Find a sheet

A

African Violet

Streptocarpus ionanthus · flowering houseplant

A

Algerian Ivy

Hedera canariensis · verify the plant label

A

Aloe vera

Aloe vera · succulent perennial

A

Anise Hyssop

Agastache foeniculum · aromatic native perennial

B

Bromeliads

Bromeliaceae · tank-forming houseplant types

Plant

Catnip

An aromatic, hardy perennial herb with square stems and soft, toothed leaves. Catnip is distinct from the many ornamental catmints sold under other Nepeta names.

Plant

Cattleya Orchid

Cattleya roots need ample air. Select an orchid-appropriate medium instead of assuming the general foliage recipe will be suitable.

Plant

Chinese Evergreen

Chinese evergreens are tropical foliage plants with substantial differences among species and cultivars. Identify a plant’s cultivar when possible, especially when judging color, size, and light needs.

Plant

Christmas and Thanksgiving Cactus

Schlumbergera truncata without visible open flowers, attached to a tree in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, 2025-07-05. Recorded as wild in the species’ native region.

Plant

Daffodils

Daffodils are bulbous plants with strap-shaped leaves and a central floral cup or trumpet. This sheet covers hardy garden daffodils; tender paperwhites and individual species can need different winter treatment.

Plant

Earth Stars

Unlike many bromeliads that live on trees and hold water in a central “tank,” Cryptanthus are terrestrial: their roots and potting mix matter. Their flattened rosettes hug the soil, and their color comes mostly from patterned foliage rather

E

Echeveria

Echeveria species — genus-level identification

Plant

Echinopsis calochlora

Also called Lemon Barrel Cactus in the source sheet; verify the botanical name.

Plant

English Ivy

Light. Place near an east or north window, or several feet back from a bright south/west window. Rotate weekly. Long internodes and small leaves mean insufficient light.

F

False Indigo

Baptisia australis · verify the plant label

Plant

Fiddle-leaf Fig

A tropical tree recognized by its large, leathery, violin-shaped leaves. Container plants remain much smaller than mature trees in their native range.

Plant

Fireweed

A beautiful native-style pioneer plant that can become assertive through both rhizomes and airborne seed.

G

Ghost Echeveria

Echeveria lilacina — provisional identification

G

Graptopetalum macdougallii

Graptopetalum macdougallii — label-dependent identification

Plant

Haworthia pygmaea

Its windowed leaves are adapted to sit low in the ground; compactness is normal and desirable.

Plant

Haworthia — Genus Guide

Species differ in leaf form and light tolerance. Many plants historically sold as Haworthia are now placed in Haworthiopsis or Tulista; check the actual name before applying species-specific advice.

H

Hoya

Hoya carnosa · wax plant

I

Inch Plant

Tradescantia species · exact species or cultivar to be verified

I

Indian Grass

Sorghastrum nutans · native warm-season bunchgrass

J

Jade Plant

Crassula ovata · woody succulent

J

Japanese Zelkova

Zelkova serrata · deciduous shade tree · complete five-part package and Word download

L

Lanceleaf Coreopsis

Coreopsis lanceolata · native yellow wildflower

L

Lemon Barrel Cactus

Often sold as Ferocactus glaucescens · verify the label

L

Lithops

Lithops species · living stones

M

Madeira Ivy

Delairea odorata · verify the plant label

Plant

Miniature Rose

Plant Information Sheet for Miniature Rose.

M

Mistletoe Cactus

Rhipsalis baccifera · tropical epiphytic cactus

M

Mistletoe Fern

Psilotum nudum · verify identification

Plant

Phalaenopsis Orchid

Phalaenopsis stuartiana without open flowers, with roots attached to a tree; Davao, Philippines, 2022-03-13. A species example, not an identification of a household hybrid.

P

Pothos

Epipremnum aureum · tropical climbing vine

Plant

Pteris Ferns

Plant Information Sheet for Pteris Ferns.

Plant

Rapeseed

Rapeseed is an oilseed crop. This sheet focuses on oilseed forms of Brassica napus, including canola-quality cultivars. Rutabaga belongs to a different cultivated group of the same species and is grown for its swollen root; its care sheet d

Plant

Rebutia minuscula

Plant Information Sheet for Rebutia minuscula.

