Photo: Drosera porrecta. A species of sundew without a common name. Endemic to Western Australia. Carnivorous. Has traps consisting of sticky-glandular, flypaper-like leaves. Hard to find. Will have a white flower later in the year.

Once upon a time I was a naturalist in the state and national parks of the United States. I would spend my summers taking park visitors on guided walks and help them appreciate the joys of nature. If a visitor would ask me about a plant – any plant – I’d rattle off the common name, scientific name and even some medicinal properties. My brain was a sponge. Everything that went in stayed there and was it quick and easy to access it.

Boy, have times changed.

I’m trying to learn the flora of Western Australia. It’s fascinating as there are so many endemic species – plants found nowhere else in the world. It’s a huge learning curve for me. But it’s much easier now as I can point my phone at a plant and get an immediate ID – or something in the ballpark at least. In the old days, I’d pull out a thick taxonomic guide to the vascular plants, or my beautifully illustrated Peterson’s Field Guides, and try to key out a plant. Maybe the toils of identification helped me remember names. Nowadays, anything that goes in my brain seems to evaporate immediately. Once I learn a plant name I’ll try to repeat it to myself a few times. Five minutes later I can’t even remember what the first letter is.

So I’m giving my brain a total workout. I’ve been hiking up to a nearby reserve and trying to come back with photos of at least three new species. Then I’ll try to ID them and learn a bit about them … and maybe say their name over and over so I remember. Some people learn languages to exercise their brains, some play sudoku. I’m trying to learn Latin names for plants. Just gotta keep exercising that brain in any way that works for you.

I found a plant inventory of the local reserve. It’s got 262 species listed. Let’s see how many I can find … and let’s see how many I can remember. I’ll post a new pic every day or so to help me remember.