Thanks again to Ron Long for sharing one of his photographs with us through Botany Photo of the Day. Ron went to the Siskiyou Mountains area of Oregon a couple weeks after we had returned from the area. I gave him directions to some of the areas we investigated that had an incredible diversity of plants, and he was not disappointed (and, in fact, found many different plants that had not yet bloomed when we traveled there). As an example, the Cypripedium californicum was just starting to bloom when Ron visited the area, and we hadn''t identified any plants from leaves .........

Connor is responsible this .........

For local readers, just a reminder that the Perennial Plant Sale at UBC BG is coming up on Sunday. This particular Epimedium won''t be there, but I noticed there were several others on the list of plants for sale in .........

Connor is responsible for today''s .........

Connor Fitzpatrick continues his work on this .........

The first photograph for today''s entry is courtesy of Amir A. from Israel (thank you for another contribution!). The remaining photographs, as well as the write-up, are thanks to UBC Botanical Garden horticulturist Jackie Chambers. Much appreciated once again! Jackie .........

Thanks one more time to Jackie for sharing a photograph and write-up from her travels to Israel. One last reminder that Jackie is speaking next Monday on Black Irises and Red Tulips - Wildflowers of Israel and Jordan. If I can get organized, I may set Jackie up with the laptop that records presentations and accompanying audio for the web, but no .........

Four different people are responsible for today''s .........

A thank you to frolickauai@Flickr for today''s first-time contribution to Botany Photo of the Day (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated! Do investigate frolickauai''s other photographs on Flickr – plenty of plant .........

A thank you to mudman@UBC Botanical Garden Forums for sharing this scan (original thread). Much .........

The wildflowers of southeastern Australia must be near their peak since David M. aka petrichor@Flickr of Sydney continues to find intriguing plants to share (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Once again, don''t forget to visit David''s weblog, .........

Thank you again to yildizkonca@Flickr of Turkey for sharing with Botany Photo of the Day (original 1 | original 2 | additional image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). It''s always pleasing to see photographs of a species of Turkey''s famed bulb .........

Thank you to Nagraj Salian@Flickr from Mumbai, India for sharing today's photograph — here's the original via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool. You might like to view Nagraj's photo sets of flowers or his hiking / trekking trips, by the way. Thanks Nagraj – we're always pleased to have a first-time .........

Thank you once again to Earl B. of the USA for sharing another one of his photographs, this time from a vacation to Costa Rica. Much .........

Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – .........

Thanks to David Tarrant are once again in order for today's photograph from Mexico. Appreciated as always, .........

Expectations of higher corn prices are leading some farmers to neglect or ignore integrated pest management strategies, and their behavior could undermine the very technologies that sustain them, University of Illinois scientists report today at the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a set of principles developed to minimize the ecological impacts of pesticides, transgenic crops and other pest management technologies. A primary goal is to slow the emergence of "resistant" insects that have adapted or evolved to evade management strategies that work. Traditional approaches for slowing the development of insect resistance include crop rotation and scouting for pests to determine whether and when to use chemicals to limit damage. Newer strategies include planting non-transgenic corn "refuges" alongside crops of transgenic corn........

Within Southern Florida, soil and water conditions indicate potential for leaching from the use of atrazine-based herbicides in corn crops. Researchers from USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Florida conducted studies to evaluate the specific groundwater risk from atrazine use by focusing on a specific cover crop that seems to have the potential to greatly reduce that risk. The crop is called sunn hemp. Its a tall, herbaceous annual that grows rapidly to a height of 6 to 7 feet........

Thank you to lorax @ UBC Botanical Garden Forums of Ecuador for submitting today's photograph (original. Much .........

Ask most people about the various kinds of flower pollinators and the first responses you are likely to get are bees and butterflies. Beetles, however, are also important pollinating organisms. One site uses the figure of beetles contributing to the population of up to 88% of the world's flowering plants (source: Beetle Pollinators via the USDA's Pollinators site), though I haven't been able to find a scientific reference to back up that number (and considering the number of exclusively bee-, butterfly-, moth-, bat-, wind- and water-pollinated plants, I find it a bit hard to believe). Beetle .........