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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Ann Rafalko

NYBG at the NENHC

Posted in NYBG in the News on April 12 2011, by Ann Rafalko

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.
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!

Morning Eye Candy: Inside the Nolen Greenhouses

Posted in Photography on April 10 2011, by Ann Rafalko

The Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections are extraordinary. Not open to the public, these state-of-the art greenhouses are where many of the plants that will eventually be displayed on the Garden’s grounds are cared for. This time of year they are an explosion of color! Here’s a peek inside.

Inside the Nolen Greenhouses

Inside the Nolen Greenhouses

Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen

A Flower to Stop and Smell: Edgeworthia chrysantha

Posted in Around the Garden on April 8 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Since no one has yet been able to invent the scratch and sniff Internet, you’ll have to come to the Garden in order to smell this incredible plant.  Currently blooming on the Ladies’ Border on the southern end of the Conservatory Edgeworthia chrysantha, commonly known as the oriental paper bush is currently in bloom and suffusing this small garden with an ethereal perfume. A detour to visit this unassuming plant is an absolute must if you’re coming to the Garden this weekend to see The Orchid Show: On Broadway.

Edgeworthia chrysantha

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Here’s a quick Edgeworthia slideshow from our Flickr Photostream, where you can find thousands of the plants featured here at the Garden.

We Want You …

Posted in Around the Garden, Behind the Scenes on April 7 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Image via Wikipedia

To write for Plant Talk!

We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries lately about writing for this blog, and we’re thrilled! So whether you’re a Garden Member, first-time visitor, volunteer, a farmer, someone from the community, or even Garden staff, if  you have an idea for a Plant Talk blog post you’d like to write, we would like to hear from you! You can leave a comment below, you can tweet us, you can post your idea on Facebook, you can submit it on Tumblr, or you can email us at: blog AT nybg DOT org.

But before you put pen to paper (or, more likely, fingertip to keyboard), pitch us your idea first to make sure we’re interested. After we have let you know that we’re interested please:

– Keep it sweet, simple, and topical. Try and keep your post to under 300 words.

– We might edit your text, so please be open to that.

– If you’ve got photos, we’d love to post them. Just make sure you have the right to give us the rights to do so.

– We would love to see your NYBG-inspired artwork.

So there’s our pitch. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve!

 

Morning Eye Candy: In the Rose Garden

Posted in Photography on April 7 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Curator Peter Kukielski teaches School of Professional Horticulture students in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.

Peter Kukielski and School of Professional Horticulture Students in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Planting bare root roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Planting bare root roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Want to plant bare root roses yourself at home? Learn how from Peter himself! Hurry, because the best time for bare root rose planting is almost over in our area (for those of you who purchased a rose in a pot don’t worry — Peter says a potted rose can be planted anytime).