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Wildflower Wednesday — Wild Ginger

April 24, 2013 by

Week 05 Asarum_canadense

 

A beetle’s eye view of a wild ginger
plant showing the interesting flower
prostrate on the ground.

 

Wild ginger – As one might suspect from its common name, wild ginger has been used as substitute for the spice known as ginger, which comes from an entirely unrelated plant. Early colonists were eager to find flavorings to replace those that they knew from home, and the rhizomes of wild ginger filled that need. All one needs to do is scratch the exposed rhizome (an underground stem that is often exposed at the top of the soil) to smell the gingery fragrance. However, research has shown the rhizomes to contain aristolochic acid, a known carcinogen, so this use is no longer recommended.

 

The odd maroon and white flowers of wild ginger lie on the ground, hidden under the heart-shaped fuzzy leaves. They attract few insect visitors, and thus are usually self-pollinated, but the primary method of propagation is vegetatively by the spreading rhizomes. Thus, the plants in a colony of wild ginger are genetically identical and form a clone. Gardeners are fond of wild ginger for use as a ground cover in a shade garden.
 

 

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Exploring Fungi’s Kingdom

April 23, 2013 by

Some things just don’t get enough credit. The fungi kingdom is a sometimes forgotten but extremely important kingdom within our world. Why are organisms that are so small so important? Jens Peterson, author of The Kingdom of Fungi answers this question and more in BBC The Forum’s latest interview. Check out the interview here.

The fungi realm has been called the “hidden kingdom,” a mysterious world populated by microscopic spores, gigantic mushrooms and toadstools, and a host of other multicellular organisms ranging widely in color, size, and shape. The Kingdom of Fungi provides an intimate look at the world’s astonishing variety of fungi species, from cup fungi and lichens to truffles and tooth fungi, clubs and corals, and jelly fungi and puffballs. This beautifully illustrated book features more than 800 stunning color photographs as well as a concise text that describes the biology and ecology of fungi, fungal morphology, where fungi grow, and human interactions with and uses of fungi.

The Kingdom of Fungi is a feast for the senses, and the ideal reference for naturalists, researchers, and anyone interested in fungi.

  • Reveals fungal life as never seen before
  • Features more than 800 stunning color photos
  • Describes fungal biology, morphology, distribution, and uses
  • A must-have reference book for naturalists and researchers
Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Interview, Natural Science, Popular Science, Twitter

Wildflower Wednesday — Violets

April 17, 2013 by

Week 04 Viola_rostrata with West VA White butterfly

 

 

A West Virginia White butterfly
visiting a flower of long-spurred
violet (Viola rostrata).

Violets – Almost everyone loves violets and associates them with spring. But violets have played an interesting role in history as well. As a token of his love, Napoleon was known to have presented the Empress Josephine with a bouquet of her favorite sweet-scented violets on each anniversary. However when Josephine had not produced an heir after 13 years of marriage, Napoleon divorced her and married the young Marie Louise, who quickly provided him with a son to carry on his dynasty. When Napoleon died, his locket contained a lock of Josephine’s hair and pressed violets, evidence of his everlasting love. Violets have played a role in local New York history as well. Rhinebeck, NY, on the east bank of the Hudson River was the self-proclaimed City of Violets. At the turn of the last century, when fragrant European violets were all the rage for bouquets and nosegays, unused estate greenhouses were used for the growing of these violets, which were sent by train to Manhattan and to cities beyond.

Violets come in a variety of colors: all shades of lavender through purple, as well as white and yellow. A European species, Viola tricolor, known in this country as Johnny jump up exhibits all three colors. It’s from a cross of two other European violets that the popular garden pansies were developed.

Our native violets are commonly pollinated by an early-flying butterfly known as the West Virginia White, which in the caterpillar stage feeds on members of the cress family including the toothworts.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Twitter, Wildflower Wednesday, WildflowerWednesday Tagged With:

Carol Gracie at New England Wild Flower Society, April 28, 2013

April 14, 2013 by

Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History

Event web site: http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/catalog/lec1029

 

The wildflowers that brighten our woodlands in spring are more than just a delight for the eye and a lift for the winter-weary spirit. Each has a role in the environment, with often interesting interactions with pollinators and seed dispersers. Learn about the life histories of some of your favorite spring wildflowers. Topics include adaptations for early blooming, medicinal and other uses, the origin of wildflower names, pollination and seed dispersal, and the latest scientific research on these beautiful plants. Following the lecture and book signing, enjoy an optional docent-led walk through Garden in the Woods in its early spring glory.

