I feel like I've been around the world lately, even though in truth I've visited just a few new corners of the US.
Travelling through Idaho, I stumbled upon the stunning Thomas Canyon campground, and two of my favorite plants in flower: Balsamorhiza sagittata, and Viola purpurea.
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| Balsamorhiza sagittata (arrowleaf balsamroot) in the Ruby Mountains' Thomas Canyon campground |
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Viola purpurea (goosefoot violet)
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At the Chicago Botanic Garden, I experienced in person for the first time two very charismatic plants: Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), and Theobroma cacao (cacao tree)!
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| Taxodium distichum. The knees, the knees!! |
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| Theobroma cacao flowers. They didn't really smell like chocolate. And why the heck do they come straight out of the bark? Why oh why, and how? |
In the Chicago Botanic Garden's arid greenhouse, I had the privilege of meeting a whole bunch of dry-adapted carbon-fixers.
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| Cactus flower |
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| weird! |
