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Russula
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s easy-to-identify fungi. Today it’s not one species, but a group: the...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 29, 20242 min read


Highbush Cranberry
It’s been a great growing season on PEI, and our fall fruits are showing the result. Wild berries are everywhere right now, including the...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 25, 20243 min read


Coral Fungi
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, a weekly look at some of PEI’s easy-to-identify fungi. The word ‘mushroom’ usually brings to mind...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 22, 20242 min read


Ornate-stalked Bolete
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, a weekly look at some of PEI’s beginner-level fungi. Today it’s the distinctive Ornate-stalked Bolete (...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 15, 20242 min read


Wild Raisin
Fall and fresh food go hand in hand. PEI’s backyard gardens are full of vegetables, our farm fields are ready for harvest, and wild fruit...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 11, 20242 min read


Purple-gilled Laccaria
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, a weekly look at some of PEI’s easy-to-identify fungi. Today it’s the beautiful Purple-gilled Laccaria...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 8, 20242 min read


Beechdrops
Of PEI’s roughly 1,500 species of plants, only seven – less than one half of one percent – have no chlorophyll and can’t make food from...
katemacquarrie22
Sep 4, 20242 min read


Pinesap
Every group has its oddballs and plants are no exception. Most are content to follow the crowd and make food from sunlight, but a few...
katemacquarrie22
Jul 24, 20242 min read


Fern Leaf Rollers
Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal “Google” for information on all things natural on PEI. I’ve been getting quite a few...
katemacquarrie22
Jul 10, 20242 min read


Black Locust
There’s a line in E.B. White’s book Stuart Little that I love “…orchards so old they have forgotten where the farmhouse is”. I often...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 30, 20243 min read


Chanterelles
The fantastic rain PEI has had over the past week has encouraged our wild fungi to start fruiting, and Chanterelles (Cantharellus spp.)...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 28, 20242 min read


Twinflower
Imagine a plant so lovely that the person who created the global system for naming living things – a person dubbed ‘Princeps botanicorum’...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 26, 20242 min read


Oyster Mushrooms
I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me PEI fungi and so was pleased to spot a choice edible species during one of my recent plant...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 23, 20242 min read


Jack-in-the-Pulpit
This month we’re looking at some of PEI’s native wildflowers. So far, we’ve seen showy (Trilliums and Cherries), subtle (Blue-eyed...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 19, 20242 min read


Bunchberry
This month, I’m highlighting some of PEI’s native wildflowers: showy, subtle, strange and – today’s example – sneaky! This is Bunchberry...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 16, 20242 min read


Trilliums
June is peak wildflower season on PEI. Over the next month, I’ll show you some of my favourites ranging from showy to subtle to...
katemacquarrie22
Jun 5, 20242 min read


Spruce Berries
I’ve been enjoying the first berries of the season here on PEI. No not Wild Strawberries, though a quick glance at a handful might fool...
katemacquarrie22
May 29, 20243 min read


Honeysuckle
Most of PEI’s deciduous trees and shrubs are still in the process of leafing out, but one is well ahead of the game. American Fly...
katemacquarrie22
May 19, 20242 min read


Violets
This week, we’re looking at some of PEI’s spring wildflowers, and Violets are on today’s menu – literally! You can find these edible...
katemacquarrie22
May 15, 20243 min read


Spring Ephemerals
This time of year, PEI’s landscape can look a little drab. It may seem like planted Magnolias, Daffodils, and Tulips are the only showy...
katemacquarrie22
May 12, 20243 min read
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