Sunday, April 28, 2013, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Location: Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
Course Code: lec1029
Instructor: Carol Gracie, author, Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History
Fee: $15 (Member) / $18 (Nonmember)
Limit: Credit:
Cosponsor: Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University; MA Audubon Drumlin Farm; Ecological Landscaping Association; Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Events, Twitter

Kick off Spring with ‘Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast’ Event

April 12, 2013 by

If you are in the Boston area, why not kick off spring with this event?

Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History

Carol Gracie, Naturalist, Photographer, and Author
1 Session: Sunday, April 28, 1:30–3:00pm
Location: New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods

Wildflowers that brighten our woodlands in spring are more than a delight for the eyes and a lift for winter-weary spirits. Each has a role in the environment, with often interesting interactions with pollinators and seed dispersers. Learn about the life histories of some of your favorite spring wildflowers. Carol Gracie will speak about adaptations for early blooming, medicinal and other uses, origin of wildflower names, and some of the latest scientific research on the ecology of these beautiful plants. Following the lecture and book signing, enjoy an optional docent-led walk through Garden in the Woods in its early spring glory.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Events, plants, Twitter

Wildflower Wednesday — Early Saxifrage

April 10, 2013 by

Micranthes_virginiensis

A mature plant of early saxifrage growing
on a moss-covered rock cliff. Some of the
basal leaves are still red.

Early Saxifrage – The name “saxifrage,” from the Latin saxum meaning “rock” and frangere, “to break,” was given to members of the genus Saxifraga because many saxifrage species grow in crevices of rock cliffs where they appear to have caused the cracks in the rock. Our own early saxifrage often grows in just such places.

The plant maintains a basal rosette of leaves throughout the winter, the toothed leaves sometimes becoming bright red during that season. In spring the leaves turn green, and the flower buds at the center of the rosette open, first at ground level, and then on ever elongating and branching stems until the plant reaches 15” in height.

Saxifrages, in general, are known for their hardiness, growing in high mountains from the Alps, to the Andes, to the Himalayas. In fact, one saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia, is one of only four plant species to grow in the northernmost place on earth where plants are able to grow, at 83°24’ N on Lockwood Island, off the north coast of Greenland. Recent molecular studies have resulted in almost all species of our eastern North American saxifrages being transferred to the closely related genus Micranthus; thus this species, formerly Saxifraga virginiensis, is now known as Micranthus virginiensis.

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The Ivory-billed Woodpecker in The World’s Rarest Birds

April 4, 2013 by

woodpecker

Many of the birds featured in The World’s Rarest Birds are, well, simply too rare to photograph. To get around this unfortunate reality, the authors commissioned over 75 life-like paintings from Polish artist Tomasz Cofta, including this magical portrait of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. There is tremendous disagreement about whether this bird still exists in the wild or not, but we can all agree on the sheer beauty of this painting.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Twitter

The Fungus Among Us

April 3, 2013 by

gyroporus cyanescens

 

Bleeding blue?

Well, not exactly, but this group of fungi called Boletes, show strong color reactions where their tissue is wounded. While this specimen of Gyroporus cyanescens is blueing its flesh and tubes, not all fungi “bleed” the same color. There are examples of red, green, black and yellow in The Kingdom of Fungi by Jens H. Petersen: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9969.html

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Twitter

Wildflower Wednesday — Hepatica

April 3, 2013 by

Fig #2 Hepatica_nobilis_obtusa_37_CP

 

Hepatica – The first “true” wildflower to bloom in the tri-state region (that is, other than skunk cabbage) is hepatica (aka liverleaf). Although its name may not suit this pretty flower, it is descriptive of the three-lobed leaf of hepatica.

The fancied resemblance of the leaf in both color and shape to a human liver led early herbalists to deem it useful for treating liver ailments, based on the “Doctrine of Signatures,” a system founded upon the belief that the appearance of a plant would signify what its medicinal properties might be. This belief led to the destructive harvesting of many tons of hepatica leaves in the Appalachian region, which were then processed into various medicinal syrups. These patent medicines were later shown to have no medicinal efficacy.

