Those who oppose evolution often claim that the theory is not “scientific.” They say that no hypothesis can qualify as science unless it can be tested by a controlled experiment.
Articles with Plants
Photo by John Salzarulo on Unsplash
Davidia involucrata • Photo by Myrabella (CC BY SA 4.0)
Arduous trek through China for beauty
On the southern slope of Bussey Hill in Boston’s Arnold Arboretum there are two trees of the species Davidia involucrata. For most of the year the trees are inconspicuous. But in mid-May, at about the time the lilacs bloom, Davidia flowers. Each flower cluster has two leafy bracts that become snowy white as the flowers mature. One bract is about the size of a man’s hand, the other, half that size. When Davidia is in bloom is looks as if a thousand white doves are fluttering in the branches of the tree.
Trifolium dubium (lesser trefoil) • (CC BY SA 3.0)
Tracking the ‘true shamrock’
March is the time for wearing of the green. Shamrocks will sprout as thick as dandelions in July. From Boston to San Francisco, from New York City to Sydney, Australia, Irish men and women will be sporting the small green emblem of the Emerald Isle.
Gall on oak leaf • Photo by Berthold Werner (CC BY SA 3.0)
Plant galls: home for insects
The season has stripped the woods bare. The leafy veils have dropped. Now it’s all rock, bark, spike, and spine. And galls.
Canada mayflower • Photo by Dr. Thomas G. Barnes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Public Domain)
The earth’s greening
There comes a moment in New England woodlands in the spring when up through last season’s brown leaves and matted pine needles comes the first green. Like a carpet unrolled overnight, suddenly the greedy leaves of the Canada mayflower are everywhere.
Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) • Photo by Tom Raymo
Consider the miracle of the wild columbine
For almost 20 years I have ranged the woods and fields near my home in eastern Massachusetts. Most of the plants and animals have become familiar friends. By paying close attention to the weather, I can predict almost to a day when the first red-wing blackbird will reappear along the brook, or when the first cinnamon fern will unfurl its fiddleheads near the pond. There is a pleasure in the familiar, in the recurring patterns of the seasons.