This species was described by Thomas Say in 1831. Rau referred to this species as Polistes pallipes or P. fuscatus pallipes in a number of his publications. However, references to P. metricus as either P. pallipes or P. fuscatus pallipes are due to confusion with a dark morph of P. fuscatus, so the name P. pallipes is rather retained as a synonym of P. fuscatus and not of P. metricus.
P. metricus is found to be most closely related to P. carolina. The most recent phylogenetic analysis shows that both share a common ancestor with P. bellicosus.


P. metricus has a dark ferruginous (rusty) color with black markings on its thorax and a mostly black abdomen. Its tibia is black, and the tarsi are yellow. A black spot, separate from the antennae, contains the three ocelli. Females bear six abdominal segments, while males bear seven. Swelled parts of the abdomen of this species are a key defining element.
In the female, extensive rust-red coloration occurs on her head and mesosoma. Female P. metricus yellow markings are very limited in area. The mesosoma has a large spread of red color, and the metasoma shows black coloration. P. metricus also has an especially marked outward bend in sternum 2; however, this is often a very subtle characteristic. In the male, the red coloring takes up less area, but black coloration takes up more area. The male has more yellow markings than the female and a yellow color on his entire face and the pronotal carina. The yellow coloration on the legs of the male is highly variable in this species.
The smallest of the larvae can be told apart from eggs by noticing the darker anterior end of larvae. In the nests of P. metricus, cells that are capped are most likely cells that contain pupae. After pupae emerge from their cocoons, they leave behind evidence of their metamorphosis in the form of cocoon shavings.


The distribution of P. metricus is largely limited to North America. P. metricus has been spotted in the far southwestern reaches of Ontario, Canada. In the eastern United States, one female was seen in Dryden, Maine and recorded by the Canadian Nursery Certification Institute for pest control. This was a novel sighting for Maine, and probably indicated the beginnings of the spread of P. metricus into Maine. Other states where P. metricus is known to be located are on the east coast of the US, including New York, Pennsylvania, and the area from the southern part of Michigan all the way south to Florida; and the area westward to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the eastern part of Texas. Specifically, P. metricus has been studied in Brazos Bend State Park in Texas along with other wasp species, including Polistes bellicosus.


P. metricus chooses its nesting sites based on shelter from the elements, size, lighting, and sources of water. It tends to build its nests in sheds and barns and on the underside of eaves. It especially prefers large and well-lit nesting locations. Its nests are mixed with those of P. fuscatus on a regular basis, and locations where one of them is present tend to also contain the nests of the other species, in close proximity to each other. P. metricus likes to use large bodies of water, such as ponds, as sources of water. In the summer, they frequently make trips to water sources for hydration.


The colony cycle begins in May and ends by October. The establishment of new P. metricus nests begins in early May, and this is typically performed by only one female; however, observed cases of colonies initiated by an association of foundresses have been observed. The colony slowly and gradually increases in size, and the average date for the first worker of the nest to emerge from its cocoon is in middle July. In July, the entire brood of workers emerges from its cocoons and this is also when the maximum rate of egg-laying of the year occurs. The next brood develops into males and reproductive females, and in September, these individuals also emerge from their cocoons. The survival of broods is reduced by parasitism from pyralid moths. The colony cycle typically ends by October. At this point, reproductive females leave their nests for hibernacula, locations where they spend the winter, and all males die.


Before July, nest construction surges ahead rapidly and the count of brood cells and the size of the nest both increase significantly. This period of speedy growth coincides with the emergence of the first brood of workers. Therefore, construction requires the input of workers. After July, the rate of cell building falls. It is rare to observe any vacant cells in the nest until late June. This is perhaps due to the queen's rate of oviposition being high enough to ensure all new cells get filled. However, due to the more rapid rate of construction between June and July, vacant cells begin to appear and become more numerous. This higher construction rate produces new cells faster than the queen's rate of oviposition. Then, in July and August, the number of vacant cells stays approximately constant. The rate of cell construction is the same as the queen's rate of oviposition. After August, vacant cell number increases significantly as the queen's oviposition slows down.
Polistes metricus has nests which grow slowly as the solitary founder may cannibalize eggs.


The rate of egg production fluctuates throughout the colony cycle. In May, the median egg count is greater than in early June. The yearly maximum point for the egg count occurs in July; egg production then decreases steadily to zero by September. Once the first brood of worker eggs has been laid, the queen decreases her rate of oviposition as this brood matures. Once they are mature, the queen stops laying eggs. In late June and July, the queen recommences laying eggs and her rate of oviposition increases once more. If the queen is killed, removed, or dies, workers can take over the responsibility of oviposition. In fact, 22% of an emerging brood comes from eggs that were not laid by the initial queen. Surprisingly, the final period of decreasing oviposition rate is not due to old age or mortality of the queen. It is actually due to ovarian diapause that occurs throughout the entire female population of the colony.


Two peaks occur in the number of larvae present in the colony. The first peak occurs in early June, coming right after the peak egg count. The second, highest peak of the larval population happens in July at exactly the same time as the highest peak in the egg count. This is probably so closely matching because eggs hatch into larvae very quickly in July, when the temperature is high. The median count of larvae decreases slightly in August and then rapidly decreases to nothing (zero) in September. The speedy fall in larval population happens because larvae pupate, and late in the season there is increased parasitism of larvae and brood destruction wrought by the adult wasps. In early June, the first pupae appear. Compared to eggs and larvae, the pupal population seems to only have one maximum. The pupal instar has a duration of 18–26 days for P. metricus.


In the beginning of the nesting season, the adult population typically contains only one adult female, the reproductive foundress. Cooperative co-founding of nests was once considered to be rare for P. metricus, but it now appears that this is becoming more common. Like eggs and larvae, the adult wasp population of P. metricus has two maxima. The first peak occurs in July and corresponds to the emergence of the first brood of workers. These workers used to be pupae in late June, and were also the first peaks of the eggs and larvae. The year's maximum count of adult females and males is in September. This is the last brood of adults and the females in this group become the next season's foundresses and overwinter in hibernacula.


P. metricus has a very distinctive foraging behavior compared to other wasps. Adults search for prey in low-level vegetation, shrubs, and trees. When they embark on long flights, they tend to have trees as their destination. Their pattern of flight when leaving the nest reflects the nature of their journey, as if they already know in advance the distance that their flight will take. When they wish to fly short distances, they exit the nest with a horizontal trajectory, just above the upper edges of the vegetation, and usually between 1.0 and 1.5 m above the ground level. When their flight involves greater distances, they leave the nest, flying 3 to 4 m above the ground when flight distance is about 10–15 m. Extremely long flights greater than or 100 m involve the wasp flying at high altitude, measured at 17 m, and these wasps make their climb very quickly upon taking off from the nest.
In the summer, reproductive females (gynes) fly significantly shorter distances to forage then do their worker counterparts. When a P. metricus wasp locates prey, she typically will return to the same location and search the same sites at the location on future foraging trips. This is probably because predation by P. metricus is not sufficient to dramatically reduce the prey population at the site. Compared to other paper wasps, P. metricus tends to forage over longer distances. This may be due to less tolerance of P. metricus for prey scarcity, or that when prey is scarce, P. metricus is inefficient at capturing prey. On a longer flight, once an abundant source of prey is detected, P. metricus can efficiently forage for the long-distance prey. Longer flights are facilitated by the greater average size of P. metricus compared to other paper wasp species.


Malaxation is an act performed by an adult wasp that involves grabbing an insect or piece of an insect, then chewing and crushing it with the mandibles (typically at the same time inverting it and spinning it with the fore legs) until it is a pulpy consistency. This final product is usually then fed directly to larvae. In P. metricus, females mix fructose into the morsel that they malaxate. During the process of malaxation, adults feed themselves from the liquid or semisolid material that they extract from the provision morsel. For most wasps, malaxating prey is rare and only occurs when not enough nectar or honeydew is in the environment. Since P. metricus has a longer lifespan than other wasps and engage in an exceptionally lengthy period of reproduction, it malaxates prey and consumes the protein for its metabolic needs. Malaxation typically takes place on the order of one to several minutes.


A specific routine sequence of larval provisioning behavior occurs in females of P. metricus. First, the female malaxates the morsel to be fed to the larva. During this process, solid and liquid materials from the morsel are extracted by the female and stored in her crop, from where it can be regurgitated to larvae during mouth-to-mouth trophallaxis. The female regurgitates the solid extractions from the morsel directly into the mouth of the larva. She then grooms for a period. After grooming, she resumes feeding the larva and regurgitates the liquid portions of the morsel into the larval mouth, after which she once again grooms. During regurgitation, most of the contents of the crop may be released, or the female can choose to withhold a significant portion of it. The female thereby simultaneously feeds both the larva and herself during malaxation.


Males also can feed larvae in P. metricus. At the end of the nesting season, known as the “late season”, P. metricus females destroy both the nest and the brood, including eggs, larvae, and pupae. While late-season brood termination is normal for P. metricus, it is less common to see brood termination in the middle of the nesting season. This occurs in response to parasitic infections. Not all of the brood is destroyed. In this case, the adults females malaxate the brood that they destroy and feed it to the remaining brood. During one of these events. somewhat astonishingly, an adult male P. metricus was observed to malaxate a larva and feed a fragment of this to a surviving larva. More commonly, males of P. metricus have the general habits of malaxating pieces of food and consuming some of these pieces while discarding the rest without feeding any larvae.