The leathery leaves turn a deep burgundy color and remain on the plant throughout the winter allowing a minimal amount of photosynthesis to occur on warmer days, thus giving this plant a jump-start on the season.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Twitter

Presenting the winners of the 2012 THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION

April 3, 2013 by

Princeton WildGuides is pleased to join Birdlife International and Lynx Edicions in announcing the winners of the 2012 THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION.

The competition aimed to secure images of some of the most threatened birds on Earth to complete a new book that highlights their plight. The World’s Rarest Birds, which is published today by Princeton WILDGuides, aims to support BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions Programme.

This is the second of two international photo competitions that have been run to obtain the images for the book, the first being in 2010. Thousands of images were entered into the competitions by photographers from across the world and over 800 photos are featured in The World’s Rarest Birds.

In 2012, THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION had two categories: Critically Endangered birds and Endangered birds. You can view all the winning entries in each category, as well as numerous commended photographs below:

 

[Show picture list]

 

 

All photos must be properly credited to the photographer indicated above.

CATEGORY 1: Critically Endangered Birds (there are 197 species that are so threatened that they are considered to be at imminent risk of becoming extinct)

Winner               Dubi Shapiro: a stunning image of a displaying White-bellied Cinclodes from the high Andes of Peru.

Runner-up         Murray Cooper: a beautiful photo of a male Black-breasted Puffleg hummingbird from north-west Ecuador.

Third place        Dubi Shapiro: a fantastic image of a Madagascar Pochard, a medium-sized diving duck found only on Madagascar.

Fourth place      Maxim Koshkin: a striking photo of a flock of Sociable Lapwing, a migratory wader that breeds in central Asia and winters mainly in Africa.

 

CATEGORY 2: Endangered Birds (there are 389 species that are considered to be at very high risk of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future)

Winner               Tim Laman: a beautiful study of a Marquesan Imperial-pigeon from the island of Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia.

Runner-up         David Stowe: a lovely image of a Swift Parrot from Australia.

Third place        Myron Tay: a wonderful photo of a Masked Finfoot from South-East Asia.

Fourth place      Greg & Yvonne Dean: a fantastic image of a flock of El Oro Parakeets from Ecuador.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Twitter

Maria Sibylla Merian: Celebrating Flora & Fauna Illustration

April 2, 2013 by

Today’s Google doodle is a birthday tribute to Maria Sibylla Merian, one of the greatest naturalist and scientific illustrators of her time, who was born 366 years ago today. Maria Sibylla Merian revolutionized the fields of botany, entomology, and zoology. In her lifetime, Merian chronicled the metamorphosis of approximately two hundred different insect species. Her most influential work, Insects of Surinam (1705), is a lavishly illustrated work that helped to establish her reputation as both an illustrator and as a scientist. In honor of Merian’s contributions, we’re celebrating all of our illustrated flora and fauna books.

k7713Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs
Whitney Cranshaw
This is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. Through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits–1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more.

 

k9533Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World
Bob Gibbons, With a foreword by Richard Mabey
This book showcases the most spectacular displays of wild blooms on the planet, from infrequent flowerings in the Mojave and other deserts to regular but no less stunning alpine wildflower “events” in Italy, South Africa, and Australia. This magnificently illustrated volume features 200 panoramic, full-color photographs as well as a color map for every site and at-a-glance information panels that highlight the kinds of flowers at each location and the best times to see them in bloom.

 

k9668Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History
Carol Gracie, With a foreword by Eric Lamont
This exquisitely illustrated volume provides an in-depth look at spring-blooming wildflowers of the Northeast, from old favorites to lesser-known species. Featuring more than 500 full-color photos in a stunning large-sized format, the book delves deep into the life histories, lore, and cultural uses of more than 35 plant species. Covers topics such as the naming of wildflowers; the reasons for taxonomic changes; pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds; uses by Native Americans; related species in other parts of the world; herbivores, plant pathogens, and pests; medicinal uses; and wildflower references in history, literature, and art.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees (Second Edition)k9970
David More & John White
Popular, award-winning, and unrivaled for its coverage and beauty, this is a magnificent illustrated guide to nearly 2,000 tree species and cultivars found in North America and Europe. David More spent over a decade painting these illustrations from real specimens, and fellow tree expert John White’s informative text describes key facts about each. The result is an extraordinary reference that will continue to be prized by nature enthusiasts, gardeners, landscapers, and foresters.

