Welcome to the Natural Coalescence Blog

I will never forget being puzzled by a large tree, trying to ID it during a plant monitoring project but the leaves were all too high up and young to distinguish. So I climbed it. That’s when I had the “oh duh!” moment. Looking closer at a small branch, the large paired thorns below leaves of many pinnate leaflets were a total give away- that’s a black locust tree! Quite pretty actually, but still not a tree I especially like. Dang, not what we wanted to find. botanist,

The iris is more than a lovely (ok absolutely gorgeous) flower. Of ancient Greek mythology, she is the goddess who personified the rainbow and the messenger of the gods where her rainbow trail could be seen left on her message runs between the Earth and the heavens. True, she was a lower tier deity in that mythology, but served a useful role, and how much “use” do we get from rainbows today, really? Definitely some joy and inspiration, and a nice clue to the presence of iso

What's the best way to get rid of weeds? Eat them, of course! And we are hitting prime dandelion season, so it's time to get digging. And roasting. And sauteing. While weeding the older dandelions out of the yard which are ready to bloom right away (continuing to spruce up the area after a tenant's prior neglect), I filled a 5gal tub with some decent sized taprooted dandies and nice tender young ones for their leaves. Naturally I needed to pluck out the pristine ones for

You know how it is. When you're a pretty little thing with a brown complexion, folks tend to nickname ya "Chocolate". Not that I have anything against actual chocolate. Cocoa. Theobroma cocoa is her full name actually and boy what a fascinating lady. But we ain't even in the same order, let alone the same family. Just got a color in common. Needless to say, I also don't have Cocoa's bittersweet flavors. But we do have some bulbous parts (pardon my French) and we are e

There are dozens of flavors for vodkas on the liquor shelves, some fruity, some floral. As delightful as a toasted marshmallow vodka can make your cocktail, I have found a new favorite. And it's one you WON'T find on any store shelf (unless you have a special boutique and botanical liquor store, lucky you!). Ribes sanguineum (red flowering currant) in full bloom on early sunny spring day I was admiring the red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) in my yard, the very rich

I would bet this plant is among those that most people, even the botanically interested, would pass right by. Rosy twisted-stalks, and other twisted-stalks (we have several in the PNW) look like a cute zip-zagging plant similar to Solomon's seals. But if you lift one up you'll see- I think of it like the classic romantic scene moment where the confident love-interest lifts the chin of the bashful beauty for a kiss that says "I love you for you and see just how beautiful you

Begonia flowers are cooler than most people realize. I painted their corkscrew pistils as an oil painting, honoring them as I eat them.

Junipers are not the trees you think of associated with the drizzly Pacific Northwest. But they are old friends from home in the much drier south, much to the dismay of many pollen allergy sufferers there. The male trees can be so prolific it looks like smoke in the air. For this and other misinformed reasons, there is a trend of hating these trees, which are in fact native to this area across the south though they are spreading in an unhistorical way. To my endless annoy

Hey ya doll. Don’t you mind me, or should I say “us”. We certainly don’t mind this snow that can’t resist showing up again after a long hiatus. Every winter we get this last flash of winter like it’s resisting letting go, right? We kind of like that last cry of winter after a premature tease of spring to get our bulbs going. crocus in snow, by Vasile Cotovanu It may be frosty up top, but we know when it’s time to poke our heads out and find some action on the surface. croc

You know that 'adult thing' where you like slipping on a fresh new pair of socks? It's like a cozy snuggle for each foot. It's a thing. There I am craving some warmth for my toesies on a chilly February day, open up my trusty sock drawer and want a small pair, so I pluck one out. And to my surprise there's an extra addition. Not a bug (I try very hard to keep home critter-free) thankfully. I do have plant-socks, fungi socks, and even dinosaur socks, but this is new. Fuzz

