Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Archive: February 2013

Garden News: Orchid by Orchid

Posted in The Orchid Show on February 25 2013, by Matt Newman

Restrepia brachypusWith less than a week between now and the opening of our 11th annual Orchid Show, it seems as good a time as any to poke our heads inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and see what’s what with our hard-at-work horticulturists! There are literally thousands of exotic orchids to arrange in time for the March 2 opening, and with Tropical Paradise only just packing it in for the year, our staff is rising to the challenge of kicking off this yearly favorite with a proper bang.

All hands are on deck to make our naturally-inspired display the most colorful and gratifying experience you’ll have in New York City this spring. And few know the ins and outs of this complicated process like Christian Primeau, Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Working along with the curatorial expertise of Vice President of Glasshouses and Exhibitions, Francisca Coelho, Christian and the rest of the team are implementing stunning designs, plant by plant, with an eye for both color and natural arrangements. But these wouldn’t be quite the same without an unforeseen addition to our exhibition: a few of the 300 Garden trees affected by Hurricane Sandy this past October.

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From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn 2013, Day Five

Posted in Bill Buck, From the Field, Science on February 25 2013, by William R. Buck

January 14, 2013, Prov. Antártica Chilena, Comuna Cabo de Hornos, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Bahía Yendegaia, 54°50’S, 68°48’W

DSCN0153 copyWe arrange for the horses to be ready at 9 a.m. Initially the crew tell us it will cost about $30 to rent a horse for a day, but the ranchers counter with $50. This is more than I am prepared to spend, but with some negotiation we settle on $40 for each of the seven horses plus a guide for the day. I decide $280 is well worth the opportunity to access an area in our flora region that otherwise would be unreachable.

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Morning Eye Candy: Needle & Branch

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on February 24 2013, by Matt Newman

Synchronize your watches–today at 12:30 p.m. marks the start of our Winter Tree Tour, leaving from the Reflecting Pool at the Visitor’s Center. There’s a lot of seasonal beauty out there to catch up on, and only a bit of season left to do it!

Pinus parvifolia 'Brevifolia'

Pinus parvifolia ‘Brevifolia’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This Weekend: Aloha

Posted in Programs and Events on February 22 2013, by Matt Newman

Weekender-headerIt’s the last weekend of our Tropical Paradise exhibition, and while the sun’s made a fair showing throughout the week, there’s still enough frost in the air to warrant a little escapism. Of course, that’s what this event is all about–having a chance to at least pretend that you’re not in New York City in the dead of winter. And through Sunday, the doors to our steamy Conservatory will still be open to visitors hoping to explore the real stars of our permanent collection–and leaving their scarves on the rack, too.

Sunday also marks the final day of open photography workshops in the Conservatory, as well as your last opportunity to pitch your name into the hat for our yearly tropical photography contest. Thus far it’s been a heated challenge between a number of talented shutterbugs, but there’s always the opportunity to get in the game with photos of your own, even if you’re late to the party!

For the would-be polar bears among you, this weekend’s schedule offers more than just daydreams under the palm trees; we’re also hosting an involved Winter Tree Tour on Sunday, something to complement Saturday’s traditional outdoor Bird Walk with Debbie Becker. It’s your chance to see winter’s aesthetic from a slightly different angle–one that appreciates the angles and arches of the trees.

But you don’t have to fret. Closing the doors on Tropical Paradise is one of those situations where we open a window elsewhere–in this case, one that looks out on thousands upon thousands of orchids! So stay tuned for next week, folks.

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From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn 2013, Day Four

Posted in Bill Buck, From the Field, Science on February 22 2013, by William R. Buck

January 13, 2013, Prov. Antártica Chilena, Comuna Cabo de Hornos, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Bahía Yendegaia, 54°50’S, 68°48’W

DSCN0145 copyThe ship moves overnight. We arrive here at 4:30 a.m., just 15 minutes after I come up on the deck. However, except for the captain’s area, all is quiet with the crew and so I return to my bunk until there is more activity and the sun is up. Returning to deck at 7:30 a.m.–still the first non-crew–I find that we are in a quiet bay and that there is a light rain falling. The bay is fed by a shallow but broad river originating at a glacier. As a consequence, the water in the bay is milky and opaque from the large silt load. I don’t remember ever having seen this down here before and I wonder if it will be an indication of a different local substrate (and thus a different bryoflora).

DSCN0147 copyAfter several seasons of collecting in pristine areas, the existence of a ranch just over the hill from where we are anchored and evidence of human influence on the landscape seems quite odd. When we split up half the group goes to see the ranch and look for bryophytes on disturbed substrates. I, along with Paddy and Niels, choose to cross the bay which proves quite the challenge. The cloudiness of the water combines with what I can only interpret as low tide making the bottom invisible. As the Zodiac approaches the shore, the water begins to churn with the activity of what seems to be a large number of large fish (we couldn’t be sure because the water is so cloudy we can’t actually see what is causing the commotion).

