i don’t know how long i spent trying to identify this plant. google is a wonderful tool, but to some extent is it replacing all of our brains with something not quite as flexible or intuitive. i spent a lot of time tonight trying to come up with words that would describe this plant and its location and environment. and then at some point, i just took a minute and visualized where i had found it, and what had been in that some location during all of my many summer and fall walks in the same location, and, what do you know, of course it was st. john’s wort. i didn’t need to research what might in theory be in that type of habitat in some hypothetical minnesota location. i could just use my brain to remember the exact location where i’d seen that exact plant before. it’s good to spend some time, now and then, as my daughter would say, IRL.

st. john’s wort in winter

rice creek regional trail, saint paul, minnesota