#Atlantic white cedar

[eggtrolls]

My big girl Atlas is SEVENTEEN INCHES tall today!!! She only needs seven more inches to be allowed to play outside with the big kids (get planted in freshwater marsh in the Bronx). Gemini, Ursa Major, and oldest sister Hajime are all between 12 and 14 inches and will be repotted this week to keep boosting growth. They’re all under the grow light and doing pretty well, so hopefully they keep gaining height throughout the fall/winter. And littlest sister Jiro is a perfectly respectable 5 inches, thank you very much.

Cohort 3b (extended, colder period of stratification, soil cells placed on heat mat, top seeding with no soil above, watering with eyedropper) launches April 13th, 2025

[aisling-saoirse]

Slightly Mature Atlantic White Cedars

[phenomenalwoman42]

Planting Atlantic White Cedar in the Millennium Forest

[paulpingminho]

[reopenfile]

Minneapolis Scandinavian Exterior Mid-sized danish beige two-story mixed siding house exterior photo with a butterfly roof, a shingle roof and a gray roof

[yourperfectlittleanarchist]

Shingles - Scandinavian Exterior Example of a mid-sized danish beige two-story mixed siding house exterior design with a butterfly roof, a shingle roof and a gray roof

[battle-of-the-birds]

Alrighty and HERE ARE OUR CONTENDERS!!!

Tag for the polls: #bird battle

DISCLAIMER - I wrote the round one blurbs when I was very sick and half awake, so if you see any mistakes PLEASE TELL ME! Nicely, obviously, but I want to make sure they sound good for round 2. Thank you!

I know there’s a lot of them, but man there’s SO MANY GOOD BIRDS! There were a few times where people didn’t put what specific subspecies for some birds, so sometimes I’d have to choose one. I tried to choose one that represents that bird the best!

I don’t know when the polls will begin, I’m doing some research on the birds so that people can read about them before they vote.

If one of your favs didn’t make it in, don’t worry they’re a winner in my and your heart.

If you are wondering where the Pigeon (Rock Dove) is, THEY ARE THE FINAL CHAMPION! At the end of this bracket, the winner will face off against the mightily popular Rock Dove! Will they be able to beat such a tough challenger? We will see…

Also, a note on how I set this bracket up: I put all the birds in a numbered list and then used a number generator. I think the matchups we got were really interesting.

