This large-leaved biennial wildflower has thistle-like flowers and an edible and medicinal taproot
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.
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
These nearly ubiquitous, often evergreen vines are almost entirely edible outside of their berries. Try their tender tendrils. 😉
Known in some areas as a pest, the “rice bird” who feeds on rice and grains especially during migration, this New World Blackbird has unique coloration featuring a male with high-contrast white and cream on black.
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.
A familiar weed of lawns, fields, roadsides, and gardens, this plant and its close relatives are the only species eaten by beautiful monarch butterflies.
This species includes varieties called bok choy, napa cabbage, turnip, rapini, and totsoi