Botany: beech trees
Self-tutoring about trees in Canada: the tutor mentions beech. As a kid in the Maritimes, I often saw beech trees – American beech – which are included the Acadian forest. They can grow large: you might walk by one’s trunk …
Category: botany
Botany: double-toothed leaf
Self-tutoring about tree identification: the tutor looks into the meaning of double-toothed leaf. Often in my reading a tree’s leaves are described as double-toothed – meaning what? Single-toothed simply means the edge of the leaf is like a saw blade …
Botany: European ash
Self-tutoring about tree identification: the tutor notices European ash. I’ve returned from Nanaimo after a great week. I made more great tree finds there. One of the trees I became acquainted with is European ash. It looks like other ash …
Botany: paperbark maple
Self-tutoring about tree identification: the tutor continues in Nanaimo. I came upon a tree with peeling red bark. At first it reminded me of arbutus, but obviously wasn’t. The tree is small, maybe 12 feet tall with trunk diameter 5 …
Botany: eucalyptus identification
Self-tutoring about tree identification: the tutor encounters a eucalyptus. In Nanaimo, the abundance of exotic trees always impresses me. I’ve noticed a eucalyptus along the route to work. The eucalyptus tree has blue-green leaves, with smooth, light coloured bark that …
Botany: tree identification: white poplar
Self-tutoring about tree identification: the tutor ID’s white poplar. In my previous post I mention finding a pair of red winged blackbirds at a lakeshore. They weren’t all I found. I noticed some trees I remembered from last time I’d …
Botany: amaryllis
Self-tutoring about plants and flowers: the tutor mentions an encounter with amaryllis. In early June, exploring a campus, I arrived at a crossroads for its various paths. There, in a raised box, bloomed an arresting red flower. Internet research suggests …
Botany: pink yarrow
Self-tutoring about botany: the tutor notices pink yarrow. In my last post about yarrow I mention seeing some with red flowers. Almost always, though, the yarrow I see is white. Yet, in a grove of white yarrow, I’ve recently noticed …
Biology: the field guide philosophy, part 0
Self-tutoring about biology and lifestyle: the tutor wonders why searching for unfamiliar plants is exciting. Looking through the plant guide during a spare moment, I will sometimes plan searching for a particular plant I’ve never seen, yet lives here. Why …
Botany: senecio/brachyglottis ‘sunshine’
Self-tutoring about botany: the tutor IDs a plant. I’ve long known an evergreen bush with silvery leaves. Its yellow flowers have 13 petals, which I find surprising. It’s around a metre tall, but spreads outwards rather than gaining height. What …