 

k9538Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East
Dennis Paulson
This is the first fully illustrated guide to all 336 dragonfly and damselfly species of eastern North America–from the rivers of Manitoba to the Florida cypress swamps–and the companion volume to Dennis Paulson’s acclaimed field guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of the West. Features hundreds of color photos that depict all the species found in the region, detailed line drawings to aid in-hand identification, and a color distribution map for every species–and the book’s compact size and user-friendly design make it the only guide you need in the field.

 

k9843The Unfeathered Bird
Katrina van Grouw
With over 385 stunning drawings depicting 200 species, this is a richly illustrated book on bird anatomy that offers refreshingly original insights into what goes on beneath the feathered surface. Each exquisite drawing is made from an actual specimen and reproduced in sumptuous large format. A landmark in popular bird books, The Unfeathered Bird is a must for anyone who appreciates birds or bird art.

 

k7939Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History
David L. Wagner
Many caterpillars are illustrated here for the first time. Dozens of new foodplant records are presented and erroneous records are corrected. The book provides considerable information on the distribution, biology, and taxonomy of caterpillars beyond that available in other popular works on Eastern butterflies and moths.

 

 

k9420Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner, Dale F. Schweitzer, J. Bolling Sullivan & Richard C. Reardon
This lavishly illustrated field guide features more than 800 species of the most common, interesting, beautiful, and important owlet (noctuid) caterpillars found in eastern North America. More than 2,100 color photographs include numerous stunning images, and the guide’s introductory sections offer a wealth of information on noctuid natural history, morphology, larval diets, natural enemies, and classification; suggestions for finding and rearing owlet caterpillars; and much more.

 

Visit our Birds and Natural History Site to view more illustrated field, identification, and photographic guides.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Princeton University Press, Twitter

Parrots of the World Debuts in House of Cards

April 1, 2013 by

Forshaw_Parrots of the World_F10Even House Majority Whips need some ornithology schooling. Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey in the Netflix series House of Cards, demonstrates in episode 12 of season one that birds–specifically parrots–maintain exquisite complexities in both behavior and appearance that differentiate one species from another. Such intricacies are not easily detectable to the untrained eye. Fortunately, Underwood finds the publisher and field guide to solve his parrot identification dilemma: Princeton University Press’s Parrots of the World, written by Joseph. M. Forshaw and illustrated by Frank Knight.

When asked to identify the caged bird in the kitchen of Raymond Tusk, played by Gerald McRaney, Underwood, who hails from South Carolina’s 5th congressional district, dismissively offers, “Carolina Parakeet,” a “midsize green parrot with yellow head” with orange upper cheeks. “You’re wrong, but you’re close,” rebuts Tusk. He expounds, as noted in Parrots of the World, the Carolina Parakeet is extinct; the winged beauty in the room is a Sun Conure, a “black-billed yellow conure with green primaries and secondary-converts.”

Underwood comes to realize he has been too quick to assume and should have first honed his identification skills, both in birding and the context of his political conquest. Don’t follow in his footsteps–take a closer look at some Parrots of the World two-page spreads here:

whiteFrom the macaws of South America to the cockatoos of Australia, parrots are among the most beautiful and exotic birds in the world–and also among the most endangered. This stunningly illustrated, easy-to-use field guide covers all 356 species and well-differentiated subspecies of parrots, and is the only guide organized by geographical distribution–Australasian, Afro-Asian, and neotropical. It features 146 superb color plates depicting every kind of parrot, as well as detailed, facing-page species accounts that describe key identification features, distribution, subspeciation, habitat, and status. Color distribution maps show ranges of all subspecies, and field identification is further aided by relevant upperside and underside flight images. This premier field guide also shows where to observe each species in the wild, helping make this the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the parrots of the world.

To stay current with Princeton University Press’s natural history endeavors, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Filed Under: Birds and Natural History, Princeton Field Guides, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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