Full list under the cut

HARPY EAGLE

SUPERB BIRD OF PARADISE

VAMPIRE FINCH

RAINBOW LORIKEET

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

EURASIAN WREN

STELLER'S JAY

CALIFORNIA CONDOR

EURASIAN HOOPOE

BLACK CAPPED CHICKADEE

TAWNY FROGMOUTH

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

ANDEAN COCK OF THE ROCK

MUTE SWAN

WESTERN SANDPIPER

STELLER'S SEA EAGLE

VIOLET BACKED STARLING

HOATZIN

HOUSE SPARROW

HERACLES

CANADIAN GOOSE

DODO

GREAT EARED NIGHTJAR

SANDHILL CRANE

PELAGORNIS

SUPERB FAIRY WREN

SOUTHERN CASSOWARY

AMERICAN ROBIN

GREATER ROADRUNNER

GREAT BLUE HERON

AMERICAN AVOCET

PASSENGER PIGEON

WALLCREEPER

GREAT TIT

MOA

EASTERN BLUEBIRD

AUSTRALIAN BUSHTURKEY

EMU

MALLARD DUCK

FLAME BOWERBIRD

MANDARIN DUCK

BELTED KINGFISHER

OILBIRD

FAIRY PENGUIN

LESSER FLAMINGO

AUSTRALIAN KESTREL

CARRION CROW

UMBRELLABIRD

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE

PERUVIAN PELICAN

CALIFORNIA QUAIL

MACGREGORS BOWERBIRD

HARRIS HAWK

COMMON RAVEN

BEARDED VULTURE

PEREGRINE FALCON

ROSY LOVEBIRD

ROSEATTE SPOONBILL

LONG TAILED GRACKLE

AMERICAN WOODCOCK

KAKAPO

BLUE FOOTED BOOBY

RHEA

BEE HUMMINGBIRD

WHITE WAGTAIL

HUIA

SNAIL KITE

DOMESTIC CHICKEN

KIWI

MOURNING DOVE

ATLANTIC PUFFIN

CARDINAL

LYREBIRD

EUROPEAN ROBIN

BURROWING OWL

OSPREY

RED TAILED HAWK

BLEEDING HEART DOVE

BARN OWL

PEACOCK

SATIN BOWERBIRD

CAIQUE

RED WINGED BLACKBIRD

LONG TAILED TIT

HERRING GULL

GREEN HERON

CREAM COLORED WOODPECKER

AUSTRALIAN IBIS

TRISTAM'S STARLING

POTOO

WANDERING ALBATROSS

BLUE JAY

KEA

COMMON MYNA

RAINBOW TOUCAN

GREATER SAGE GROUSE

TURKEY VULTURE

TUFTED TITMOUSE

CRESTED AUKLET

EURASIAN MAGPIE

BUDGIE

SCREECH OWL

WIP-POOR-WILL

SECRETARY BIRD

AUSTRALIAN MAGPIE

CEDAR WAXWING

VICTORIA CROWNED PIGEON

HERMIT THRUSH

COMMON SWIFT

WHITE BELLBIRD

BROWN SKUA

EUROPEAN DIPPER

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

List of Birds organized by Order + locations:

Accipitriformes:

Bearded vulture

Cooper's hawk

Osprey

Red-shouldered hawk

Steller's sea eagle

Anseriformes:

Bar-headed goose

Barnacle goose

Black swan

Common merganser

Red-breasted goose

Snow goose

Trumpeter swan

Apodiformes:

Common swift

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Bucerotiformes:

Eurasian hoopoe

Cariamiformes:

Red-legged seriema

Casuariiformes:

Emu

Southern cassowary

Cathartiformes:

Black vulture

Turkey vulture

Charadriiformes:

American oystercatcher

Atlantic puffin

Black-headed gull

Black skimmer

Black-tailed godwit

European herring gull

Killdeer

Northern lapwing

Ruddy turnstone

Ciconiiformes:

White stork

Columbiformes:

Common wood pigeon

Eurasian collared dove

Luzon bleeding-heart

Nicobar pigeon

Victoria crowned pigeon

Coraciiformes:

Blue-capped kingfisher

Common kingfisher

Cuculiformes:

Asian koel

Greater roadrunner

Yellow-billed cuckoo

Eurypygiformes:

Kagu

Falconiformes:

American kestrel

Common kestrel

Galliformes:

Palawan peacock-pheasant

Scaled quail

Western capercaillie

Gaviiformes:

Common loon

Gruiformes:

American coot

Australasian swamphen/pūkeko

Blue crane

Common moorhen

Sandhill crane

Sora

Whooping crane

Passeriformes:

American bushtit

American robin

Australian raven

Baltimore oriole

Barn swallow

Black-billed magpie

Black-capped chickadee

Black-throated sparrow

Blue-headed vireo

Blue jay

Bluethroat

Brown thrasher

California towhee

Canada warbler

Canyon wren

Cedar waxwing

Common blackbird

Common chlorospingus

Common raven

Eastern wood pewee

Eurasian blue tit

Eurasian bullfinch

Eurasian golden oriole

Eurasian jay

Eurasian magpie

European robin

Goldcrest

Great-tailed grackle

Great tit

Hooded crow

House sparrow

Indigo bunting

Kirtland's warbler

LeConte's sparrow

Long-tailed tit

Mexican jay

Painted bunting

Phainopepla

Pine siskin

Pin-tailed whydah

Pinyon jay

Pygmy nuthatch

Red winged blackbird

Rook

Saltmarsh sparrow

Satin bowerbird

Spotted towhee

Steller's jay

Tufted titmouse

Wallcreeper

Warbling vireo

Western tanager

White-breasted nuthatch

White-throated dipper

White-throated magpie-jay

Yellow-rumped warbler

Pelecaniformes:

