Holy mother of Juglans

Easily the largest individual I’ve ever seen of Juglans cinerea, the Butternut!

#nativeplants
#Butternut
#Minnesota
#Endangeredspecies
#plants

First bloom of the year?
February 15th 2026

Enemion biternatum

Near Northfield, Mn

It seems to me like one thing AI would be terrible at is absolutely everything the Civilian Conservation Corps did.

Interested to know if people still use this site. I will be bored over the winter and will have the urge to post content once more

#minnesota
#nativeplants
#science
#prairie
#plants

Great question. Honestly it was just luck. We went to a spot to eat lunch while working in the field, and I was admiring some plants when a small branch twitched, I looked, and then looked again and saw it!

Blatchley’s Walkingstick

Found in Minnesota

Can any entomologists confirm?

#entomology #insects #walkingstick #stickinsect

I often notice a small gap between the zizia blooming and the rest of the prairie taking off in mid-late June. False sunflower and spiderwort can fill in that space!

Iowans continue to allow corn, soy, and industrial meat producers to straight-up poison them, elect politicians at all levels that cheer it on. All cowards or kleptocrats in positions of power and nobody that will stand up to king corn or king shit (or as they say, "nutrients").

Better patent that genotype!

2nd year in a row that I have a white-colored large-flowered penstemon (Penstemon grandiflorus). Last years plant has not returned and this one is in a different location.

May 2025 was the 2nd warmest May on record globally. Here are the temperature departures from the 1991-2020 normal.

Small White Lady’s Slipper
Cypripedium candidum
Minnesota Special Concern

A velvet worm side profile

!. Look at this astonishing animal. My velvet worm friend lives on moss in the rainforest. He is ANCIENT. WAY older than dinosaurs, lobopods like him even make an appearance in the Cambrian- when multicellular life became trendy.

You can find him today on a tree at Wildsumaco, in Ecuador :)

Penstemon and bombus were made for each other

Mar 2025 and Mar-May 2025 temperature departure from normal. (Deleted an earlier version due to a calculation error.)

Spring (Mar-May) precipitation rank compared against all springs since 1895.

Carex formosa, Handsome sedge
Minnesota State Endangered!
The veg team (coworker and I) stumbled across this lone specimen in Dakota County

A tableau featuring a list of plants with the header "SEED BOMBS: SUN", numerous brown orbs with flecks of plant matter in them, a mess of seed envelopes and binder clips.

Close-up of some seed bombs with various seeds that have asteraceae vibes stuck to their surfaces, with perhaps one or two other varieties visible too.

I have made seed bombs. 🌱 #nativeplants

And all of the herbicides bound to the soil too!

Yesterday I could feel the dust in my eyes, it was disturbing

Hill’s thistle
Cirsium pumilum var. Hollis
State Threatened in Minnesota
Found in Dakota County

#nativeplants #conservation

Flower with rain drops

A small colony, ~20 individuals flowering

Buckbean developing fruit

Buckbean
Menyanthes trifoliata

Growing in one of Minnesota’s southern-most tamarack bog!

#nativeplants #lebanonhills #minnesota

Rudbeckia laciniata is a top tier edible plant. The leaves taste like carrots! Great crunch and succulence as well

First Columbine bloom of the year!

Miesville

#nativeplants

Professional Hunters Kill a Shocking Number of Animals in South Africa • The Revelator Tens of thousands of wild animals, from spring hares to rhinos, died in the name of sport and entertainment in 2023.

According to data, 6,052 international visitors to South Africa shot 34,515 animals in 2023, the most recent year for which full statistics are available.

A total of 521 lions were shot for trophies in 2023.

Check out the latest from @therevelator.org ⬇️

What do you use those ride-on machines for? I know they’re used in lawn care for fertilizer and herbicide application

Sorry to hear that, you’ve been a big inspiration for me to get into this field. I think it’s still worth it, and being honest about what’s happening with the Feds. This mess will be temporary and people entering the workforce in 4+ years from now could be walking into a better situation.

That’s great!

Hey well I will admit that’s a good sign, also impressive that it’s stuck around for 30 years. However that could be a sign it has the potential to become invasive if the population can survive indefinitely. Not trying to criticize, just educating. Get rid of that garlic mustard!