For those in the know – The New York Botanical Gardens – is a truly magical place to get lost in or even find yourself in ! For me after working all week with plants – guess where you will often find me – they also have a bar and a great restaurant ! […]
Nomenclature
What is it ? The word nomenclature is derived from the Latin nomen (‘name‘), and calare (‘to call’). It is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. In Botany – it is they way we identify a particular plant species or variety. It is also related […]
Happy Happy Holidays
We would like to revisit a favorite Garden poem by Sara Coleridge. The Garden Year January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again. March brings breezes, loud and shrill, To stir the dancing daffodil. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at […]
What is an Heirloom plant anyway ?
Have you ever been in a restaurant and they offer your heirloom tomatoes or heirloom potatoes and you wondered what the heck that even means ( but felt too silly to ask ). An Heirloom Blue potato – yum ! Well wonder no more ! From hear on in you will be the […]
SENESCENCE AND MARCESCENS
Normal Leaf drop Usually, older leaves throughout the plant turn yellow to straw colored, then drop. The plants may look as if in decline but will fill up with new green leaves as new growth continues. The change in coloration is always the clue! A gradual color change progression is normal in natural […]
Husbandry
Husbandry in Ants Husbandry is the practice by many ants to farm, care for, tend to, and otherwise raise other insects like humans do with livestock. It’s a really amazing product of evolution ! They also perform a rudimentary farming by collecting fungi for food which they feed little bits of leaves ! […]
PARTHENOCARPIA
What is in a name ? Parthenocarpia is a scientific word derived from classical Greek – Parthenos (virgin) + Karpos (fruit). It refers to fruit that can grow and mature without any viable seeds inside. Fertilization triggers the formation of an embryo (inside the seed). In plants this releases hormones which are responsible for […]
CELLS
Plant vs Animal cells Plants, like animals, have eukaryotic cells – meaning they possess a defined nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Although they share many common features, they have 2 main differences. First, plant cells have a cell wall that surrounds the cell membrane – animal cells do not. This allows them to form an […]
MORPHOLOGY
The shape of things “Morphology” – from the Ancient Greek – (morphḗ) meaning “form”, and (lógos) meaning “study”. In Botany it is used to classify plants based on the shape of their parts. Why pay attention ? What a plant looks like can give hints as to where it evolved and therefore […]
