Watch: A locust swarm can be as large as 460 square miles (1,191 sq. km)—just large enough to make you want to stay indoors. | National Geographic

“Wizardly” is one of my favorite terms to use when describing the bark of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Here, I describe why it’s useful to use figurative or subjective terms to describe textures, like bark, and why the lack of standardized vocabulary in bark discussion further incentivizes this fantastical language. There’s plenty of room for poetry (not that “wizardly” is especially poetic) in scientific communication, particularly when it serves to fill gaps in our descriptive vocabula