The local Philippines call this woody vine “tayabak”. Related to the green beans we grow in our gardens, this species’ unique turquoise claw-shaped flowers are pollinated by bats.
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.
A familiar weed of lawns, fields, roadsides, and gardens, this plant and its close relatives are the only species eaten by beautiful monarch butterflies.
A low-growing “trefoil” weed of lawns and disturbed, nitrogen-poor soil, distinguished by its tiny hop-like yellow flower clusters, pointed tips on each leaflet, and the terminal leaflet on a longer stalk or petiole
Only found from Central Texas down into Mexico, this titmouse with a striking black crest acts quite a bit like its more familiar, look-alike cousin
Similar in many ways to the American Goldfinch, this little bird has a heavily streaked breast and can often be found in sizeable groups.
This is the species that is used as THE cultivated walnut tree. It has pinnately compound leaves with about 7 alternate leaflets, larger towards the tip or terminal end.