We wanted to post some more detail about this because it deserves far more attention. The Trump administration’s Justice Department has intervened in litigation involving Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, asking a court to dismiss a pollution lawsuit against the company.

Cocksput Hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli)? I haven't done the work to be sure that it isn't C. schizophylla — (Cleft-leaved Hawthorn), but that's pretty unlikely. gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/crat... I'm trying to learn Hawthorns. Esp. since my D&D character is named for them.

🧵Should Palantir, a surveillance company that profits from killing people, profiteer from what could be the next major crisis in the US? 1) Experts warn that fallout from the Strait of Hormuz is shaking global agrifood systems... www.weforum.org/stories/2026...

Eli, tomorrow when I go hiking, I will work on a video. Until then, here are 4 butterflies that I have recently encountered. The swallowtail was in my field, but the rest joined me when I was hiking. I will put the names in the alternative text. All of the names have been confirmed in iNaturalist.

I accidentally disturbed the residents of my grandparents meadow, then found where they have been sleeping: under the Aspens at the top of the hill. In the winter they sleep in a more open area, by the White Pines.

Back at my favorite place on Earth. Here's the meadow on the south facing slope above my grandparents house. I think we, like most other animals, feel the harmony of a healthy ecosystem. But maybe I'm just a creature of edges, like the birds and my dogs. #nature #meadow

This is a great article on how YOU can help with botanical research and preservation of biodiversity. But let's leave the term #citizen-science behind. Words have power. No one is illegal on stolen land, and IDGAF if the US Gvt considers you a 'citizen.' People's Science, as opposed to academia.

What is a flower? I prefer to use the botanical definition. When you call a plant a flower, I think of Angiosperms. Why do people call this a weed? I think it's because they don't take the time to look a little closer. Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabidum) #nativeplants #bloomscrolling #ecoregion59

A Tulip Tree? Yes, one of the tallest deciduous trees on Turtle Island grows 3" flowers that look like tulips. www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants... Indigenous peoples of Appalachia call Tulip Trees "Canoewood." Couldn't find info on current use of TT for canoes. #nativeplants #ecoregion59

"Moderate Thunderstorm Warning" #synthart ⛈️

Denial is noise. Satellite data is signal. Field measurements are truth. Ecosystem collapse is testimony. The science doesn't stop because criticism starts. #ClimateScience

The only way any of this happens is by working together. I can only do but so much on my own. This fight to take back our power will take all of us. Thank you ✊

Golden Moss Stonecrop (Sedum acre) is shown as a native specie in the map on PictureThis. An Asiatic specie introduced by horticulture, potentially invasive in conditions that allow it to grow in monoculture. Pic from the mall, in Colonie, NY, where I got a rental. My car is sitting in a field.

One of my favorite species to forage is Rhus typha (Staghorn Sumac). It's just starting to flower, and I think the flowers are neat. Ripe red berries are used to make spice blends and sour drinks. Traditional Palestinian za'atar: palestineinadish.com/recipes/zaat... Start drying Thyme in prep.

You know how Jeffries has been sitting on his hands? Well his opponent in primaries @vancebosticforny8.bsky.social has a great platform. Healthcare, housing, affordability, and the measures that will fix our corrupt system: fairness doctrine, end citizens United and congressional stock trading.

The pictures are wonderful but the alt text is really something special. Ready for an lesson in floral anatomy, combined with art and a description that reveals habitat, growth form...? I really feel like I know Carolina Buckthorn now, though I've never met one in person.

The glorious old elm that stood over my grandma's house 30m tall is now boards and abandoned logs. It was dying. I saw the stump and was sad last weekend. My dad just checked the logs. Golden oysters!

Gallium, G. aparine, Cleavers, Bedstraw. Call it what you will, but take a second look. They deserve recognition as a useful herb. A spring cleansing tonic and a gentle diuretic, anti-inflammatory, a mild pain reliever. #nativeplants #herbalism #ecoregion59 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

This company also provides berries. Lots and lots of berries. www.driscollfoods.com/copy-of-prod...

Viburnum trilobum/V. opulus ssp. trilobum, Cranberry Viburnum, is a slow-starting specie I'm trying to return to farmland gone forest in the last century in the Helderberg Hilltowns of NY. Its invasive cousin the Guelder-rose (V. opulus) is now a more common find. #nativeplants #ecology #Viburnum

For the first time since the so-called “ceasefire,’ the Israeli military has ordered mass population evacuations from Beirut. Lebanese families are once again fleeing Beirut’s southern suburbs after renewed Israeli evacuation warnings targeting parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs.

If you're in MA and wanting to do more to help defend the main targets of ICE, help the LUCE Center For Immigrant Justice. I'm attending Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts's event, “LUCE Orientation” - sign up now to join me! #activism #resist #humanrights #howtohelp #MA #Massachusetts #Boston

All eyes on Delaney Hall, the hunger strike, the place where there are maggots in the food and family has been denied access to those detained without the legally required access to a trial. We have only seen the tip of the iceberg on the human rights abuses there. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...

