Jessie Fisher & Viy | Limited Taxonomy
Limited Taxonomy is a collaborative research-based project by Jessie Fisher and Viy that seeks to bridge the human / nature divide by examining how built and non-built environments interact on a small scale.
Working on a 12x12 ft plot in Millwork Commons where industry, development, and nature co-exist, Fisher and Viy set out to document the plants, fungi, insects, rocks, and debris on the site’s surface. They researched each of these organic and inorganic bodies to create a taxonomic index that traces their characteristics, histories, and journeys resulting in a body of work that includes photographs and printed material. Installed in a constellation of images and text, Limited Taxonomy uses small scale intervention and a light hand to magnify the complex entanglements of interdependent human and non-human environments.
1. Flammable materials sign
For gas or liquid, class 2 is gas, class 3 liquid
No class number listed
Class 2: Gases which at 20 °C and a standard pressure of 101.3 kPa: and are ignitable when in a mixture of 13 percent or less by volume with air; or have a flammable range with air of at least 12 percentage points regardless of the lower flammable limit.
Class 3: Liquids which have a flash point of less than 60 °C and which are capable of sustaining combustion.
Part of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling Chemicals which was adopted in 2003 by the United Nations.
2. Plaster waste
Joint compound (also known as drywall compound, drywall mud, joint cement.
Gypsum — sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4·2H2O.
In geology, gypsum is primarily produced through two main processes: evaporation of water and the hydration of anhydrite. It forms as an evaporite mineral, typically in sedimentary environments like shallow marine areas, saline lakes, and geothermal springs.
3. Wood shard (likely Douglas fir)
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a large evergreen tree native to western North America, known for its timber and ornamental value. It's not a true fir, despite its name. Very common building material.
Mostly Harvested in the Pacific Northwest.
4. Glacier rain purified water wrapper
Maverik brand, gas station company that owns Kum & Go.
Unknown manufacturer.
5. Corrugated cardboard chunk
Corrugated cardboard originated in 1856 when Edward G. Healy and Edward E. Allen patented a process for pleating paper to reinforce top hats to make them sturdier yet still comfortable to wear.
In 1871 Albert L. Jones was the first to use corrugated paper as protective packaging, and in 1874 Oliver Long adjusted this patent to include two sheets to help the wavy cardboard to hold its shape.
Wasn’t used to make boxes until 1894.
6. Plastic cup
Solo brand, #1 plastic, clear, TP16D, 16oz.
Solo started in 1936 by Leo Hulsemen, with paper cone cups.
Red solo cup came out in the 70’s and was patented in 76.
Made by Dart Container Corporation, Mason MI.
Closest manufacturing facility is in Chicago, IL.
#1 Plastic also known as PET or Polyethylene Terephthalate and is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin.
#1 Plastic is recycled by shredding it and reprocessing it into new plastic containers or into polyester fiber.
#1 plastic is rather safe for food and drink packaging, but it is only intended to be used once. It is a porous material and needs strong chemicals to thoroughly clean which will cause carcinogens to leach into anything put into it.
7. Subway sandwich wrapper
Sandwich wrap contains 40% post-consumer fiber (according to subway website).
8. Reinforced plastic wrap
9. Lined sticky note with address on it.
3704 Erskine St, 68111.
Google Maps shows wrong address.
10. Unknown plastic tray
No plastic type listed, 34393 on bottom.
11. History book page
Tried googling some of the passage, nothing comes up.
12. Two cord lanyards intertwined
13. C&H Sugar bag
2027 expiration date.
Started in 1906 as California & Hawaiian.
The Crockett Refinery employs more than 450 people and produces 14% of the nation's cane sugar.
14. Monster can in concrete
16 oz, original green, said to have a sweet, salty, and exotic citrus flavor.
Created by Hansen Natural Company in 2002, now Monster Beverage Corporation.
Second highest share of the American energy drink market in 2022.
Over 150 different flavors under the brand worldwide.
Most drinks have approximately 10mg of caffeine per ounce.
Made in Norwalk CA.
Found photo on reddit posted by worked, added to folder.
15. Nerd box
Grape.
