Michael Simpson, PhD
Registered Professional Biologist
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Co-authored Articles (26)
How to
Identify an Ash Tree
Ash trees belong to the Fraxinus species and grow commonly in cities and forests. It can be easy to mistake an Ash tree for Black Walnut, Maple, Boxelder, Hickory or Dogwood trees. You will need to compare several plant ...
How to Read a Cladogram (and Make Your Own)
Cladograms are an important tool used by scientists to understand common ancestors and the characteristics of certain animals. If you're studying evolution in biology, you're likely to encounter a cladogram. At first gla...
How to
Identify a Black Walnut Tree
Black walnut trees are some of the most widely-grown trees in North America. Just like the name implies, they produce walnuts, making them very valuable plants. You can usually find them in forests stretching from the ea...
How to
Identify Walnut Trees
Quickly ID walnut tree varieties with our handy guideIf you live in the central-eastern part of the United States, you've probably seen walnut trees in parks or low-lying areas between rivers, creeks, and dense woods. Th...
How to
Identify Elderberry
The elderberry plant is a fruiting plant that is native to North America, Europe, and parts of South America. The berries of the plant are often used in homeopathic remedies for pain and the common cold. If you want to i...
How to
Identify Lemon Tree Diseases
Common citrus diseases--plus what to do to save your fruit if your tree is infected Lemon trees make a beautiful addition to any yard or grove. Unfortunately, they’re susceptible to a wide variety of diseases, includin...
How to
Identify Poisonous Mushrooms
Learning how to identify poisonous mushrooms is the most important part of foraging for edible mushrooms. ''Amanita'' is a very common genus of mushroom, and some of the most toxic types of mushrooms belong in this group...
How to
Identify Dependent and Independent Variables
Whether you’re conducting an experiment or learning algebra, understanding the relationship between independent and dependent variables is a valuable skill. Learning the difference between them can be tricky at first,...
How to
Identify Cedar Trees
A number of trees are given the common name of "cedar" in the US, despite belonging to other genera, such as the ''Juniper'' genus. For instance, you're likely to find the Western Red Cedar, the Eastern Red Cedar, or the...
A Complete Guide to Pine Tree Identification
Learn how to tell the difference between pines, spruces, firs, and moreThere are many qualities that make pine trees well-known, such as their fresh smell. However, they can be difficult to identify from trees that look ...
How to
Identify Edible Mushrooms
center Mushrooms make a delicious addition to pizza, pasta, salads, and more. That said, it’s best to leave searching for wild, edible mushrooms to professional mycologists (scientists who study fungi). If you still wa...
How to
Identify a Sycamore Tree
Sycamore trees are abundant in the eastern half of the United States, and their hybrid relatives are popular across Europe. These massive, fast-growing trees are loved for their shade and their resistance to splitting. I...
How to
Plant a Maple Tree
Step-by-step instructions to grow a beautiful maple tree of your very own If you’re looking to add a colorful and hardy maple tree to your landscape, there’s good news—no matter what variety you choose, maples are ...
How to
Conduct Scientific Research
If you want to contribute knowledge to the scientific community by conducting a scientific research project, you need to know the basic steps. There are many steps to doing research beginning with identifying a problem t...
How to
Identify Trees
With so many varieties of trees in existence, identifying one from another can be a tricky task. Whether you want to learn more about your local flora or identify one tree in particular, it can be difficult knowing where...
How to
Identify Cherry Trees
Cherry trees are known for their beautiful blossoms. They grow in temperate climates across North America, Europe and Asia. Cherry trees are often confused with peach and plum trees, but it's not difficult to identify ch...
How to Determine the Difference Between Palm Tree Species
Gain quick palm identification skills with our helpful guide Palm trees are so named because many of them feature fan-shaped, or palmate, fronds. There are over 2,600 species of palm trees, including some that can withst...
How to
Identify Oaks by the Acorns
There are approximately 500 species of oak trees all over the world, almost all of them in the northern hemisphere. They can be deciduous, losing their leaves in winter, or evergreen (live oaks), keeping their leaves all...
How to
Identify Oak Trees
Learn the key features of oak trees to ID them in the wildThere are literally hundreds of species of oak trees located in various areas of the world. This popular tree has been a valuable source of shade and beauty for c...
The Sugar Maple: Key Characteristics & How to Identify Them
Examine the leaves, bark, and fruit of a sugar mapleThe sugar maple tree (''Acer saccharum'') grows abundantly in the northeastern part of North America: the northeastern United States (including as far south as Tennesse...
