#plant psa

[trexalicious]

A reminder for those of us with cats at Easter that lilies of ANY kind are BAD for cats. Some species such as Calla, Peace and Peruvian do not cause kidney damage or death like Easter and daylilies, but they can still cause irritation and gastrointestinal issues if ingested...

[woodsy-hoe]

exploring in the ferns :-)

[succygirl]

Baby has to have surgery in two weeks bc breast cancer so we're trying out baby suits and cones.

I watched her for a half hour and she was fine, I go and heat up soup for ten minutes and come back to her naked. Will have to troubleshoot.

[ozzyphim]

Whoever decided to plant wisteria straight into the ground here....count your days. Count your fucking days. It's just a purple ass kudzu!!! This shit is fucking EVERYWHERE!!! Stop it!!! Stop planting it!! Stop endorsing it!! Yes it's pretty and whimsical and all the things but it's a goddamn mess!!! It's killing everything! Growing over everything!! Stupid insidious purple bastard flowering tree!!!! Stop planting it!!!! Stop it!!! Seriously!!! Find a different whimiscal plant PLEEEEASE!!!!!

[genuinebluff]

In Times of Emergency, ask yourself: It it time to BITE?

B : Bandage Tightly: bandages can never be tight enough.

I : Ignore Distress : They're trying to distract you from helping them by saying things like "I don't want your help!"

T : Talk Constantly : Speaking rapidly and at a high rate of volume is calming.

E : Elevate Aggressively : An injury can truly never be elevated enough, go to any length to ensure maximum elevation.

[lunar-bunn]

I thought the very first rule of toxic plants was: DO NOT BURN

[imperfectparakeet]

Milkweed PSA

DO NOT plant non-native milkweed

Milkweed is where Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs. Planting milkweed is great and you should definitely if you live somewhere in north or south America. However if you are, please spend a few minutes to google if the milkweed you are looking to plant is native. Non-native milk weed disrupts their migration as well as increasing the chances of parasites spreading between monarchs. It does not take that long to google it so please if you are going to plant milkweed plant what is native to your area.

[sap-woods]

[daisiesonafield-blog]

CANADA RECALL

Full article here

UPDATE AUG 14 2024:

Link

[herearedragons]

I love having plants and beasts. I know it's spring because my succulent and aloe vera plant are flowering and I just brushed a small carpet's worth of fluff out of my shorthair cat

[rebeccathenaturalist]

How to Identify Spotted Lanternflies

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

Name: Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata)

Range and typical habitat(s): Native range includes China and Japan; is invasive in North America and South Korea

Distinguishing physical characteristics (size, colors, overall shapes, detail shapes) and behaviors: The spotted lanternfly is a distinctive looking insect at any stage of development. The nymphs/instars have round, black bodies that taper to a small head with two large, round, yellowish eyes, one on either side. Younger instars have white spots, while the fourth and final instar additionally features bright red patches on its body. They do not have wings.

The adult spotted lanternfly is about an inch long, and is tan to light grayish-brown with a dark head and legs, and a dark triangle on the shoulders. The forewings also feature dark spots, and a dark web-like pattern at the wingtips, which are rounded in shape. The hindwings are often cover when the insect is at rest, but when spread they display bright red patches with black spots, and the distal ends are black with a white horizontal bar across each. The abdomen is thick and has yellow stripes, and the tip of the abdomen is red. The head is comparatively small, and again has two yellowish round eyes. In spite of having wings, they do not properly fly. Instead, they use these wings to help them leap from one plant to another.

The nymphs usually hatch in April or May. By July, the first adults appear, and prepare to mate and lay eggs. One female can lay up to fifty eggs that are protected in a waxy casing; they look a bit like a clump of clay or dirt stuck to a tree, wall, or other surface. They will overwinter in that spot, and in fact the colder the temperatures the more eggs hatch the following spring. The adults, meanwhile, usually die off by the end of the year; a lanternfly that has reached one year in age is geriatric indeed.