Launched in 1983 by Sunmark Corporation under the name Willy Wonka Candy Company.
Now owned by Nestlé.
Closest Nestlé manufacturer is in Crete, NE.
Likey made at factory in Itasca IL.
16. Artificial hair
Synthetic material.
Spider inside of it, presumably a kind of jumping spider.
Archeologists have found sheep's wool intertwined in women's hair from as early as 3400 BC in Ancient Egypt.
Hair weaves emerged in 1950, but were only used by celebrities and wasn’t widely used until the 70s.
First mail order extensions were available in 1891 thanks to Mrs. Valeria Zimmer in Auburn, Indiana.
Sew in weave invented by Christina Jenkins and was patented in 1952.
Synthetic hair can be made from materials like acrylonitrile, acrylic, polyethylene-terephthalate, PVC, silicone, single-filament polyester, silk and vinyl.
17. Yankee candle label
Midsummer's night scent, mini candle.
Founded in 1969 in Massachusetts when 16 year old Michael Kittredge created a scented candle for his mom from melted crayons and neighbors expressed interest in buying them.
By 1973 they open their first small retail shop.
Has stores in 43 of 50 states.
Largest candle manufacturer in the US.
18. Bubble wrap
Originally called Air Cap, it’s a trademarked brand of Sealed Air Corporation.
The brand and product was introduced in 1960, but wasn’t until 1961 that it started being used for packing material.
Originally used for the packaging of IBM Computers when the 1401 unit was introduced, now most of its business is in the food packing industry.
Invented in 1957 by Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes in New Jersey by sealing two shower curtains together creating air bubbles. They originally tried to sell it as wallpaper and when it was unsuccessful they came up with more than 400 other uses when it failed as a textured wallpaper, such as greenhouse insulation, which was ineffective
Sealed Air’s corporate offices have stress relief boxes filled with bubble wrap for employees to pop.
19. Shooter cap
Most likely fireball.
Cinnamon flavored whisky produced by Sazerac Company.
Developed in the mid 1980’s in Canada by Seagrams as part of a line of flavored schnapps.
Story goes it was created when a Canadian bartender was trying to warm up from an arctic freeze.
Purchased by Sazerac Company in 1989 where it was rebranded as Dr. McGillicuddy's Firewater Whisky, and in 2007 became what it is today, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
20. McDonalds coffee cup lid
Vacuum formed polystyrene lid.
The Plastek Group, Headquarters Errie PA.
Likely made at facility in Hamlet NC.
21. Styrofoam chunks that aren’t actually styrofoam
Styrofoam is a specific brand and manufacturing process of closed cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS).
We found expanded polystyrene foam (EPS).
EPS is a rigid, closed cell, thermoplastic foam material produced from solid beads of polystyrene, which is polymerized from styrene monomer and contains an expansion gas, pentane, that is dissolved within the polystyrene bead.
Each solid polystyrene bead contains small amounts of gas which expand when heat in the form of steam is applied, thus forming closed cells of EPS.
These expanded cells occupy approximately 40 times the volume of the original polystyrene bead, and so with a second heat treatment using a mould, large EPS blocks can be moulded into specific customized shapes.
22. Concrete
Made of aggregate (like sand and gravel) bound together by cement and water.
Portland cement.
Most commonly made of limestone heated to 2,640 °F then ground into fine powder and mixed with about 5% gypsum.
Limestone – carbonate sedimentary rock CaCO3.
Mostly made of corals, shells and other calcium rich sea life.
One of the main elements is lime stone is calcium.
Calcium is produced through a process called nucleosynthesis, primarily through the alpha process and during supernova explosions. In massive stars (more than 8 times the mass of our Sun), at temperatures exceeding 1 billion K, the alpha process takes place.
23. Slag
Slag is a glassy byproduct of smelting ores.
Leftover impurities in smelting furnaces.
Slags are transported "slag dumps", where they are exposed to weathering, with the possibility of leaching of toxic elements and hyperalkaline runoffs into the soil and water.
Dissolution of slags can produce highly alkaline groundwater with pH values above 12.
24. Chunk of plastic or PVC
Chunk is weathered. Unclear what it was a part of.
