This large-leaved biennial wildflower has thistle-like flowers and an edible and medicinal taproot
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 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!
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 tree has large, opposite, palmately compound leaves and pyramids of flowers around May. It is often planted in parks and along city streets.
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.
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 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.