Re-learning to be a botanist
Published:
I started out my career in science as a botanist. My early interests were in systematics and ecology, which meant that I needed to have a good knowledge of plant species and communities. My career and interests led me to more molecular aspects of plant biology, and then away from the lab into policy and regulations. Now that I will be retired at the end of the month, I can revive some of my early interests.
To begin on that journey, I took a tour through a nearby nature preserve, the Bow In The Clouds Preserve. It’s one of my favorite places for a walk and only a mile from where I live.
Plant identification these days is easy for the lazy. I used the phone app, Seek, rather than my early copy of Gleason and Cronquist. Here are the first several species I identified (apologies for the poor quality of a couple of the pictures):
Potentilla recta, Sulfur Cinquefoil
Berteroa incana, Hoary Alyssum
Leonurus cardiaca, Common Motherwort
Erigeron, Fleabane
Coreopsis, Tickseed
Hesperis matronalis, Dame's Rocket
Glechoma hederacea, Ground Ivy
Securigera varia, Purple Crownvetch
Aegopodium podagraria, Goutweed
Potentilla indica, Mock Strawberry
Rosa multiflora, Multiflora Rose
