Go out into your back yard (assuming you have one) and pretend you have to not only identify, but describe, designate, and catalog every plant that’s growing there. Now multiply that challenge by the entire surface of the Earth, and you’re standing in a botanist’s shoes. Of course, it’s not going to be as easy as all that; as a plant scientist, you’re also racing against a clock that stubbornly speeds up with each passing year. Climate change, human development, and myriad other influences are wiping out species before you’re even aware they’re under threat–and there are hundreds of thousands of species to account for. Worse, the system you use to designate these plants as endangered isn’t exactly marching to the beat of your own drum.

This is where The New York Botanical Garden‘s experts step in, with a new system that could turn a challenging outlook for botanical conservationists into a bright future.
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Sunday night, The New York Botanical Garden got a brief mention on AMC‘s hit TV show ‘Mad Men.’ The episode–full of more twists and turns than the Floral Flyer‘s route–was set in 1966. This got us to thinking: What was the Garden like in 1966? We did a little research and learned that in 1966 (on April 19, three-days from today!), the Stone Mill–then known as the Lorillard Snuff Mill–was designated a New York City landmark. But we couldn’t find more, so we turned to the archivists of the Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library, who, in surprisingly short time, uncovered a treasure trove of images that look as if they had been stills pulled from un-aired scenes of this dark and addicting drama.

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The turn of the year from 2011 to 2012 was an exciting time for the scientists who work, teach, and research at The New York Botanical Garden.

No longer necessary: The describing of plants in Latin, followed by a translation in English.

In December, scientists at the Botanical Garden, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York University, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory announced that they had created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants to date. In January, James S. Miller, Ph.D., Dean and Vice President for Science at the Garden, explained important changes in the requirements for the naming of newly discovered plants beginning in 2012. Earlier in 2011, Dr. Miller had been the lead author on an article in the online journal PhytoKeys summarizing the changes. To say that these scientific advancements are huge is a gross understatement, but how to understand them?

Let’s use plain English, which is exactly what the new plant-naming requirements do. As outlined in an op-ed published in the New York Times on January 22, Dr. Miller, who took part in the International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, Australia, where the changes were approved, explains that plants will still be named in Latin, but that they will no longer have to be described in Latin. This laborious process–which has been on the botanical books since 1908–is only the first hurdle each botanist must clear before he may name a new plant species. The next step, the publishing of this description in a printed, paper-based journal, has also been done away with by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature in an effort to speed the naming of plants. Why the hurry? As Dr. Miller says, “as many as one-third of all plant species (may be) at risk of extinction in the next 50 years.” One way to save a plant is to name a plant. From there, scientists–freed from the strictures of Latin–may further investigate the plant and all of its potentialities.
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Jessica Arcate-Schuler is Manager of the Forest.

Robert Naczi, Ph.D., is Curator of North American Botany.

The 11th Northeast Natural History Conference was held April 6 – 9 in New York’s capital city, Albany.  The meeting attracted more than 500 enthusiasts, who came from as far as Maine and Michigan. Professionals and students delivered 190 oral presentations and exhibited 115 posters on subjects ranging from a survey of reptiles and amphibians in the Albany Pine Bush to an analysis of how deer compound the problem of invasive plant species.

The NENHC Conference is an important regional forum allowing researchers, naturalists, and students to get together to share current research and information. As a leader in this realm, The New York Botanical Garden, of course, made a strong showing. We, Jessica Schuler and Dr. Robert Naczi, moderated the session “Natural History of The New York Botanical Garden: Interpreting an Old-growth Forest.” The session was a multi-institutional, collaborative affair, much in  keeping with the project we coordinate called the NYBG Natural History Project. This session included the following presentations:

NYBG staff and collaborators at Northeast Natural History Conference. Left to right: James Furlaud, Erik Zeidler, Wayne Cahilly, Matthew Pace, Jessica Schuler, Robert Naczi, and Jason Munshi-South:

- “Four Hundred Years of Forest Stewardship at The New York Botanical Garden, or Why Was this Not Made Firewood?” a lively history of the Forest was presented by Wayne Cahilly, the Manager of the Lionel Goldfrank III Institutional Mapping Department of NYBG and resident tree climbing expert.

- Matthew Pace, a Curatorial Assistant in the Steere Herbarium, delivered an in-depth reconstruction and analysis of the Garden’s historic flora, “Rediscovering the Flora of The New York Botanical Garden Forest, Using the Steere Herbarium.”

