Favoritos de elik03

Photo key:

1. Whole monoecious plant
2. Wilted male inflorescence
3. Fruiting female inflorescence
4. Pistillate flowers at anthesis
5. Female flowers with fruits
6. Subcircular achene
7. Male flower remnants
8. Male stamen & tepal remnants

Link to the paper that revives the name U. gracilis for North American nettles:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260815095_Weeding_the_Nettles_II_A_delimitation_of_'Urtica_dioica_L'_Urticaceae_based_on_morphological_and_molecular_data_including_a_rehabilitation_of_Urtica_gracilis_Ait

And the revised Flora of the Pacific Northwest key:

https://www.pnwherbaria.org/florapnw/treatmentpdfs/Urtica_FloraPNW_Revised.pdf

I see lots of shots of animal tracks posted on iNat, but save for a raccoon or a few other simple ones, I claim no knowledge or expertise in tracks in the snow, mud, etc. But I thought tracks of Emperor Penguin in soft snow might add a different critter to the tracks repertoire! Image 3 shows the culprits making the tracks! We watched this daily for 8 or 10 days on that trip to the Ross Sea in 2001. The track in image 1 is made by a single individual. When there are multiple birds in a line (and they often travel 2 to 25 or more in single file in the same rut), those marks on the side of the rut where their flippers propel them along get very obscure from multiple flippers.

When on rocks and gravel or a thin snow cover, Emperors walk upright. But when in loose snow, or they want to speed up, they flop down on their bellies and "take off" propelling themselves along with their rear feet as well as their flippers. Under many circumstances they can move a good bit faster than a person is able to. Emperors are 3 feet tall and large ones can weigh 70+ pounds.

Emperor Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
Cape Washington,
Ross Sea
Antarctica
4 December 2001

these images scanned from 35mm slides

Location: Cape Washington, Ross Sea, ... (Google, OSM)
Places: AQ, AQ, Antarctica More...
Lat -74.5248, Lon 165.1697
Accuracy: 1000m

Drama. These guys all normally get along pretty well, but here a squirrel decided to start something and nearly got kicked in the head as reward. Moments later they were back to munching sunflower seeds side-by-side again.

My friends, this isn't something you see everyday...I think I slipped into flower nirvana when I saw this.

Fasciated Canada lily, over 50 flowers on a single stalk; single plant in weedy moist thicket along railroad.