Possibly part of PVC pipe.
Possibly part of a plastic feed trough for cattle.
25. Old bottle cap
Likely over 100yrs old.
Made over thicker metal than modern caps.
Likely tin or lead liquor bottle cap.
26. Small bits of green plastic netting mixed throughout soil
Extruded PP (Polypropylene) netting.
Used for a variety of purposes, mostly likely the backing of rolled sod, or a similar type of erosion control netting.
27. Asphalt
Paving material composed of mineral aggregates and bitumen.
28. Small bit of glass
Slightly iridescent with a purple tint.
29. Jagwire brand bike cable
Chia Cherne Industry Company, Ltd. No. 55, Alley 121, Lane 175 Guosheng Rd. Changhua City, 500028. Taiwan.
30. Red-wing blackbird
Named due to the red and yellow strip on the wings of the male birds.
Females have a streaky brown pattern.
One of the most abundant birds in North America.
They vary in size and color depending on population and subspecies.
A study found that these variations between populations are a result of different environments rather than genetic makeup.
They reside in marshes, wherever there is standing water and vegetation and are ground foragers.
31. Roly poly (Armadillidium vulgare)
Not an insect but a crustacean.
They are decomposers, gaining nutrients from decomposing plants, animals and poop, helping provide better soil quality
They can take in heavy metals such as copper, zinc, and lead, and then crystallize them in their bodies.
They release ammonia, a byproduct of protein metabolism, by converting it into a gas and releasing it through their exoskeleton helping them conserve water.
Will lay 100-200 eggs, the eggs will stay in a marsupium, a special pouch formed by overlapping plates or oostegites on the underside of their body, until they have developed into miniature pill bugs known as mancae.
Adults molt in two stages, this reduces the time they are vulnerable to predators.
32. Seven Spotted Ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata)
Coccinella comes from the Latin word for scarlet.
Mainly eat aphids, but also feed on other eggs and larvae of some beetles and butterflies.
Their red color warns predators of their toxicity, their spot size and coloration can indicate how toxic the individual insect is.
They secrete a fluid from their joints in their legs giving them a foul taste.
They also might play dead when threatened.
They have been repeatedly introduced to North America as a biological agent to reduce aphids. The first record of successful establishment was in 1973.
33. Lucerne bug or alfalfa plant bug (Adelphocoris lineolatus)
Belongs to the Miridae family which also includes leaf bugs.
It is considered an agricultural pest because it causes vast amounts of damage to numerous crops, but primarily to alfalfa crops around the globe.
Wasn’t introduced into the United States and Canada until 1917.
primarily located in humid environments with cold temperatures.
They’ll lay anywhere from 80 to 300 eggs in the end of July, but less than 5% will hatch in the same year.
They are more attracted to flowering plants than non-flowering plants due to the semiochemicals released by the flowering alfalfa, cotton, and mung bean plants.
34. Garden centipede (Lithobius forficatus)
Also known as brown centipede, though it is more reddish brown in color.
Centipedes are venomous, but only to other insects.
Their diet consists mostly of slugs, worms, spiders, and flies.
They hatch with 7 pairs of legs, but develop additional segments and legs with each molt, having up to 15 pairs as an adult.
They can live up to 5 or 6 years.
35. Presumably a tan jumping spider (Platycryptus undatus)
Mottled tan coloration, with chevron patterning on their abdomens.
They prefer to hunt vertically and are commonly found on tree trunks and walls.
They ambush prey by jumping on it rather than ensnaring it in a web.
It will use its silk to make a shelter out of dead leaves when not hunting.
Has a reputation for being curious about people and will approach them for a closer look.
Can leap distances that cover more than 5 times its own body length.
36. Carolina mantis
Found and 3rd instar phases as well as an ootheca, or the protective casing to protect their eggs.
Instar phases are the molting stages, mantids go through 5 in their life cycle. You can’t tell the gender of them until they enter their 5th and final instar phase.
Each molting stage they shed their exoskeleton and will change color to better camouflage into their surroundings.
Mantids can see in 3D.
Mantid comes from the Greek word for prophet.
