onocsens66.JPG

Sensitive fern, Onoclea sensibilis

Are plants wimps?

There they are, growing with their little leaves, their roots in the ground, the little delicate flowers smiling up at the sun …and being eaten, trampled on, mowed down, dug up, burned, sprayed with herbicides, hardly ever putting up a fight. Some of those little plants out there, seems like if you just look at them hard enough, they let their petals fall off. Some others are afraid to have their leaves touched, and will roll or fold them up, to stay safe. And all those garden plants: so demanding, and always wanting something. Like water.

Recommended for you

John Nelson is the retired curator of the A.C. Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina. As a public service, the Herbarium offers free plant identifications. For more information, visit www.herbarium.org or email johnbnelson@sc.rr.com.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.