Roses are Red, Sometimes Green, but Always the…
Roses are one of the world’s most beloved blooms, with millions of…
Exploring the Art of Paper Making
From its use of local and natural materials, the methods and artistry…
Orchids of Mexico!
Mexico is a 'mega' biodiversity hotspot, and it is particularly rich in…
Epidendrum of Mexico!
Epidendrum is one of the largest of all plant genera in addition to…
Spiranthinae of Mexico!
The orchid family is so diverse, researchers find it helpful to give…
Stanhopea of Mexico!
Stanhopea are amongst the most impressive and beautiful of all orchids, with…
Pleurothallid orchids of Mexico!
The Pleurothallid orchids are a clade of related genera, meaning they are…
Orchids Named for Mexico!
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
Scientific names for plants can indicate a number of different attributes, including…
Prosthechea of Mexico!
Prosthechea is a large tropcial American genus of 125 known species, occuring…
NYBG 2024 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plants, algae, fungi, and lichens…
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…
Ancestral Achiote
In many Caribbean and Latin American households, most of us have known…
Eggplant
The eggplant, also known as aubergine (Solanum melongena), has no official date…
Sweetsop vs. Soursop: A Great Distinction
The Annonaceae family is the largest plant family within the Magnoliales. The…
Queer Love Lives in Hyacinth
The flowering period of hyacinth may have passed, but their celebration continues…
Bean-boozled
Cosmopolitan has a long-standing journalistic reputation for getting straight to the heart…
Botany & Birds: Taking Flight
The exhibition on now at The New York Botanical Garden, is the work of…
Isabella Aiona Abbott: First Lady of Limu
Before Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott became the first Native Hawaiian woman to…
Fruits of Rosaceae
Flowering plants differ from all other plants by producing seeds within fruits;…
Trust in the Crust
earth /ˈərth/noun1) the planet on which we live; the world2) the substance…
Biocrusts of Cold Drylands
The default image that comes to mind when thinking of deserts is…
Biocrusts in Disturbed Areas
Our crusty companions play many imperative restoration roles in disturbed habitats, as…
Biocrusts of Hot Drylands
Hot deserts are found on all continents except Antarctica and Europe. In…
Vanishing Lakes: Tulare Lake
The California Central Valley was once a matrix of riparian grasslands and…
Vanishing Lakes: Owens Lake
The drying of Owens Lake is a human-made catastrophe. In 1913, the…
Vanishing Lakes: Salton Sea
Ingloriously described as “the biggest environmental disaster in California history,” and a…
Vanishing Lakes: Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake is a shallow, highly saline, terminal lake situated in northern…