Thomson environmental consultants’ Post

Today’s Flora Friday highlights one-sided wintergreen, Orthilia secunda. It is a perennial, mat-forming forb common in boreal and mountain regions, primarily in conifer forests. It is circumpolar, found throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The leaves are evergreen, growing from slender rhizomes. Blades are ovate with a rounded base. They grow on short petioles and are up to 5 cm long. The leaves are numerous and grow both basally and up the stem. The inflorescence is on a stem from 5-15 cm tall. It is a one-sided raceme with 6-20 flowers. Flowers are bell-shaped and slightly droopy. The petals are white, to 5 mm long, with tubercles near the base, on the inner surface. The sepals are to 1 mm long. The styles are exserted, to 8 mm long. The stigmas have 5 lobes. The basal ovary disc features 10 small glands. The fruit is a spherical capsule to 5 mm wide. Photo and writeup by Katherine Johnson #tannasconservation #tannaconservationservices #tannasconservationab #florafriday #alberta #albertaplants  #plantlovers  #albertanature #fieldwork #plant #botany #ecology #agrology #nativeplants #forbs #conservation #praire #forests #mountains #westerncanada #orthiliasecunda #onesidedwintergreen

Lixus concavus, commonly called the rhubarb curculio, is a species of weevil. Rhubarb (Rheum species) is a host, together with dock, sunflower, and thistle. Snout: Long, down-curving snout, which is characteristic of weevils. Color: Dusty yellow coating that can rub off, revealing a darker color underneath. Size: 10-13.5 mm in length. Host plants: Feeds on rhubarb, dock, thistles, sunflowers, and other plants in the smartweed or buckwheat families. #weevil #insect #entomology

I published a new article on Medium! 😊 Read here: #plants #aroids #Anthurium #botany

FUNGI FRIDAY BRITTLE CINDER Kretzschmaria deusta This week it's the notoriously difficult to assess brittle cinder (Kretzschmaria deusta). A decay fungi which causes root and butt rot in a wide range of tree species causing the wood to become brittle through both type 1 and type 2 soft rot. It's fruiting bodies are often missed and it's decay in early stages is difficult to detect using acoustic methods. ARBORICULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Causes root and butt rot through both type 1 and type 2 soft rot, and is associated with stem and root failure. PHOTO: Author's own. PHOTO ID CONFIDENCE: High INFO: Humphries, D. and Wright, C. (2021). Fungi on Trees: a photographic reference. Stonehouse: Arboricultural Association. Boddy, L. (2021). Fungi and Trees: their complex relationships. Stonehouse: Arboricultural Association.

This Ginkgo biloba tree is over 1400 years old 💛🍂✨ Want one in your garden or city park? The tree survived the dinosaurs AND an atomic bomb Maidenhair trees have existed as a species, virtually unchanged, for over 200 million years. Ginkgo fossils dating back 170 million years to the early Jurassic period have been discovered in China Ginkgo trees can live for over a thousand years. The oldest documented specimen is this one at the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in Xi’am, China. In autumn, ginkgo leaves famously turn golden yellow all at once, producing a stunning ‘leaf dump’ on a single day in October Ginkgo leaves are a short-term treatment in traditional Chinese medicine to improve memory function and circulation. They were the first trees to begin growing again after the atomic attack on Hiroshima. Six amazingly hardy trees survived the bombing and are still going strong today. 👉🏽 The fruit and nuts might be stinky but very nutritious and delicious. Ps. Did you know that the Ginkgo is closer to a conifer than a deciduous broadleaf? #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #tuinarchitectuur #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate

This Ginkgo biloba tree is over 1400 years old 💛🍂✨ Want one in your garden or city park? The tree survived the dinosaurs AND an atomic bomb Maidenhair trees have existed as a species, virtually unchanged, for over 200 million years. Ginkgo fossils dating back 170 million years to the early Jurassic period have been discovered in China Ginkgo trees can live for over a thousand years. The oldest documented specimen is this one at the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in Xi’am, China. In autumn, ginkgo leaves famously turn golden yellow all at once, producing a stunning ‘leaf dump’ on a single day in October Ginkgo leaves are a short-term treatment in traditional Chinese medicine to improve memory function and circulation. They were the first trees to begin growing again after the atomic attack on Hiroshima. Six amazingly hardy trees survived the bombing and are still going strong today. 👉🏽 The fruit and nuts might be stinky but very nutritious and delicious. Ps. Did you know that the Ginkgo is a conifer? #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #tuinarchitectuur #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate

I was fascinated to learn about one of the oldest flower fossils that is known to date back to the Cretaceous period. It comes from the Koonwarra Fossil Bed near Melbourne, Australia, and was originally described as a fern. Upon closer inspection, the fern had carpel-bearing inflorescences. It has several distinguishing features that are typical of modern angiosperms. For example, small flowers without petals, single-carpel ovaries with short stigmas and no styles, and flowers with several bracts at their bases. Plants that share similarities to the Koonwarra angiosperm are believed to be primitive members of dicots and monocots. The entire fossil resembles a black pepper plant, less than 3 cm long. The fossil itself dates back to 120 million years ago and may represent one of the first flowering ancestral plants. If this is correct, most of the first flowers on earth were radially symmetrical, as flowers with bilateral symmetry did not appear until the Paleocene period, less than 65 million years ago. In 1999, Botanists showed results of 5 years of genetic analyses of over 100 flowering species of plants and concluded that the closest living relative of the first flowering plants is Amborella, a shrub with small, creamy flowers and red fruits found only on New Caledonia, an island in the South Pacific. #koonwarra #fossil #paleobotany #cretaceous #botany #earlyflowers #inthebeginning

Download image Cuckoo wasps, also known as emerald wasps or jewel wasps, are a fascinating group of insects belonging to the family Chrysididae. #bug #closeup #cuckoowasp #entomology #fauna #insect #parasite #parasitic #pest #rubytailedwasp #wasp #wildlife

Dung beetles, also known as scarab beetles, are insects that feed on the dung of herbivores and omnivores. They are known for their unique behavior of rolling and burying dung into underground burrows for food and shelter. Here's a brief overview of how dung beetles make dung balls and other related facts: How Dung Beetles Make Dung Balls: 1. Dung beetles search for fresh dung and select a suitable piece. 2. They use their legs and mouthparts to shape the dung into a ball, which can be up to 50 times their own body weight. 3. They roll the dung ball away from the dung pat using their hind legs, often in a straight line. 4. Once they reach a suitable location, they bury the dung ball in an underground burrow. Using the Dung Ball: 1. The dung ball serves as a food source for the dung beetle and its larvae. 2. The burrow provides shelter and protection from predators and harsh environmental conditions. Weight of the Dung Ball: 1. The weight of the dung ball can vary depending on the species of dung beetle and the size of the dung pat. 2. On average, a dung ball can weigh anywhere from 1-100 grams (0.04-4 oz). Energy Used by Dung Beetles: 1. Dung beetles use a significant amount of energy to roll and bury the dung ball. 2. Studies have shown that dung beetles can use up to 1.4 joules (J) of energy per meter (m) rolled, which is equivalent to about 1.4 kilojoules (kJ) per meter. 3. To put this into perspective, a human walking at a moderate pace uses about 1.5 kJ/m. Keep in mind that these values can vary depending on the species of dung beetle and the environmental conditions. #DungBeetles #Efficiency #Sustainability #Nature #Wildlife #Innovation #Productivity #Resourcefulness #Ecology #Entomology #Biodiversity #Nature #Wildlife #NatureLovers #Entomology #Inspiration #Entomology #Insects #InsectLove #BugLife #Mosquitoes #InsectPhotography #Entomologist #InsectScience #BugScience #InsectConservation #InsectBiodiversity #Arthropods #Invertebrates #Wildlife #Nature #Ecology #Biology #Zoology #LadyBirdBeetle #Aphids #Plants #Predators #Beneficial_Insects #Agriculture