Brown pelican

Great blue heron

Great egret

Great white pelican

Least bittern

Roseate spoonbill

Shoebill stork

Snowy egret

Phoenicopteriformes:

American flamingo

Chilean flamingo

Piciformes:

Acorn woodpecker

Clark's nutcracker

Lewis's woodpecker

Northern flicker

Pileated woodpecker

Red-bellied woodpecker

Red-headed woodpecker

Podargiformes:

Tawny frogmouth

Podicipediformes:

Pied-billed grebe

Procellariiformes:

Wilson's storm-petrel

Psittaciformes:

Australian king parrot

Chestnut-fronted macaw

Citron-crested cockatoo

Cockatiel

Galah

Gang-gang cockatoo

Pacific parrotlet

Rose-ringed parakeet

Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Strigiformes:

Barn owl

Barred owl

Eurasian eagle-owl

Suliformes:

Anhinga

Blue-footed booby

Double-crested cormorant

Trogoniformes:

Elegant trogon

Locations:

Africa

America

Antarctica

Asia

Australia

Central America

Eurasia

Europe

North America

Oceania

South America

[rebeccathenaturalist]

How to Identify American Holly

Click here to learn more about the How to Identify article series.

Name: American Holly (Ilex opaca)

Range and typical habitat(s): Typically southeastern United States, from eastern Texas to the Atlantic coast, southern Missouri, and central Florida to scattered portions of New England. iNaturalist observations also place it in portions of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Oklahoma, showing some expansion compared to the 2014 BONAP map, so its range may be expanding in response to climate change. In most of its range it is an understory tree growing in the shade of larger species. However, in Florida’s scrub habitat it grows as a shrub.

Photo by Derek Ramsay, GNU FDL 1.2

Distinguishing physical characteristics (size, colors, overall shapes, detail shapes): At first glance American holly looks quite similar to the European holly (Ilex aquifolium) so commonly used got holiday decorations (more about the differences between the two below.) It has medium to dark green oval-shaped leaves, sometimes with a yellowish tint, whose margins (edges) have concave curves between sharp points that are regularly spaced; large leaves may reach three inches long.

Photo by Famartin, CCA-SA-4.0-INTL

The American holly’s leaves have a leathery, stiff texture, and may appear waxy, and the underside is paler, often yellow in color. Each leaf has a central vein (midrib) that is depressed, appearing almost like a deep crease. Thinner veins branch off of both sides of the midrib. Some leaves may display smooth margins instead of the more typically spiky ones, especially when they are high enough to be out of the reach of browsing herbivores like deer.

The foliage stays green throughout the year rather than being shed in fall; a given leaf may stay on the tree for up to three years before being displaced by a new replacement leaf. The leaves grow in an alternate pattern along a twig, with each leaf growing a little further along the twig than the last. The tree’s branches and trunk are covered in pale gray bark that is relatively smooth, but may have horizontal and vertical striations, along with various nodes and bumps, and might also play host to white patches of microlichen colonies. Other lichens, as well as mosses, also may add color to the American holly’s bark.

Photo by Krzysztof Ziarnek, CCA-SA-4.0-INTL

An exceptional specimen of American holly can reach almost 100 feet tall when mature, though it grows slowly. Such large trees are generally a century or more old, and the oldest on record was just a few years shy of 150.

The flowers of American holly are small (1/2″ or less across) with green centers and four (sometimes six) white petals that are broad with a rounded end, and whose tips curve back toward the plant. They grow in clusters of several flowers sprouting from one spot. American holly is dioecious, meaning that there are female and male plants; the males tend to reach sexual maturity a few years earlier than the females, but they all are generally reproducing by the age of ten.

When fertilized by insects the female flowers then turn into the well-known red berries. Technically these are drupes rather than true berries, with four seeds apiece, and while they start out green they ripen to a bright red. The berries are popular with birds like cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), but are toxic to humans and our pets.