Having excess honey has effects on individuals in a colony. If colonies are supplemented with extra honey, offspring tend to emerge from pupation earlier than usual. They also tend to have greater percentages of noncuticular body fat. When wasps have a higher noncuticular fat content, it also means that they have higher capacities for reproduction. In fact, some experiments show that increasing noncuticular body fat directly results in increased reproductive potential. While in nature, the first emerging broods of P. metricus are known to have relatively skimpy amounts of body fat, surprisingly, after honey supplementation, the first brood of workers exhibits even higher body fat than their foundresses. This suggests that in nature, colonies are typically restricted by limits on food availability during the pre-emergence phase of the nesting cycle, when only the single foundress and possible co-foundresses are available to forage for provisions for the worker brood. In general, it is common for P. metricus to store honey over the winter. The amount of honey stored and the length of time for which it is stored show variation in different years, providing evidence that honey storage depends on changing factors in the environment.


If a colony is supplemented with extra honey, it will not affect its long-term survival, but it will change the colony's demographics. Colonies that receive extra honey tend to build more cells in their nests and produce more pupae. However, the total count of adult females does not show significant change. Honey-supplemented colonies produce more offspring overall, but more of these offspring become reproductives due to their high fat content and thus leave the nest, leaving behind a smaller number of workers than normal at the nest. The biggest changes in colony demographics occur if there are significant changes in the early and middle periods of the nesting cycle. When nourishment is systematically decreased for a brood in the larval stage, the entire colony changes as response. After two weeks of larval starvation, the foundress tends to abandon the colony, resulting in the failure and death of the colony. In response to larval starvation, most colonies cease nest construction. Fewer larvae reach the pupal stage than normal.


Whenever foundresses are present, workers are restricted from producing male eggs. The most dominant foundress in an association of co-foundresses is known as the α-foundress, who shares a portion of reproduction with the other β-foundresses. The α-foundresses takes the lion's share of reproduction, laying 78% of the colony females and 87% of the males. All foundresses are known to mate with males at least twice in their lifetimes, and they use the sperm from these two males in a 9:1 ratio with the majority of fertilizations provided by one male's set of sperm. If all of a nest's foundresses are dead or eliminated, two workers take up the responsibility of laying male eggs. One of these two workers is dominant over the other and lays 19 times more male eggs. No parental care is necessary for pupae, and pupae develop into adults on their own. In P. metricus, inbreeding is exceedingly rare. Associations of co-foundresses are generally composed of half or full sisters that came from the same natal nest the previous season.


Once the first brood of workers emerges from the nest, foundresses stop leaving the nest. There is a two-day refractory period in which no work is done, and then the workers take over the responsibility of foraging for the nest. From this point forward, foundress mortality is zero for the rest of the egg-laying season. However, if one starts to observe that only males are emerging from the nest, it can be assumed that all the foundresses of the colony have died approximately 47 days earlier. These males would not have been produced by the foundresses, but instead by their worker daughters, who have since taken over egg-laying and produce only male eggs. On the condition that the foundresses die after the first brood of workers has already become pupae, then there is still a good chance that the colony will survive, since pupae do not require any adult maintenance or feeding and will develop on their own. If the foundresses die before pupation of any workers, then the colony is doomed to failure because the brood will die of starvation. In the event of foundress mortality, the overall productivity of the nest declines, most likely because of the loss of parental care from the foundresses before worker care begins. In general, foundress mortality tends to be great in the period between nest initiation and the emergence of the first brood of workers. The death of any one foundress results in the proportional increase in the contribution of the other foundresses to the colony's reproduction.


Polistes metricus is subject to predation by birds, spiders, ants, and deer mice. Birds attack the P. metricus nest by puncturing its lateral margin and removing the pupae and larger larvae.


Polistes wasps including P. metricus prey on Lepidopteran larvae (i.e. caterpillars) most frequently. They are considered generalist predators. Polistes also eat other insects. P. metricus prefers to prey upon soft-bodied prey such as caterpillars and the larvae of tenthredinids and chrysomelids. Manipulation by parental feedings has been hypothesized to play a role in the development of larvae. The proponents of the hypothesis argue that the well fed larvae grow to be reproductive adults. However, it was found that parent manipulation of the brood is not done in Polistes metricus.


Parasitoids and parasites of Polistes metricus tend to affect the colony at different stages in their development. It has been shown that C. pegasalis is able to infect a colony at any stage except the egg stage. C. pegasalis prefers to infect colonies that have larvae and pupae. X. peckii is similar because it prefers to parasitize larvae and pupae. In contrast, X. peckii can infect any stage of development.
Infestations of Xenos parasites happen frequently in Georgia.
The nests of this wasp are parasitised by the parasitoid caterpillars of the pyralid moth Chalcoela iphitalis which feed on the wasp larvae and pupas at night, spinning their cocoons in empty cells.


In order to differentiate female workers from female reproductive wasps in Polistes metricus, behavior must be studied since they are morphologically similar. Female reproductives are referred to as queens or foundresses. The reproductive queens have more developed ovaries compared to the workers. Consequently, female Polistes have the ability to be reproductive depending on the social and physical environment they occupy. Polistes metricus is considered to be a eusocial organism, characterized by sterile castes, overlapping generations, and cooperative care for offspring. Polistes metricus, like Polistes dominula and Polistes annularis, differs from many other advanced eusocial insects in that the distinction between reproductive females and non-reproductive females is subtle.


Polistes metricus has been shown to demonstrate a deviation from Fisher's prediction of a 1:1 male to female sex ratio. Despite the equal parental investment in the sexes, the average frequency for females in Polistes metricus is approximately .55. In most species that deviate from a 1:1 sex ratio, there is a degree of sexual dimorphism, with the more common sex being smaller. Polistes metricus follows this trend, with females being smaller than males on average.


Like other insects of the order Hymenoptera, Polistes metricus has a haplodiploid genetic system. When a queen's eggs are fertilized, they produce diploid daughters; unfertilized eggs produce haploid male offspring. Consequently, in colonies with a monogamous queen, females are more closely related to their sisters than to their brothers, mothers, or future offspring. It has been argued that, due to the 3/4 relatedness between haplodiploid sisters, there exists a conflict between the queen and her female offspring. Robert A. Metcalf argues that data on the skewed sex ratios does not prove or disprove the hypothesis of parent-offspring conflict over male production and parental investment. Metcalf's study shows that the foundresses control the production of males by restricting sperm availability to workers.
The importance of haplodiploidy in terms of the evolution of eusociality was brought into question using a phylogenetic study of Polistes by Pickett et al. The paper argues that through a phylogenetic test they found that there is little support for the idea the haplodiploidy lead to early social evolution in the genus Polistes.


In a population that has a female biased sex ratio, according to W. D. Hamilton, there could be Local Mate Competition, or LMC. Local Mate Competition occurs in female biased populations because brothers must compete with each other for mates. These mates might be their sisters; therefore, inbreeding should be higher in these populations. Robert A. Metcalf's study of inbreeding in both Polistes metricus and P. variatus using phenotypic differences found that there were no signs of inbreeding in either population. According to Metcalf's research, the lack of inbreeding in Polistes metricus makes it unlikely that LMC occurs. Additionally, there has been research that shows that some populations produce only male reproductives. This occurs when the queen dies and the workers lay eggs. The female workers are not fertilized so they produce males who are haploid.


Food supplementation and access to food does not affect the number or the sizes of worker offspring. This could suggest that there is not the adaptive advantage to make larger workers. Stabilizing selection is present to make a fixed number of workers regardless of nest size or food availability. The selection shifts toward the production of more sexual females than larger males. The colonies that are supplemented with food also produced more reproductive females than larger reproductive females which suggests that female sexual production in resource limited conditions is very expensive. Males however, are slightly larger on average which could mean that the number of males produced is not as critical as male size. It has been proposed that larger males helps the colony by attacking foreign males, and defending nest territory.
Nutrient level of certain macro and micronutrients varies throughout the life history of the organism. There are few large differences in nutrient levels between workers and gynes; however, gynes process lipids differently by retaining them. On the other hand, the differences in nutrient levels in reproductive larvae and non-reproductive larvae are strong. Additionally, nutrient levels does not change throughout the lifetime of both male and females Polistes metricus. Based on these observations, the nutrient level at the larval stage tends to correlate with the reproductive ability of the larvae as it develops.
Increased food resources have also been shown to lead to an increase in the production of gynes at the expense of worker production.


In certain locations across the United States, such as eastern Kansas, individual foundresses of Polistes metricus can maintain more than one nest or even share a nest with another foundress. In cases where multiple nests are maintained by a single foundress, males are not produced. This phenomenon is due in part to the extensive parasitism found in eastern Kansas. Chalcoela iphitalis is a parasitic moth that is commonly found in the nests of Polistes metricus. It is not known why Polistes metricus has evolved this behavior. It has been proposed that the behaviors are able to limit the chance of reproductive failure for any one foundress.
In some situations, it has been observed that a nest is shared between two species of Polistes. One case is the sharing of a nest by Polistes metricus and Polistes fuscatus. The different species of wasps were seen to coexist without conflict. The evolutionary significance of joint nesting is unclear. Proposed hypotheses include the fact that it might represent the beginning stages of interspecific mutualism or exploitation.
Nest reuse has been observed in Polistes metricus species. It is common for a foundress to use the nest multiple times within a reproductive season. However, it is very unlikely for foundresses of any species to return to a nest in a subsequent season.


Adult female Polistes use their salivary enzymes to soften wood or paper products to form a nest pedicel. The adult female foundress or foundresses will then begin to build the nest cells. They will also lay eggs. In colonies with multiple foundresses, one will become dominant and lay the most eggs. Once the first worker develops, the nest moves from the founding phase into the worker phase. Following the worker phase is the reproductive stage, where the dominant foundress loosens her control over the other colony members and the workers lay sterile male eggs. The period in between the reproductive phase and the founding phase of the next season is the intermediate phase. Adult female gynes and adult males leave the nest to mate.


