There is among us a form of life whose ancestry traces back nearly 300 million years. This is the ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba, whose closest relatives also have ancient heritage. Although it has broad leaves like angiosperms, ginkgo is a gymnosperm, closely related to cycads and conifers, because it produces “naked seeds” on its branches...

Along the marshy banks of the lower Nile River before it joins the Mediterranean, a sedge plant known to the ancients as “papyrus” or sometimes “biblos” flourished for many thousands of years. The plant was essential to the lives of the Egyptians, providing material for fabric, sails, baskets, and even boats. Papyrus is best known...

The Propertius Duskywing is a Spread-wing Skipper because it usually holds its wings out flat when perched. Only occasionally are the wings folded to show a ventral view. Skippers are separated from other butterflies by the fact that the clubbed antennae are hooked. Also, they have large eyes, stocky bodies, and powerful flight muscles. Propertius...

The Silver-spotted Skipper ( Epargyreus clarus), one of the largest and most widespread species in the skipper family ( Hesperiidae), has a wingspan between 1.5 – 2.5 inches. Both sexes look identical. Although it belongs to the Spread-wing Skippers, this species usually perches with its wings closed. The ground color of the wings and body...