Friday, April 8, 2011

Plant of the Week

Goat’s rue
Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers.
other common names: catgut, devil’s shoestrings, hoary pea, North American turkey pea, Virginia tephrosia, wild sweetpea
Tephrosia: from Greek tephros, meaning “ash-colored or hoary”
Virginiana: meaning “of Virginia”
Legume family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

This Week in Iowa Nature

Bumblebee queens emerge from their winter hibernation.

The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean Prior and James Sandrock