It has been suggested that Polistes metricus females discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates using genetically determined cues regarding food, nesting materials, or nest site. These genetically predetermined cues have been found in Lasioglossum zephrym, a species of bee at a similar social level. Polistes metricus gynes can detect and work with former nestmates without being inside the nest in which they were born. In situations where there is no nest, nestmates are more tolerant of each other than are nestmates in Polistes metricus. Former nestmates are often assumed to be sisters or other close relatives.
Nestmate discrimination does not occur in workers or non-reproductives, which could suggest a relationship between nestmate discrimination, nutrient availability, and the environment.


In Polistes metricus, colonies with more than one queen are aptly named multiple foundress colonies. It is beneficial for a colony to have many foundresses because they can protect the nest from usurpers, parasites, and help rebuild the nest if it is destroyed. It has been shown that individuals in multiple foundress colonies spend less time at the nest compared to individuals in single foundress colonies. The dominance hierarchy in multiple foundress colonies consists of the dominant foundress at the top, and subordinate foundresses beneath her. Gynes and worker wasps make up the base of the hierarchy. Dominant foundresses in multiple foundress colonies forage for wood, pulp, and nectar, while subordinate foundresses take long foraging trips and return with the majority of the sustenance for the colony. Foundress mortality increases after the workers emerge. Also, less dominant foundresses are often kicked out of the nest prior to the laying of eggs that will become reproductive. It is improbable that subordinate foundresses will become dominant. Lastly, if a subordinate foundress lays eggs, the dominant foundress will often consume them. Based on the subordinate foundresses status in a multiple foundress colony, it may appear to be better for her to create a new colony of her own. However, creating a new colony is more difficult to do than waiting to displace the queen. It has also been proposed that natural selection favors foundresses that have offspring that are a mixture of dominant foundresses and workers.


The IUCN has not evaluated this species' conservation status.


Polites mystic, the long dash or long dash skipper, is a species of butterfly. The species is commonly found in north of North America and in mountains in the south of North America, in grassy habitats. The grassy areas include meadows, marshes, streamsides, wood edges, and prairie swales. On the top, the species has dark brown reddish to yellowish-orange markings. The forewing of the female has a broad black patch at the base. The forewing of the male has a long, slightly curved stigma which may be connected to the dash near the apex. Underneath the hindwing, the species is orange brown with a curved band of equal-sized yellow spots.


Polites peckius, the Peck's skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae (skippers), subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers). This skipper ranges across Canada from British Columbia, as far north as Cartwright, Labrador; Moar Lake, Ontario; Leaf Rapids, Manitoba; and the Hay River area in Alberta. In the US, it ranges in most of the northern and central states, except on the west coast.


Both sexes have dark brown and yellowish-orange markings as adults. Ventrally, both sexes have a large straw-coloured patch in the middle of the hindwing. This patch helps distinguish it from other Polites. Males are lighter than females, and they have a stigma (round or oval mark) on the forewing. Like other skippers, the ends of the antennae have tiny hooks. The wingspan ranges from 19 to 27 mm.


Peck's skipper flies from May to October, and produces two or three generations each year. Adults consume nectar from flowers including red clover, purple vetch, and thistles. They typically live in grassy habitats including meadows, marshes, and roadsides. Similar to other grass skippers, this species commonly rests with the forewings held open in a V shape, while the hindwings are held out horizontally to the side. They may also have all four folded together so that only the bottom surfaces are visible. Males perch in sunny open areas to await receptive females, and courtship takes place throughout the day. After mating, females lay single eggs. The caterpillars consume rice cutgrass, bluegrass and other grasses.


Polygala alba, commonly called white milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae).


It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the United States, its range is concentrated in the Great Plains and the Southwest. Its natural habitat is in rocky or sandy dry prairies.


It is an erect perennial, reaching 45 cm (18 in) tall. It produces small white flowers, distributed in an elongated raceme. It flowers in late spring and early summer.


Polygala lutea, commonly known as orange- or yellow milkwort, is a plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) native to pine-barren depressions and swamps in coastal areas of the southern and eastern the United States. It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus.


Polygala lutea is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant which has a height between 20 and 50 centimetres (7.9 and 19.7 in). Its flowers are orange-yellow and 2 to 3 inches (5.1 to 7.6 cm) long. Its pedicels are 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) long. It flowers between April and October.


Polygala myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaf milkwort, is an evergreen 2-4m tall South African shrub or small tree found along the southern and south-eastern coasts, from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal. It is a fast-growing pioneer plant, a typical fynbos component, and may be found on dunes, rocky places, along forest margins, beside streams, and in open grassland. It belongs to the milkwort family of Polygalaceae.
The thin, oval, mucronate leaves, 25–50 mm long and up to 13 mm wide, are arranged alternately and have entire margins – some forms of P. myrtifolia have thin, needle-like leaves. The attractive mauve sweetpea-like flowers, which close at night, may also be pink, crimson or white, and have a characteristic brush-like tuft protruding from the keel. For pollination an intricate piston mechanism is used. The fruit is an oval, brown, dehiscent capsule which is narrowly winged. The species is often cultivated in South African gardens.


The genus of Polygala comprises some 659 species with a wide distribution in the tropics and temperate zones.


Polygala is interpreted as 'much milk' since the plant was thought to stimulate milk production in European cows – myrtifolia translates as 'myrtle-shaped leaves'.


The species is noted for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. Research conducted by the University of KwaZulu Natal found that aqueous extracts of P. myrtifolia proved effective against Candida albicans.


P. myrtifolia has become naturalised in coastal areas of California, New Zealand and Norfolk Island. In Australia, it is a significant environmental weed in coastal districts of Victoria and South Australia, and a moderately important environmental weed in New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. In the 2010s, it was recently listed as a priority environmental weed in parts of Queensland.


Polygala nana, commonly known as candyroot or low bachelors' buttons, is a small herbaceous plant native to the southeastern United States. The root has a sweet liquorice flavor when it is chewed, but it is usually hidden underground until the plant flowers. The seeds  of candyroot are dispersed by ants.


French botanist André Michaux described candyroot as a variety of Polygala lutea in 1803. Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle reclassified it as a species in 1824. The species name is the Latin word nanus "dwarf".


Candyroot grows as a clumping herbaceous plant 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall, more commonly 5–10 cm (2–4 in) tall. Growing from the base of the plant are the spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves, which are 1.5–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) long and 0.4–2 cm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) cm wide. The yellow flowerheads are composed of tiny flowers arranged in racemes, and are 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) high by 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) wide.
They appear from April to June, from March to October in Alabama, and year-round in the Everglades. The seeds are smaller than 1 mm in size. The edible root tastes of licorice.
Polygala nana resembles Polygala lutea, which is a taller plant. It also resembles the rare species P. smallii of Miami-Dade County, which has seeds longer than 1 mm.


Polygala nana is found across the southeastern United States from far eastern Texas through Louisiana and Arkansas to Florida and north as far as the Carolinas. Arkansas, where it is found in Ashley, Bradley and Calhoun Counties, marks the northwestern limits of its range. It grows in moist soil in meadows or coniferous woodlands.


Polygala sanguinea, known as purple milkwort or field milkwort, is an annual plant in the family Polygalaceae.


It produces pink-purple (occasionally white) flowers in the summer.


It is native to widespread areas of eastern North America, but is absent from much of the southeastern Coastal Plain.


It is it generally found in wet, acidic soils in open areas such as prairies and fields.


Polygala senega is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family, Polygalaceae. It is native to North America, where it is distributed in southern Canada and the central and eastern United States. Its common names include Seneca snakeroot, senega snakeroot, senegaroot, rattlesnake root, and mountain flax. Its species name honors the Seneca people, a Native American group who used the plant to treat snakebite.


This species is a perennial herb with multiple stems up to 50 centimeters tall. The stems are usually unbranched, but some old plants can have branching stems. A mature plant can have up to 70 stems growing from a hard, woody rootstock that spreads horizontally. The lance-shaped leaves are alternately arranged. The lower leaves are reduced and scale-like. The inflorescence is a spike of rounded white or greenish flowers. The fruit is a capsule containing two hairy black seeds. The root is twisted and conical, with a scent somewhat like wintergreen and a very pungent taste. There are two root Polymorphisms; a northern morph growing in Canada and toward Minnesota has larger roots up to 15 cm long by 1.2 cm wide which are dark brown and sometimes purplish toward the top, and a southern morph found in the southeastern United States that has smaller, yellow-brown roots.
The plant grows on prairies and in woods and wet shoreline and riverbank habitat. It grows in thin, rocky, usually calcareous soils. It also occurs in disturbed habitat, such as roadsides.


This plant had many uses among Native Americans. The Cherokee used it as an expectorant and a diuretic, and for inflammation, croup, and common cold. The Chippewa used preparations of the root to treat convulsions and bleeding wounds. The Cree chewed the root for sore throat and toothache. According to Canadian botanist Frère Marie-Victorin, the Seneca may have been inspired to use the root to treat snakebite by its resemblance to the tail of a rattlesnake.
The root was exported to Europe in the 1700s and was sold widely by pharmacists into the 1800s. It was marketed as a treatment for pneumonia. It is still in use as an herbal remedy. It is ground and made into patent medicines, mainly remedies for respiratory complaints. It is added to cough syrups, teas, lozenges, and gargles. It is toxic in large amounts, and overdose causes such symptoms as diarrhea and "violent vomiting". The powdered root can be sternutatory (sneeze-inducing).
The root product is called Senegae Radix, Radix Senegae, or simply senega. Active compounds include saponins such as senegin, as well as phenolic acids, sorbitol derivatives, methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen), and sterols. The expectorant property comes from the irritation of mucous membranes by the saponins, which causes an increase in respiratory secretions and a decrease in their viscosity, giving a productive cough.