Will engage in cannibalism if opportunity presents itself, and 25% of the time the female will eat the male during or after the mating process. This is more common with ones held in captivity than in the wild.
Ambush predators and will eat only live prey within their reach.
37. Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Mature adult male and immature male.
29-36mm in length.
They inhabit freshwater bodies and eat smaller larvae.
Males are a bright cerulean blue when fully matured and a pale blue when younger, while females have a wider variety of colors.
They spend most of their time as larvae.
Their DNA sequence is 16,661 base pairs long, and has one of the largest mitogenomes in its order.
Pesticides have a large impact on this species due to their sensitivity and can prevent them from a successful metamorphosis.
38. Flesh Fly (Sarcophagidae)
Name comes from the Greek for ‘flesh’ and ‘to eat.’
A family of flies with about 2500 species.
They are ovoviviparous meaning they lay live maggots instead of eggs on carcasses, dung, or open wounds of mammals.
Adults mostly feed on fluids from animal bodies, nectar, sweet foods, and fluids from animal waste.
They are black and gray stripes on the length of their body, with red eyes and bristles covering their abdomen.
They can carry leprosy.
Can cause myiasis, mostly to sheep. Also known as a flystrike, a parasitic infestation where a maggot infects a live host, growing inside them while feeding on their tissue.
39. Dogbane Leaf Beetle (Chrysochus auratus)
Blue-green color helps ward off predators.
Diet consists mostly of various dogbane plants such as milkweeds.
Larvae will eat the roots of the plants while the adult will feed on the leaves.
Since their diet consists mostly of Apcoynum plants which are toxic to most animals, preventing the larvae from being preyed on.
The larvae will pupate in a chamber in the soil near where they have been feeding, staying in the chamber until their bodies have sufficiently hardened. The adult beetle will stay in the host plant patch for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
Major aspect of day to day life is sexual reproduction, they use chemical signaling systems to choose a mate.
40. Goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus)
Also known as pennsylvania leatherwing.
Native to North America and one of the most common species of soldier beetle in the Midwest.
They are an important pollinator for the prairie onion.
They prefer yellow flowers.
They feed primarily on pollen and nectar but may also eat small insects such as caterpillars, eggs, and aphids.
They can be infected with the fungus eryniopsis lampyridarum, which controls the beetle making it attach itself to a flower by biting into the flower head. About 15-22 hours later the fungus makes the beetles open their wings to maximize the infection because they can still attract a mate, transmitting the spores. The fungus takes about two weeks to kill the host.
41. Grasshopper nymphs
Presumably different kinds, all in nymph phases still, a variety of colors from green, to browns, to almost white.
One exoskeleton shedding found as well.
Group of insects belonging to the suborder caelifera.
Possibly one of the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early triassic period.
Hemimetabolous insects, meaning they don’t go through a complete metamorphosis. They hatch from an egg into a nymph and go through five or six molts before becoming an adult.
They eat plants, sometimes destroying large areas of crops.
They camouflage as a way to protect themselves from predators, and many species will flash a vibrant colored wing while jumping in attempt to startle predators.
In 2020 researchers from Washington University in St.Louis engineered “cyborg grasshoppers” in which they were fitted with lightweight sensor backpacks that could detect explosives.
42. Snail
Fumonelix is a genus of small, air-breathing land snails belonging to the family Polygyridae.
These snails are commonly known as coverts, and they are found in the southeastern United States, primarily in the Appalachian Mountains.
43. Ground Beetle and Ground Beetle Larva
40,000 species worldwide, 2,000 found in North America.
Primarily carnivorous.
Produce noxious or caustic secretes to deter predators. 44. Dogbane webworm (Saucrobotys futilalis)
Unlike other insects that feed on members of the dogbane family, early instar dogbane caterpillars do not incorporate the alkaloid toxins derived from their host into their flesh to ward off predators. Instead, they depend on the protection of their communal nests with the silk strands imbued with droplets of a chemical deterrent to predators.
The caterpillars change their defense strategy once they leave their protective nests. When threatened by a predator, they regurgitate droplets containing dogbane toxins. They direct their puke blobs toward their attackers, or they coat their bodies with it.
