The iconic symbol of the America desert is a tall cactus with bent arms growing out its sides. This cactus is known as the Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), and the only place it grows naturally is in the Sonora desert which covers part of Arizona, a little of California, and some area across the border … Continue reading The Icon of the American Desert
Anyone who has spent time in the Western United States has probably seen the wild flower known as Indian paintbrush, also called Castilleja. This wildflower is named for its clusters of colorful bracts that resemble paintbrushes dipped in brightly colored paint. This small flower grows in forest clearings and grasslands across the western and southwestern … Continue reading Indian paintbrush
We all have hobbies, things we like to do to get away from the stresses of life. Axel Erlandson had a very unique hobby of training trees to grow into strange shapes, which today is called tree sculpting or simply tree shaping. This practice is similar to other tree shaping techniques such as pleaching, bonsai, … Continue reading The Tree Whisperer
There is something fascinating about manipulating nature just a little to make something ordinary into something extraordinary. The art of creating bonsai trees is a classic example of the manipulation of nature to create a piece of unique living art. Japanese farmers have found another way to take something ordinary and add a little twist. … Continue reading Square Watermelons
Carnivorous plants like the venous flytrap are fairly well known, but did you know there is a plant that is rumored to eat sheep? Alright, there are no plants that will actually chew up a sheep and spit out their bones. But there is a plant known as the sheep-eating plant which is formally known … Continue reading Sheep-Eating Plant
Everyone knows that plants need sunlight, water, and soil to grow. So you may be surprised to learn that there are some plants that don’t need soil at all. These plants are known as epiphytes, and they grow on trees and rocks in warm humid places in the world. Some of the more commonly known … Continue reading Air Plants
Anyone who has seen the glow of fireflies on a warm summer night can’t help but be fascinated by the mystery and wonder of the natural world. We are used to the electric lights that light up our world at night, but the thought of plants and animals lighting up may seem to some as … Continue reading Glow-in-the-Dark Plants
Plants have many ways of defending themselves from predators who want to eat them. Plants cannot run away, but they can fight back. Some plants have thorns, the ability to sting, and some produce chemicals that are poisonous. The pepper plant (Capsicum) produces a chemical called capsaicin in its fruit which is a colorless, odorless, … Continue reading The Hottest Pepper known to Man
Food! We all need it, we all love it. Food can bring us together or tear us apart, but no matter our position or culture, food is something we all have a common interest in and is something we focus our lives around. Whether through necessity, curiosity, or boredom mankind has discovered some pretty interesting … Continue reading The Most Expensive Fungus in the World
The amount of variation and diversity in the different kinds of fruits that grow in this world is astonishing. In America we are used to seeing apples, oranges, and bananas all year round in the grocery store, and we can find other fruits seasonally like water melon, peaches, and pineapple. We are fortunate to live … Continue reading Edible Petals
the extreme horticulturist 