The root has economic value, so it is cultivated on a small scale, particularly in Japan, India, and Brazil. Until the 1960s, Canada was the largest exporter of the product, but there the root was collected from the wild. Most came from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is still wild-harvested today, and three quarters of the world's supply is taken from the wilds of the Interlake Region of Manitoba. Native peoples provide most of the labor, digging roots and selling them to drug companies.
There is interest in turning the plant into a workable agricultural crop, especially in Canada. Overexploitation of the native plant is a concern, and there has been evidence of overharvest in some areas. At its peak in the year 1931, Canada exported about 781,000 pounds of dry senega root, which equals 2 million pounds of fresh plant. More yet was supplied to the domestic market. Today about 100,000 pounds of fresh plant are harvested annually from the wild in Canada. Herbal remedies are becoming popular again, and demand for senega grows an estimated 5% per year. The biggest importers of the Canadian product, as of the mid-90s, were Europe, Japan, and the United States.
The Cree and Métis people are the main collectors of the wild plant. They reportedly earned US$3.50 per pound of dry root in 1993, and up to US$7.00 per pound in 1998. A government report noted the price was US$6.50-8.00 in 1995. The dry root brought C$28,000 per ton in 1997. In 1999, one company was selling bulk powdered senega for US$18 per pound.
In cultivation the plant can be propagated by seeds or cuttings. The seeds require two months of cold stratification before use. A plant takes 4 years to produce a root large enough to harvest. The roots are dug up, washed, and dried, and about 160 roots yield one kilogram of senega.


The plant is distributed widely in Canada and is not considered endangered. In some more pristine and isolated regions the species can be common. In general, it is experiencing a short-term decline of about 10 to 30%. Besides overexploitation, the plant has experienced loss of habitat to overgrazing and the conversion of land to urban and agricultural use.


Polygaloides chamaebuxus, synonym Polygala chamaebuxus, the shrubby milkwort, is an ornamental plant in the family Polygalaceae. Its flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils. The inner two sepals, the wings, are upright and white to yellow, sometimes pinkish or purple. The keel petals are bright yellow, aging to brownish-red or purple. It is native to the Alps and the mountains of west-central Europe. It was known to be grown in cultivation in about 1658 and was illustrated by Carolus Clusius. It has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Several cultivars are also cultivated for garden use, including 'Grandiflora', whose flowers are purple-red and yellow.
The plants are hardy, forming low-lying clumps up to 6 inches (15 cm) high and 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter. They may be propagated from softwood cuttings taken in early in the growing season. Some varieties grow best in ericaceous conditions.


Polygonatum biflorum (smooth Solomon's-seal, great Solomon's-seal, Solomon's seal). The plant is said to possess scars on the rhizome that resemble the ancient Hebrew seal of King Solomon. This is a species of the genus Polygonatum native to eastern and central North America. It is often confused with Solomon's plume which has upright flowers.


Unbranched leaf stalks of one to several feet in length, with simple, alternate leaves and parallel veins. In May, clusters of small white-green flowers droop from the stalks and later produce small blue berries. If dug up, the scars resembling Solomon's Seal may be visible on the nodes between sections of rhizomes.


The species name biflorum is the neuter form of Latin biflorus, meaning "having two flowers". Despite the name, the flower clusters often have more than two flowers.
P. biflorum is now regarded as including a number of other species and varieties, e.g. P. biflorum var. commutatum or P. commutatum.


Historically, the Native Americans consumed the starch-rich rhizomes of smooth Solomon's-seal as a "potato-like food" used to make breads and soups. The young shoots are also edible, raw or boiled for an asparagus-like food. Smooth Solomon's-seal was also used in herbal medicine. For example, the rhizome was used in making a tonic for gout and rheumatism. Smooth Solomon's-seal has had nearly a dozen uses in herbal medicine including as an anti-inflammatory, sedative, and tonic. Smooth Solomon's-seal is not used in large-scale agriculture.


Polygonatum multiflorum, the Solomon's seal, David's harp, ladder-to-heaven or Eurasian Solomon's seal, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Europe and temperate Asia. In Britain it is one of three native species of the genus, the others being P. odoratum and P. verticillatum.
It is a rhizomatous perennial growing to 90 cm (35 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) broad, with arching stems of alternate leaves, and slightly necked, pendent tubular white flowers with green tips, hanging from the undersides of the stems. It is valued in cultivation for its ability to colonise shady areas, and is suitable for a woodland style planting.
The specific epithet multiflorum means "many-flowered".
The hybrid Polygonatum × hybridum (P. multiflorum × P. odoratum) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Polygonia c-aureum, the Asian comma, is a middle-size butterfly found in Japan (from Hokkaidō to Tanegashima), Korean Peninsula, China, Taiwan, and Indochina.


It has a wingspan of 27 mm. Wings are orange with black dots. The undersides of the wings is mottled brown (tree bark like) with a shiny comma mark on the center of the hindwing. The main difference with other comma species is that it has blueish markings on the bottom of its hindwing.


P. c-aureum is common in suburban areas. It is not a threatened species. The larvae of the species feed on plants such as: Humulus japonicus, the Japanese hop.


Polygonia faunus, the green comma, Faunus comma, or Faunus anglewing is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.


Subspecies include:
Polygonia faunus smythi
Polygonia faunus faunus
Polygonia faunus articus
Polygonia faunus rusticus (brown - west),
Polygonia faunus hylas (gray - Rockies)
Some authors split Polygonia faunus into the above-mentioned subspecies, on the basis of differences in the color of the underside and their distribution. However most authors consider them as regional variants.


This species can be found in the boreal North America, from central Alaska south to central California and northern New Mexico. It is also present across the Great Lakes area to New England, the Maritimes and in the southern Appalachians. The green comma mainly occurs in forests, mountain woodlands, near streams and in canyons.


The wingspan of Polygonia faunus can reach about 45–64 mm. These usually uncommon butterflies show extremely ragged wing edges. They are geographically rather variable. The upperside of their wings is reddish brown with wide dark borders. The hindwing border contains a row of yellow spots. The underside of the wings is grey-brown, but the outer half is lighter, with greenish lichen-simulating submarginal spots in the males. Moreover, the hindwings have a L or a C-shaped silver spot in middle. In the females the wings are more uniform, dull gray below.


Females lay eggs on the upper surface of the leaves of the host plants. The solitary larvae feed  on a wide range of hosts, especially on  upland willow (Salix humilis), Betula lenta, alder, Rhododendron occidentale, and Ribes species. Other recorded plants are Nettles (Urtica species), Hops (Humulus species), Elm (Ulmus species) and Azalea (Rhododendron species). These butterflies have one generation per year (univoltines) and fly from May to September depending on the location. Adults overwinter until the following Spring.


Polygonum paronychia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names dune knotweed, black knotweed, and beach knotweed. It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in sandy coastal habitat such as beaches, dunes, and scrub.


Polygonum paronychia is a small prostrate or upright shrub producing multibranched brown stems up to a meter (40 inches) long. The stems may root at nodes that come in contact with moist substrate. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stems but are mostly located bunched around the tips of the stem branches. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped with rolled edges and bristly midribs on the undersides. Each leaf has a large stipule which forms a wide, membranous ochrea. The ochrea is up to 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) long and is persistent, fraying into fibrous, silvery shreds that remain on the plant through the seasons. Flowers occur in the leaf axils. Each is up to a centimeter (0.4 inches) wide with five narrow white or pinkish corolla lobes.


The plant has been made into a poultice to treat whitlow infections.


Polymnia canadensis, commonly known as whiteflower leafcup, is a flowering plant native to eastern North America from Ontario south to Alabama and from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota east to North Carolina, Vermont and Connecticut. It is considered endangered in the last two states. It is typically found in moist forests over calcareous rocks.


Polymnia canadensis, commonly known as "bears foot" or "small-flowered leafcup", is more easily identified by features other than the small flowers which are present only in the late summer.  Often it grows in stands of several plants clustered together.  The leaves vary in shape from deeply lobed leaves at the lower part of the plant to the simple leaves at the upper part of the plant (see photo).  The sap is clear, sticky and pleasantly fragrant.


Polyommatus amandus, the Amanda's blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.


With a wingspan of 29 to 35 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in), Amanda's blue is noticeably larger than most of the "blue" butterflies, which is particularly apparent when they are flying. The upperside of the male's wings is a silvery blue or sky blue, often, but not always, with a broad dark border and a narrow black marginal line with an outermost white line. The upperside of the female's wings is in some populations dark blue edged with brown but in other populations is medium brown with a row of orange half-moon shaped lunules near the edges. The hind margin has red blotches. The underside of the male's wings are light grey with white-edged black blotches. The underside of the female's wings is similar but they are a rich creamy-brown colour with red blotches, especially on the margins of the hindwings and a series of black spots with white rims, often touching, forming a row parallel to the margin of the wings. The basal areas of the underwings are turquoise. The wingspan is 28 to 36 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in).


This butterfly flies from May to August. The larvae feed on species of vetch, often meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis) and tufted vetch (Vicia cracca). The males fly around near the host plants waiting for females to arrive. The females lay their eggs singly on the leaves of the host plant. The caterpillars have glands which secrete a sugary fluid that attracts ants and the presence of these protects the larvae from predators.


The chalkhill blue (Lysandra coridon) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, while females are dark brown. Both have chequered fringes around their wings.


Lysandra coridon has a wingspan of 30–36 millimetres (1.2–1.4 in). These small butterflies present a sexual dimorphism.  The males having pale silvery-blue upperside of the wings with a submarginal line of grey spots on the hindwings and a thin brown and white chequered fringe. Females have dark brown upperside of wings, with marginal orange spots and also with chequered fringes. The underside of the wings show a light ochre colouration, several dark spots surrounded by white, a submarginal line of black marks, a series of marginal orange spots on the hindwings and a blue dusting near the body.
As with many blue butterflies, separation from similar species in the field is on the underside markings. Aberrations are common.


