This bright, tropical-looking black and yellow bird from Southeast Asia is related to chickadees and titmice
This worldwide wetland grass can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) tall and can cover a quarter of a square mile or more in one stand!
These plants CAN be a nuisance, with some species having stinging hairs… BUT they are edible and highly nutritious, with various other uses as well!
This genus contains about a dozen species of shrubs and small trees, each with fruits that can be used to make a lathering soap.
This humble plant is easily overlooked, both in its quiet early blooming and later leaf unfurling. You can find it in wetlands and riverine forests in the NE quarter of the US, up into Canada.
The brilliant blue, white, or pink of these flowers are actually 5 to 25 colored sepals rather than petals. They appear to float upon a mist of thread-like bracts above feathery, pinnately divided leaves.
This is the typical “red-breast” found in the United Kingdom and much of Europe, completely unrelated to the “red-breast” found in America.
These nearly ubiquitous, often evergreen vines are almost entirely edible outside of their berries. Try their tender tendrils. 😉