Flammulina velutipes (Curtis) Singer Edible, but tough. Despite appearances, the commercially produced “enoki” mushroom found in many grocery stores is a cultivated form of this mushroom. One of the best-known […]
Category: new books
Best of Illinois: Very sporting
Metrics used to refer to a baffling system of weights and measures that Americans refused to adopt. These days, however, sports fans quote a different kind of metrics that measure everything from […]
Pigskin Primer, 2014
The casual viewer might not ponder a university press and the manly art of football at the same time. Assuming a scholarly publisher covered sports at all, wouldn’t it devote its energy […]
Entoloma salmoneum, or the hunt for the gnome’s hat of mushrooms
Entoloma salmoneum (Peck) Saccardo Entoloma salmoneum can be found growing alone or scattered in leaf litter under hardwoods, or in moss under conifers; frequently on rotting, moss-covered conifer logs. When […]
Exploring Illinois: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge
The Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge stretches for 261 river miles from Cordova, Illinois to the mouth of Wisconsin’s Chippewa River. Dozens of bird species can be […]
Q&A with Jean Toomer: Race, Repression, and Revolution author Barbara Foley
Barbara Foley is a professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark. She is the author of Spectres of 1919: Class and Nation in the Making of the New Negro. She answered some questions […]
Exploring Illinois: Ayers Sand Prairie
Ayers Sand Prairie in Carroll County was once the western edge of the Wisconsin Glacier. Among the small dunes explorers can spy plants and animals friendly to the dry growing […]
Exploring Illinois: Kickapoo State Park
The middle fork of the Vermilion River runs through Kickapoo State Park. Just a short walk from Middle Fork Woods Nature Preserve, explorers will find forest-lined bluffs and a a […]
A great decade for Chicago architecture
The AIA Guide to Chicago is the premier guidebook for exploring the architectural treasures of a city known for an urban landscape of art and innovation. It’s not only the […]
Exploring Illinois: Henry N. Barkhausen Wetlands Center
Henry N. Barkhausen Wetlands Center is the perfect starting point for exploring the Cache River ecosystem. From the visitor center window one can spy muskrat, river otter hummingbirds and various […]
Exploring Illinois: Matthiessen State Park
Matthiessen State Park in LaSalle County is a feast for the eyes in all seasons. With greenery and wildflowers in the spring and summer, colorful foliage in the fall, and […]
Exploring Illinois: Ballard Nature Center
The Ballard Nature Center is a glimpse into what Illinois was like before the landscape gave way to cultivation for corn and soybeans. Located between Altamont and Effingham, just off […]