45. Japanese beetle
Species of scarab beetle.
Considered a pest to roughly 300 species of plants.
First written evidence of one in the US comes from in 1916.
The USDA developed a bacterium called milky spore as a method of biological control.
46. Bumble bee
250 different species.
Only females have stingers, they can sting repeatedly.
Smaller colonies than honeybees, with only about 50 per nest.
Different species in the same region often resemble each other, partaking in Müllerian mimicry.
They have a pollen basket on their hind legs formed by a fringe of hairs to hold the pollen.
They forage using colour and spatial relationships to identify flowers to feed from.
47. Bees
Over 20,000 known species.
Most species are actually solitary, but honeybees and bumblebees are social and live in colonies.
48. Aeolothrip
Genus of predatory thrips.
89 species.
The feed on pollen and other insects.
49. Ants
I think citronella/yellow ants? (fast and difficult to photograph).
Worker form.
Eggs? There's some white specs in one of the pictures that look like they could be eggs.
Part of the Lasius genus and Acanthomyops subgenus.
There’s lasius interjectus and lasius claviger, larger and smaller yellow ant, larger is 4 - 4.5mm and smaller is 3-4mm.
I think we saw the smaller ones?
Smells like citronella when threatened or crushed.
Nest outdoors in the soil, under vegetation, rocks, and logs.
Rarely seen unless swarming.
Feeds on the honeydew or excretions of aphids.
Reproductive forms have wings and can be reddish to dark brown while worker forms are yellowish to brownish yellow in color.
50. House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata)
Typically yellowish-grey.
Preys on spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants and other household arthropods.
Venomous but not dangerous to humans.
Typically 25-35mm, though with their antennae they can look from 75-100mm.
An adult has 15 pairs of legs.
They have well developed faceted eyes unlike other centipedes, but rely mostly on their antennae which are sensitive to smells and touch.
When they hatch they will have four pairs of legs, gaining more legs with each molt, up to 15 pairs.
Live anywhere from 3-7 years and can start breeding in their 3rd year.
When mating, the male and female circle around each other and initiate contact with their antennae. The male deposits his sperm on the ground for the female to use.
They use their mandibles and legs for holding prey allowing them to deal with several insects at the same time.
They will either jump on prey or use their legs like a lasso to catch prey, though they have also been seen using their legs to beat their prey.
They can stridulate, or make sound by rubbing different body parts together.
They can detach any legs that become trapped.
51. Cricket
They use their front wings for stridulation, making the chirping sound.
There is a large vein with comblike serrations on its edge, they use the edge of the wing to rub against this textured area, while the central part of the wing contains a membrane that amplifies the sound.
Not all cricket species chirp, the ones that do have good hearing.
There is a relationship between warmer temperatures and the rate in which a cricket chirps.
Relatively defenseless, soft bodied creatures. They are nocturnal and some species burrow holes to hide or live in.
There is a parasitic fly that is attracted to the song of crickets, and some species of crickets have evolved to make a quieter purring sound.
Males will fight by lashing each other with their antennae, if neither retreats they begin to grapple, where a specific kind of chirping is made.
52. Mosquitos
Contact must last at least six seconds in order for a reaction to occur.
Only females can bite.
53. Smooth brome (Bromus inermis)
Native to Europe and considered invasive in North America.
It was imported in the late 1800s and was widely used as forage grass, for hay production, and for erosion control.
54. Yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis)
Seeds can be viable for up to 30 years. Plants have large taproots and tend to grow in groups.
Native to Europe and Asia and has been introduced to North America as a forage crop. Considered invasive in North America.
Sweet clover contains coumarin that converts to dicoumarol, which is a powerful anticoagulant toxin, when the plant becomes moldy. This can lead to internal hemorrhaging and death in cattle. Consequently, hay containing the plant must be properly dried.
Prior to World War II, before the common use of commercial agricultural fertilizers, the plant was commonly used as a cover crop to increase nitrogen content and improve subsoil water capacity in poor soils.
Sweet clover is a major source of nectar for domestic honey bees as hives near sweet clover can yield up to 200 pounds of honey in a year.
