Foliage of Acacia Senegal (Senegalia Senegal).

Acacia: A Legacy of Artistry and Extraction

The thorny Acacia tree produces gum arabic, a versatile substance that’s been driving global trade for centuries.
Ectomycorrhizal fungi

The Fungi in the Carbon Jigsaw

Out of sight, below the soil’s surface, fungi play a vital role in the existence and health of our forests, woodlands, jungles, and prairies.
Green Iguanas

The Reptilian Renaissance

Think reptiles like crocodiles and caimans are slow learners? It’s probably because you’re human.
A unicorn, a squirrel and a mouse. Cut-out engravings pasted onto paper

The Undying Unicorn

What role could a mythical animal play in our lives—centuries after its existence came into question?
Sturgeon

Atlantic Sturgeon Were Fished Almost to Extinction

Ancient DNA reveals how the Chesapeake Bay population changed over centuries.
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in The North American Sylva by François André Michaux. Illustration by Henri-Joseph Redouté, 1819.

Tradition in Turmoil: Sugar Maple and Climate Change

With harvests dependent on the spring freeze-thaw cycle, the maple industry is seeking ways to mitigate damage wrought by a changing climate.
Joseph Russell Smith

He Spoke for the Trees (and Also the Soil)

A champion of agroforestry, J. Russell Smith argued for the restoration of forests as key to sustainable agriculture in his seminal work Tree Crops.
A male maratus splendens spider on a stalk of grass.

Tiny Splendid Peacock Spiders

They have the fastest known jump among their kind according to a new study.
Aconitum napellus

Wolfsbane: A Poisonous Beauty

With a complex history related to hunting, magic, and madness, wolfsbane offers a glimpse into vernacular plant names and their associations with animals.

Trees With a Secret Message

The culturally modified trees of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska bring essential stories of the past into the present.