One of my initial goals for my 101 in 1,001 was to learn to identify the most common flora and fauna in the state. While this is something I still want to do, I’ve begun by expanding the criteria a bit. Local flora and fauna are important to me, native species are important to me, but as I’ve travelled more I’ve begun to realize in a concrete way just how interesting species variation is. It’s not just their adaptations and the more subtle changes between related species in different places but their interaction with their changed environment as a whole. Noticing these changes and making comparisons between these new species and the ones I’m more familiar with has definitely piqued my scientific curiousity, particularly when I stop to consider the larger, global picture.
I’ve always been interested in environmental issues, particularly climate change, but it wasn’t until recently that I stopped to think the effects this has on a day to day level, not in my life but environmentally. What role does this play in the street trees we plant or which plants keep showing up in our landscaping? Three hundred years ago what plants did we bring over from Europe? How is this different from the plants and other species we’re introducing today?
As I’ve begun to think about this and do some research I realized that I don’t have access to a lot of this information. Some of this information is there but incomplete, and sometimes there are other gems, things I hadn’t known to look for which I find fascinating. So while I may not be able to answer the questions I’ve posed, I can share these gems and the other information I’ve gathered with all of you. I’m hoping this will encourage you to share what you know, and maybe together we can fill in some of the gaps.
I don’t have an exact post format figured out yet, but I do have photos of about two dozen plants and trees to get started with. Most of them are common ornamental tree varieties, but I would ultimately like to extend this series to include more practical homesteading information: focusing mostly on plants, particularly herbs and fruit trees, but for now, I’m not against building a imaginary forest in my head.
Individual posts will focus on a particular species or a particular subset of a species, most often from the same genus. Information will very somewhat between posts but I’ll try to provide the following when it’s relevant. For trees and plants this will include taxonamy, common names, identifyable features, history (when available), cultivation and use, and other common related species, focusing in particular on Northeastern natives since that’s still my primary area of interest. Posts on animals will very more widely in content and may be grouped into a small number of posts, possibly based on families. All posts will contain reference lists, in case you’re looking for more information. I’m aiming for one post a month for the first part of the year, hopefully bumping it up to two or more closer to the start of summer when I will be out collecting more photos.
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