Juglans nigra, the Black Walnut, prized for its wood, not appreciated for the amazing source of food it is. I love this tree. There are better sources than me. I loved this episode of Completely Arbortrary. arbortrarypod.com/podcast/blac... #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #ActonMA #ActonArboretum

These lovely flowers make me sad. My wife just wants to enjoy them. Maybe you do too. But sometimes we need to consider the impacts we have on the living world. #ActonMA #ActonArboretum #invasive #damesRocket #lupines #bloomscrolling #karnerBlue

There are many #HumanRights abuses going on now. We should be pushing for politicians that will support international efforts to pressure these to stop. A good gauge can be obtained by finding politicians to rep for primaries that will try to stop funding one to the tune of billions in your taxes.

Geraniums (Geranium maculatum) were blooming when I walked my dogs yesterday. Another great plant for a cottage garden. But they'll do better in moist soil or shade. Cranesbill is a common name. Crane in Greek is geranos. #nativeplants #ecoregion59 gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/gera...

I am grateful for First Nations' resistance to what is wrong with this country. I think that we resisters should all turn to them for guidance and advice. One great resource for this is The Red Nation Podcast. Check out www.RedMedia.press. Read The Red Deal, and decide if you can get on board.

Why isn't the media giving #ICELawlessness the coverage it deserves? A sitting member of the US Senate (Senator Kim) got attacked yesterday with chemical weapons by this rogue administration and crickets! It's up to us to make sure people hear about these things. Please share this thread widely.

King Solomon's Seal, Solomon's Plume... many names. The genera here are Polygonatum (biflorum) and Maianthemum (racemosa). There are edible parts and poison in both traditional foods of Indigenous peoples. Choose these, not Hostas please #nativePlants #foraging #wildFood #ecoregion59 #cottageGarden

My favorite places to botanize are marshes and high voltage power lines. Power lines, occasionally cut to the ground, then left to grow out, mimic the natural wildfires that kept pine barren ecosystem from becoming forests, before we suppressed them. They are bastions of biodiversity. #nativeplants

How about a story today? Oak Apple Gals are the product of a deal between Oaks and Wasps. Oak said "I'm making you this nice home so that you'll stop boring through my tissues." Wasp said "sweet, done, but imma need it rounder and bigger so other wasps won't parasitize." #ecoregion59 #OakApple

We're all hoping some medical crisis doesn't bankrupt us. But if you're not covered, you're probably risking it even more by avoiding the doctor. Healthy, safe people create healthy safe communities. This is in all of our interest. #MA #EquityForAll #healthcare #medicare

Downy Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum pubescens) is not used often in gardens, like the larger more showy King Solomon's-seal (P. biflorum). It's more common in the wild here though, and native to a larger range. gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/poly... #nativeplants #springEphemeral #ecoregion59

It’s #WorldBeeDay 🐝 “If you needed smoke and a veil to deal with your bees, what was the point of being a witch?” — Carpe Jugulum, by Terry Pratchett, who always believed the world was worth saving

Sedging: like birding but for #sedges. Sedges are flowering now, in Eastern MA (in #ecoregion59), and working on providing the first grains of the season. Find sedges in moist and shady areas. I took my shoes off today, and splashed up path at Guggins Brook Conservation area. #nativeplants #carex

#Insects 🪰🦋🪳🪲🐞🐛💌😻🌿 are the incredible engine room of the planet ensuring ecosystems work. They're under siege by human-caused #climatechange #deforestation #pollution. Report via @PNASnews. #BoycottPalmOil 🌴⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect.bsky.social palmoildetectives.com/2022/06/23/i...

Eastern Tent Caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum) are a native insect here in #ecoregion59, and part of the ecosystem. I first learned about them after destroying webs in a wild cherry, like we did in our apple trees when I was a kid. Then I read and learned I should leave them be. #nativeplants

Black Huckleberries (Gaylussaccia baccata) are blooming in the Boston area. Do you know a huckleberry from a blueberry? #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #Huckleberry #Wiwnu IMO a better name for the genus would be Wiwnu, after the connections between Sahaptin-speaking peoples and the 'chief of berries.'

Today, I went to see The Voice Of Hind Rajab with Quincy for Palestine. While tens of thousands marched in London, here, where we build the bombs that vaporize human bodies to hide the count of the slaughter, and pay for them with our taxes, a little group met in a library to watch and cry together.

In recognition of Nakba remembrance day, I fasted, donated, and read Palestinian poetry in Davis Square, #Somerville, MA today. I also wrote to my family about what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank. I've been tuned in for over a decade, so it was past time. #Palestine #nakba #genocide

Today, Palestinians around the world remember the Nakba – “the catastrophe” in Arabic – the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948, when more than 750,000 people were driven from their homes and hundreds of villages and towns were erased. (1/5)

In both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the Israeli government continues to violently steal Palestinian land, in what the UN calls "one of the fastest mass displacements in history."

It has never been more urgent to hold our complicit government accountable. The US should be working to end the Israeli government’s atrocities — not bankroll them with taxpayer dollars.

Reminder that genocide is the worst of humanity's crimes. And Indigenous rights are human rights. Please read. #FreePalestine #Gaza #ecocide #genocide #HumanRights #Indigenous #israel #Palestine #ethniccleansing #apartheid

🌿 Today is Endangered Species Day, a reminder that protecting native plants means protecting entire ecosystems. Learn more at wildones.org 🌿

Black Cherry flowers. Prunus seritonia Both Black Cherry and Chokecherry have racemes of white 5-petalled flowers that are just starting to bloom around Boston. If you want to tell them apart, here's your resource: gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/prun... #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #flowers