So what exactly does a botanist do in the field? In the field we look for plants that are in reproductive state, those bearing flowers or/and fruits. Reproductive structures are necessary to differentiate between closely looking species. For each species, we collect flowers, fruits, and leaves; these samples are processed and later dried for future study. The dried and mounted plant samples are called herbarium specimens and they are known to last for hundreds of years.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
Las Orquídeas National Park is tucked into the westernmost mountain chain of Colombia, a part of the great Andean Cordillera. In the park the terrain is steep and rough and is crossed by many rivers and streams that originate in the upper part of the mountains. The constant presence of water makes these humid forests a source of abudant epiphytic plants. Epiphytes, like many bromeliads and orchids, are plants that grow on other plants without killing them. Epiphytes root in the humid mixture of mosses and decaying matter that cover the branches of the trees; they are a forest on top of the forest.
Many of you may be asking yourself; ‘what do plant breeders do in their spare time’? This thought never crossed my mind until I attended an in-house lecture at NYBG by an Israeli plant breeder. The plant breeder in question, Harry Paris, was born and raised in Brooklyn and has spent the past 30 years working and living in Israel.
He opened the lecture by explaining his interest in history; as a plant breeder he maintained that it is easier to know where you are going if you know where you have come from. That’s food for thought whether you are discussing Curcurbit or life in general.
What is a Curcurbit? I was once named one of my home gardening demonstrations ‘Curcurbit Crafts’ and was asked to change the title due to the concern that the public would not know what they were in for. I tamed the title to ‘Autumnal Centerpieces’ and ‘Groovy Gourds’. Curcurbitaceae is the botanical family that includes cucumbers, squashes, gourds, pumpkins and melons.
Dr. Paris proceeded to explain how you investigate the history of a Curcurbit. He used an interdisciplinary approach where he drew information from botany, horticulture, food use, archeology, history, linguistics and iconography.
As the talk unfolded it became apparent that Dr. Paris was the Sherlock Holmes of the cucumber. He was tracking references back into the past – back to the Romans, the ancient Greeks, and ancient Egyptians.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
2011 was less than two weeks old when we announced our Caribbean Garden Photo Contest. After receiving hundreds of submissions and a meeting a whole new batch of flickr friends, your votes narrowed it down to twelve finalists in the categories “sense of place” and “macro.”
Well, the results are in. Your Flickr friends voted with their comments and here are your winners!
Macro Category Winner
By kathleenpimm
Sense Of Place Category Winner
By youngsol
The lucky winners will recieve a spot in an upcoming spring semester photography class offered by the Garden’s Adult Education Program.
Thanks to everyone who participated! What did you think of the contest? How can we make it better? What would you like to see? Let us know in the comments below!
The Andes mountain chain, which crosses South America from north to south, is the longest in the world. The Andean forests of the northern range (Tropical Andes hotspot) are home to a level of plant diversity that is without match anywhere else in the world; they are also subject to high rates of deforestation, thus these forests are considered a top priority for conservation. Unfortunately, Andean forests remain insufficiently studied and protected. This lack of baseline information is often times the first impediment to effective conservation: It is impossible to efficiently protect what we do not know or understand.
Clean and fresh travelers. First day, at La Encarnación. Top row: Alirio Montoya, Hector Velásquez, Javier Serna, Arley Duque, María Fernanda González, Camila González, Giovanny Giraldo, Fredy Gómez. Lower row: Felix Escobar, Julio Betancur, Paola Pedraza-Peñalosa.
After 14 days collecting plants in the field, we returned to Bogotá, Colombia’s capital with nearly 700 plant collections, and more than 10,000 photographs. Behind us we left Las Orquídeas National Park‘s 32 thousand hectares of rare and endangered tropical and montane forests, which make it part of one of the most biologically rich ecosystems of the world: the Andean and Chocó forests. We left behind more than 2,000 species of vascular plants, some of them still unknown to the science and probably not found anywhere else.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
In honor of opening weekend at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are dedicating this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
In honor of opening day of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are dedicating this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
