Picture of the Week--A Flower Unfolding

Summer is over--meteorologically speaking, at least--and the weather has finally cooled off here in Washington, D.C., but the flowers are still blooming prolifically. Patsy Lieberman (daughter of goSmithsonian and Around The Mall editor Beth Py-Lieberman) was talented and patient enough to capture ...
September 11, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Strange Sex Lives of Orchids

Forget about birds and bees—if you want to learn about the varieties of sexual practices in the wild, study orchids. They're the most rich and varied family of flowers by far, with about 24,000 species (another estimate is 30,000 species). And many of those species have evolved elaborate tricks to ...
August 19, 2009 | By Laura Helmuth

The Cahaba: A River of Riches

An unsung Alabama waterway is one of the most biologically diverse places in the nation, home to rare flora and fauna
August 2009 | By Michelle Nijhuis

Flowers Writ Large

With his Botanica Magnifica, podiatrist-turned-photographer Jonathan Singer captures flowers on the grandest of scales
May 21, 2009 | By Megan Gambino

Wicked Plants (and Fungi)

How could I resist a book with the title Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities? This small, elegant volume by Amy Stewart packs in a ton of information on plants that have been used to murder or to intoxicate, some that can inflict pain or cause hallu...
May 14, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Picture of the Week—Irish Moss

The National Science Foundation and the journal Science are now soliciting entries in their seventh International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge (deadline for entries is September 15). There are five categories (photographs, illustrations, informational graphics, interactive medi...
May 01, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Help Defend Against the Invaders

They have come to our country from all over the world, brought here in the bowels of ships, in the cargo holds of planes, even on the bottoms of our shoes. They’re called invasive species—plants, animals and microbes from foreign lands that in the absence of their natural competitors, predators or ...
April 06, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Climbing the Tallest Trees

A select group of adventurers climb the world’s tallest trees to learn more about the wildlife that lives on the highest branches
March 31, 2009 | By Peter Beland

Pictures of the Week--Orchids

Can anyone identify the orchids in these photos? I visited the orchid show at the Natural History Museum last week (Orchids through Darwin’s Eyes, which runs until April 26) intending to learn more about Darwin and his orchid research, as well as take a few photos for the blog. But I got distracted...
February 13, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

What's Killing the Aspen?

The signature tree of the Rockies is in trouble
December 2008 | By Michelle Nijhuis

Bamboo Steps Up

An ancient plant becomes a new sensation
March 21, 2008 | By Cathie Gandel

Roots of the Sea

What mangroves give the world and why we can't afford to lose them
January 28, 2008 | By Sarah Zielinski

A Pox Upon the Kauri

New Zealanders rally to save their much-loved, 2,000-year-old national symbol
October 2007 | By Debora Vrana

Wicked Weed of the West

Spotted knapweed is driving out native plants and destroying rangeland, costing ranchers millions. Can anybody stop this outlaw?
December 2004 | By Joe Alper

Chestnutty

Wielding cutting-edge science and lots of patience. James Hill Craddock hopes to restore the ravaged American chestnut tree to its former glory
September 2004 | By Susan Freinkel

Saving the Music Tree

Artists and instrument makers have banded together to rescue Brazil's imperiled pernambuco, the source of bows for violins, violas and cellos
April 2004 | By Russ Rymer

Fakahatchee Ghosts

But no exorcisms, please these rare orchids are the stars of a hit movie and a best-selling book
August 2003 | By Jack McClintock

Apples of Your Eye

Fruit sleuths and nursery owners are fighting to save our nation's apple heritage...before it's too late
November 2002 | By Tim Hensley

Palm Plight

Assaulted by myriad threats to their survival, palm species around the world face the likelihood of extinction
August 2002 | By Mike Grudowski

Getting to the Root of Ginseng

Questions about the herb's health benefits haven't cooled the red-hot market in wild American ginseng
July 2002 | By David Taylor

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