A feed of all the new things I learn to identify, whether it be birds, bees, flowers, or trees.
What is it? It’s eastern redcedar. That’s not a typo, redcedar is apparently all one word. What do the nerds call it? Juniperus virginiana, meaning Virginian juniper Who is it related to? Cupressaceae, or, the cypress family which includes red and white cedars, giant sequoia, as well as coast and dawn redwoods. How can you …
What is it? Paper Birch What do the nerds call it? Betula papyrifera Who is it related to? It is in the Betulaceae family, or the family of birches, alders, hazels, and hornbeams. How can you tell it is what it is? The light colored and smooth bark really sets this family of trees apart. …
What is it? Northern Red Oak, a large deciduous tree that is found from the Midwest down to northern Mississippi and up through New England. Also the second tallest of five trees in my yard. What do the nerds call it? Quercus rubra Who is it related to? Fagaceae family, or the Beech and Oak …
I have been interested in trees for quite awhile now. I remember buying a copy of Audubon’s Guide to Trees in North America before I really delved into bird photography and identification. I have since lost that guide and got a better one, and am excited about getting back into figuring out what is what. …
Here is another from our roadtrip through Michigan earlier this summer, and finding this plant was a complete surprise to us and was one of the highlights of the trip. We found this in a boggy area surrounding one of the ponds at Rifle River State Recreation Area, and once we saw one, we couldn’t …
What is it? Common/wild/Fuller’s teasel and cutleaf teasel What do the nerds call it? Dipsacus fullonum and Dipsacus laciniatus, respectively Who is it related to? Caprifoliaceae family or honeysuckle How can you tell it is what it is? The big, egg shaped spiky flower/seed cone atop a prickly stalk is a dead giveaway. The most basic way …
It is amazing how much learning a single flower can reveal. Before making this post, this was simply a yellow flower that had a cool leaf shape that we stumbled upon on a walk up north. As it turns out, it is a quite famous plant called St. John’s wort, best known for its claimed …
What is it? Hard to tell exactly. It is either a Grape Plume Moth or a Sheppard’s Plume Moth What do the nerds call it? Either a Geina periscelidactylus or Geina sheppardi, respectively Who is it related to? The Pterophoridae Family, or Plume Moths How can you tell it is what it is? Plume moths …
It looks like the first post in this series is going to be a real good one. Pretty much, any new species or genus or family or whatever that I learn to identify, is going to get put into this. I might play around with the format for a bit, but for now let’s start …