The Pollen Files: Fernbush

Fernbush, Chamaebatiaria millefolium, is hardly a Prom queen knock-out. In fact, its tiny white flowers are barely noticeable.

But when the high heat of summer hits us full force in Albuquerque, it’s the low-water fernbush that nurtures us through. After the lavender bloom but before the aster and solidago flush with late summer goodies, it’s the delicate and sweet-eyed fernbush that quietly offers sustenance for our hungry pollinators.

My girls are all over it like teenagers desperate for a date, oblivious to me the camera-wielding parent oh-so-annoying in my insistence that Prom be fully documented for posterity.

Gathering pollen from the fernbush

Mmm... summertime munchies