Originally posted on EarthSky: https://earthsky.org/human-world/poison-mushrooms-how-to-tell/ There’s no simple way to tell if a wild mushroom is a poison mushroom. To know for sure, you have to identify it and learn about it. Many mushrooms are not poisonous and some are edible. The number of edible species varies by location. For instance, the Alabama Mushroom Society […]
Category: Blog: Today in Nature
The main blog page for the Natural History Society of Maryland (NHSM); it includes posts about things individuals, families, and friends can do to learn more and experience nature.
Poison Mushrooms: How To Tell
How Conservation Scientists Benefit the Maryland Area
Image Source: Pexels Conservation science is vital to the protection of the environment in the communities that we call home. In Maryland, where 16 out of our 23 counties border the Chesapeake and its tributaries, conservation science plays a necessary role in the health and safety of all living things in the region. Understanding the […]
Protecting Nature During Gardening Season
As we finally welcome spring and begin planning the coming year’s gardening work, it’s important to also keep the protection of nature and local wildlife in mind. Gardening can be a great form of stress relief while also adding natural beauty to your home. However, gardeners need to be aware of the impacts certain choices […]
The Facts and Myths About Cardinal Birds
The Facts and Myths About Cardinal Birds Cardinal birds are a fascinating and beautiful bird species. They have this attractive color, especially the male birds that are pleasing to the eyes. Plus, Cardinal birds are known to be active songbirds that can sing various melodies. Think of how your backyard looks and sounds like if […]
Finding Ways to Benefit Our Soil and Prevent Erosion
The vast majority of people in the world today never give much of a thought to the ground they walk on. Those who do usually only acknowledge how muddy, dry, or filthy it is. Only a few truly appreciate the outsized role that dirt — particularly soil — plays in our lives and all life. […]
Natural Dyeing with Kitchen Scraps
I’ve been saving onion skins for about 3 months. It amounted to about 3 pounds of onion skins! This could have taken way more time if onions weren’t a staple ingredient in my cooking. Why was I saving onion skins? Well, to start with, they dry out and don’t spoil so easily, so it is […]
Hunting for fossils “a marilandia”: Members of a Maryland fossil club look for a state treasure
This article was originally published at the Chesapeake Bay Program website by Jake Solyst on January 26th, 2021. Thank you to Jake for letting us share this article on our blog! —————————————————————————————————————— Most Marylanders can tell you about the local blue crab or diamondback terrapin but few can identify the state fossil: an extinct, several-million-year-old snail known as the Ecphora […]
Making a Salve for Winter Skin with Wild Edibles
As we move deeper into the cold of winter and our hands closer to a source of heat, we might start noticing patches of dry, scaly skin developing. As someone who works with their hands and is prone to eczema and for the first time discovered how allergic they are to poison ivy, I’ve been […]
How Deltas Benefit the Ecological Sustainability of Maryland
Maryland is home to an abundance of wonderful biodiversity and a bounty of interesting natural histories. This state is home to hundreds of different mammals, reptiles, birds, plants, and insects, all of which contribute to a healthy ecosystem. Perhaps one of the largest and most influential ecosystems in Maryland is the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake […]
Irruption
After a tumultuous year full of pandemic and elections, nature reminds us that there is order and direction to life. This is reflected in the existence of birds. They are constantly in search of food and water and shelter. Their life is that simple. The only deviation is that some birds migrate and some birds […]