Ticks and bush honeysuckle

Editor’s note:  Looking for more motivation to get rid of bush honeysuckle?  Or perhaps you’d like to tell your neighbors about the importance of removing invasive species?  Judy Ward shared this article about a study done at Washington University. WUSTL scientists says suburban influx of deer, invasive plants are affecting…

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Frost flowers

Kathy Bildner shared these photos of frost flowers on White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) in her backyard. Click an image for a larger version.

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Early prairies of St. Louis

Editor’s note: You may not wish to read all of this, but just read the part about the area in which you live.  Click map images for a larger version, or email me at brighoff@charter.net for copies of the map you can scale. At Laclede’s Landing, the foot of Market Street, the…

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Grandfather knows best

by Erin Scottberg A grandpa’s sage advice may be the biggest breakthrough in bug repellent since DEET. Scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have isolated two insect‑repelling compounds from leaves of the American beautyberry plant (Callicarpa americana), a shrub native to much of the southeastern United States.

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A few interesting websites

The meaning of Latin plant names: http://theseedsite.co.uk/latin.html Flora of the upper Mississippi: http://www.arrasimages.com/a‑z.html Native Plant List for Illinois, Iowa & Missouri: http://www.plantnative.org/rpl‑iailmo.htm How to Naturescape: http://www.plantnative.org/how_intro.htm

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