That large tree succumbing to gravity was an event that took place at the periphery of my consciousness. I passed by this spot in the park most days. I might have seen the park maintainers cutting its branches and hauling them away. It was winter, and green was gone from most of the trees. As […]
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.
Now More than Ever, the Healing Path of Sit Spot
An Invasive Wild Edible Winter Rose
Multiflora is often the bane of a farmer’s existence, and a lovely hiking companion for walkers. Its flowers of 5 white heart shaped petals create gorgeous white-pink blankets throughout the forest, and also have the capacity to spread throughout fields and edges of growing spaces. Multiflora is a part of the rose family, much like […]
Archaeology Club Research at Glen Ellen Estate: Documentation of Enslaved Persons in Maryland
Archaeology is ultimately telling the story of our collective human past. Oftentimes, telling the story of people of means has been relatively easy as they leave documents, physical artifacts, buildings, and stories are preserved about them. For the people who built and lived on Glen Ellen Estate on what is now Loch Raven Reservoir land […]
A Fall Comeback: Chickweed
Over the last month, I’ve noticed a plant friend from early Spring starting to emerge from their summer slumber. Chickweed, or stellaria media, is a cooler weather wild edible. It grows prolifically and spreads, though can be pulled easily from the roots. As many wild edibles, it is considered a weed to those who care […]
The Wild Grasses of Brooms
from Backwoods Brooms
Burdock–a weed, a medicine, and a delicacy.
As winter nears, farmers and foragers are starting to dig up roots and tubers. Between potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sunchokes, we are also planting garlic, shallots, and other ornamental bulbs such as tulips and daffodils. One of my favorite wild edibles’ roots are harvested in the Fall, which is Burdock. Nearly all of Burdock’s parts […]
The Witch’s Eggs: Stinkhorn Mushroom
In honor of Halloween, we are going to honor and explore a semi-edible mushroom that is kinda gross and scary looking! One that surely bridges the worlds. In this blog post, we will learn more about the Stinkhorn Mushroom, phallus impudicus and rubicundus, and mutinus elegans. Based on one of Stinkhorn’s scientific names, some find […]
NHSM Photo Safari Scavenger Hunt Stories
I moved to Maryland in February for my first job after finishing graduate school in Alabama. It was already a big change before COVID shut everything down. In mid-August, I was up late scrolling on Facebook when I saw a post about the NHSM fossil raffle. I started looking into the NHSM page where I […]
Fall Berries: Autumn Olive
Here we are again with another wild edibles blog post! Berries seem to emerge as the theme beyond the summertime. Though I considered writing about Stinkhorn Mushrooms in the spirit of Halloween and changing it up, Autumn Olives are calling out. Autumn Olives look like bountiful, bunches of small red grapes that hang heavy on […]
Aquatic Ecology II: What Lies Beneath–Water Worlds
Introduction In the previous blog, Waterscapes and Where Rivers are Born, we took a peek at the hyporheic zone and saw how this ecosystem lives between the stream’s benthos (bottom) and groundwater. Here we take a closer look at these two worlds as well as a wider view to check out the ecology of groundwater […]