Plant

Rubber Plant

A tropical forest tree grown indoors for its large, glossy leaves. Rubber plant performs best with bright filtered light, warm stable conditions, an airy root zone, and thorough watering followed by partial drying.

Plant

Rutabaga

Rutabaga is a cultivated cool-season crop grown mainly for its swollen edible root. It is a different crop from turnip (Brassica rapa), despite similar appearance and overlapping common names.

S

Sempervivum ‘Green Wheel’

Sempervivum ‘Green Wheel’ — cultivar name requires a label

Plant

Senecio scaposus

A compact, clump-forming succulent with narrow, finger-like leaves covered when young by a silvery-white felt. The coating reflects sunlight and helps protect the leaf from heat and water loss. Older leaves may naturally lose some of the fe

Plant

Sensitive Plant

This small, often sprawling tropical legume folds its leaflets when disturbed. Its movement is a physiological response involving electrical signals, calcium signaling, and water movement in specialized leaf joints; it is not evidence that

S

Serviceberry

Amelanchier arborea · native small tree and large shrub

S

Siberian Iris

Iris sibirica L. · moist-soil perennial · nonnative ornamental in Indiana

Plant

Snake Plant

A tough houseplant, but not indestructible. Snake plant tolerates missed waterings and low indoor light, yet it performs best in bright filtered light, a fast-draining mix, and a pot allowed to dry well between waterings. Persistent wet soi

Plant

Spider Plant

Form: Evergreen, rosette-forming perennial with fleshy storage roots. Leaves: Long, arching, strap-like green or green-and-white leaves. Flowers: Small, white, six-parted, star-like flowers on long arching stems. Plantlets: Baby rosettes fo

S

Spiny Pincushion Cactus

Mammillaria spinosissima · probable identification

S

String of Pearls

Curio rowleyanus · trailing succulent

Plant

Teneriffe Houseleek

Its seasonal rhythm is backwards from many houseplants: active in cool weather, resting in summer heat.

Plant

Thismia daemona

Look for a nearly black, upright floral tube rising only a few centimetres above wet leaf litter. A dome-shaped mitre crowns the flower; three slender, club-tipped appendages project upward like horns. Reddish-orange fleshy outer tepals for

Plant

White Snakeroot

Nonflowering foliage showing broad toothed leaves. Ground-grown cultivated specimen, Berlin Botanic Garden. Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plant

Yucca

Plant Information Sheet for Yucca.

Plant

Yucca filamentosa

Native to the southeastern United States. Natural habitats include dry sandy or rocky open woods, dunes and maritime edges, barrens, flatrock margins, slopes and other sunny, well-drained sites. The uploaded Naturalist article emphasizes sa

H

Zebra Haworthia

Haworthiopsis attenuata · zebra-type rosette succulent

Z

Zigzag Cactus

Disocactus anguliger · tropical epiphytic cactus

Animal

Acrobat Ants

Look for a distinctly heart-shaped abdomen from above, two waist nodes, and attachment of the waist toward the upper surface of the abdomen. The raised-abdomen posture is useful when observed naturally. Color alone is unreliable. [ID]

Animal

Black Carpenter Ant

A large native ant that excavates wood for shelter. It eats other foods, not wood. Around a house, finding the nest and correcting moisture matter more than killing a few roaming workers.

Animal

Butterflies

Adult butterfly (left); egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis (right). Educational composite; not a single species.

