Daniel Mosquin photographs Mammillaria compressa at the Botanical Gardens of The Huntington. I’ve added the Huntington to my checklist of places to visit the next time I’m in Southern California.
Category: Botany
Devil Guts
Justin Runyon et al. from Penn State demonstrate that dodder (Cuscuta pentagona), a parasitic orange-stemmed vine, uses chemical scents to find host plants. We see a lot of dodder in the Huntley Meadows Park wetland, and I think it’s a fascinating creation. Not for nothing is it called “Witches’ Shoelaces.” But I would no doubt feel differently if I were this tomato plant.
Don’t be snarky
There’s really such a thing as a boojum? No way!