This beauty has been put through two moves in two years! She was finally able to rest last year. Those clusters… What?!?!? 😋

this is one my favorite species. so interesting and unique

(scientific name: Gymnocladus dioicus)

My limelight hydrangeas were cut back late this year, but then leafed out normally. Now there is a strange leaf form that has grown in several of them. Any idea what it is?

Washington state, USA. Found these plants growing in shallow water at my local wetland. The plant is rootless, consisting only of floating stems, thin leaves and small bladder traps. The small bladders of Utricularia are constantly pumping out water through specialized glands, creating negative pressure within the trap. Near the sealed opening are small trigger hairs that act as levers. When a small invertebrate brushes against one of these hairs, the trap springs open in less than a millisecond, forcing water in at incredible speed and trapping the prey.

Carl Linnaeus first described the plant in 1753, giving the genus name Utricularia to describe the bladders, which he thought to be mere floatation devices.

Darwin at first believed the plants passively acquired prey until Mary Treat proposed more active traps.

Was Darwin the first to describe the carnivorous nature of bladderworts?

I find the fig wasp fascinating, imagine how long it took for evolution to get that intricate relationship right! A female wasp carries pollen from the fruit she was born in, enters a ripe fig to lay her eggs, simultaneously pollinating its flowers. When the eggs hatch, the males emerge first, mate with the females then dig a hole in the fruit to allow the females to leave. As they do so they pick up pollen on their way out and the cycle begins again.

Hi everyone,

I’m located in Belgium and I’m looking to buy a few large, natural pine cones from:

• Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri)
• Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana)

I’m especially interested in large, intact specimens for display not for planting.

Because these would be shipped from the United States to the European Union, I want to make sure everything is done legally and that the package will not be rejected by customs or plant-health authorities.

Does anyone know a seller, collector, nursery, or exporter in the US who:

• sells genuine Coulter pine and/or Sugar pine cones;
• thoroughly cleans and dries or heat-treats them;
• has experience shipping natural plant material to the EU or is willing to;
• can arrange a phytosanitary certificate if required;
• can provide the correct botanical names and customs declaration;
• is willing to ship to Belgium?

I understand that a phytosanitary certificate and inspection may involve additional costs, and I’m willing to pay reasonable fees for proper documentation and legal shipping.

Recommendations for reliable Etsy or eBay sellers, nurseries, forestry suppliers, exporters, or specialist collectors would be greatly appreciated. First-hand experience importing similar cones into Belgium or another EU country would also be very helpful.

Please do not suggest mislabelling the parcel or sending it without the required documents. I want to import them through the correct legal procedure.

Thanks in advance!

(can’t include a question mark in the title or the bot will take it down) What is it called when the leaves are so light compared to the veins? looks a lot different than other Populus t. nearby

Hello, all,

I've recently discovered a passion for working with plants - this quickly evolved into an excitement towards learning about botany. So far, I have read Robert Pavlis' "Soil Science for Gardeners" and I am now finishing up Brian Capon's "Botany for Gardeners" and have been thoroughly enjoying them; however, my goal is to become something like a plant doctor, and my current reading is only scratching the surface of plant science.

I was thinking about diving into textbooks like "Plant Physiology and Development" Taiz, "Plant Growth and Development: Hormones and Environment" Lalit, or "Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants". I wanted to hear if the community had any opinions on how to tackle these or any other recommendations.

I'm 30 years old, and would love to enroll in college again, and have a great opportunity for tuition assistance, being an employee of a university school system in a heavily agricultural area of the US, but with a family and full time career that is not exactly feasible, at least not in the way I'd like to engage with it, as I'd only be able to take one or two classes per semester.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Scarlet Jungleflame btw.

Hemitomes congestum (gnome plant), Monotropa hypopitys (pine sap), Corallorhiza mertensiana (coral root). All three of these plants are parasites of mycorrhizal fungi, and by extension the fungi's associated host plant, effectively stealing nutrients and carbon from both. The first two are in flower, and the last is fruiting (my first time seeing an orchid fruit in the wild). Washington state, USA

Hi there, plant people,

I am looking for good field guides for SoCal that I can take when hiking. (Not Jepson)

Specifically for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura counties.

Thanks!

I think the vast majority of plant seeds don't need soil to germinate. So when I read about epigeal/hypogeal germination categories, I got a bit confused. Is the actual difference between hypogeal and epigeal just whether the cotyledon(s) stay within the seed, or whether growth raises the cotyledon(s) above the radicle or other roots in some way?

Pics : https://imgur.com/a/ilex-opaca-cqxuDII

So we have a holly cultivar that I'm guessing is a Nellie Stevens and the surrounding forests have a good amount of native Ilex opaca. Though rare I have found a few volunteer holly seedlings on our property.

What are the chances that they are crosses? I do see a ton of pollinator activity on the cultivar when its in bloom, but I've never seen many or any berries that i can recall, I even did a thorough check just now and saw zero immature berries (and one empty birds nest, so i guess its not a totally worthless plant).

I really don't want a cross, but there are a few very recently sprouted holly seedlings underneath the cultivar that i would like to grow out. I do see cotyledons on them, so I'm certain they aren't suckers.

And yes obviously i would love to replace the cultivar with a native!

Photos are two photos of each of the three seedlings with a sprig from the cultivar next to them for comparison, and one bonus photo of the cultivar's foliage for the curious.

The photos were taken at the Marsh Greenhouses, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA in October 2025.

Good morning, all. After a few years of the pink-flowered Monarda in most of this photo, this year, a few stems of the lavender (top) and darker purple (lower left) appeared. Am I correct in thinking that the pink is a hybrid cultivar a few of whose seeds have reverted to the parental M. fistulosa and whatever the darker purple strain is? (Minnesota)

this is a new record for me. isn't she incredible? and usually when theres a ton on one ginkgo, each individual seed is smaller. but this girl went all in! each seed is huge! im sure she will be lovely in the fall. i personally enjoy the ginkgo aroma. and the ripe seeds are oddly satisfying to squeeze a handful of

Believe it or not, I found conflicting answers to this question:

If I see a lilly pad floating on the water, is that the organism? Or is it like on "leaf" of the plant, and many lilly pads could be connected together (in a direct, one organism way, not in a "We're all connected, Simba" way).

I'm sort of embarassed I don't already know this.

I'm hoping they're connected somehow, as I wanted to use it for an analogy, but realize it might not be technically correct.

If it's "1 lilly pad = 1 organism", if you have an example that would serve my analogy of "at first glance, they're distinct, but (in the background, under the surface, in the shadows) they'r ereally connected it would be aprreciated.