Backyard and Beyond

These were some of the native trilliums in the New York Botanic Garden earlier this month.

The seeds of these plants are distributed by ants, who are attracted to the lipid- and protein-packed elaiosomes (“oily body”) on the seeds.

Like all wildflowers, these beauties are best left alone. Picking the flower can kill the whole plant. In some states, taking trilliums (in general, or particularly rare and endangered species, depending on the state) is illegal. It’s a pity that such laws have to be made. It’s freaking 2017, already!

Sigh, so it is. Here’s how the loose cannon in the White House is smashing the ship of democracy to smithereens. And here he is compromising intel sources by boasting of it to… the Russians.

How many deaths will Trump’s willful ignorance and arrogant incompetence lead to?

Arrowleaf or heartleaf ginger, also known as little brown jug (Hexastylis arifolia). You can see the arrow and heart inspiration, but what’s with the jugs?As in wild ginger (Asarum canadense), a related plant, the action is at ground-level. The little brown jugs (LBJs?) are flowers that start out green and age brown. While these particular specimens were found in the native plant section of the NYBG, they are more specifically native to the SE, getting as north as Virginia and as west as Kentucky. Ants evidently disperse the seeds.

(Remember, these aren’t related to the ginger root you eat.)