On my way to the next National Park, I stopped at a trail called the Ferns and Lakes trail! A fun little hike through some marshlands, ponds, two lakes, and even a turtle! There was some sort of birding event ongoing, but my section of the trail was mostly empty! As things have been warming up, these marshlands had been starting to collect bugs like crazy! I hadn’t yet learned my lesson and kept leaving without bug spray smh. I eat nature, nature eats me, kinda fun being a part of the cycle 😁.
My plant focus, despite being a fern-related trail, has got to be Skunk Cabbages! It’s in the arum family! I bumped into a small Grove of these at the mill, but in this marsh they were EVERYWHERE! Their big leaves and huge groves are stunning in my eyes. They get their name from the smell they produce, though they weren’t smelly when I was there. They also were not flowering at the time, but they do produce some really big and really cool flowers that have these hoods called spathes that protect a flower spike called a spadix. What is REALLY REALLY cool is it’s probably the first plant I have seen that is capable of ✨️Thermogenesis✨️. IT CAN PRODUCE ITS OWN HEAT!!! That is so rad!!! It can melt snow, allowing it to flower in winter!!! I went down a huge rabbit hole of different theories of why plants are thermogenic, and it’s so fascinating! Some cycads communicate with pollinators via thermal radiation! It’s so crazy all the things plants can do, and I’m glad I did some research; my love for Skunk Cabbages and plants has only grown 😁😁😁!!!!
Thanks for checking in!
Cheers 🍻
The Fools Journeys 
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