This species can be found in the Palearctic realm (western Europe, southern Europe, central Europe, Asia Minor, south Urals, and northwest Turan). The range of L. coridon occurs throughout Central Europe, and is endemic to Europe. There are a few exceptions to where it is located in Central Europe, it is not found in the countries of Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, the Iberian Peninsula (except in the northern provinces of Iberia), the Mediterranean islands (found in Corsica and Sardinia), and most of southern Italy.


Upon using allozyme analyses when looking at the species L. hispana and L. slovacus showed a difference in evolutionary history with L. coridon. The analysis showed that L. hispana has a large genetic distance between the two species and that there was allopatric speciation from L. coridon. L. slovacus seems to show that there was sympatry with L. coridon but the genetic analysis could not prove this hypothesis, so the researchers made the conclusion that this particular species was a local population that has an atavism of bivoltinism.


The expansion of the species travels from western Europe into eastern Europe from the ice-age refugium into the Balkans. The starting point for the expansion is in western Hungary traveling into the Balkans and then into Brandenburg and Poland. This expansion shows that are two routes due to the changes in gene allele frequencies and the degree of homogeneity of the species.
The two routes are:
1.) Starting in the western tip of Hungary traveling into north-eastern Hungry along the Hungarian Mountains into eastern Slovakia
2.) Starts in western Hungary and travels along the eastern Alps into western Slovakia and Czech Republic
The expansion caused there to be two unique genetic populations that were separated by mountain ranges. And the expansion also caused the movement of species that were only found in warmer areas to move into new habitats that were previously cooler in temperature and did not have the biotic components to support these new species.


The chalkhill blue experienced a significant decline in population number in the 1950s. There was a rise in population between 1981 and 2000. In this time period there was a significant increase in numbers and this led to the stabilization of the population in the 1990s. The UK Biodiversity Action Plan had monitoring plans in place to see these changes and the data that was collected during that time period showed that the increase in population number came from the use of controlling grazing levels, conservation designation, and agri-environment schemes entry and management. These practices improved the quality of the habitats that were located in the United Kingdom.


Both Germany and Poland came up with action plans such as that if conservation efforts where to take place that the ideal area for protection would be large habitats that were interconnected with other Grassland habitats that were fragmented, and had a high abundance of the juvenile host plant located within it or had the ability to support a large number of plants.


Polypodium scouleri is a species of fern known by the common names leathery polypody, Scouler's polypody, coast polypody and leather-leaf fern. It is native to coastal western North America from British Columbia to Guadalupe Island off Baja California. It is a plant of the coastline, growing in cracks on coastal bluffs, in oceanside forests, beach dunes, and similar habitat. It is often affected by heavy fogs and sea spray. This polypody anchors with a waxy, scaly rhizome. It produces triangular or oblong leaves up to 85 centimeters in maximum length and 27 in width. Each leaf is made up of many round-tipped linear or oblong segments which are usually stiff and leathery in texture and edged with shallow, rounded teeth. The underside of each leaf segment is crowded with rounded sori each up to half a centimeter wide. The sori contain the spores.


Polypogon monspeliensis, commonly known as annual beard-grass or annual rabbitsfoot grass, is a species of grass. It is native to southern Europe, but it can be found today throughout the world as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is an annual grass growing to heights between 5 centimeters and one meter. The soft, fluffy inflorescence is a dense, greenish, plumelike panicle, sometimes divided into lobes. The spikelets have long, thin, whitish awns, which give the inflorescence its texture.


This tufted fern produces several erect, linear fronds up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long. The fronds are glossy and stiff, pinnate, with many lance-shaped to oblong pinnae (leaflets) up to 3 or 4 centimetres (1.2 or 1.6 in) long, the longest ones occurring near the midpoint of the frond, the basal ones being smaller and triangular in shape. The pinnae overlap each other slightly and are toothed with outward-pointing spiny margins. The sori are rounded, with a white covering, and are arranged in two rows on the underside of the pinnae.  This is a slow-growing, long-lived plant.


Holly fern is an arctic-alpine species with a circumpolar boreal and montane distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It grows best in calcareous soil in cool, damp locations at the base of cliffs, on rock ledges, among boulders and in deep cavities in limestone pavements. In the British Isles it occurs in Scotland and the western fringes of England, Wales and Ireland, and at scattered locations elsewhere. It occurs at a single location in Northern Ireland, at Lough Navar Forest Park in County Fermanagh, and because of its rarity there, it is listed as a Northern Ireland Priority Species.


Polystichum munitum, the western swordfern, is an evergreen fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with disjunctive populations in northern British Columbia, Canada; the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States;  and Guadalupe Island off of Baja California, Mexico. Western swordfern is known to have locally naturalized in parts of Great Britain and Ireland.


The dark green fronds of this fern grow 50 to 180 centimetres (1.6 to 5.9 ft) tall, in a tight clump spreading out radially from a round base. They are single-pinnate, with the pinnae alternating on the stalk. Each pinna is 1 to 15 centimetres (0.39 to 5.91 in) long, with a small upward-pointing lobe (a sword hilt, hence the name) at the base, and the edges are serrated with bristly tips. Individual fronds live for 1.5 to 2.5 years and remain attached to the rhizome after withering. The round sori occupy two rows on either side of the midrib of each pinna and are covered by a centrally-attached, umbrella-like indusium with fringed edges. They produce light yellow spores.


The preferred habitat of this fern is the understory of moist coniferous woodlands at low elevations. It grows best in well-drained acidic soil of rich humus and small stones. It is very resilient and survives occasional droughts, but flourishes only with consistent moisture and light sunlight, and it prefers cool weather.
In cultivation, it also responds well to regular, light fertilizations. While this fern is a favored horticultural subject in western North America, it has proved difficult or impossible to cultivate satisfactorily in the eastern part of the continent.
In the United Kingdom Polystichum munitum has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


The Coast Salish people of B.C. and Washington state use this plant as a pain reliever. When applied directly to the area where pain and inflammation occur, according to Della Rice Sylvester, an elder and medicine woman of the Cowichan tribe, the sword fern "takes the pain away!". This traditional use has spread among the hiking communities and youth scouting organizations of the region, where it is a common piece of hiker's lore that a rash from a stinging nettle can be counteracted by rubbing the spores on the underside of sword fern on the area.
In spring, when other food is unavailable, Quileute, Makah, Klallam, Squamish, Sechelt, Haida, and other Native American/First Nations peoples roasted, peeled, and ate the rhizomes. The fronds were used to line fire pits and food drying racks and as filling for mattresses. The plant is also cultivated for its ornamental foliage, which florists include in vases.


Pompeius verna, the little glassywing, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, from central New England west to central Nebraska, south to northern Florida, the Gulf Coast and southern Texas.
The wingspan is 27–39 mm. Adults preferably feed on the nectar of white, pink and purple flowers, including Apocynum, Prunella, Mentha × piperita, Eutrochium and Asclepias.
The larvae feed on Tridens flavus.


Pompeius verna verna
Pompeius verna sequoyah (Freeman, 1942)


Pontederia cordata, common name pickerelweed (USA) or pickerel weed (UK), is a monocotyledonous aquatic plant native to the American continents. It grows in a variety of wetlands, including pond and lake margins across an extremely large range from eastern Canada south to Argentina. A few examples include northern rivers, the Everglades and Louisiana.


The species grows as an emergent plant, that is, in flooded conditions, so the plant is generally dependent upon aerenchyma in the stem to carry oxygen into the roots. Its metabolism, is, however, also tolerant of low soil oxygen. It is often found in areas where water levels fluctuate naturally, with spring flooding and later summer emergence. Apart from flooding, the species is also influenced by soil fertility, tending to grow in the more fertile bays of large lakes, for example. Like many aquatic plants, it is negatively affected by salinity and grazing. It is also negatively affected by competition from other wetland plants. Like many wetland plants, it can survive unfavorable conditions as buried seeds in the soil.


The plant flowers in late summer.  The purple flowers have yellow markings which may assist in attracting bees for pollination.  Two species known to pollinate the flowers are Melissodes apicatus and Dufourea novaeangliae.
Once the plant begins to produce seeds, the stem supporting the inflorescence bends to submerge the fruits and seeds. Seeds are dormant at the time of dispersal and will not germinate without stratification for 6–8 weeks.
The flowers of the species are tristylous, meaning the styles of individual plants occur in three different morphs, with most populations containing all three. Leaf shape, which varies considerably across populations, within populations, and even within individuals, has been the source for many taxonomic synonyms. Like many wetland and aquatic plants, the species can reproduce asexually by means of branching rhizomes, and hence can form large clonal stands.


The young leafstalks can be eaten raw (with the unripe fruits stripped off) or cooked. The seeds are edible raw, and can be ground into grain.


The vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) is a medium-sized New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Pooecetes.


The Vesper Sparrow is believed to be most closely related to the Lark sparrow. It is the only species in the genus Pooecetes, meaning grass dweller.


Adults have light brown upper-parts and light under-parts, both with darker streaking. There are three features that are unique to the Vesper Sparrow. The first is the presence of a small, white ring surrounding the eyes. The second is the flash of white tail feathers that occurs during flight. The third is the presence of a chestnut patch on the shoulder. However, this is usually not visible to an observer.
Another notable characteristic is that some Sparrows, especially west of the Cascades, tend to have a more pinkish hue. They also do not have a bold eyeline found in some sparrows.
Measurements:
Length: 5.1-6.3 in (13-16 cm)
Weight: 0.7-1.0 oz (20-28 g)
Wingspan: 9.4 in (24 cm)


Vesper sparrows tend to be more grounded to the shrub area, often taking dust baths and hopping around. Their courtship involves the male sparrow running with his wings raised and occasionally jumping around to sing its song. These birds forage on the ground, mainly eating insects and seeds. Outside the nesting season they often feed in small flocks.


