harbingers of springs have become an essential part of our Eureka Springs landscape, with copious plantings along Planer Hill and upper Spring Street, the classic boulevard of by-gone days...
This town is full of noxious invasive aliens -- weeds. Saturday I hiked up Water Street, which like many platted streets in Eureka Springs, is an overgrown entanglement. It runs up the valley between Steele and Douglas Sts. toward Lake Eureka. There, naturalized along the little creek and hillsides, is an increasing population of Beale's barberry, or Leatherleaf mahonia, Mahonia bealei, also known as Berberis bealei. ...
Sunday the 12th of February was a beautiful, clear, crisp, cold winter day, rare in the winter of 2012. As the day wore on, toward sunset clouds moved in. The evening air grew cold and the air moist. I could smell snow in the air, and now feel it in my bones...
I have to admit, I'm ready for real spring time, despite the faux winter in January. I've had enough variation of brown and gray, and am ready for some greenery. However, I do notice masses of dark green vegetation about town, representing a plant you either like or hate. It's ivy, or common ivy, an evergreen woody climber (or drooper, especially off the bluffs just down from Harding Spring)...
This is a cart before the horse hypothetical question. Which came first in Eureka Springs, paved streets or sidewalks? Without sleuthing the historical record, my guess is that sidewalks came first. In the early days of Eureka Springs, one imagines that the only way you traveled a street was on horseback or a mode of transportation hauled by horses. The streets themselves would have been dirty, dusty, or muddy, with steaming piles of horse leavings...
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Steven Foster is a world renowned botanical photographer. He has published many books, including 2 for National Geographic
Hot topics Nature Calls 911(1 ~ 12:56 AM, Jun 25)
The venerable Black Walnut
Spring Forward
Elderberry -- Does research answer or raise questions?
Beautiful butterflyweed -- a forgotten herb
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