A series of mysteries relating to natural landscaping and the ways we are part of this delicate system of connections — explored by former Wild Ones Journal Editor Maryann Whitman.
One of the most critical roles plants play in nature is supporting food webs—that is, all of the animal life as it exists and interacts in our ecosystems; it is in performing this essential ecosystem service that plants introduced from other parts of the Earth, do not measure up to our native species, in serving […] Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Maintaining Biodiversity"
Most people know that as caterpillars, Monarchs feed exclusively on milkweed leaves. Pretty finicky you might say, but that’s only because a lot less attention is paid to the food choices of other insects. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Specialized Insects All Around Us"
A natural area restoration can not be truly natural unless it uses plants with a genetic makeup (genotype) similar to those that were in that area originally. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Why is Local Genotype Important in Restoration Efforts?"
Have you ever wondered why it is, that to reproduce Monarch butterflies need milkweed; and why there actually are plants deer dislike; and why northeastern squirrels prefer white oak acorns to those of red oaks? Why, field guides of plants, insects and butterflies, use the term ‘host plant’? What is the connection between the evolutionary […] Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Secondary Metabolites"
It’s often said that the Jack-in-the-pulpit changes its sex as it ages. Is that really true? Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: The Sex Life of Jack-in-the-Pulpit"
This has been a topic of discussion and disagreement for some time. There is finally some research that sheds light on the subject. The answer is: yes, no, maybe, sometimes, and it depends. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Buckthorn, Birds, and Diarrhea"
Discovered in 1996 by Sara F. Wright, which she named after the Glomales order of fungi, Glomalin is causing a complete reexamination of what makes up soil organic matter. It is increasingly being included in studies of carbon storage and soil quality. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Glomales"
Getting to know about mycorrhizae is one of the most important things that a native plant person can accomplish. It is almost entirely because of this relationship that our native plants don’t need to be artificially fertilized or watered after they are established. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Mycorrhizae and Plants"
Most of us believe we know certain things about plants. One of those indisputable facts is that the roots of plants are the organs that take up water and nutrients from the soil. We’re not entirely sure where we came by this wisdom, but there it is. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Thinking About Mycorrhizae"
It’s All One Piece: We continue to explore man’s traditional treatment of the soil, the results of this treatment, and the benefits that accrue through the planting and tending of natural landscapes, using nativeplants. Continue reading "A Mystery Explored: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Oh My!"