- “Landscape Genetics of White-footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in the Bronx,” presented by Dr. Jason Munshi-South, Assistant Professor of Biology at Baruch College, looked at genetic continuity in New York City’s most common native mammal, the mouse.

- Erik Zeidler, a recent graduate of Bronx High School of Science and current student at University of Kansas, gave a talk revealing some surprising facts about the snapping turtle in, “Herps in the Big Apple?: A Comprehensive Study of Common Snapping Turtle Populations Amidst the Hustle and Bustle of Bronx, N.Y.”

In the Botany Session, James Furlaud, an intern in the Institute of Systematic Botany, delivered an oral presentation, “Taxonomic Status of Stout Smartweed, Persicaria robustior (Polygonaceae).” Jamey based his presentation on the morphometric analysis he conducted of smartweed specimens from the Garden’s Steere Hebarium and Harvard University’s Gray Herbarium.

At the annual meeting of the New York Flora Association held at the Conference, Rob Naczi delivered a presentation on his ongoing efforts to revise Gleason & Cronquist’s influential book, New Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada.

The NYBG team received many positive reactions to their presentations, especially those by Matthew Pace and James Furlaud. Jamey received Honorable Mention for Best Student Botany-related Oral Presentation from the New York Flora Association. Matthew received Honorable Mention for the Best Overall Botany-related Presentation from NYFA. Congratulations, Jamey and Matthew!

The Orchid Show: On Broadway has begun its limited engagement at the Garden, and it’s garnering rave reviews. The spotlight shines bright on The Orchid Show: On Broadway!

The New York Times featured interviews with several Orchid Show staff, including designers Scott Pask and Drew Hodges, and orchid curator Marc Hachadourian.

The definitive magazine for U.S. theatergoers, Playbill, created a slide show to display our botanical divas.

Meanwhile, Broadway World spread the exciting news about Hirschfeld’s Broadway Scrapbook, which tells the story of the Great White Way as seen by its foremost chronicler, Al Hirschfeld.

But don’t just take their word for it! Come see one of New York’s most spectacular flower shows for yourself. What’s more New York than Broadway?

Get your tickets!

We’re sorry it’s not the best picture, but we’re just so excited to share this image of first lady Michelle Obama speaking at the presentation ceremony of the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Representatives from The New York Botanical Garden were in attendance to accept the award.

We’ll post better pictures once we get them. And here’s a link to the Mrs. Obama’s remarks.

On Friday, New York Botanical Garden President Gregory Long; Carrie Laney, the Garden’s Vice President for Government and Community Relations; and Karen Washington, a community activist who, in partnership with the Botanical Garden’s Bronx Green-Up program turned empty lots into beautiful gardens, will accept the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from none other than First Lady Michelle Obama!

More on the Garden’s trip below the jump.

The New York Botanical Garden has been named one of 10 recipients of the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Science Service, the highest honor for museums and libraries in the United States. The annual award, made by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental, or economic contributions to their communities. The Botanical Garden will receive the National Medal at a ceremony held later in Washington, D.C., and a $10,000 award in recognition of its extraordinary contributions.

Learn more below.

We wanted to share this great interview that Weekend Edition host Scott Simon did with master pumpkin carver Scott Cully.

In the interview, Scott divulges how he became a giant pumpkin carver, and one deep, dark secret. It’s not to be missed.

You can read the transcript, listen to it, or download it as a podcast.

Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.

The Bronx River runs through The New York Botanical Garden on its way from Westchester County to the East River and is a primary reason the Garden was sited at this location in 1895. Over the years, the Garden’s 250-acre lush landscape has protected a segment of this urban river, while other sections have been negatively impacted by development and heavy land use.

But the Bronx River as a whole has been on the mend in recent times, thanks to the efforts of many organizations and government agencies. People in canoes and beavers and other wildlife have returned. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo visited the Garden, along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and others, to award funding to NYBG and six other entities for pollution-control projects.

The Garden, which received $349,599, will use the funding for a “green infrastructure” demonstration project designed to reduce and treat storm water discharge to the Bronx River. The Garden will install permeable pavement, a tree well that captures storm water, and a pipe outflow with cascading pools. It will also stabilize the shoreline and restore it with the planting of native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers.

In his address, Cuomo particularly congratulated Botanical Garden President and CEO Gregory Long for his work. “He has done such a fantastic job,” Cuomo said. “The Garden is a real beautiful gem and treasure for the Bronx and for the entire state.”

Garden Receives Funding for Bronx River Protection from The New York Botanical Garden on Vimeo.

YouTube link for video