In the wake of Virginia’s historic multi-season drought, a Gloucester County Park Ranger made a significant scientific find that had scientists arguing in her comments on social media as to whether a discovery she made was real. With the Beaverdam Park reservoir falling below 90 percent capacity, more and more shoreline has been uncovered. Taking advantage of the newly exposed space, Ranger Monica Canepa began documenting plants she found on iNaturalist for the county’s BioBlitz event. On the morning of Sept. 5, Canepa found herself walking the shoreline and just as she considered turning back, a juvenile eagle flew overhead, urging her to continue on. “Who am I to argue with an eagle, I thought—and I followed it farther than I normally walked,” she said. “After taking some pictures of other far more common plants in the area, I noticed an unusual-looking white flower with what looked like red fruits.” Having not seen the plant before, she uploaded a photo to iNaturalist and continued ...