Natural Selections
Think globally, write locally. This blog features essays excerpted from Wild Philly plus new and original writings on the environmental issues of the day. Natural Selections keeps you up-to-date on the nature and environment of the Philadelphia region.
Black Cherry: Necessary and Underrated
It’s black cherry season in Wild Philly, the time of year when black cherries (Prunus serotina) are in full bloom, their branches weighted down by long plumes of nectar-rich five-petaled white flowers. And if you've got the tree nearby-- one thankfully grows in my next-door neighbor's yard-- you’re lucky, as the tree should be literally abuzz with bees, flies, butterflies, and other pollinators right about now.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit: a Sequential Hermaphrodite
It’s May, wildflower season in Wild Philly, and one of the easiest to recognize spring wildflowers is Jack-in-the-pulpit, that tall, slender flower with a highly variable striped “pulpit” surrounding the long slender “Jack,” the minister standing to offer a sermon on the forest floor.
The Unraveling of the Red Knot
The red knot is one of the region’s most extraordinary birds, facing one of conservation's biggest threats, but sadly flies under the radar of too many people. Too few of us have heard of the knot, and fewer still know its story, which has a deep and ancient connection to another important animal, the horseshoe crab.