Photo by Douglas Goldman, CCA-SA-4.0

Other organisms it could be confused with and how to tell the difference: Due to their similarity, American holly and European holly may easily be confused at first glance, and both prefer the understory of a forest. However, the European species does not grow as large. The leaves of European holly are darker and have a glossier appearance; the edges may also be more warped where those of American holly lie comparatively flat. Moreover, European holly grows more commonly along the west coast of North America, and is more sparse throughout American holly’s native range, especially outside of cultivated spaces.

European holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is another species native to the southeastern North America, particularly the Gulf Coast states and the southern third of the Atlantic coast. It is a much smaller shrub that rarely exceeds thirty feet tall, and its leaves are round with serrated or scalloped edges rather than the pointed margins of American holly. The petals of the flowers may not curve as much as on American holly.

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

Dahoon holly (Ilex cassine) also grows in the extreme southeastern United States, from Louisiana to the southern tip of North Carolina, and primarily along the coastline except in Florida where it can be found across much of the peninsula. Its leaves are longer and more slender than those of American holly, and the margins are almost entirely smooth except for a series of very small spikes.

Dahoon holly (Ilex cassine). Photo by Douglas Goldman, CCA-SA-4.0

Possumhaw (Ilex decidua) has long, slender leaves with a gently pointed tip and serrated edges. This deciduous plant drops its leaves in fall, unlike the evergreen American holly.

Possumhaw (Ilex decidua)

There are other plants that have similar leaves to American holly but that grow out of its range, such as the various species of Oregon grape (Mahonia spp.) in the Pacific Northwest, and holm oak (Quercus ilex), for which the genus Ilex was originally named.

Further reading:

USDA: American Holly

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Ilex opaca

Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Ilex opaca

Native Plant Trust: Ilex opaca – American holly

University of Connecticut Plant Database: Ilex opaca

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[chicago-geniza]

Normally do not have a very visual imagination but this character appeared to me and now I need to name her and find her narrative

Dyed curly hair just past shoulder length ombre gradient brown to platinum to pink to purple but like Easter colors and fading, some mermaid green tint

A little bit fat

Dark gray hoodie with an a not an e good quality heavy cotton

Dress pale mint green floral print not roses but something ruffled like them pink blossoms and blueish buds also branches leaves and stems; like a sketch with the lines still visible, in pencil, not erased; cotton but stiff, sort of, not flowing, in crimps, like a lampshade

Embroidered Converse one shoe untied

Leather messenger bag color of varnished Atlantic white cedar (don't @ me for the wood hue); buckles bronze but tarnished, wear on the strap

Natalie Imbruglia Torn (playing in background)

Glasses like you would expect this person to have

Pose like that one photo on the beach at St A's, jubilant and exultant and very very drunk

[eggtrolls]

Atlantic White Cedar cohort 3 has begun! These seeds will be soaked in cold water for 24 hours and then stratified, a process that replicates them experiencing a cold and dark winter necessary for the seeds to break dormancy. I do this by putting them in damp sand (a 10:1 sand:water ratio per 100 seeds) and keeping them in my fridge for 60 days. After that they’ll go into Petri dishes and under a grow light for 24 hours a day until, hopefully, embryonic roots begin to emerge. I got this from a paper that specifically looked the effects of length of time under grow lights and I’m interested to see the germination and survival rates from this process. I have about half a gram of seeds left (cohort 4) and those will get the standard 180 days of stratification and then top sowing but also with the grow lights. Fingers crossed!

I eyeballed the amount of seeds 😅 so if anyone wants to guess how many seeds there are (I will count tomorrow) and submit your best guess, go crazy. Closest guess gets to name the first seedling of the cohort.

[aisling-saoirse]

The Darkness of an Atlantic White Cedar Bog - January 10th 2023

[basaltpines]

Atlantic white cedar swamp

[paulpingminho]

[maiewad]

5 alkemia samples

silken tent

first impressions: its a bit disappointing.... smells nice and sweet abit powdery but its extremely similar to a $10 vanilla body spray i got from woolworths.... not worth it so far but ill let it sit for a while.