Animal

Cornfield Ant

Workers are brown, often with paler legs, with one waist node and an uneven middle-body profile. Species identification among small Lasius ants depends on details such as hair distribution and body proportions that usually require magnifica

Animal

Field Ants

Workers have one waist node and typically an uneven middle-body profile. Many have visible simple eyes on the top of the head. Black, reddish, and mixed colors all occur. A mound and body color do not establish the species. [ID]

Animal

Foxes Wolves Dingoes and House Cats

Main idea Foxes, wolves, and dingoes belong to the dog family Canidae. The domestic house cat belongs to the cat family Felidae. All four are intelligent, keen-sensed predators, but they differ sharply in size, social organization, hunting

Animal

Japanese Beetle

Main point. Japanese beetles damage plants twice: adults skeletonize leaves and flowers, while soil-dwelling grubs feed on grass roots. For a small garden, inspect often and knock adults into soapy water early in the day. Treat lawns only a

Animal

Larger Citronella Ant

A yellow ant that spends much of its life belowground. A sudden indoor swarm can look alarming, but these ants are not wood-eating termites and ordinarily do not attack stored food.

Animal

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are part of aquatic and terrestrial food webs, but some species transmit disease. The most effective household control is simple: remove standing water every week and prevent bites.

Animal

Moths

Adult moth (left); egg, caterpillar, and silk cocoon with pupa (right). Educational composite; not a single species.

Animal

Odorous House Ant

A small native scavenger that follows food trails through gardens and sometimes kitchens. Identify the ant and locate what attracts it before deciding whether control is needed.

Animal

Pavement Ant

The familiar small ant beneath sidewalks and paving stones. Its success in disturbed ground makes it easy to observe, but the older name Tetramorium caespitum can conceal important differences among species.

Animal Information Sheet

Rabbit

Identification, plant damage, exclusion, and integrated response

Animal

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Indiana’s regular breeding hummingbird is a native seasonal visitor to Lafayette. Identify it by plumage and shape, then support it with flowers, insects and safe feeding places. [IN, ID]

Animal

Spotted Lanternfly

An invasive planthopper now established in parts of Indiana. Learn every life stage, report suspected sightings, and avoid moving egg masses on vehicles, firewood, equipment, or outdoor objects.

Animal

Spring Peeper

The spring peeper, Pseudacris crucifer, is a small eastern North American frog best detected by its high-pitched spring call. Its life depends on both breeding wetlands and the surrounding terrestrial habitat. This sheet is for field observ

Animal

Thief Ant

An exceptionally small ant that can enter gaps and food packages inaccessible to larger ants. Correct identification matters because the similar-looking pharaoh ant requires a different management approach.

Animal Information Sheet

Vole

Runways, bark injury, habitat modification, and protection

Practical topics

Cactus Soil

A good cactus soil should wet thoroughly, drain rapidly, and then dry reasonably quickly. Ordinary potting soil used by itself generally retains too much water.

Practical topics

Cactus Soil Standard Mix

Examples of coarse, open cactus potting substrates. Look for visible mineral particles and interconnected pore space.

Practical topics

Choosing Plants for Indoor Conditions

Choose a plant for the conditions you can provide consistently. Window direction is a useful starting clue, but actual light at leaf level, seasonal temperature, humidity, and root-zone drying determine whether the match works.

Practical topics

Cutting Propagation Mixes

Use the Standard Cutting / Propagation Mix for most ordinary leafy cuttings; cactus and succulent cuttings follow the exceptions below.

Practical topics

Fertilizer

Bottom line. Fertilizer supplies nutrients; it does not correct poor light, damaged roots, compacted soil, bad drainage, or improper watering. Use the plant's needs and the product label to set the dose. When uncertain, fertilize less.

Practical topics

Hi-Yield Soil Sulfur

Elemental sulfur does not act like an instant acid. Soil microbes oxidize it, gradually forming acidity that lowers soil pH.

Guide

Liquid fertilizer

Reading, mixing, applying, and storing safely

Practical topics

Major Types of Cacti

Cacti are one plant family, Cactaceae, but they occupy several very different environments. A cactus should be cared for according to its native environment—not merely because it carries the cactus label. Desert cacti, rainforest epiphytes,

Practical topics

Native Prairie Wildflower and Grass Mix

Best all-purpose container mix: 2 parts generic potting soil + 1 part coarse perlite + 1 part granite chicken grit.

Practical topics

Neem Oil

Neem products are not interchangeable. Clarified hydrophobic neem oil acts mainly through contact, while products containing azadirachtin can disrupt insect feeding and development. The pest, formulation, plant, and permitted application me

Practical topics

Outdoor Native Grasses

Native grasses work best when the species is matched to the site. Sunlight, soil moisture, mature height, and growth habit matter more than fertilizer or extensive soil amendment.

