The Lackluster Major William Rich
Major William Rich was selected to be the botanist on the U. S.…
An Unrequited Botanical Love Story
The love of botany is responsible for both fostering and hindering this…
Botanical Lessons
Botany students must learn the structures of flowers in all their intricate variety.…
Venus flytrap
Even though Venus Fly Traps are widely available as cultivated plants, they…
Carnivorous plants
Cabinet of CuriositiesFocus on Science
Watch out, these plants are hungry! Most carnivorous plants grow in bogs…
The Cactaceae
The Cactaceae was a publication written by the founder of NYBG, Nathaniel Lord Britton…
Jane Colden - America's First Female Botanist
Highly respected among her male peers in the 18th century, Jane Colden…
Corpse Flower
Another famous plant in the Araceae family is the Titan Arum or…
The Lilac Collection
The lilacs are blooming here at the Garden, gracing us with their…
Art Cronquist's Tree: Japanese Wingnut
Recently walking on the NYBG grounds on a lovely spring day just…
July in the Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden is looking lovely right now! Some plants that…
Snap shot of the Rock Garden, circa 1942
NYBG's Rock Garden in the spring is full of treasures that have been documented…
A World of Tulips
Tulip bulbs that have been tucked safely underground all winter are springing…
Fetid Flowers
With names like Stinking Benjamin, Corpse Flower, and Skunk Cabbage; these flowers…
Spider Plant
The spider plant is in the genus Chlorophytum which contains almost 200 species, mostly originating…
Conifers and Mistletoes
Evergreen trees and mistletoe both come to mind when we decorate with holiday…
Skunk Cabbage
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
A locally occuring arum in the northeast U.S., skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus…
Begonias
The genus Begonia contains over 1800 species. They are native to tropical…
Flora Borinqueña
In February 1906, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Britton, founders of The New York…
David Hosack's Elgin Botanic Garden
Elgin Botanic Garden was the first public botanical garden in the United…
John Torrey on Gray's Peak
In 1861 Charles Parry was the first explorer to ascend Gray's Peak…
Where the Gold was First Discovered
Cabinet of CuriositiesExpeditions
Herbarium specimens have been collected at poignant points in history. Major William Rich was…
Climate Research and Herbarium Specimens
Climate research requires lots of data. Data about the conditions on earth now,…
Don't touch
Plants have evolved many ways to protect themselves, from growing barbs that…
Fig family, Moraceae
Ficus carica L., the edible common fig has been cultivated for millenia.…
Frances W. Horne
Frances Horne was an academic, an artist and a botanist. She earned her…
Marantaceae, Arrowroot family
Marantaceae, the Arrowroot family, is thought to have originated in Africa, though much of…
Augustine Henry
Augustine Henry was one of the first and most prolific western botanists to collect in Central China,…
Plants of Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was an artist, a landscape architect and an early…
Carol Gracie: Interpreter of Nature's Stories
Women in ScienceWorks of ArtCollectors
A beloved member of the NYBG community for over 40 years, Carol…
Garden Vegetables
If you're planting your own garden this spring what will you choose to grow?…
Air plants
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
The little air plant in your house that you mist every day could…
Sundews
Sundews. Drosera is the largest genus of carniverous plants, with almost 200…
Addisonia
Addisonia: Colored Illustrations and Popular Descriptions of Plants was a journal published by…
El Yunque
Set foot in El Yunque, the beautiful tropical rain forest in eastern Puerto…
Otto Kuntze
Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze was a german botanist who made expeditions to every…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
The beloved children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar is turning 50! See many of…
Philodendron
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
Greek: Philo- (love) dendron (tree) There are close to 500 species of…
Fancy Foliage
Where did that sweet little potted plant sitting on your window sill…
Floating Flowers
If you're staying cool this summer in your favorite swimming hole, here are…
The Azalea Garden
Always a destination for Mother's Day, the Azalea Garden is a spring…
Daffodils are blooming!
It's springtime and the daffodils are blooming outside! In the herbarium, these…
Mary Emily Eaton
Mary Emily Eaton was an accomplished natural history illustrator employed at the…
Ghost Forests of the Mid-Atlantic
One of the most visually apparent impacts of climate change are the emerging…
The Brittons: Partners in Life and Botany
The establishment of The New York Botanical Garden was the result of…
Jeanne Baret
CollectorsWomen in ScienceExpeditions
Jeanne Baret was the first woman ever to circumnavigate the globe, but…
Three Thousand Miles up the Amazon
At the age of 61, Ynés Mexía embarked on the adventure of…
Sticky Rice
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
A couple of years ago I was asked by Michael Purugganan (Dean…
Mystery Tree of Rondônia
In September 2019 I went to Rondônia state in Brazil in the…
Traditional Medicine: Momordica charantia
Momordica charantia L. is a plant species that is used in the…
Thomas Gaither - Activist and Biologist
Dr. Thomas Walter Gaither (1938 - ) was born in Great Falls, South…
Christmas Lichen
Specimen StoriesCabinet of Curiosities
This bright-colored lichen is called the 'Christmas Lichen' because of its bright…
Old Man's Beard
This lichen grows as an epiphyte on trees. They require clean air,…
Wolf lichen
The Wolf Lichen is one of the most showy North American lichens,…
Smooth rock tripe
This Umbilicaria species is regarded to be one of the largest lichens…
Giant puffball
This spectacular giant puffball can be found in meadows, fields and forests…
Discovering a Darwin Collection
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
In the museum world, there's a sort of joke that you never…
Mushroom Paintings
When mycologists collect mushrooms or other fungal fruiting bodies, it's important to…
Jean Baptiste François Bulliard
Jean Baptiste François Bulliard was French physician and botanist, especially interested in fungi.…
Pertusaria andersoniae
Specimen StoriesWomen in Science
Some of our herbarium specimens are of incredibly rare species. This is…