Ramon FishingOur Zodiac runs aground at least 50 yards from shore and we are surprised to find the water shallow enough to wade to shore through a muddy, seaweedy slush. Our boots sink into the slimy mess up to our ankles making each step a chore. While we struggle to shore, the existence of fish is confirmed; after dropping us off the crew get a net and go fishing. By the time I return to the Zodiac the crew have caught well over 20 fish, each about a foot long, each the same and going by the local of name of robalo. There will be fresh fish for dinner tonight, and for days to come. The freezer is now well stocked!

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Morning Eye Candy: The Busiest of Beavers

Posted in Wildlife on February 22 2013, by Matt Newman

So, this is a first for us on Plant Talk, but I figure this beaver’s visit to our neck of the river is as good an excuse as any to toss a couple GIFs up on the blog. These animations (along with a few others I’ve got up my sleeve; maybe you can see those later) were pieced together from a series of individual frames snapped by one of several motion-activated critter cams we have monitoring the woodsy areas of the Garden.

These cameras have captured everything from owls to foxes, and now they’re documenting the beavers which have called the Bronx River home for at least the past few years. This is important mainly because Justin and José Beaver (hard to tell which one this is, if either) are the first of their species to be seen in New York City in over two centuries!

Them beavers

We’ll be keeping you up to date with all the beaver news that comes our way, but for now, enjoy our paddle-tailed friend demonstrating his feats of Mighty-Mouse-like strength and generally wandering around. Happy Friday!

Bronx River Beavers

Illustrating the Botanical World

Posted in Science on February 21 2013, by Scott Mori

Scott A. Mori has been studying New World rain forests for nearly 40 years. He has witnessed an unrelenting reduction in the extent of the forests he studies and, as a result, has become concerned about their future.


From December of 1995 onward, the Institute of Systematic Botany at the NYBG has periodically worked with Michael Rothman to prepare paintings representing the research of our curators. Over the next year, the curators and the paintings that represent their work will be presented in a series of essays on Plant Talk. Today, I introduce the artist and discuss his painting of the understory of a lowland rain forest in French Guiana. I chose this painting to start with because it illustrates the rich biodiversity of lowland tropical rain forest, an area where I have studied plants for many years. If you wish to see rain forest or cloud forest throughout the year without traveling, you can enjoy tropical plants and get out of the cold at the same time by visiting the Garden’s Tropical Paradise exhibition in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

Rothman painting
“A Terrestrial View of a Rain Forest in Central French Guiana” by Michael Rothman.

Botanical art and the study of plants are inseparable. In the course of my career, I have relied on Bobbi Angell for the preparation of the line art accompanying my species descriptions of the Brazil nut family, as well as those depicted in the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Central French Guiana, and the Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. In all, Bobbi has prepared a total of 600 illustrations for me.

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From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn 2013, Day Three

Posted in Bill Buck, From the Field, Science on February 21 2013, by William R. Buck

January 12, 2013, Prov. Antártica Chilena, Comuna Cabo de Hornos, Parque Nacional Alberto de Agostini, Isla Gordon, Bahía Tres Brazos, 54°59’S, 69°45’W

DSCN0119 copyThe engines of the ship start at 5 a.m. and, as promised, we get an early start toward our next site. Also as promised, the seas are relatively calm and the bunk room remains a seasickness free zone. I get up at 7 a.m., but when I get up to the galley it is still dark with sleeping crew (after all, their beds had been occupied by oil-body photographers until midnight) and the bathroom is occupied. I tried waiting on deck, but wind and rain chase me into the threshold of the galley where I stand quietly in the dark awaiting my turn. Since there isn’t much point in being up, I return to bed for a couple of hours until there is more activity.

IMG_0120_1231k_2013_TresBrazos_Jan12 copyLast year we had a dedicated cook for the whole trip but this year we are told it will be a team effort among three members of the crew. We are initially somewhat apprehensive, but also know the crew themselves won’t tolerate poorly prepared food. It turns out we have nothing to worry about–the two guys who are primarily responsible for the food have proven to be better even than previous years. We get our first fresh bread for breakfast, which completely eliminates our last reservations about the food.

We reach our destination for the day in the early afternoon. This is our second repeat site chosen to show the new people a really mature southern beech forest. Only Laura and I have visited this forest before; it is special enough to show the others and to explore what might have been missed the first time. Much to our delight, the forest doesn’t disappoint.

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