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 The Lily of the Valley (Convallaria
majalis) is a perennial flowering plant that
grows wild in moist, shady woodlands of Europe.
Lily of the valley roots, flowers and leaves
contain cardiac glycosides, which are used heart
medications and other drugs. The lily of the
valley is traditionally associated with purity,
and is the traditional birth flower for May. |
 The Cottonwood Tree (Populus
sp.) is one of the largest members of the
willow family, growing to heights of up to 80
feet or more, with trunk diameters of 5 feet or
more. They stand out on open prairies with their
broad, open crowns and, in the fall, their bright
yellow-gold leaves. |
 Sunflowers are so named because of their
"habit" of turning their flower heads
to face directly into the sun; as well as for
their big, yellow flowers, which somewhat
resemble a simple sun. |
 John Torrey
was considered the leader of botanists in America
during his lifetime. He published three
comprehensive catalogs of North American flora,
and was one of the first American botanists to
arrange plants by families. |
 David
Douglas spent three years gathering
botanical and zoological specimens from
throughout the Pacific Northwest. The number of
species he took back to England far surpassed
that returned by any other previous expedition. |
 The
Saguaro
(Carnegiea gigantea) is the largest cactus of the United
States, standing up to 50 feet tall and weighing
as much as 10 short tons. It is also one of the
longest-living plants in the world, with
200-year-old specimens not being uncommon. |
 Leaves
are the main food-making
parts of almost all plants. They capture energy
from sunlight and use it to make food out of
water from the soil and carbon dioxide. This food
provides plants with energy to grow, to produce
flowers and seeds, and to carry on all their
other activities. |
