You might not know it if you didn’t look for the signs down by the river, but early last summer Northfield experienced record-setting flooding. Just after most students left for the summer, Minnesota...

As of the 2017 Arb species list, Cowling Arboretum is home to four distinct species of dogwoods, all in the genus Cornus. However, two species of dogwood are more common in the Arb than the others, the...

Many of you are probably aware of the prevalence of squirrels on this campus. They are our entertaining friends, leaping from trees, burying acorns and  scavenging the crumbs of our dinners outside on...

As the bells rang one o’clock, students on campus quickly came out of the woodwork, eager to make the most of an oddly temperate and cloudless day. I haphazardly snatched my bike and began my swift descent...

Have you ever wondered about that little black bird that looks and acts a bit like a small crow? Most likely, you’ve spotted a common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).  Grackles are recognizable as a...

Nestled within the serene landscapes of Minnesota lie the delicate and rare dwarf trout lilies (Erythronium propullans), a species of wildflower that faces the threat of extinction. It is endemic to the...

Spring wildflowers have come to the Arb! As the invasive Siberian squill begins to fade away, the season starts for a native wildflower that blankets the forest floor: the white trout lily (Erythronium...

With the warm weather recently, many have been out walking around the Arb. You may have noticed that it is the height of the blooming season for a certain purple flower: Scilla siberica, or simply "Scilla"....

Not all trees can handle living next to the Cannon River this time of year. Trees that thrive in Minnesota’s floodplains must survive when the river bursts its banks each spring, dousing them in deep...

You might not notice a Kentucky coffee tree if it weren’t for its distinctive pods, which can be seen dangling from branches or picked up from the ground around it. These tough brown pods each contain...

Walking through the arboretum earlier this month, student naturalists came across weird designs etched in the wood of a fallen tree. Was this a practical joke on curious students, or a particularly artistic...

Winter 2024 is on track to be the warmest winter on record for much of Minnesota, and with unprecedented warmth comes anomalies to the environment around us, one of which can be seen with ice. One of the...