Flowers used to come with understood meanings. Marigolds were for the jealous and aggrieved; ambrosias a sign of love returned. Dumas fil’s heroine in Camille carried white camellias when in the mood ...

We get captivated by a bird’s plumage and may not think to notice its beak, which is critical to the bird’s identity. I’ve often heard people yell “flamingo!” when they see a pink-plumed bird feeding ...

Look at a bird’s beak to see what family the bird belongs to and the kind of food it eats. Seeing a bird with a long, needlelike beak would tell us it’s in the hummingbird family that probes flowers ...

The Point Reyes salty bird’s-beak is a rare and endangered plant that grows in Marin County salt marshes. This annual plant, Chloropyron maritimum subspecies palustre, grows to 8 inches with flowers ...