Spotted lanternflies are herbivorous; the nymphs prefer the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), but will also opportunistically feed on other plants, ranging from trees to grapevines to soybeans. The nymphs and adults both suck sap from their host tree using specialized mouthparts, and in sufficient numbers can be deadly to the plant. All told, spotted lanternflies have been observed feeding on the better part of two hundred plant species.

Other organisms it could be confused with and how to tell the difference: There are two other species in the genus Lycorma that look quite similar to L. deliculata; both are found solely in Asia. L. imperialis, found in China, India, and Bangladesh, looks almost identical to L. deliculata, except the base color of the forewings in adults tends to be darker and greener in tone than the grayish-brown seen in L. deliculata. The coloration on L. imperialis’ abdomen may also vary, with orange or red patches being common.

L. imperialis. Photo by Tanja Popp, CCA-SA-4.0-Intl

L. meliae is more obviously a different species than L. deliculata. Its forewings are a deep red with the same black spots and webbing pattern. There is also a variant that is solid black except for white spots on the forewings, with a deep red to orange abdomen with black stripes or splotches. L. meliae is only found in Taiwan.

L. meliae. Photo by Lin Sun-Fong, CC BY-SA 2.0

Anything else worth mentioning? Spotted lanternflies are considered to be a highly invasive insect in North America; they arrived by accident in 2014 and have been spreading throughout the northeast since then. They do significant damage to crops such as soybeans (Glycine max) and apples (Malus domestica), and also attack native plants like black walnut (Juglans nigra) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). The nymphs parasitize the tree in such large numbers that they can cause severe damage in a short period of time. Additionally, leaking sap from the tree as well as the nymphs’ waste (honeydew) not only drip onto the plants’ leaves and hinder photosynthesis, but they also promote fungal growth that further injures the plant.

In its native range, the spotted lanternfly’s usual host is the tree of heaven. Like the lanternfly, this tree is also highly invasive in North America, and has been a key factor facilitating the spread of spotted lanternflies. Many efforts to control or prevent the spread of lanterflies involve removing tree of heaven, which can be quite difficult to eliminate completely. However, evidence is growing that lanternfly nymphs that feed on plants other than tree of heaven are not as healthy, and this may be a crucial control in keeping these insects in check.

People in North America who find the nymphs or adults, and especially egg casings, are encouraged to smash them on sight. Other regions around the world that regularly trade agricultural products with China or North American countries are also on the lookout for any sign of spotted lanternflies being introduced.

Further Reading:

USDA APHIS: Spotted Lanternfly

PennState Extension: Spotted Lanternfly

Invasive Bug Prompts Quarantine In Pennsylvania Townships

Spotted Lanternfly in New Jersey: What you need to know

Spotted Lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) Can Complete Development and Reproduce Without Access to the Preferred Host, Ailanthus altissima

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!

[ralfmaximus]

Explore 6000+ plants, sorted by pretty much any criteria. Then find the cheapest way to buy them.

[softdefault]

HELLO 🩶 I JUST LEFT FOR VACATION WITHOUT MY COMPUTER SO I WILL DO ALL MY UNANSWERED WCIFS WHEN I GET HOME. LOVE U BE GOOD SEE U SOON 🩶🩶🩶

[swamp-boggler]

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum).

Eating even a small amount of any part of this plant can kill people, livestock, and wildlife.

[genuinebluff]

Is your partner disrupting your daily life with HARMFUL OFF-GASSING?

Know the Signs that your partner may be releasing volatile organic compounds

They always have that "new car smell"

They irritate your eyes, nose, and/or throat

You are overcome with fatigue around them

They make you dizzy in a bad way

They cause you to become nauseous

[61below]

Fellow long-haired folks with sensory issues, let me show you this absolute gem for keeping your hair back without straining your scalp:

If your hair is long enough to twist around itself, it’s long enough for this U Pin to work. I don’t recommend trying to run a marathon in it, but it’s great because the hold is JUST strong enough to stay put under basic daily use, but without giving you a headache from the constant pull on your scalp.