Practical topics

Patios Balconies and Elevated Plants

150-200 mesh filter for relatively clean municipal water; match filtration to emitter specifications.

Practical topics

Plant Disease Diagnosis

Identify the plant as precisely as possible. Record when symptoms began, which tissues changed first, recent weather or relocation, irrigation, fertilizer, pesticide use, and repotting. Note whether one plant or several species are affected

Guide

Plant Health: Inspect, Isolate, and Respond

Correct identification and careful observation come before treatment.

Practical topics

Plant Potting Mixes

Mix behavior: The driest and most mineral of the Standard mixes. Water moves through quickly and the root zone regains air rapidly.

Practical topics

Plant Testing Probes and Strips

Moisture percentage: meaningful only when the instrument truly measures volumetric water content and is calibrated for the substrate.

Guide

Pot Sizing

A pot should fit the active root system, drain freely, and remain stable.

Practical topics

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is not one fungus but a group of closely related, usually host-specific fungi. Most fungal growth remains on the plant surface, while feeding structures penetrate surface cells. Wind spreads the abundant powdery spores. A mil

Practical topics

Prairie Moon Germination Codes

Prairie Moon Nursery assigns germination codes to native seed packets and catalog listings. The codes describe dormancy-breaking treatments, sowing conditions, and special biological requirements. They are especially useful for perennial na

Practical topics

Propagation Box with Perlite

A propagation box is a clear, covered container that holds warm, humid air around cuttings while roots form. Moist perlite supplies air and a small, steady amount of water without the dense, wet conditions that often rot unrooted stems.

Practical topics

Seed Germination Protocols

Information Sheet for Seed Germination Protocols.

Practical topics

Soil Chemistry and Nitrogen Conversions

Soil chemistry controls the forms in which nutrients occur and how readily roots can obtain them. Nitrogen is especially mobile because microbes repeatedly convert it among organic matter, ammonium, nitrate, and gases. A fertilizer dose is

Practical topics

Soil Texture Triangle

The soil texture triangle names the mineral fine-earth fraction from its percentages of sand, silt, and clay. Texture helps explain behavior, but it does not by itself tell whether a soil is fertile, well structured, or suitable as a contai

Guide

Standard Potting Mixes

Choose a mix by root function, not by habit or a brand name.

Practical topics

Succulent Repotting

Main point: Remove compacted peat without shredding the roots, correct any rot, and choose a mix suited to the species. For dry-adapted desert succulents with damaged roots, allow cut surfaces to dry before watering. Keep healthy fine roots

Practical topics

Testing Pot Moisture

Purpose. Determine whether a potted plant actually needs water before watering. No single method is perfect. For routine care, combine pot weight with a check of the root-zone moisture.

Guide

Watering Plants

Water according to the root zone and the plant’s growth—not the calendar.

Climate

Acrobat Ants — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Acrobat Ants — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Acrobat Ants — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Black Carpenter Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Black Carpenter Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Black Carpenter Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Cornfield Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Cornfield Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Cornfield Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Eastern South Africa and Mozambique — Climate

Regional locator and the principal coast-to-escarpment climate gradients. Boundaries are generalized.

Environment

Eastern South Africa and Mozambique — Environment

Regional locator. Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are highlighted; national and provincial outlines are generalized.

Environment

Ecosystems

A watershed-to-ocean continuum: ecosystems have recognizable boundaries, but matter, organisms, and energy cross them.

Climate

Field Ants — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Field Ants — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Field Ants — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Larger Citronella Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Larger Citronella Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Larger Citronella Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Environment

Madagascar

Environmental variation across Madagascar: humid east, central uplands, dry west, and arid/spiny southwest.

Environment

Madagascar Ecology

Ecological regions vary from humid eastern forests through central uplands to dry western forests and the spiny southwest.

