Day 221: With my three best field guides open on my lap, I found myself growing more and more frustrated at not being able to pin down an identification for this plant. It didn't key with the limited number of field characteristics I'd noted, and none of the pictures looked exactly right, so I packed off a couple of images to a group of my "best experts" for analysis, but none of them could tell me any more than what it was NOT, based on the suggestions I'd offered. Over the next few days, we eliminated more possibilities, and in the end, two new resources were added to my growing list of like-minded associates and references with a final identification of Rockcress (Arabis furcata).
While this edition of Penny Perspectives shows a tiny native wildflower which inhabits rocky areas in the lower elevations (specifically Westside Road), it also gives another valuable perspective: in science, the ability to say "I don't know" is more important than any amount of knowledge you may possess. It goes hand in hand with an even more difficult phrase we'd all do well to practice: "Okay, I'm wrong." A good scientist recognizes both of those expressions as doorways to learning. Rockcress made me use both until we got it right.
No comments:
Post a Comment