The male sings from a higher perch, such as a shrub or fencepost, which indicates his ownership of the nesting territory. The musical song begins with two pairs of repeated whistled notes and ends in a series of trills, somewhat similar to that of the song sparrow. They have slurred whistles with one lower pitch followed by a second higher pitch. Furthermore, Vesper sparrows make use of short descending trills as a part of their song.


Vesper sparrows have loose nests in a cup form on the ground. Females lay 3-5 eggs during May, they incubate for around 2 weeks, and their young fledge in a week. Two broods are raised per season by two sparrows. Breeding usually occurs in open bushy areas across North America.


Vesper sparrows migrate to the eastern United States, the central United States, Mexico and the Gulf Coast. They migrate to the aforementioned regions around September, with the onset of fall, and return during March as spring arrives to the north.


While the species as a whole is not threatened or endangered, it has faced declines in population. Between 1970 and 2014, the Vesper Sparrow population has decreased by 30% and currently has an estimated population of around 34 million. The species has a delicate relationship with agricultural land. The loss of farmland due to conversions to more developed regions has created a degree of habitat loss caused by a reduction in space available for nesting. However, the presence of farmland has also damaged the population. Improper cultivator operations including early and frequent harvesting have destroyed nests and eggs. Fallow strips around farmland have also contributed to habitat loss. The reduction in cover can increase exposure to predators.


The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 10 mm (0.4 in) in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan (where it is controlled by natural predators), but in North America and some regions of Europe is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.
The adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage (i.e., consuming only the material between a leaf's veins) as well as, at times, feeding on a plant's fruit. The subterranean larvae feed on the roots of grasses.


Adult P. japonica measure 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 10 mm (0.4 in) in width, with iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head. A row of white tufts (spots) of hair project from under the wing covers on each side of the body.


Popillia japonica is native to Japan, but is an invasive species in North America and Europe.
The first written evidence of the insect appearing within the United States was in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. The beetle larvae are thought to have entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912, when inspections of commodities entering the country began. As of 2015, just nine western states of the United States were considered free of Japanese beetles. Beetles have been detected in airports on the west coast of the United States since the 1940s.
Before July 2013, Japanese beetles had not been found in Wyoming. August 17, 2020, was the date of the first Japanese beetle find in the state; specifically, at Kendrick Park in Sheridan.
The first Japanese beetle found in Canada was inadvertently brought by tourists to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia by ferry from Maine in 1939. During the same year, three additional adults were captured at Yarmouth and three at Lacolle in southern Quebec.
Japanese beetles have been found in the islands of the Azores since the 1970s. In 2014, the first population in mainland Europe was discovered near Milan in Italy. In 2017, the pest was detected in Switzerland, most likely having spread over the border from Italy. Swiss authorities are attempting to eradicate the pest.
Only three were found in Washington State, USA in 2020, but then from late June to September 3, 2021 there were over 20,000 found in Grandview alone.


Ova are laid individually, or in small clusters near the soil surface. Within approximately two weeks, the ova hatch, the larvae feeding on fine roots and other organic material. As the larvae mature, they become c-shaped grubs which consume progressively coarser roots and may do economic damage to pasture and turf at this time.
Larvae hibernate in small cells in the soil, emerging in the spring when soil temperatures rise again. Within 4–6 weeks of breaking hibernation, the larvae will pupate. Most of the beetle's life is spent as a larva, with only 30–45 days spent as an imago. Adults feed on leaf material above ground, using pheromones to attract other beetles and overwhelm plants, skeletonizing leaves from the top of the plant downward. The aggregation of beetles will alternate daily between mating, feeding, and ovipositing. An adult female may lay as many as 40–60 ova in her lifetime.
Throughout the majority of the Japanese beetle's range, its lifecycle takes one full year, however in the extreme northern parts of its range, as well as high altitude zones as found in its native Japan, development may take two years.


Phenological models might be useful in predicting the timing of presence of larvae or adults of the Japanese beetle. Model outputs can be used to support the timely implementation of monitoring and control actions against the pest, thus reducing its potential impact.
Owing to its destructive nature, traps have been invented specifically to target Japanese beetles. These comprise a pair of crossed walls with a bag or plastic container underneath and are baited with floral scent, pheromone, or both. However, studies conducted at the University of Kentucky and Eastern Illinois University suggest beetles attracted to traps frequently do not end up in the traps, instead, they land on plants in the vicinity and cause more damage along the flight path and near the trap than may have occurred if the trap were not present.
During the larval stage, the Japanese beetle lives in lawns and other grasslands, where it eats the roots of grasses. During that stage, it is susceptible to a fatal disease called milky spore disease, caused by a bacterium called milky spore, Paenibacillus (formerly Bacillus) popilliae. The USDA developed this biological control and it is commercially available in powder form for application to lawn areas. Standard applications (low density across a broad area) take from one to five years to establish maximal protection against larval survival (depending on the climate), expanding through the soil through repeated rounds of infection.
On field crops such as squash, floating row covers can be used to exclude the beetles, but this may necessitate hand pollination of flowers. Kaolin sprays can also be used as barriers.
Research performed by many US extension service branches has shown pheromone traps attract more beetles than they catch. Traps are most effective when spread out over an entire community, and downwind and at the borders (i.e., as far away as possible, particularly upwind), of managed property containing plants being protected.
When present in small numbers, the beetles may be manually controlled using a soap-water spray mixture, shaking a plant in the morning hours and disposing of the fallen beetles, or simply picking them off attractions such as rose flowers, since the presence of beetles attracts more beetles to that plant.
Several insect predators and parasitoids have been introduced to the United States for biocontrol. Two of them, Istocheta aldrichi and Tiphia vernalis, are well established with significant but variable rates of parasitism.


While the larvae of Japanese beetles feed on the roots of many genera of grasses, the adults consume the leaves of a much wider range of hosts, including these common crops: bean, cannabis, strawberry, tomato, pepper, grape, hop, rose, cherry, plum, pear, peach, raspberry, blackberry, corn, pea, okra, and blueberry.


It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, growing to heights of up to 15–30 m (49–98 ft) (rarely more), with a trunk up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in diameter and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is smooth and greenish-white to greyish-white with characteristic diamond-shaped dark marks on young trees, becoming blackish and fissured at the base of old trees. The young shoots are covered with whitish-grey down, including the small buds. The leaves are 4–15 cm (1+1⁄2–6 in) long, five-lobed, with a thick covering of white scurfy down on both sides, but thicker underneath; this layer wears off 8 cm (3+1⁄4 in) long, produced in early spring; they are dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate trees; the male catkins are grey with conspicuous dark red stamens, the female catkins are greyish-green. The female catkins lengthen to 8–10 cm (3+1⁄4–4 in) after pollination, with several green seed capsules, maturing in late spring to early summer. It also propagates by means of root suckers growing from the lateral roots, often as far as 20–30 m (65–100 ft) from the trunk, to form extensive clonal colonies.


White poplar was first introduced to North America in 1748 and has a long history in cultivation. It is now found in 43 states throughout the contiguous U.S. It has come to be considered weedy or invasive; it has been banned in Connecticut and is the most common introduced tree species on Cape Breton Island.
In US intensive forest management, it is being replaced by various Populus sect. Aigeiros hybrids. The wood is soft, and used for cellulose and to make cheap boxes.
It also grows in the temperate zones of South America. Mainly in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay  A conical cultivar from Turkestan, Populus alba 'Pyramidalis' (Bolle's poplar; syn. P. bolleana) is sometimes planted in parks.


Populus balsamifera, commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, Populus. The genus name Populus is from the Latin for poplar, and the specific epithet balsamifera from Latin for "balsam-bearing".
Populus balsamifera is the northernmost North American hardwood, growing transcontinentally on boreal and montane upland and flood plain sites, and attaining its best development on flood plains. It is a hardy, fast-growing tree which is generally short lived, but some trees as old as 200 years have been found.
The tree is known for its strong, sweet fragrance, which emanates from its sticky, resinous buds. The smell has been compared to that of the balsam fir tree.


The light, soft wood of Populus balsamifera is used for pulp and construction. The resinous sap (or the tree's balsam) comes from its buds, and is sometimes used as a hive disinfectant by bees.
Branches containing the resinous buds are sometimes blown to the ground by spring windstorms, and herbalists from many cultures seek these out to make medicine from them. These sticky spring buds are a highly prized ingredient in medicinal salves and other herbal preparations in both Indigenous North American and European herbal traditions.
Many kinds of animals use the twigs of Populus balsamifera for food. The leaves of the tree serve as food for caterpillars of various Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera that feed on poplars.


Populus deltoides, the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.


Populus deltoides is a large tree growing to 20–60 m (65–195 ft) tall and with a trunk up to 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) diameter, one of the largest North American hardwood trees. The bark is silvery-white, smooth or lightly fissured when young, becoming dark gray and deeply fissured on old trees.
The twigs are grayish-yellow and stout, with large triangular leaf scars. The winter buds are slender, pointed, 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) long, yellowish brown, and resinous. It is one of the fastest growing trees in North America. In Mississippi River bottoms, height growth of 3–5 m (10–15 ft) per year for a few years has been seen. Sustained height growth of 1.5-meter (5 ft) height growth and 2.5-centimeter (1 in) diameter growth per year for 25 years is common.
Eastern cottonwood's range is centered in the Midwestern US. It is not common in the Northeast and is reported only in scattered occurrences, which may constitute intentional plantings rather than natural ones.
The leaves are large, deltoid (triangular), 4–10 cm (1+1⁄2–4 in) long and 4–11 cm (1+1⁄2–4+1⁄4 in) broad with a truncated (flattened) base and a petiole 3–12 cm (1+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) long. The leaf is very coarsely toothed, the teeth are curved and gland tipped, and the petiole is flat; they are dark green in the summer and turn yellow in the fall (but many cottonwoods in dry locations drop their leaves early from the combination of drought and leaf rust, making their fall color dull or absent). Due to the flat stem of the leaf, the leaf has the tendency to shake from even the slightest breeze. This is one of the identifying characteristics.
It is dioecious, with the flowers (catkins) produced on single-sex trees in early spring. The male (pollen) catkins are reddish-purple and 8–10 cm (3+1⁄4–4 in) long; the female catkins are green, 7–13 cm (2+3⁄4–5 in) long at pollination, maturing 15–20 cm (6–7+3⁄4 in) long with several 6-to-15-millimeter (1⁄4-to-9⁄16-inch) seed capsules (samaras) in early summer, which split open to release the numerous small seeds attached to cotton-like strands. A single tree may release 40 million seeds a season.


