When hiking through your local forest, you’ve no doubt come across a dead tree every now and then. But have you ever thought about the ecology of dead trees and the roles they play in a forest ecosystem? In this article, I want to share some of those roles and by the end you will…
Category: Plants
Late June Wildflowers
The forests of Michigan’s UP are alight with colors this time of year. Many unique wildflowers are in bloom and they can easily be found if you know where to look. I’ll share a few of the most showy wildflowers I’ve spotted while work in Hiawatha National Forest in mid to late June so far…
A Unique Lichen Species
Arkansas’s Ouachita National Forest is a rocky forest. Ridgelines tend to be made up of large rock outcroppings that stand out from the rest of the forest. Ouachita is also home to many unique lichen species. The other day I was approaching one such outcropping when I noticed some brightly colored rocks near the top…
Extinct Trees of the U.S.
When we hear about extinct species, it’s usually in reference to animals, and most often large vertebrates. What we hear about far less often is the extinction of plant species, and specifically extinct trees. But is this because few plants actually go extinct? No. In fact, a recent article has documented the extent of recognized…
Discovering Plant Species
I recently finished a contract in the Hoosier National Forest of Indiana and while I was there I found several plant species that were new to me. As a forester, I often spend my time looking up toward the forest canopy and rarely look at the vegetation growing below, especially herbaceous plants. However, I have…