TreeMama

04/22/2026

04/17/2026

04/10/2026

I consider cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) to be an old friend. It is probably one of the most familiar species in eastern North America. Finding it is a good indication that the land has not been too badly touched by human activity as it is one of the first species to disappear after heavy disturbance.

Cutleaf toothwort and its close cousins play an important role for early emerging pollinators as well as at least one lepidopteran species flying around eastern forests, the Virginia white butterfly (Pieris virginiensis). Its larvae feed on a variety of toothworts but are particularly fond of slender toothwort (Cardamine angustata) and the broad leaf toothwort (Cardamine diphylla). Due to severe habitat fragmentation, this butterfly has declined rapidly throughout parts of its range.

03/21/2026

Happy International Day of Forests! If you are able - the team could use all the support they can get as we work towards making our v5 release/updates. Join us in !

https://ko-fi.com/treemama

03/18/2026

Found these (2 - trust me, there are 2!) salamanders while doing garden cleanup and prep with our neighbor.

I’ve always had a childhood interest for finding things under rocks. I use to challenge my little brother to find and count more bugs then me in rock flipping contests. My daughters and I now play this game too. Since my property has (and is surrounded by) sinkholes and caves - salamanders are a common find here. So while bugs are cool - these are definitely an upgrade!

The bright orange one is a (Eurycea lucifuga). It is possible the other one is too - apparently the juveniles can be darker colored). They are lungless and can live their entire lives in caves (this is know as being “troglophiles”).

Cuz they don’t necessarily mean to be above ground - I consider spotting one to be a bit of good luck (as well as a good indicator of environmental health 😁).

I can’t wait to get more garden wildlife finds this spring! Go away ❄️ it’s time for us to get planting and growing with nature!

03/18/2026

Found these (2 - trust me, there are 2!) salamanders while doing garden cleanup and prep with our neighbor.

I’ve always had a childhood interest for finding things under rocks. I use to challenge my little brother to find and count more bugs then me in rock flipping contests. My daughters and I now play this game too. Since my property has (and is surrounded by) sinkholes and caves - salamanders are a common find here. So while bugs are cool - these are definitely an upgrade!

The bright orange one is a (Eurycea lucifuga). It is possible the other one is too - apparently the juveniles can be darker colored). They are lungless and can live their entire lives in caves (this is know as being “troglophiles”).

Cuz they don’t necessarily mean to be above ground - I consider spotting one to be a bit of good luck (as well as a good indicator of environmental health 😁).

I can’t wait to get more garden wildlife finds this spring! Go away ❄️ it’s time for us to get planting and growing with nature!

12/02/2025

We are now a 501c3! Help keep iSeaTree (and all of our TreeMama resources) free and open by giving a donation this Giving Tuesday!

TreeMama published a post on Ko-fi

11/14/2025

Shhh….So, I’ve *might’ve* woken my 9-year old up (on a school night) to see this, but um, I don’t regret it!

Not one bit (just don’t tell her teacher on me!).

10/31/2025

Changes are on their way!

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