The species is divided into three subspecies or up to five varieties. The subspecies classification is as follows:
Populus deltoides subsp. deltoides,  eastern cottonwood is found in southeastern Canada (the south of Ontario and Quebec) and the eastern United States (throughout, west to North Dakota to Texas).
P. d. monilifera (Aiton) Eckenw., the plains cottonwood (syn. P. deltoides var. occidentalis Rydb.; P. sargentii Dode) ranges from southcentral Canada (southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) to the central United States and south to northern New Mexico and Texas. It is the state tree of Wyoming.
P. d. wislizeni (S.Watson) Eckenw., the Rio Grande cottonwood (syn. P. wislizeni (S.Watson) Sarg.; P. fremontii var. wislizeni S.Watson) grows from southern Colorado south through Texas to northeastern Mexico (Chihuahua, San Luis Potosi), and west to Arizona (presence in California, listed by GRIN, is doubtful, not included in the Jepson Flora of California). (Note: Some sources mistakenly spell the epithet "wislizenii". Correct spelling is with one "i", per ICN article 60C.2.)


The wood of eastern cottonwood is typical of the Populus family in its softness, weighing just 0.45 g/cm³ (28 pounds per cubic foot). It is utilized for things like plywood and interior parts of furniture.
General Custer fed his horses and mules the bark during the 1868–69 winter campaign against Native American tribes south of Arkansas. According to Charles Goodnight, cowboys afflicted with gastric disorders would make an astringent tea from the inner bark.


Eastern cottonwoods typically live 70–100 years, but they have the potential to live 200–400 years in ideal conditions.
The Balmville Tree (felled in 2015 at approximately 316 years old) was the oldest eastern cottonwood in the United States.
The US national champion Populus deltoides var. deltoides is located in Beatrice, Nebraska and measures 27 m (88 ft) tall, 33 m (108 ft) wide.
The US national champion Populus deltoides var. monilifera is located in Ravalli County, Montana and measures 34 m (112 ft) tall, 29 m (94 ft) wide.
The US national champion Populus deltoides var. wislizeni is located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico and measures 26 m (84 ft) tall, 25 m (83 ft) wide.
The largest recorded cottonwood tree in the world is the Frimley Park tree located in Hastings, New Zealand and measures 42 m (138 ft) tall, 34 m (111 ft) wide and 10.2 m (33.4 ft) in girth. This cottonwood was planted in the 1870s.


The tree is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. In the United States, the species can be found in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. In Mexico, it can be found in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, México (state), and Puebla.
The riparian tree grows near streams, rivers, springs, seeps, wetlands, and well-watered alluvial bottomlands at elevations below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) elevation.


P. fremontii is a large tree growing from 12–35 m (39–115 ft) in height with a wide crown, with a trunk up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in diameter. The bark is smooth when young, becoming deeply fissured with whitish cracked bark on old trees.
The 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) long leaves, are cordate (heart-shaped) with an elongate tip, with white veins and coarse crenate teeth along the sides, glabrous to hairy, and often stained with milky resin. Autumn colors occur from October–November, mainly a bright yellow, also orange, rarely red.
The inflorescence consists of a long drooping catkin, which blooms from March to April. The fruit is a wind dispersed achene, that appears to look like patches of cotton hanging from limbs, thus the name cottonwood.
The largest known P. fremontii tree in the United States grows in Skull Valley, Arizona. In 2012, it had a measured circumference of 557 inches (14,100 mm), height of 102 feet (31 m), and a spread of 149.5 feet (45.6 m).


Two subspecies are currently recognized. Some confusion due to hybridization with a Rio Grande subspecies of Populus deltoides subsp. wislizeni had originally placed this eastern cottonwood subspecies as a P. fremontii subspecies, but it was removed in 1977.
P. f. subsp. fremontii, with synonyms P. f. var. arizonica - Sarg. and P. f. var. macdougalii - (Rose) Jeps. from California and west of the Continental Divide
P. f. subsp. mesetae - Eckenwal., of arid areas of Mexico and west Texas, and widely planted elsewhere, generally east of the Continental Divide


P. fremontii is cultivated as an ornamental tree and riparian zone restoration tree. It is used in planting for: wildlife food and shelter habitats and ecological restoration; larger native plant and wildlife gardens and natural landscaping projects, windbreaks, erosion control, and shade for recreation facilities, parks, and livestock.
Frémont's cottonwood was used in the past by settlers and ranchers for fuel and fence posts.


Populus nigra, the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section Aigeiros of the genus Populus, native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.


The black poplar is a medium- to large-sized deciduous tree, reaching 20–30 m, and rarely 40 m tall. Normally, their trunks achieve up to 1.5 m in diameter, but some unusual individual trees in France have grown old enough to have much larger trunks – more than 3 metres DBH (Diameter at Breast Height). Their leaves are diamond-shaped to triangular, 5–8 cm long and 6–8 cm broad, and green on both surfaces.
The species is dioecious (male and female flowers are on different plants), with flowers in catkins and pollination achieved by the wind.  The black poplar grows in low-lying areas of moist ground.  Like most other pioneer species, the tree is characterized by rapid growth and is  able to quickly colonize open areas.


Three subspecies are established and some botanists distinguish a fourth:
P. n. subsp. nigra. Central and eastern Europe. Leaves and shoots glabrous (hairless); bark grey-brown, thick and furrowed.
P. n.  subsp. betulifolia (Pursh) W.Wettst. North-west Europe (France, Great Britain, Ireland). Leaf veins and shoots finely downy; bark grey-brown, thick and furrowed, often with heavy burrs, trunk usually heavily leaning.
P. n.  subsp. caudina (Ten.) Bugała. Mediterranean region, also southwest Asia if var. afghanica not distinguished.
P. n.  var. afghanica Aitch. & Hemsl. (syn. P. n. var. thevestina (Dode) Bean). Southwest Asia; treated as a cultivar of P. nigra by many botanists, and as a distinct species P. afghanica by others; bark smooth, nearly white; leaves and shoots as subsp. caudina (see also cultivars, below).
The subspecies P. n. betulifolia is one of the rarest trees in Great Britain and Ireland, with only about 7,000 trees known, of which only about 600 have been confirmed as female.


Several cultivars have also been selected, these being propagated readily by cuttings:
'Italica' is the true Lombardy poplar, selected in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the 17th century. The growth is fastigiate (having the branches more or less parallel to the main stem), with a very narrow crown. Coming from the Mediterranean region, it is adapted to hot, dry summers and grows poorly in humid conditions, being short-lived due to fungal diseases.  It is a male clone. As a widely selected species chosen by golf architects in the 1960s, it soon became apparent that the poplar's very invasive roots destroyed land drainage systems. Decades later, the same courses were removing poplar stands wholesale. Around 40 to 50 years, this short-lived variety starts shedding branches and is very likely to be blown over in high winds, each successive tree lost exposing neighbouring trees, creating a domino effect.
Plantierensis group clones are derived by crossing 'Italica' with P. nigra ssp. betulifolia at the Plantières Nursery near Metz in France in 1884; they are similar to 'Italica' (and often mistaken for it), but with a slightly broader crown, and better adapted to the cool, humid climate of northwest Europe, where the true Lombardy poplar does not grow well. Both male and female clones are grown. This is the tree most commonly grown in Great Britain and Ireland as Lombardy poplar.
'Manchester' is a cultivar of P. nigra subsp. betulifolia widely planted in northwest England. It is a male clone, and currently seriously threatened by poplar scab disease.
'Gigantea' is another fastigiate clone, of unknown origin, with a rather broader, more vigorous crown than 'Italica'. It is a female clone.
'Afghanica' (syn. 'Thevestina'): most, if not all, specimens are of a single clone, and many botanists therefore treat it as a cultivar rather than a botanical variety. It is fastigiate, similar to 'Italica', but with a striking whitish bark; it also differs from 'Italica' in being a female clone. This is the common fastigiate poplar in southwest Asia and southeast Europe (the Balkans), where it was introduced during the Ottoman Empire period.
Populus nigra 'Italica' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Black poplar has a large distribution area throughout Europe and is also found in northern Africa and central and west Asia. The distribution area extends from the Mediterranean in the south to around 64° latitude in the north and from the British Isles in the west to Kazakhstan and China in the east. The distribution area also includes the Caucasus and large parts of the Middle East.


Populus trichocarpa, the  black cottonwood, western balsam-poplar or California poplar, is a  deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology.


It is a large tree, growing to a height of 30 to 50 metres (98 to 164 ft) and a trunk diameter over 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft), which makes it the largest poplar species in the Americas. It is normally fairly short-lived, but some trees may live up to 400 years. A cottonwood in Willamette Mission State Park near Salem, Oregon, holds the national and world records. Last measured in April 2008, this black cottonwood was found to be standing at 47 m (155 ft) tall, 8.8 m (29 ft) around, with 527 points.
The bark is grey and covered with lenticels, becoming thick and deeply fissured on old trees. The bark can become hard enough to cause sparks when cut with a chainsaw. The stem is grey in the older parts and light brown in younger parts. The crown is usually roughly conical and quite dense. In large trees, the lower branches droop downwards. Spur shoots are common. The wood has a light coloring and a straight grain.
The leaves are usually 7–20 centimetres (2+3⁄4–7+3⁄4 in) long with a glossy, dark green upper side and glaucous, light grey-green underside; larger leaves may be up to 30 cm (11+3⁄4 in) long and may be produced on stump sprouts and very vigorous young trees. The leaves are alternate, elliptical with a crenate margin and an acute tip, and reticulate venation. The petiole is reddish. The buds are conical, long, narrow, and sticky, with a strong balsam scent in spring when they open.
P. trichocarpa has an extensive and aggressive root system, which can invade and damage drainage systems. Sometimes, the roots can even damage the foundations of buildings by drying out the soil.


