The study and science of plants.
University of California Press natural history guides are always welcome additions to a nature lover’s library, and the newest in the series is no exception. Trees and Shrubs of California, by John D. Stuart and John O. Sawyer, is the … Read more
In his article on “The Changing Nature of Joaquin Miller Park” author Rex Burress wrote that the fiddle-heads of young bracken ferns are edible “either cooked or raw.” However, before you head out to pick ferns for your soup pot, … Read more
After reading The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco, it’s difficult to know which is more significant—that Golden Gate Park exists at all, or that in today’s world of “political correctness,” this totally man-made park, full of non-native … Read more
Whether it’s cape ivy or french broom, if you want to know how to control some of the region’s most pernicious invasive plant species, pick up a copy of Invasive Plants of California’s Wildland, edited by Carla C. Bossard, John … Read more
A hike on the Hazelnut Trail at Montara Mountain leads you through several scrub communities and straight into a botanical puzzle.
At the precise moment we are looking at them, flowers are sending light rays back to us. But not all of them are sending us the same kind of light in the same way. The different colors are different wavelengths … Read more
One of the joys of our Mediterranean climate is the Bay Area’s long wildflower season. Among the first reports this year was the January sighting of blooming fetid adder’s tongue and redwood sorrel in Muir Woods. If you want up-to-date … Read more
In five coastal counties of central and northern California, thousands of oak trees are dying. The cause of this increased mortality in coast live oaks, tan oaks, and black oaks is not yet fully understood, but the syndrome seems to … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
