Honoring the Quechua Language
What's in a name?Specimen Stories
Quechua is a family of indigenous languages spoken by the Quechua peoples of…
The Case for Coevolution
Focus on ScienceCabinet of Curiosities
Charles Darwin’s keen observations of the natural world famously yielded predictions about…
Cultivation and Ecology of Dates
The date palm requires ample sunlight, high temperatures (though it can survive…
The Nourishing Power of Dates
As the Islamic month of fasting – Ramadan – comes to a…
Date Syrup Jallab
There are many recipes featuring dates and their byproducts across many cultures,…
Ethnobotanical Uses of Dates
Although eating the fruit may be the most well-known use of the…
NYBG 2023 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plants, algae, fungi, and lichens…
A Vanilla Voyage: Exploring the Spice's Legacy in…
Vanilla planifolia, commonly known as vanilla, is one of the most instantly…
Queer Love Lives in Hyacinth
The flowering period of hyacinth may have passed, but their celebration continues…
Botany & Birds: Taking Flight
The exhibition on now at The New York Botanical Garden, is the work of…
Fruits of Rosaceae
Flowering plants differ from all other plants by producing seeds within fruits;…
Pilostyles
Upon first glance, this mounted specimen may seem nothing more than an…
Botanical Ragtime
Artists find inspiration from an infinite number of sources, and many artists…
Black Pepper: King of Spices
It’s hard to imagine entering a diner, sitting down on the shiny…
NAACP member J. E. Spingarn and the Clematis…
Joel Elias Spingarn (May 17, 1875 - July 26, 1939) was a…
Vanda
Vanda is a tropcial Asian and Australian orchid genus with 85 known…
Orchids in your Home!
Orchids are the largest plant family, with over 28,000 known species, and…
Miltonia
Miltonia consists of 20 naturally occuring species and hybrids that are entirely…
Paphiopedilum
Paphiopedilum is genus of slipper orchid found in tropical Asia, from eastern…
Cattleya
Cattleya is a genus of 129 tropcial American orchids distributed from Costa…
Dendrobium
With over 1,800 know species, Dendrobium is one of the 10 most…
NYBG 2022 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plant, algal, fungal, and lichen…
Remembrances of Yours
There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies,that’s…
Be All My Sins Remembered
Up until this point, Ophelia has lived a rather charmed life –…
Ophelia’s Flowers
Shakespeare never visited the crown prince Hamlet’s home on the east coast of…
Ginger and Chiya
Ginger, also known as Zingiber officinale is native to tropical climates like…
Aloe: The Plant of Many Wonders
Aloe vera is one of the over 300 species of Aloe belonging…
Curious Indigo
Indigo: a profound shade of blue sourced from nature’s color palette; A…
The Herbarium of Endangerment: Cycas riuminiana
Cycads carry significance as “living fossils,” existing in a way that is…
The Herbarium of Endangerment: Eugenia koolauensis
Many Latin plant names feature the intersection of imperial European botany and…
The Herbarium of Endangerment: Tahina spectabilis
This more “newly discovered” plant was given its Latin name in 2008,…
The Herbarium of Endangerment: A Digital Display of…
“Behind all scientific names are the stories of their objects, of the…
The Herbarium of Endangerment: Vanilla planifolia
One may be most familiar with vanilla’s taste and aroma. The fruit…
Royal Symbols
Plants have been employed as royal symbols through time and across cultures.…
A World of Botanical Illustrations: Japanese plants referenced…
For decades, Studio Ghibli Inc. has been revered as one of the…
Ethel Zoe Bailey
Women in ScienceFocus on Science
Ethel Zoe Bailey (1889–1983), was the first curator of the Bailey Hortorium…
Okra’s journey to the United States
Many culinary delights that Americans enjoy today, especially in the Southern United…
A Botanical Tour of Harlem
The New York City neighborhood of Harlem is a center for Black…
NYBG 2021 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plant, fungal, and lichen species from…
El Yunque
Set foot in El Yunque, the beautiful tropical rain forest in eastern Puerto…
Vampires Among Us: The Ghost Pipe Plant
Did you know that some plants lack chlorophyll? Often confused for a…
Leaves of three, let it be!
If you enjoy spending time outdoors, you surely have heard the age-old…
Fire Island: Preserving a Unique Ecological & Cultural…
On a geological time scale, barrier islands are by definition impermanent, ever-changing,…
Meet Spiranthes bightensis: A New Orchid in Our…
Focus on ScienceSpecimen Stories
Botanists have probably described and named 99% of the plants native to…
Rooted in Plants: An Interview with Arvolyn Hill
Arvolyn Hill is the Family Programs Coordinator at the Everett Children’s Adventure…
Conifers and Mistletoes
Evergreen trees and mistletoe both come to mind when we decorate with holiday…
Brown and Beautiful
Whether naturally brown, or turning brown during the preservation steps needed to create herbarium…
Extraordinary Oak Leaves
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
Oak trees are a familiar sight to people all around the world,…
The Sacred Plant of Peru: The San Pedro…
For thousands of years, the indigenous people of Peruvian Amazon have used…
Traditional Medicine: Momordica charantia
Momordica charantia L. is a plant species that is used in the…
Greetings from Camp
Even if you have never attended a sleepaway summer camp, chances are you've gotten a…
Modern Art
Herbarium specimens play an important part in plant science research. But the specimens themselves can…
Mystery Tree of Rondônia
In September 2019 I went to Rondônia state in Brazil in the…
Sticky Rice
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
A couple of years ago I was asked by Michael Purugganan (Dean…
The Tecate Cypress: What a Tangled Web
While working as a digitization intern, one of the most pleasing features…
Kate Furbish and the Flora of Maine
Catherine Furbish was born in 1834 in Exeter, New Hampshire. From an…
Virtual Road Trip: Southern Wildflowers
Many Americans are currently practicing social distancing and self-quarantine as a way…
Pollination after dark
Although sometimes overlooked, bats are vital pollinators for many economically important species…
Plant Inspired Innovations: Nepenthes and Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous…
Most plants absorb nutrients from the soil through their roots. Carnivorous plants…
Picnic in Central Park
Since its completion in 1876, Central Park has been a favorite destination…