P. trichocarpa is normally dioecious; male and female catkins are borne on separate trees. The species reaches flowering age around 10 years. Flowers may appear in early March to late May in Washington and Oregon, and sometimes as late as mid-June in northern and interior British Columbia, Idaho, and Montana. Staminate catkins contain 30 to 60 stamens, elongated to 2 to 3 cm, and are deciduous. Pistillate catkins at maturity are 8 to 20 cm long with rotund-ovate, tricarpellate subsessile fruits 5 to 8 mm long. Each capsule contains many minute seeds with long, white, cottony hairs.


The seed ripens and is disseminated by late May to late June in Oregon and Washington, but frequently not until mid-July in Idaho and Montana. Abundant seed crops are usually produced every year. Attached to its cotton, the seed is light and buoyant and can be transported long distances by wind and water. The pollen can be an allergen. Although highly viable, longevity of P. trichocarpa seed under natural conditions may be as short as two weeks to a month. This can be increased with cold storage.


Moist seedbeds are essential for high germination, and seedling survival depends on continuously favorable conditions during the first month. Wet bottomlands of rivers and major streams frequently provide such conditions, particularly where bare soil has been exposed or new soil laid down. Germination is epigeal (above ground). P. trichocarpa seedlings do not usually become established in abundance after logging unless special measures are taken to prepare the bare, moist seedbeds required for initial establishment. Where seedlings become established in great numbers, they thin out naturally by age five because the weaker seedlings of this shade-intolerant species are suppressed.


Due to its high levels of rooting hormones, P. trichocarpa sprouts readily. After logging operations, it sometimes regenerates naturally from rooting of partially buried fragments of branches or from stumps. Sprouting from roots also occurs. The species also has the ability to abscise shoots complete with green leaves. These shoots drop to the ground and may root where they fall or may be dispersed by water transport. In some situations, abscission may be one means of colonizing exposed sandbars.


The native range of P. trichocarpa covers large sections of western North America. It extends from Southeast Alaska's Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet to latitude 62° 30° N., through British Columbia and the forested areas of Washington and Oregon, to the mountains in southern California and northern Baja California (31°N). It is also found inland, generally on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, in British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, western Montana, and north-to-central Idaho. Scattered small populations have been noted in southeastern Alberta, eastern Montana, western North Dakota, western Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.
Black cottonwood grows on alluvial sites, riparian habitats, and moist woods on mountain slopes, from sea level to elevations of 2,100–2,750 m (6,890–9,020 ft). It often forms extensive stands on bottomlands of major streams and rivers at low elevations along the Pacific Coast, west of the Cascade Range. In eastern Washington and other dry areas, it is restricted to protected valleys and canyon bottoms, along streambanks, and edges of ponds and meadows. It grows on a variety of soils from moist silts, gravels, and sands to rich humus, loams, and occasionally clays. Black cottonwood is a pioneer species that grows best in full sunlight and commonly establishes on recently disturbed alluvium. Seeds are numerous and widely dispersed because of their cottony tufts, enabling the species to colonize even burn sites, if conditions for establishment are met. Seral communities dominated or codominated by cottonwood are maintained by periodic flooding or other types of soil disturbance. Black cottonwood has low drought tolerance; it is flood-tolerant but cannot tolerate brackish water or stagnant pools.
P. trichocarpa has been one of the most successful introductions of trees to the otherwise almost treeless Faroe Islands.
The species was imported from Alaska to Iceland in 1944 and has since become one of the most widespread trees in the country.


Although the most populous cottonwood of the Pacific Northwest, it hybridizes with the region's three other species: balsam poplar, plains cottonwood, and narrowleaf cottonwood; all four have similar appearances and provide habitats for various animals.
Cottonwoods are shade intolerant. Black cottonwood thrives by colonizing disturbed sites, but can be replaced by conifers. The wood is relatively weak and waterlogged, often splitting during freezes. It is susceptible to rot as well. Woodpeckers create cavities which various animals can use for nests. Larger birds nest in the large upper branches. Beavers use the trees as food and dam-building material.


It is grown as an ornamental tree, valued for its fast growth and scented foliage in spring, detectable from over 100 m distance. The roots are however invasive, and it can damage the foundations of buildings on shrinkable clay soils if planted nearby (Mitchel 1996).
Branches can be added to potted plants to stimulate rooting.


P. trichocarpa wood is light-weight and although not particularly strong, is strong for its weight. The wood material has short, fine cellulose fibres that are used in pulp for high-quality book and magazine paper. The wood is also excellent for production of plywood. Living trees are used as windbreaks.
This species grows very quickly; trees in plantations in Great Britain have reached 18 m (59 ft) tall in 11 years, and 34 m (112 ft) tall in 28 years. It can reach suitable size for pulp production in 10–15 years and about 25 years for timber production.


Populus trichocarpa has several qualities that makes it a good model species for trees:
Model genome size (although significantly larger than the other model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana)
Rapid growth (for a tree)
Reaches reproductive maturity 4–6 years
Economically important
It represents a phenotypically diverse genus
For these reasons, the species has been extensively studied. Its genome sequence was published in 2006 (see "Genome" below). More than 121,000 expressed sequence tags have been sequenced from it. The wide range of topics studied by using P. trichocarpa include the effects of ethylene, lignin biosynthesis, drought tolerance, and wood formation.


Size: 485 million base pairs (human genome: 3 billion base pairs)
Proportion of heterochromatin to euchromatin: 3:7
Number of chromosomes: 19
Number of putative genes: 45,555, the largest number of genes ever recorded (estimate in September 2008)
Mitochondrial genome: 803,000 base pairs, 52 genes
Chloroplast genome: 157,000 base pairs, 101 genes


Genome-wide analysis of 11 clumps of P. trichocarpa trees reveals significant genetic differences between the roots and the leaves and branches of the same tree. The variation within a specimen is as much as found between unrelated trees. These results may be important in resolving debate in evolutionary biology regarding somatic mutation (that evolution can occur within individuals, not solely among populations), with a variety of implications.


The courtship of purple gallinules occurs while they are standing and can be displayed by both sexes. Courtship occurs when the birds of a pair have been separated and then wander close to one another. They then perform the principal display, which is performed by both sexes at the same time. The display entails the bird standing in a slightly bent forward position, with the neck outstretched. The wings are held at an almost right angle to the body and bent at the wrist, so that the primaries are angled down. Following the principal display, one or both of the birds will strut and cut across the path of the other with half-lowered wings, or they will make a deep bow as they approach each other.


The Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) is a species of swamphen (Porphyrio) occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko (from the  Māori pūkeko). The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen.


Australasian swamphens are considered to be the ancestors of several island species including the extinct Lord Howe swamphen and two species of takahē in New Zealand. On islands where closely related species have become extinct or declined due to human interference, such as New Zealand or New Caledonia, this species has established itself relatively recently.


The colour red was associated with nobility and power by Māori in New Zealand, so the bird was held in high esteem and held as a chiefly pet because of its red beak and legs. In Samoa, it is called manuali'i (literally, "chiefly bird"). Red was the prized color of Polynesian aristocracy and while birds with red plumage (such as the red-tailed tropicbird, some Hawaiian honeycreepers like the ʻiʻiwi and maroon shining parrot) were highly prized, the swamphen was unique in deriving its prestige not from plumage but from its reddish face, beak, and legs. In old Samoa only chiefs could keep such birds as pets, and early European sailors noticed tethered and/or caged swamphens treated by Samoan chiefs as tamed pets. Some Samoans also considered the swamphen to be the incarnation of a mischievous, aggressive demon called Vave. There is no tradition of swamphens being taken as sport game or poultry food, except perhaps in time of necessity.


Nesting, breeding and rearing are as for the general species, see purple swamphen. In New Zealand they nest, typically well hidden in the middle of a clump of raupo, between August (end of winter) and March (start of autumn).  Most eggs are laid between August and February with breeding reaching a peak in spring between September and December. New Zealand pukeko are joint-nesters and multiple females will lay their eggs in the same nest. The recent development of a useful PCR-based genetic marker to determine the sex of Pukeko has revealed that there is no evidence of sex ratio bias in hatching-order. Patterns of growth, survivorship and adult dominance in this species is therefore attributed to hatching order rather than offspring sex


Portulaca oleracea (common purslane, also known as little hogweed, or pursley) is an annual (actually tropical perennial in USDA growing zones 10–11) succulent in the family Portulacaceae.


The plant may reach 40 centimetres (16 inches) in height. It has smooth, reddish, mostly prostrate stems and the leaves, which may be alternate or opposite, are clustered at stem joints and ends. The yellow flowers have five regular parts and are up to 6 millimetres (1⁄4 inch) wide. Depending upon rainfall, the flowers appear at any time during the year. The flowers open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings. The tiny seeds are formed in a pod, which opens when the seeds are mature. Purslane has a taproot with fibrous secondary roots and is able to tolerate poor soil and drought.
The fruits are many-seeded capsules. Seed set is considerable; one plant can develop up to 193,000 seeds. The seeds germinate optimally at a temperature above 25 °C; they are light germinators, with even a soil cover of 5 mm having a negative effect on germination.