55. White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus)
Mostly similar to yellow sweet clover. Yellow sweet clover does better in dryer conditions.
56. Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Native to northeastern and north-central North America.
Many different species of wasps form parasitic galls on goldenrod.
Galls are abnormal growths of plant tissue induced by insects and other organisms. Gall-making parasites release growth-regulating chemicals as they feed, causing adjacent plant tissues to distort and form a gall. The parasite feeds and develops within the relative security of the gall.
57. Birds foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
Native to northeastern and north-central North America.
Bee bread! Pollinated by many species, but primarily bumblebees.
It is a host plant for the wood white butterfly, (Leptidea sinapis).
It is a high quality forage that does not cause bloat in ruminants.
has a history of medicinal use, primarily for its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and sedative properties. It has been traditionally used to treat wounds, digestive issues, and respiratory problems.
58. Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens)
Part of the sunflower family, native to southern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.
Barbs on the fluffy-tipped seeds, which help it spread, can fatally damage the digestive systems of grazing animals. Oils in the plant also taint the flavor of meat and milk of animals that have consumed them.
59. Switchgrass
Native to North America.
Switchgrass uses C4 carbon fixation, giving it an advantage in conditions of drought and high temperature.
It is the preferred larval host plant of Dargida rubripennis (moth) . It is also a larval host for the Delaware skipper (Moth) and the Hobomok skipper (moth).
Used for grazing, hay, and biofuel.
60. Prairie dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)
Native to North America.
It is poisonous to humans, dogs, cats, and horses. Can cause potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias if ingested.
Larval host for the snowberry clearwing moth.
Host plant for the dogbane tiger moth (Cycnia tenera) and the zebra caterpillar (Melanchra picta).
Contains long fibers in the stems, known as bast fibers, very fine, strong, and easier to process than hemp.
Traditionally used to make bows, fire-bows, nets, tie-down straps, hunting nets, fishing lines, bags, and clothing.
As a vasoconstrictor, dogbane increases blood pressure and circulation. It is also a diuretic. Because of these effects, due to the presence of a cardiac glycoside called ouabain, the root of this plant has been used traditional medicine to treat a weak heart, swollen ankles, edema (accumulation of fluid in tissues), and kidney disease.
Plant extractions from related species have been used to make poison arrows (the drug ouabain gets its name from the Somali word for poison arrow).
61. Illinois bundleflower
Native to north America.
The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas has done extensive research into the food uses of the seeds of this plant. Studies found the dry seeds composed of 38% protein, compared to 40% for soybeans.
Eaten by deer.
The subleaflets of the compound leaves fold together at night, and they close partially during hot sunny days in order to reduce moisture loss. During the morning and evening, when sunlight is less intense, the compound leaves orient themselves in the direction of the sun in order to maximize the reception of its light.
62. Daisy fleabane
Native to North America.
Pioneer species that is quick to colonize disturbed areas such as pastures, abandoned fields, vacant lots, roadsides, railways, and waste areas. It often competes successfully with invasive species.
63. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Native to central Asia.
Widely cultivated as a forage crop and animal feed worldwide, dating back at least 3000 years.
High protein content and high yield per acre. Mostly used as hay for dairy cows.
Nitrogen fixing.
Monsanto created a GMO version of alfalfa, and lobbied heavily for deregulation to allow its sale and use. Monsanto won, and now 300,000 acres are used for their GMO alfalfa.
64. Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Native to North America.
Good food source compared to other species of oak trees, due to relatively high protein and fat content, as well as low tannins.
Edible after tannins are leached or boiled out. Gather nuts during the fall from September to October. Only gather the ripe tan-to-brown acorns rather than the unripe green ones. To remove bitterness, shell the brown ripe acorns and remove any corky skin layers dice the meat and boil the chunks in water from 15 to 30 minutes until the water turns brown. Then pour off the water and repeat the process until the water clears indicating that the tannic acid has been removed.
65. Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinaceum)
Native to Europe and introduced to North America.
Used for livestock forage and lawn tuff.
66. Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
Native to North America.
