Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on June 24 2015, by Matt Newman
Our cocoa tree is fruiting for the summer in the Haupt Conservatory. Keep an eye out for it when you stop by to see the Casa Azul installation.
Cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 23 2013, by Matt Newman
Nifty Wild Medicine factoid: it’s been found that residents of the islands east of Panama, who drink a lightly-processed cocoa beverage up to five times a day, are almost entirely free of hypertension. Researchers lean toward the chocolate as a prime suspect in this discovery, though I’m guessing most of us don’t need a peer-reviewed report to justify buying ourselves a treat now and then. Just remember to go for the real thing—at least 70% cacao!
Check out our cacao-focused table in the Conservatory when you visit, and be sure to keep an eye out for the pods growing in our cacao trees.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Gardens and Collections on February 6 2013, by Scott Mori
Scott A. Mori, Ph.D., Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany, has been studying New World rain forests at The New York Botanical Garden for 35 years. From 1978 to 1980 he took a leave from the Garden to serve as the Director of the Herbarium of the Cocoa Research Center in Bahia, Brazil.
On a previous blog, I covered the natural history of chocolate but failed to admit my addiction to this melt-in-your-mouth delight. This problem of mine has reached the point where I have asked my wife to hide it from me, and then only dole out small portions on special occasions. Nevertheless, I still scheme to get more chocolate from her. But she has become familiar with my tactics as the years have passed, making extra rations almost impossible to get my hands on.
Of course, chocolate doesn’t begin as the confection we know and love. The fruits of the cacao tree produce two edible treats for humans–the first is the pulp that surrounds the seed and the second is the bitter seed that, after processing, becomes the source of our favorite chocolate. Although the pulp can be made into a delicious juice, I usually open the pods and suck the pulp from the seeds to quench my thirst and boost my energy when I am collecting plants in the field. The pulp is the reward given to monkeys and other animals in exchange for disseminating the seeds, carrying them from the mother tree to a place where they have a better chance to germinate and escape predation. On the other hand, animals do not eat the seeds because they are too bitter.
Posted in Science on January 30 2013, by Christian Primeau
Christian Primeau is the NYBG‘s Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
An ex-girlfriend once observed in my presence: “Chocolate and men… some things are just better rich.” Understandably, she didn’t last long. Between the basic cable package and my favorite old jeans with the hole in the knee, I figure our relationship was more than her soul could endure. But let’s be honest–you don’t have to be a millionaire to make your significant other truly happy this Valentine’s Day. Money may not buy love, but–and it pains me to say it–she was right about one thing: the chocolate. Go ahead and upgrade the cable package, because you’ll be spending plenty of time on the living room couch if you forget to pick up the good stuff.
Once you’ve secured a delicious prize for your sweetheart, what better way to accumulate a few extra points than regaling them with the epic story of chocolate; its fantastic history and that mysterious process by which cacao makes its way from the deepest rain forests to that cellophane-wrapped, heart-shaped box gathering dust on the shelf of your local drug store? The object of your desire will undoubtedly wonder at your knowledge of obscure things and immediately find you more intriguing. You’re welcome in advance, friends.