The Question: I saw these wildflowers in the central California Valley near Aptos. They are about the size of a quarter. What are they? Submitted by: Alan, California, USA The Short Answer: Your flowers are definitely one of several species of poppies in the genus Eschscholzia found in California. Most probably they are Eschscholzia lobbii, [...]
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What is that popping noise in the lily pads?
The Question: Sitting beside a small lake in Massachusetts with many lily pads, we kept hearing a popping noise, almost like bubblegum snapping. What makes that sound? Submitted by: Greg, New York, USA The Sort of Short Answer: Full disclosure: Greg was visiting me, and we were sitting beside the lake and he asked me, [...]
Amazing Video of Pollinators
I have fallen a little behind in responding to questions, but hopefully, I’ll start catching up in the next few days, but I wanted to share some amazing slow motion, time-lapse and close-up video of pollinators by filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg. He talks for about three minutes about why he films flowers and their pollinators, but [...]
What is this Trinity Alps wildflower?
The Question: On a recent mid-July trip to the Trinity Alps in Northern California we saw many of these 2′-4′ tall plants, most just starting to show emerging flower heads. I thought they were so common that ID would be a cinch, but no such luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Submitted by: Marianne, [...]
What is this Strange Root?
The Question: I was kayaking in a wetland area off a chain of lakes in northwestern Wisconsin this weekend, and I paddled by this. Do you know what it is? The water on the lake/wetland is really high right now due to lots of rain. When we tried to pick this up, it seemed like [...]