The Balmville Tree (felled in 2015 at approximately 316 years old) was the oldest eastern cottonwood in the United States.
Cottonwoods are often among the first trees to colonize new areas like river shorelines and sandbars.
Their seeds are attached to fluffy, white hairs, enabling them to travel long distances on the wind, sometimes up to 100 miles.
67. Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)
Commonly known as black medick, nonesuch, or hop clover.
Native to Europe, and currently found throughout more parts of the world.
Black medick can be an indication of low soil nitrogen in lawns as it outcompetes weak grass.
Like other members of the legume family, black medick has a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria that form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen.
68. Common Ragweed
Traditional uses: Ragweed is said to have many medicinal benefits; it can be used as an astringent, antiseptic, emetic, emollient, and a febrifuge (or fever reducer).
Native to North and South America.
Can be used in Phytoremediation, to remove heavy metal such as lead from soil.
69. Hairy Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum)
Also called hairy white oldfield aster, frost aster, white heath aster, heath aster, hairy aster, common old field aster, old field aster, awl aster, nailrod, and steelweed.
Native to central and eastern North America.
Attracts pollinators like butterflies and bees, and the seeds provide a food source for birds and small mammals through the fall and winter.
70. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis)
Native to Europe, North Asia and the mountains of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
There is disagreement about its native status in North America, with some sources considering it native and others stating the Spanish Empire brought the seeds.
71. Coral fungi
Ramaria is a genus of fungi, commonly known as coral fungi, that are known for their branched, coral-like appearance.
They belong to the family Gomphaceae and are found worldwide.
While some species are edible others can cause gastrointestinal distress.
72. Marasmiaceae
The family Marasmiaceae contains 85 genera and nearly 1,600 species.
73. Fungal hyphae
The thread-like, filamentous structures that make up the body of most fungi. They are the primary mode of vegetative growth for many fungi and collectively form a network called a mycelium.
74. Unknown small white fungi
75. Amphilbolite
Metamorphic rock primarily composed of amphibole, hornblende, and plagioclase feldspar, with little or no quartz.
Hornblende varies and is chemically very complex. One of the key elements is magnesium. Magnesium is produced in large, aging stars. When these stars explode as supernovas, much of the magnesium is launched into interstellar space, and can become part of new star systems. Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and the fourth most common element in the Earth (after iron, oxygen and silicon).
76. Basalt
More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt.
Composed mostly of oxides of silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, aluminum, titanium, and calcium.
Likely transported to the site by humans as part of gravel, but it’s also possible that it made its way to the location by other means.
In eastern Nebraska, basalt erratics (rocks transported by glaciers) have been found, originating from the Lake Superior region. These erratics provide evidence of past glacial activity and the transport of basaltic materials across the plains.
77. Concrete aggregate, with Sioux Quartzite
Found in the region around the intersection of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa. It is most commonly associated with Sioux Falls South Dakota.
The Sioux Quartzite deposits are of Cretaceous age, deposited when a large portion of North America was covered by the Western Interior Seaway.
Quartzite is composed mostly of silicon.
All silicon is formed from a process called silicon burning, a very brief sequence of nuclear fusion reactions that occur in massive stars with a minimum of about 8–11 solar masses. Silicon burning is the final stage of fusion for massive stars.
What I learned from an earwig
by Viy
I found an earwig in my home the other day. We were in the kitchen. It was sitting on the edge of a jar with an avocado seed in hopes of propagating it. A few inches away was some of its molt. It was resting, adjusting to this newly emerged version of itself.
At first I let it be and continued to do my thing. It continued to sit there.
But a few moments later, the thoughts of this creature being in my home got to me.
I killed it.
I picked up the jar it was on and brought it to the sink.
I turned on the water and let it run over the edge of the jar, the force pushing it from its resting spot.
I watched it struggle in the water gathered in the pan in the sink.
I continued with what I was doing.
But I could not stop thinking about what I had done.
I didn’t actually know anything about earwigs.
I know that they are what most would consider to be a creepy crawly.
I let this idea of them get into my head and I decided I had the right to take the life of another living creature.
Who am I to kill this freaky little thing, causing me no harm.