+after sitting for a while its gorgeous. sweet syrupy golden but not too edible smelling. the angelica adds a soft fuzzy herbal tone that balances the fragrance and cuts through the syrupy texture and keeps it from getting cloying. i cant stop inhaling it. i can smell the candied angelica, rice pudding and caramel the best and the jasmine, tuberose and chrysanthemum are more of a subtle white floral in the background.

★★★★★

aurora

first impressions: stexture eally nice reminds me of those musky perfumes you get from mecca that are by byredo or sum shit... i like it fresh neutral a bit of cardamom and iris.

+the iris is really pretty very buttery and milky not too powdery. i can smell the cardamom, violet, musk clearly and the cashmeran adds a cedar element but i cant detect any ginger. ethereal is a good word to describe it. i was wearing it while watching spirited away the other day and i felt like they were a good match especially soundtracks like a road to somewhere and the beginning of nighttime coming.

★★★★

bohemiens en voyage

first impressions: i put it on tadhg it smells like a hippie perfume but more pleasant and wearable in my opinion. a bit smoky a bit like hay a bit sweet. i tried to smell it again but he had made a smoked salmon croissant and all i could smell was da salmon.

+theres no anise in the notes but the beginning smells like it has a licorice note. i can smell the hay, tobacco and amber in the beginning plus a lowkey background sweetness from the sugarcane which smells crystalised. after about 10 minutes the licorice type note is gone (maybe the tabac leaf?) and i can smell hay, sugarcane and the most gorgeous skin musk. buttery salty creamy is how id describe it which might not sound so appealing but it really is beautiful. this is also a golden coloured fragrance like silken tent but instead of being an amber colour its more of a soft dusty yellow. this scent makes me think of malibu by hole. i think that tobacco hay sugarcane and iris are very kinderwhore themed notes in my mind. my mother said that the opening smells like talcum powder.

★★★★★

the wild atlantic way

first impressions: SOO GOOD..... smells fresh and oceanic and floral and the flowers are like honey-sweet wildflowers this is GOOD ASF..... i like it fr. abit soapy but im still lovin it

+the opening flowers are so sweet and full that they almost smell fruity. they smell bright yellow and juicy and you can really smell the nectar and pollen in them. after ten minutes the flowers arent as juicy but they are still very bright and sweet and you start smelling the salt of the ambergris. slowly the flowers die down and it becomes a slightly floral ambergris perfume. im learning that im a huge fan of yellow florals. i saw someone on reddit say that this fragrance reminds them of a romantic scene in a movie (braveheart is the example they used) and i can see that. to me it calls to mind a scene of green fields bright yellow flowers cliffsides and rough waves. the clouds are thick and covering the whole sky except for one break where the sunlight streams down in rays golden and the bright sunlit landscape is contrasted by the dark grey clouds in the distance and it looks otherworldly. one of my favourite kinds of weathers but yeah i like this scent though i am generally a floral lover.

★★★★★

wings of flame

first impressions: this shit smells delicious like coffee yummy.

+smells edible but not overly sweet. the coffee is almost dessert like and the honey is chewy and amber coloured. it makes sense that the coffee note is described as "golden coffee" because it almost smells a bit like caramel with how rich and deep and sweet it is. i put it on tadhg to see his reaction and he says he loves honey+coffee combinations because its decadent in an ancient way. i can see what he means especially for this fragrance in particular. theres no patchouli in the notes but that was a note my mum picked up on.

★★★★

[rasmasandra]

Traveling Across the USA Massachusetts

Beautiful Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard Sightseeing in the US state of Massachusetts Cape Cod is a hook-shaped peninsula and has become a popular summer destination. There are quaint villages, lighthouses, ponds and bay and ocean beaches. Cape Cod National Seashore stretches along the east coast of Cape Cod. There are lovely beaches, beautiful woodlands with Atlantic white cedar and other…