Archives: December2009

• Campanula scouleri

  
  

  Well, it seems like I’m doing a series on the plants of Oregon to end the year, so let’s say this is three of five in this series.

  Scouler’s harebell or pale bellflower is native to western North America from Alaska to California. This uncommon species is generally found on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. The photographs today, taken from two different locales in early August, reflect the preferred habitats. One was taken in moist woods while the other was from an exposed rocky slope — a bit of an odd combination, if you ask me. Individual plants are small, to 40cm tall, and infrequently cultivated.

  As these were the first two times I encountered this species, I would normally have spent more time photographing it, but rain on both days limited the time I was willing to spend on any one thing. For more images, either visit the Burke Museum’s page on Campanula scouleri or the Oregon Flora Project’s page on Campanula scouleri.

• Dark Matter Detected for First Time?

  With cautious optimism, physicists say they may have finally “felt” the ghostly effects of mysterious dark matter deep in a Minnesota mine.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Amazon Losing “Flying Rivers,” Ability to Curb Warming

  The Amazon’s flying rivers”—humid air currents that deliver water to the vast rain forest—may be ebbing, in turn hampering the region’s ability to help curb global warming, experts say.