Archive for November, 2013
The Winter Life of Black-Capped Chickadees
After the summer bird species have migrated south for the winter, the black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus) remains present around the arboretum and a year-round favorite to many birders. Their energetic and curious behaviors make them one of my favorite species to observe. I can almost always rely on them to be active during any part […]
Perry’s Spadix Collapses
Perry the Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) has been collapsing in various ways since her/his brief but glorious apotheosis last week on the afternoon and evening of Halloween. Early this afternoon, Perry’s wilting spadix gave way and collapsed, leading to the now familiar elephantine appearance of Perry during this […]
Children of the Corm
Perry the Corpse Flower is a mom and dad! Here’s a partial explanation of the title of this post. Perry the Corpse Flower’s underground part is called a corm. It is a solid structure that’s similar to a potato, but it has only one eye. The corm weighed […]