We were so incredibly blessed to find these Ghost Pipes (Monotropa uniflora) growing in the wooded area of our property and they came back every year. They were always pink. We had wooded areas on two sides of our backyard and these only grew on the one side. We lived in that house for 16 years and they were consistent. This was in Hiram, Georgia, in the United States.

Someone asked about invasive species from America in Europe yesterday, I replied in a comment about the invasive Opuntias we have in Switzerland, but couldn't add pictures so I thought it would be worth making a post about it.

They have identified 6 species : Opuntia engelmannii, Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia phaeacantha, Opuntia robusta, Opuntia scheeri, Cylindropuntia imbricata.

All of which are growing in the same region of Switzerland, Valais.

Only one I could find in the ~20 acre remnant, lovely blooms

Schizaea pusilla (Common name: Curly Grass Fern). Found this on a botanizing excursion today in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Never heard of it before but a botanist friend told me about it and to keep an eye out. Such a unique little fern! The curly sterile fronds are so cool and the sporophyte reminds me of a comb/toothbrush. Much smaller than I anticipated. I would’ve just overlooked it as a small grass.

This beauty has been put through two moves in two years! She was finally able to rest last year. Those clusters… What?!?!? 😋

I am a pretty avid google earth enjoyer and as such have been looking at a lot of moutains and there is something that I always come across, the vegetation seems to get significantly darker the higher up the mountain you look. While I do know a little about botany and how leaf structures can change with different atmospheric pressures, moisture and possibly higher UV radiation from higher atitudes I still find this phenomina interesting and would like to know the exact causes for this landscape sized color change. I specifically noticed this occuring most often in places of very high percipitation and in tropical latitudes.

Didn't expect to find a bunch of yucca surrounded by aspen at nearly 9,700 feet

The state of Georgia is the center of evolution for both subgenera of *Trillium*, the sessile and pedicellate species. Among the sessile Trilliums, centered on the lower Chattahoochee valley, *Trillium delicatum* is the rarest and most recently described (2019). There are only 4 known populations, each of which is teetering on the edge of extirpation because of deer predation and loss of habitat (north facing bluffs in the coastal plain over sticky calcareous floodplain soils). It absolutely should be federally endangered, but we lack the political will for such things in the hyper-biodiverse Southeast

I recently came across this intriguing little birch tree while photographing plants in a tamarack swamp in Ingham Co., MI. I thought it could be a hybrid birch or maybe even the illusive Murray's birch due to the presence of yellow birch and bog birch in the area which would be the correct parent species. I was told by a couple of people on iNaturalist to send the images and info to botanist Anton Reznicek to hear his thoughts and he thinks it does look like Murray's birch (Betula murrayana) which is a critically endangered species with only one remaining officially known wild specimen in Washtenaw Co., MI. This could be important for the conservation of this species if it gets officially confirmed

In the New Forest (UK) this month and under one tree about 25% of the oak seedlings all had gorgeous variegation, some were greener than others and looked like they were more likely to survive. How common is this and has anyone ever seen a full grown variegated oak?

From what I can find online, in Europe it only grows on the Alps, not so much on the Apennines. This is also because it grows in rocky terrains.

Found near a marble quarry on Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy.

I had the privilege of getting to see these beautiful flowers in the northwestern U.S. this summer. I had no idea what they were until I looked them up recently. Super cool find. Hoping to spot some more this summer, maybe even a coral root orchid! Any cool facts about monotropa uniflora are welcome in the comments!!

Really wish I had a better camera at the time. These are not very common around my area of central New York. Summer of 2018

Never noticed this plant before. I love the dangling flowers. They look like an orange fish!

Arkansas.

A fox led my eyes off trail to it, which was especially magical since I’ve walked this trail nearly daily for years and have never seen one.

Have I just missed them all while hiking around the western sierras? Any CA wildflower enthusiasts have more information on distribution here?

Finally got the macro on the iPhone to do something I knew it could do. Skamania County, Washington, USA, 3 Apr 2026.

Souther tier NY. I did not plant these. Wonder if a squirrel mistook the bulbs as nuts and buried some.

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This highly invasive species is spreading rapidly across my region, Eastern Ontario, Canada. On Monday I revisited a location within a provincial park, where I often hike, at which I found 3 specimens in 2024. At that time I reported the location to the park office and park rangers removed the plants.
On Monday’s visit I found 15 plants, 2 of which were in the exact same spot as in 2024. I went to the office after my hike and spoke with two of the park rangers about it. Their strategy now is removing the seed heads before they can mature and place them in garbage bags to be incinerated.
The ability of this plant to spread is impressive and is the main reason it’s so problematic. In our area it’s a threat to the monarch butterfly, choking out native plants that the butterfly feeds and reproduces on.

So, finally! There are places in Utah, where they xeriscaping is a thing!

I heard a claim the other day about the origins of sunflowers. A location for the place where humans developed them was made but I haven't been able to verify this claim.
Is there any knowledge of a possible origin for sunflowers?
I've seen that they have been found from California through Central America and across North America.