The Outer Cape is the last stop on the train for Ilex opaca, the American holly, a southern tree whose range snakes up the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts before […]
BULLY FOR YOU
Cats ’n’ Dogs
There are three species of cattail that one might find around these parts — a meatier one that’s well behaved and local, a slim one from Eurasia and northern Africa that […]
ISN’T IT GOOD?
Sugar, We’re Not in Norway Anymore
If your Acer turns a dull yellow in the fall, it’s probably not a native tree; while the sugar maple can hit that end of the spectrum, it does so […]
A SHRUB LAUREATE
Pretty in Evergreen
Sheep laurel, one of several broad-leaved evergreen shrubs in the local understory, is prone to wilting — a defense mechanism that helps it conserve water during droughts and cold weather. […]
DITCH DEFYING
Studying the Witch Hazel’s Survival Manual
Should you find that the ground beneath you is no longer sure, that the once stable path you were halfway down is now eroding before your eyes, or that you’re […]
UNDISTURBED
Thoroughly Hyssop-Leaved
A meadow plant that thrives in sandy soil with good drainage, hyssop-leaved thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium) will show up at anthropogenic sites with similar conditions. The pictured specimen is a volunteer […]
HOCUS POCUS
The Witch of the Wood
When certain shrubs are in the vicinity of fir trees, they can become infected with Pucciniastrum goeppertianum, a rust fungus that needs two different species to complete its life cycle. On […]
DON’T PANIC
A Trail for Times Like This
If you’re feeling a swell of anxiety as we approach the first Tuesday in November, maybe some panicgrass can help. The serene walking trail from Province Lands Road to Hatches […]
I SPY A SWEETGUM
A Tree for In-Town Leaf-Peepers
Driving deep into New England to leaf-peep, you won’t be likely to spy many sweetgums — the tree’s range comes to an end in Connecticut and western Mass. The predominantly […]
MIDDAY AT THE OASIS
A Constellation of Cottonsedge
After trudging over the blinding, desert-like mountains of sand that compose the first half of Provincetown’s grueling dune shack trail, a hiker then stumbling across the floating, twinkling hairballs […]
UNAMBIGUOUSLY SALTY
In the Glow of the Glasswort
Glowing in the afternoon sun at Nauset Marsh like Chihuly art, Salicornia ambigua, the perennial glasswort, unambiguously lives up to its name. Evolved to survive the salt water as a […]
OFF THE SHELF
Fungi Are Our Friends
The spooky season has a way of arriving overnight: one day candy corn suddenly appears on the grocery shelf, the next day shelves of candy corn pop up along the […]
WOOD ASTER
Starry, Starry Days
Along the quiet back stretch of the Beech Forest trail, a sea of serrated hearts has been patiently photosynthesizing since the spring, steadfastly preparing for its late summer show. The […]
TOO RELIABLE
Not Very Mindful, Not Very Demure
Clematis terniflora’s common name, sweet autumn clematis, does a lot of PR work for this badly behaved garden vine, which is repeatedly guilty of reseeding itself into neglected spaces and […]
