… of the food we eat. Download the PDF (11″x17″) of this placemat. As you enjoy a meal with friends and family, take a moment to say thanks for the little things that make such a big … who pollinated them. Instructions: Click on the image above to download our placemat to enjoy with your feast. The ideal printing size is tabloid (11 x 17 inches). Letter size paper (8.5 x 11 …
Type: Blog
… We recently toured the Greenhouses with Boyce Tankersley, director of living plant documentation, to see what’s in bloom and take in … to Panama and Costa Rica, as one of his favorites. The Semitropical Greenhouse was filled with blooms like pinkball dombeya ( Dombeya wallichii ). Native to East Africa and Madagascar, …
Type: Blog
… waiting for me to release butterflies from the pupae chamber. So I packed up the lacewing, with all of the other newborns. I then released each of the two dozen butterflies that had … scientific community, but our luck was about to change. On Wednesday morning, I was chatting with a young butterfly enthusiast about the gynandromorphic lacewing. I asked him if he could … So how does gynandromorphism occur? There are several possibilities having to do with mishaps that occur during early cell division. Butterflies have a W and a Z chromosome for …
Type: Blog
… and the position of the stamens (male structure of a flower that produces pollen). Flowers with long styles that elevate the stigma above the stamens are called pin flowers, and flowers with short styles that support the stigma below the stamens are called thrum flowers. In addition … the stigma, which ensures cross pollination. Only pollen from thrum flowers is compatible with the stigmas of pin flowers and vice versa. Therefore, both pin and thrum flowers must be …
Type: Blog
… bittercress. Within a few weeks, depending on the weather, forest floors will be carpeted with wildflowers, courtesy of the sun streaming onto the earth before the trees leaf out and … you see are the claw-like pointed red-striated hoods called spathes surrounding a nub studded with blossoms. The plant creates its own heat, even amid snow and ice. The temperature inside … come to skunk cabbage. They flit inside the hood looking for rotting meat, then emerge covered with pollen. Then they fly inside another skunk cabbage, and pollinate it. Honeybees are the …
Type: Blog
… working on restoration of our 100-acre Mary Mix McDonald Woods, it took weeks of hand-pulling with many volunteers each spring to clear just 10 or 11 acres. After years of not letting the … years ago we finally began to see a light at the end of the tunnel (though we’d still end up with mountains of pulled garlic mustard each year). Thanks to the tremendous help of Garden … is having a significant negative effect on garlic mustard (see woodsandprairie.blogspot.com ). Observers have reported an almost complete absence of garlic mustard in areas that are …
Type: Blog
… young people hands-on conservation and environmental science experience. Students partnered with Garden horticulturists and learned to identify plants and remove invasive species. This … I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.” —Gabby Onnenga, 17, Skokie “It’s allowed me to connect with a lot of people I wouldn’t have before. Last Friday we went to the Field Museum and talked to a lot of interesting people there. I talked with one of the leaders here at the Garden who recommended me to someone who runs a fungus …
Type: Blog
… dancing flash mobs One summer, a group of people gathered at “the Ken,” the lovely green field with a photo-perfect view of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden . That's what we're … golden light typically illuminates the bridges. A bridge is a lovely place to start a future with your beloved. Head up the hill between the Japanese Garden and the Arch Bridge. The Puryear … ready for a romantic moment. A summer walk through the Dixon Prairie is inherently romantic, with grasses and prairie flowers taller than your head, and late-day light filtering through the …
Type: Blog
… Former senior ecologist Jim Steffen always had lots of good spider stories. Work this quiz with every kid you know: The (female) cross orbweaver spider, named for the cross on the top of … fly. TRUE. Some spiders travel through the air by "ballooning"—sending out a thread of silk with a clump like a parachute at the end that carries them up into the air, where they swing … Spiders have stingers, like Shelob in The Lord of the Rings . FALSE. Spiders inject their prey with venom through fangs at the end of their jaws, which are called chelicerae . They don't have …
Type: Blog
… April 26, head outside to see the "pink" supermoon. Whether you prefer to walk in solitude or with family members, don’t miss peak illumination at about 10:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time. A … open for the beauty of moonlight on daffodils, for instance. A flashlight or headlamp—along with reflective gear—is helpful, but consider switching them off when it’s safe to do so. Your … the full beauty of the stars and moon. As the weather gets warmer, the night will come alive with the sounds of nocturnal animals. Listen for frogs, owls, and whippoorwills. We love moths …
Type: Blog
