Winter 2024 Almanac: Manroots, Skinks, and Avocets
You didn’t imagine it. That was a tiny blue tail you saw wriggling through the damp leaves and brush. Illustrations by Jane Kim.
Botany
Bay Nature’s Hall of Botanical Horrors
For those who dare—meet the Bay Area’s spookiest plants (and two freaky fungi).
Naturalist’s Notebook: How Salt Marsh Plants Cope With All the Salt
Meet the Salt Marsh 3, a trio of marsh plants specially adapted to live in the brine.
These Fabulous Flowers Are Spring’s Final Encore
When other plants start hunkering down, clarkias send up a dazzling array of purples and pinks.
How the DNA We Leave Behind Can Help Conservation
Bits of DNA linger on the forest floor, in the ocean, and even in the air—and these strands have stories to tell, back at the lab. Here's how environmental DNA...
Wildflower Lands Now Open in the East Bay Hills
Explore 20 miles of new trails and over 2,800 acres of serene hills and woodlands, now added to the East Bay’s Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park.
The Bird Nest Detectives
Century-old bird nests help scientists time-travel to San Francisco Bay’s lost plant communities.
The Calypso Orchid—Shady Trickster of the Understory
This fancy flower is secretive yet brash, and it’s an expert in the art of deceiving bumblebees.
The Nearly Unkillable Eucalyptus Meets Its Match
Eucalyptus trees on Albany Hill are wasting away from blight. Some people may cheer—but these trees are also home to endangered monarchs.
Meet A West Oakland YouTube Celebrity Who Brings Plants and People Together
Santore is known for Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, a self-described lowbrow approach to plant ecology.
