Recommended by Michael Collins

Recommended by Jonathan Fink

"The Berylline is one of the rarest of the 14 hummingbird species found in Arizona, where I used to live. Our daughter’s middle name is Berylline, after the bird."

Recommended by Roger Sant

"It makes me happy every time I see it."

Recommended by Cristián Samper

Recommended by Gabriela Febres-Cordero

"The artichoke is good for liver, constipation, diabetes and gout."

Recommended by Paul Risser

"Because it blooms early in the spring before the tree leaves unfold."

Recommended by Shirley Sherwood

"I have always enjoyed having cats as pets, especially Persian cats."

Recommended by Peter Buck and Lisbet Rausing

"My biggest concern about humans is how we will ensure we maintain and improve the 'rambunctious garden' of the 'post-wild' world, to borrow the terms of Emma Marris (while also ensuring the well-being and health of all members of our own species)."
-- Lisbet Rausing

Recommended by William Luers

"The lightening bug was the first creature that stimulated my curiosity about the wonders of the world when I was small child growing up in Springfield, Illinois. Lightening bugs would spread over our back yard in the late spring. I developed a child’s affection for this funny little creature and a desire to learn the how and the why of the glow. I am saddened by the thought that the lightening bug is rapidly disappearing and that my grandchildren may never have the opportunity to be awakened to the world by the lightning bug."

Recommended by John Fahey

"Love their size and magisterial movement, and the 'family' nature of their social system and interactions."

Recommended by Kathryn Fuller

"What came to mind is the octopus, not a particular species of octopus. I was thinking about the experiments on their learning capacity, about the videos of their getting out of tanks in labs at night to stalk prey, about their color changes, keen senses, and ability to get into the tiniest spaces. I've always been excited to find an octopus while diving and am fascinated by how complex and sophisticated an invertebrate can be!"

Recommended by Paula Kerger

Recommended by Scott Edwards

"It is majestic, inspiring, accomplishes remarkable feats of flight and is a symbol of the peril of the Pacific biota."

Recommended by Whitney MacMillan

Recommended by Marshall Turner

"They appear interested, contemplative, and can hang by one arm for hours. Very cool."

Recommended by Jorge Soberón

"It is important because I worked with this species for 10 years, and got to know her very well."

Recommended by Jeremy Sabloff

"Because this plant has fed so many people for millennia, and the domestication of maize has been one of the great gifts of Native Americans to the world."