Climate

Odorous House Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Odorous House Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Odorous House Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Pavement Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Pavement Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Pavement Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Climate

Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Climate

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds connect Indiana’s warm growing season with warmer winter habitats farther south. Plan for arrivals, breeding and departing migrants rather than year-round local residence. [IN, Aud]

Ecology

Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Ecology

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds link flowers, small arthropods and woody vegetation. Supporting these relationships makes a garden useful for more than a brief feeder visit.

Environment

Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Environment

A useful hummingbird garden supplies food through the season and keeps sheltered branches nearby. Match plants to the light and moisture already present on the site.

Environment

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a hot, biologically rich desert of southwestern North America. It is not a barren sand sea: mountains, bajadas, rocky slopes, plains, washes, dunes, springs, and riparian corridors support sharply different communities

Environment

Spider Plant — Environment

Spider plant is primarily an African forest-understory and river-valley plant—not a desert plant. Its native environments combine shade, drainage, organic litter and seasonal moisture. Thick fleshy roots help it bridge dry periods.

Climate

Thief Ant — Climate

Indiana provides a seasonal outdoor setting, with freezing winters and warm summers. The table describes Lafayette weather; it is not a nest-temperature range or a laboratory tolerance limit for this ant.

Ecology

Thief Ant — Ecology

Follow this ant’s feeding, nesting, and relationships with plants and other animals to understand its role in the local community.

Environment

Thief Ant — Environment

The nest environment explains where this ant can live and how it reaches food. Compare soil, shelter, moisture, and nearby vegetation before treating an entire landscape as one habitat.

Environment

Types of Deserts

A desert is defined primarily by water deficit, not by heat or sand. Most receive less than about 10 in (250 mm) of precipitation annually, but evaporation, seasonality, soil, wind, and temperature determine how each desert functions. Deser

Environment

Types of Forests

A forest is a dynamic ecosystem in which trees are a major structural component. Climate sets the broad limits; soils, fire, wind, flooding, insects, disease, and human use create the actual forest. Global classifications usually begin with

Environment

Types of Mountain Environments

Mountains compress climatic change into short horizontal distances. Temperature generally falls with elevation, precipitation changes across slopes, wind intensifies, soils thin, and growing seasons shorten. The result is a sequence of envi

Environment

West Central Indiana

Key idea. West-central Indiana is a glaciated, humid continental landscape organized around broad till plains, the Wabash River system, rich prairie–forest transition soils, and a climate with warm humid summers, cold winters, year-round pr

Environment

West Lafayette Ecosystem

Blue network: Hadley Lake, Celery Bog, channels, and the Wabash River collect and move water, sediment, nutrients, organisms, and pollutants.

Environment

West Lafayette EPA Ecoregions

Why two Level III numbers? The continental North American map uses the nested code 8.2.3. The standard U.S. Level III map labels the same ecoregion 55. Both are correct.

Climate

White Snakeroot — Climate

White snakeroot spans a broad North American range, so one climate number cannot represent the entire species. Lafayette provides a useful local example: cold-season dormancy, warm-season growth and autumn flowering.

Ecology

White Snakeroot — Ecology

White snakeroot links autumn flowers, wind-dispersed seed and woodland colonization. It can support insects while posing a serious ingestion hazard to mammals. Its value depends on the site, the surrounding plant community and access by gra

Environment

White Snakeroot — Environment

White snakeroot occupies the herb layer of temperate deciduous woods and their edges. Its useful garden lesson is to reproduce the balance of filtered light, available moisture and soil air found in those settings.

Science and nature

Advanced Biology Overview

This sheet is an upper-undergraduate to beginning-graduate roadmap linking molecular biology, physiology, evolution, and ecology. Its purpose is to help frame research questions and identify missing foundations. It is an overview of concept

Science and nature

Algae Lichens and Mosses

Green algae, red algae, and brown algae are not all equally closely related. Cyanobacteria, often called blue-green algae, are bacteria rather than eukaryotic algae. An algal bloom’s color does not identify its species or establish whether

Science and nature

Animal Evolution Timeline

Animals evolved through branching lineages shaped by inherited variation, selection, drift, and environmental change. This overview places major transitions in time while separating fossil evidence from estimates of when lineages first dive

