A first draft of the “tree of life” for the roughly 2.3 million named species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes — from platypuses to puffballs — has been released.
A collaborative effort among eleven institutions, the tree depicts the relationships among living things as they diverged from one another over time, tracing back to the beginning of life on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago.
Tens of thousands … Read more
Daniel Atha put on his waders and ventured slowly into the Pool, near West 103rd Street, one of several bodies of water in Central Park. He was after a broad-leaved yellow pond lily and an iris of indeterminate species.
He carefully collected the two specimens, along with a baseball bearing Derek Jeter’s signature. After he studied the iris for a moment, his face brightened. He thought the flower might not … Read more
Michelle Posey of Pelican Produce. Upper Ninth Ward
By Elsa Hahne
Sometimes the vacant lot next door, overgrown with weeds, turns into a beautiful garden. Not by itself, of course, but since nobody’s moved in and no houses are being built there, it can seem like magic.
That’s true for hundreds of neighbors in the Lower and Upper Ninth Ward as well as for residents throughout the city. And in … Read more
Dr. James A. Duke, PhD, Ethnobotanist, PhD in Botany (UNC, Chapel Hill; Phi Beta Kappa; Distinguished Alumnus), served 3 years with Missouri Botanical Garden, 7 years with Battelle Memorial Institute in Panama, Colombia and Columbus Ohio, as an ecologist; and 27 years as economic botanist, with USDA in Beltsville, Md.
On Sept. 30, 1995, he retired from the USDA. Before retiring, Dr. Duke brought his ethnobotanical and phytochemical database online … Read more
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Site of Herb Walk in Chicago on Milwaukee and Kedzie Avenues in Logan Square
Amaranth — Amaranthus retroflexus — Ancient food of the Americas; very high mineral and protein content. Excellent for anemia
Sheep Sorrel — Rumex acetosella — Good food for salads, kidney aid
Milkweed — Asclepias syriaca — white milky sap for warts, edible flowers and very young pods
Prairie Dock — Silphium terebinthinaceum — decorative prairie plant… Read more
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Photograph by Alyssa Locke. Photo editing by Alyssa Locke and Ken McCarthy.
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Photograph by Alyssa Locke. Photo editing by Alyssa Locke and Ken McCarthy.
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