I didn't take the time to take it outside.
I didn't look up if earwigs actually crawl in your ears or are harmful.
I killed it because it seemed easier.
Earwigs eat plants and fruits, but are also scavengers and will eat decaying plant and animal matter. They are harmless to humans, but might cause some damage to crops, but also eat other common pests of crops such as aphids.
What would happen if we gave just a fraction of our time day to day to being curious?
To learn about our environment and communities? If we stopped for a second and even just acknowledged the things gathered in sidewalk cracks and road medians? In the overgrown corners of the neighborhood, the patches of land where everything seems to end up. How much we don't know, how much there is to learn.
A slice of the steady stream of interrelated tangle of thoughts I’ve had about this project
by Jessie Fisher
I believe we (humans) are just animals.
We are of this planet in the same way everything else here is of this planet.
To fully commit to the idea that humans are of this earth, and are animals, means that nothing we do can be considered beyond nature. Unless we want to view ourselves as gods or demons.
I have a resistance to any way of thinking that ascribes a special status to humans.
When I hear that way of thinking, it sounds to me the same as someone thinking that the earth is the center of the solar system.
The idea of humans defined as against/outside nature is deeply embedded in our dominant culture. It’s baked into our vocabulary, and is mostly notably present in western, colonial, extractive culture.
I’d like to find other ways to talk about what is natural or unnatural that don't entail ascribing a special status to humans.
This is difficult.
What then is the difference between a city and a coral reef? What is the difference between a bridge and a bee hive?
What does conservation mean when we consider ourselves as wholly part of the world? There is a joy in looking close.
There is joy in curiosity, fascination, and awe.
I want to learn to be in relationship with the living world around me in ways that lean into that.
Everything documented here comes from a 12’x12’ plot at the far north side of the parking lot of the Millwork Commons building, west of the Mastercaft building. It sits at the nexus of multiple cultural, biologic, and geologic histories. Tucked between the sprawling parking lot, train tracks, an automotive scrap yard, a steel mill, and a former furniture factory. Nearby is some of the architectural salvage from the old Gene Leahy Mall.
We found plants, some native, some introduced, some considered invasive. We found human made objects, that made their way to this small square without intention. Food packaging, discarded construction materials, synthetic hair, a page of a history book, and post-it note with a hand written address. We found insects, more that we could count or confidently identify. Tiny things that jump, crawl and fly, showing us the results of millions of years of evolution. We witnessed multiple stages of insect lifecycles intricately connected to lifecycles of plants. We found crustaceans, mollusks, and bits of rock inside bits of concrete. Rocks formed through various geologic process, and made of atoms formed in stars 8x the size of our sun and cast into interstellar space via supernova prior to formation of this solar system.
With enough time, study, observation and thought, the entire history of this planet could be deduced- from the Hadean Eon to the Anthropocene Epoch- and possibly what comes next. This isn’t what we done here. Though done with an earnest and joyful curiosity, our methods were clumsy, and distinctly limited in time, space, ability and intellect.
It would take about 38 trillion 12’x12’ plots to account for the surface of the earth.
Given enough time and close observation, this book could go on infinitely.
About the Artists
Jessie Fisher makes art in multiple mediums, but for the last 5 years has primarily been a printmaker. He works in letterpress, woodcut/linocut, monotype, and cyanotype. Whether it’s experiments with processes, or more direct socio-political propaganda, the work encourages questioning what's possible. Jessie grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska, but has called Omaha home for the past 20 years. In that time he's worked in construction, art education and for the past 6 years has been a home inspector. Jessie helped create an art/community space called “Media Corp.” It provided meeting space for a variety of advocacy groups and also functioned as a food pantry for a time.
Viy, pronounced /v/, is a non-binary, multi-media artist. Their practice focuses on the materiality and history of objects, breaking them down to better understand them so they can be reconfigured and re-contextualized as art objects. Interested in refuse and refusal, their work comes from their own trash and items discarded by others, refusing the notion that these objects are worthless and instead seeing them as full of artistic potential. Most recently their practice has been focused in handmade papermaking, fiber based media, and relational aesthetics.