The first sign of active plant life after the long Interior Alaska winter is the appearance of soft, fuzzy, young catkins on felt-leaf willow (Salix alaxensis) and diamond-leaf willow (S.
Imagine being a moose in late May: You have just survived 200 days of cold and darkness by munching the equivalent of a large garbage bag full of frozen twigs each day. Now, billions of salad greens are unfolding from those same woody plants, providing a scent and texture savored for an instant before one sweep of the moose’s head strips a wispy branch.