Touch-Me-Not – A Plant That Clearly Doesn’t Like to Be Touched
I first heard about the Touch-Me-Not plant from my mother’s stories of her childhood. There were plenty of these where she grew up, and she had fun playing with them. But no matter how much she described the plant to me, I never could quite imagine how the phenomenon worked. Now, thanks to the internet, […]
Man Spends a Year Living as a Turkey to Prove They’re Not Dumb
We’ve all heard the popular myth about turkeys being so stupid that they will look up at the rain and drown. Well, naturalist Joe Hutto’s year-long experiment living as a turkey proved it wrong, along with any other myths that suggest the stupidity of the bird. On the contrary, he says that turkeys are born […]
Austrian Lake Is Also a Popular Hiking Spot
A rare natural phenomenon turns one of Austria’s most beautiful hiking trails into a 10 meter-deep lake, for half the year. Located at the foot of the Hochschwab Mountains, in Tragoess, Styria, Green Lake is one of the most bizarre natural phenomena in the world. During the cold winter months, this place is almost completely […]
The Turf-Covered Houses of Norway
Norway, like all Scandinavian countries, has always taken pride in trying to live in harmony with nature, instead of conquering it, and its old turf roofs are a perfect example. Houses with their roofs looking like small meadows may seem a little strange in these modern times, but until the late 19th century, turf roofs […]
Seven Flora and Fauna that Can Only Be Found in the Everglades
The Everglades is home to many unique plant and animal species, mostly because it’s the farthest-north tropical environment in the world. It is the only true tropical forest in the northern hemisphere. The flora and fauna found in the Everglades are without peer. Fauna Florida Panther & Florida Black Bear – This entry gets two, […]
Lonomia Obliqua – The World’s Deadliest Caterpillar
Lonomia obliqua is just as frail as any other caterpillars you might have seen, but that doesn’t stop it from causing severe serious internal hemorrhaging and even death, if you just touch it. This terrible Lonomia caterpillars live in the rainforests of South America, and cause a few deaths every year, especially in southern Brazil, […]
7 Bad-Ass Trees You’ll Probably Never Climb
I remember reading an article on Environmental Graffiti, a few months ago, about the thorniest trees on Earth. The photos were really impressive, considering I had no idea such trees even existed, but I felt there wasn’t really enough information about these amazing species of trees. So I took it upon myself to do some […]
Two Color Cherry Tree Blossoms in Britain
Due to some careless pruning, a cherry tree, in the British village of Portchester, has grown an impressive cascade of both white and pink blossoms. Some time ago, an ornamental Kanzan cherry tree was grafted onto the rootstock of a hardier native cherry tree. This technique was invented by the ancient Chinese,and under normal circumstances, […]
Jabuticaba – The Grape Tree That Fruits on Its Trunk
I remember seeing a tree that had flowers on most of its trunk, but I’ve never even heard of a tree that laid fruit directly on its trunk. Have you? Jabuticaba, also known as the Grape Tree, is a unique tree found around South-American countries like Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Unlike other trees, its fruit […]
Who Knew Snails Could Grow This Big
Giant African Snails are the largest species of snails on the planet, with a shell that can grow up to 30 cm long and 15 cm in diameter. Native to the tropical forests of Ghana, Africa, Giant African Snails live in tropical conditions, with no natural enemies. That, combined with the fact each snail can […]
Rainbow Eucalyptus – Nature’s Painted Tree
It might look like someone painted these by hand, but the only artist responsible for these living works of art, is Mother Nature. The incredible looking Rainbow Eucalyptus is the only species of eucalyptus that grows in the northern hemisphere. It can grow to impressive heights, of up to 70 meters, and it is normally […]
The Incredible Climbing Mountain Goats
You might think you have mad mountain-climbing skills, but nature’s got you beat. I don’t know how they do it, but these mountain goats climb on to the most precarious places. Living in mountainous regions around North America, mountain goats can be found at altitudes of up to 13,000 feet, climbing cliffs all day long, […]
The Living Bridges of Cherrapunji
It might sound like an exaggeration, but the root bridges of Cherrapunji are indeed alive. Unlike most parts of the world, these bridges are grown, not built. Known as the wettest place on Earth, Cherrapunji is home to some of the most amazing plants. One of these is the Ficus elastica tree, a sort of […]
Beautiful Lenticular Clouds
These unusual clouds are called lenticular clouds because of their lens-like shape and they tend to form at high altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction. They have often been mistaken for UFOs in the past, due to their odd shape, but they are becoming more common these days. They are indeed another […]
Sea of Garbage
No matter how much you love swimming I’m willing to bet the farm you wouldn’t dare do it here…unless you have a death wish! This is the Citarum river, in Indonesia, possibly the most polluted river in the world, due to mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment. Once one of the most beautiful waters in […]