Cottonwood trees (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, P. deltoides and B. fremontii) have a love-hate relationship with people. Some people are allergic to them, had fire damage because of them, or simply have to sweep a lot more. But then they are also thought of as sacred, useful and even a bit edible tree. Not the “cotton” though, so don’t get a head of me. [No… come back here!] They are more than just the mismatched name. These trees are quietly special; very hu

The Dino-mobile admiring shrub steppe habitat and Sierra Mountains in the distance On a trip to southern California, I was so pleasantly surprised to find myself among the silvery scent-sational low shrubs I recall from trips to the east side of the Washington Cascades, where the climate is much drier. As I observed, much of California resembles the habitats of eastern Washington, planted firmly in the rain shadow of the tall Cascades mountains which collect the mountain’s

photo by Katy Cain, from Shenandoah National Park At the edge of a forest, near a centennial remnant of crumbling cedar fence, there’s a gnarled struggling tree of thick knotted branch tangles and a few large dead limbs. She is a marvelous Malus, apple. Her wood is gray and scarred- wrinkles showing the touch of time. And dotted among the fading branches, dusted in new snow, are pink shimmering gems- the round treasures that still coalesce their sugars each fall before they

This use probably won't make it onto a toaster oven box or manual, but it was only too obvious for me. How else can you encourage some pine cones to open up in the middle of a cold soggy winter when they've closed back up after laying on the ground for a month or two? And all closed up is NOT going to make the right crafting project. What's a botanist to do? Toast them cones! Little toaster oven set to low is just the right size and not wasting too much energy to gently d

Mistletoe in California oak at Yosemite NP Mistletoes get an interesting and sort of bad rep. They are only really thought about during the holidays (unless by botanists) and many have heard that they are super toxic and kill trees they live on. And yet you’re supposed to smooch under them. Why? Wouldn’t you NOT want to apply your mouth to a person when they are under a toxic plant, just in case some falls on their face right then? Well let’s pick all this apart. If you

Actually a young but large coastal redwood, planted in 1928 You may have heard the quick story about the oldest tree, or maybe the oldest organism. But the details and the bigger story is so much juicer and fascinating, a quickie just doesn't do it justice. It’s hard to just break it down to simple facts, dates, sizes. And we also know now, that size really (no, for real, really) doesn’t matter here. And for those tall people in doubt- even a 7-foot tall person can’t full

Santa Claus may have all the ho’s, but it is the stoic oaks that draw the sapiosexuals to wrap an arm about their branch and light up their festive log. post oak draped in Spanish "moss", like a wizards beard Grand and stately or ambling and scruffy, oaks have a little something for anyone. And this cold and dreary time of year, we have a special something for your hearth too. The finest log to build upon a fiery symbol of rebellion against the longest nights. And let’s not

Roast them by an open campfire, if you can find them. Or stick to chestnuts. I challenge you to roast pine nuts though. So small. old sketches of the two hazelnuts native to Washington. Not just for toasty European winter harvests, we have native hazelnuts that are also great wildlife-supporting large understory shrubs, and so tough. Above are the common North American species, showing the fruits on left and flowers on right. They may not technically be trees, but I thin

“libidinous- from ‘libido’, being sensual and lustful or with strong connection to libido” Larix species: You can’t really pin them down. And yet that could also be why they are so very irresistible; offering a seductive draw to cold steep and distant mountain ridges. In fact some larch locations have trails so overrun with the seasonal larch-lusters it’s just a train of hiker-butts in front of you, all cabooses all the way. The large crowds can be rough for a trail and the

Acorns aren’t just for squirrels. Or jays. Or bears. They take some work, but we too can chow down on them too. And they are very interesting, sweetly nutty. Just don’t feed too much to cattle, horses, or dogs (bad for them, same as leaves too actually). Has anyone had a dog try to eat acorns? Chewing on their wood can give tannin toxicity, so keep an eye on the stick-chewing, but I have trouble imagining a pooch gnawing on acorns. Yet, they eat many random things. An