Science and nature

Cactus and Succulent Root Systems

Main idea Cactus and succulent roots are built to capture water quickly, survive dry intervals, anchor the plant, and sometimes store water or food. Their form varies widely, so pot shape and watering should follow the roots—not merely the

Science and nature

Citrus Fruit

Citrus fruits are members of the rue family (Rutaceae). Most have an aromatic oil-rich rind, juicy segmented flesh, citric acid that produces tartness, and substantial vitamin C. Many familiar citrus types are hybrids, so names and ancestry

Science and nature

Different Kinds of Nuts

In the kitchen, nut usually means an edible seed or kernel with a firm texture and substantial fat or starch. Botanical nuts are a narrower category. This sheet compares common foods, explains that distinction, and highlights storage and al

Science and nature

Diseases

Infectious: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites and prions. Examples: influenza, strep throat, tuberculosis, malaria.

Science and nature

Grafting

Grafting permanently joins two plant parts: the scion (the desired shoot or cultivar) and the rootstock (the rooted lower plant). Budding uses a single bud rather than a stem piece.

Science and nature

Introduction to Dendrology

Dendrology is the study and identification of woody plants, especially trees, shrubs, and woody vines. This introductory sheet combines field identification with basic wood anatomy and ecological interpretation. Identify a plant from severa

Science and nature

Moss

Mosses are small land plants that reproduce by spores and absorb much of their water across exposed surfaces. Their life cycle and moisture relations differ from those of flowering houseplants. This sheet covers mosses generally; individual

Science and nature

Photosynthesis

The equation is an overall accounting summary; the real process is a coordinated series of reactions.

Science and nature

Plant Evolution Timeline

Plant evolution is a branching history of shared ancestry. Living mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants are surviving lineages, not successive rungs on a ladder. This sheet follows major innovations from green algal ancestors to mod

Science and nature

Pollination

Pollination moves pollen to a receptive reproductive surface. It precedes fertilization but does not guarantee it. Wind, animals, and water can carry pollen, and the effective mechanism depends on the plant’s reproductive biology and habita

Science and nature

Puffballs

Puffballs are fungi whose spores develop inside a rounded fruiting body and are released as the body matures. The name covers several taxa, not one species. This sheet explains their biology and identification limits; it is not sufficient b

Science and nature

Root Systems

Root-system visual guide: major root systems, specialized roots, rooting depth, and practical implications.

Science and nature

Seed Viability

A viable seed is alive and capable of producing a normal seedling when dormancy is overcome and environmental conditions are suitable. A seed that does not germinate in a casual test may be dormant, improperly tested, infected, physically d

Science and nature

Stomata

Most familiar leaves have many stomata in the epidermis, often concentrated on the lower surface. Distribution varies: floating leaves commonly have them on the upper surface, while fully submerged leaves often lack functional stomata. Stom

Science and nature

Succulent Bonsai

Choose a healthy jade or Portulacaria with a thick trunk, interesting movement, and vigorous growth.

Science and nature

Vegetable Root Systems

A vegetable’s harvested root is only one part of its root system. Water uptake depends on the full distribution of living roots, soil moisture, and soil aeration. Rooting-depth ranges are planning aids, not promises about what a plant will

Hens and Chicks — Plant

Grow this hardy houseleek outdoors in sun and a root zone that drains freely. This five-part package explains its identity, native setting, ecological relationships, and practical care in Lafayette, Indiana.

Hens and Chicks — Climate

Cold hardiness makes outdoor culture possible in Lafayette. Success still depends on the plant label, root-zone drainage, summer exposure, and the way the container or garden site behaves.

Hens and Chicks — Environment

Build a sunny, freely draining planting pocket. Native rocky settings help explain the plant’s needs; the same conditions can be provided in a garden or container.

Hens and Chicks — Ecology

A colony persists through offsets even though each flowering rosette eventually dies. Its value and behavior in an Indiana garden must be separated from its native European relationships.

Hens and Chicks — Growing and Propagation

Start with a healthy, correctly identified plant. Provide drainage, establish new offsets carefully, and let observed conditions set the watering interval.