Ozark Natural Science Center

“The earth’s vegetation is part of a web of life in which there are intimate and essential relations between plants and the earth, between plants and other plants, between plants and animals… Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive…in nature nothing exists alone.” –Rachel [...]

Flowers: The forests are full of flowers. Primrose, ox-eyed daisies, robin’s plantain, dwarf and false dandelions, spider wort, wild comfrey, corn salad, calamint, and various species of vetch are blooming all over the Ozarks and can even be seen in yards and along roadsides. Throughout the moist forest we have seen the wild hycinth, venus [...]

Spring is here and summer feels like it is just around the corner already! This week there are many first of season naturalist notes. Flowers: We counted over 30 species of flowers blooming during our Waterfalls and Wildflowers Weekend hike on Saturday. Most of them were noted to be the first of their kind blooming [...]

This Saturday the Ozark Natural Science Center held a public event called “Waterfalls and Wildflowers Weekend.” Twenty five people of all ages and backgrounds came together to appreciate nature; and on this perfect spring day there was plenty to appreciate! We could not have ordered better weather. The temperature was warm but not hot, the sun [...]

Everywhere we look we see signs of sping. The list of naturalist notes for this week is long! Plants: Violets, buttercups, trout lilies, toothwort, bloodroots, and false garlic plants are blooming along the creek side. Red buds, service berries, plum trees, and spicebushes are all budding as flowers emerge. May apples are starting to come up, though they [...]