LANSING — Is this year's Michigan Christmas tree themed as an ode to the Handmaid's Tale? Does it reflect the big wins by Republicans in the recent election? Or it is as simple as an Ohio State ...

Those trees were planted in the 1950s. One of them continues to shine as a “symbol of conservation” at Michigan State University, said Katie Fry, collections manager for the Beal Botanical Garden.

The Malus coronaria learned to fight frost by blooming two or three weeks later than the trees that produce cultivated varieties of apples like Honeycrisp or Red Delicious. Michigan State ...