Fall is in full swing and as the growing season winds to a close, one group of plants is still producing flowers and providing a last meal for pollinators preparing for winter. Many of the plants that bloom in the midwest this time of year belong to the sunflower family, Asteraceae. This plant family isContinue reading “Identifying Goldenrods”
Tag Archives: michigan
Oak wilt
In August, I went up to my family cabin in northern Michigan. My grandparents built the cabin in the 1960’s and my family has been going up there ever since. The dry sandy soil of the northern upper peninsula of Michigan is home to trees such as bigtooth aspen, Jack pine, balsam fir, white pine,Continue reading “Oak wilt”
Michigan’s Jack Pine Forests
Jack pine (Pinus banksiana), also known as scrub pine, occurs in very dry, nutrient poor, acidic soils in northern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New England, and Canada. They often grow with northern pin oak and red pine. Understory plants like blueberries, bearberries, sweetfern, and lichen may occur on the forest floor. The most distinctive feature ofContinue reading “Michigan’s Jack Pine Forests”
Ashley Keesling 