Amy Weiss works in The New York Botanical Garden’s Herbarium, cataloging and preserving plant specimens from around the world.

Part of my job in the Herbarium of the NYBG is processing plant collections researchers have stored over the years. In general, we only mount plants that have been identified to species. That process can be quick if there is currently a specialist–we send the person a duplicate of a plant collection, and they send us the plant’s name once it has been identified. However, identifying plants to specific species can take much longer if there is no one currently specializing in a certain family or genus.

Herbaria are important because they are the depositories of such historical collections, and with our care they will still be around when a specialist is available. Once identified, we mount the plant specimen for New York, and distribute any duplicates to other herbaria around the world. The collections gathered by NYBG scientists that are still waiting for identification reside in our cold room in the meantime, where they will occasionally remain for decades before the right specialist becomes available.
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Korean rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum) — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Meteorology is something of an inexact science. Some days, forecasting the weather seems a little closer in discipline to fortune telling. And after all of the comforting reassurance (we were so set on it!) that the cold was behind us and nothing but picturesque spring days lay ahead, the hard freeze set to plow through New York tonight has shoulders slumping in gardens across the region. But, while it’s tempting, skip leading a pitchfork mob to your weatherman’s house. Shooting the messenger never solved any problems, especially when nature is such a fickle character.

The inbound chill may be grim news for many of the early blooms that sprung out of dormancy at the first sign of warm weather. But which petals will pull through, and which are facing the axe? We asked Kristin Schleiter, our acting Director of Outdoor Gardens, to chime in with her take on the situation. Depending on what you’re keeping in your home garden, you may be in the clear.
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Monotropa uniflora. The scientific name isn’t particularly menacing; it suggests the singular–mono-, uni-. But on a register of local vegetation, you’d likely overlook it. It’s a passing Latin designation in a sea of other plants, many of them named after scientists. And this remains the case up until you get to know this pale, vampiric oddity of the plant kingdom.

A friend (one altogether disinterested in botany, strangely enough) happened to post an image and a scientific name on Tumblr the other day. I was hooked from that moment. What was this “plant,” with its ghostly presentation, and what other traits were so interesting that it would distract a chemical engineering student from her studies long enough to share it? With its singular, slumped flower, it looked like a tulip under the cloud of an awful malaise; from petal to stem, there was not a single blush of color.
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The Orchid Show means thousands upon thousands of orchids, curling and spiraling their way across nine separate vertical walls of exotic foliage. It’s a family reunion of sorts in the Conservatory.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

A sliver of trivia: this flowering cherry hybrid was developed at the U.S. National Arboretum in D.C. by the prolific Dr. Donald Egolf, back in 1982. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that ‘First Lady’ made its way onto the horticulture scene at large. It boasts the abundant flowers and hardiness of the mother plant, ‘Okame,’ with the coloration of its father, the Taiwan flowering cherry (P. campanulata).

I suppose it also technically shares its birthday with Tron, Bladerunner, and Conan the Barbarian. It’s not like I was going to give you a dossier without a few oddball connections tacked on.

Prunus ‘First Lady’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Prunus pendula var. ascendens — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Judging from our Morning Eye Candy posts, you might think the unconscionably talented Ivo Vermeulen is one of only a few people on NYBG grounds gallivanting about with a camera in tow. He’s certainly prolific enough. But if you follow us from day to day, you’ll come to notice that photography in general is a core interest here at the Garden. There are so many colors, shapes, and fantastical landscapes on these 250 acres to share with the rest of the world, and we’re encouraging anyone and everyone to jump in with their gear of choice–smartphone, fully-fitted Nikon, homemade pinhole or otherwise.
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If the flowering magnolias and budding bottlebrushes around the Garden are any evidence, New York really has shifted gears to full-on spring pleasantry. You know it was satisfying to leave your coat on the hook before work all this week! And with the Orchid Show now settled into its groove and flourishing with its thousands of exotic flowers, this is the time to head up to the Bronx and see what everyone is swooning over. You finally get to start off without the screech of an alarm clock, ditch the briefcase, and leave your uncomfortable shoes near the front door for a couple of days–make the most of it!
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Magnolias in spring–I’ll keep posting them so long as they’re this appealing. This shot of airy pink saucers under a sky of curly clouds is further giving me amnesia (what winter?)

Magnolia x soulangeana — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen