Self-tutoring about plants one notices: the tutor connects a plant from childhood with an article he read. I recall, as an elementary-school-aged kid in P.E.I., noticing a lot of plantain. It seemed to grow easily there along the margins of …
Canadian Geography, botany, retrospect: soil tendency Read more »
Self-tutoring about identifying plants in the field: the tutor mentions entire-leaved gumweed. I live maybe two kilometres from the seashore, but seldom go there. When I do, I notice plants abundant there, but not in my neighborhood. A few days …
Self-tutoring about plant identification: the tutor mentions stonecrop. Due to unusual (yet pleasant enough) circumstances, I’ve been walking around town lately. Not that I mind walking; I just usually don’t venture through those places. Yet, I used to, around 25-30 …
Self-tutoring about plant identification in nature: the tutor mentions vanilla-leaf. Vanilla-leaf is a distinct plant one tends to see in the forest around here. As the guide says, it has fan-shaped leaves near the ground, typically three. As I recall, …
Self-tutoring about trees one encounters: the tutor mentions an ash tree he saw. One of the fun things about visiting Victoria is its variety of trees. We visited there Saturday (see my post here), where we parked at a city …
Self-tutoring about trees one sees: the tutor mentions an apple tree. When possible, I walk places. Near where I live, therefore, I might pass quite often. Yet, I hadn’t noticed a certain apple tree, until yesterday. During fall, winter, and …
Self-tutoring about biology: the tutor mentions some surprising family members. In my recent reading, I’ve learned that cashew, smoke bush, and poison ivy are all in the same family: Anacardiaceae. Interesting, eh? themarthablog.com scientificamerican.com
Self-tutoring about trees: the tutor mentions an observation that’s confused him, with a possible explanation. Numerous red oaks grow around here. They are beautiful trees for lining the streets; their leaves turn familiar, attractive colors in the fall as one …
Self-tutoring about local plants: the tutor mentions English holly. Some kinds of trees have separate sexes, so that any individual is either male or female. Such a species is described as dioecious: an example is English holly. The berries only …
Self-tutoring about botany: the tutor mentions a surprise about the Canada thistle. As a Canadian, I’m proud to say I’ve been stung by the Canada thistle likely hundreds of times, or even more, since early childhood. Its spiky leaves and …