Chock-full of chromosomes
Cabinet of CuriositiesFocus on Science
Behold this fern which has the highest recorded chromosome number of any living…
Season it with Leaves
Culinary herbs are plants with aromatic properties and that are used for…
Seuss-ian Specimens
While the illustrations in books by Dr. Seuss depict fanciful folliage, reality…
The Lemmons: Partners in Botany
Sara Plummer met John Gill Lemmon in 1876 when he came to…
Myanmar Mystery Solved
Working in a Herbarium sometimes requires detective work. This Myanmar mystery started…
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…
From 1920’s adventure narrative to new species –…
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
The amount of time between when a species is first collected and…
Koʻoloaʻula
This Federally Endangered Hibiscus relative with bright red flowers is endemic to…
Typical: Ceratozamia euryphyllidia, the largest type?
Plant specimens come in all shapes and sizes, but they are usually…
NY's Missing Species
When you think of a rare, endangered species, you may think of far-off…
Vanda
Vanda is a tropcial Asian and Australian orchid genus with 85 known…
Ethel Zoe Bailey
Women in ScienceFocus on Science
Ethel Zoe Bailey (1889–1983), was the first curator of the Bailey Hortorium…
Species that Work-from-Home
Like many of you, NYBG herbarium staff are currently working from home…
Naming the Rainbow
Botany uses Latin to describe and name plants, including the Latin words…
Naming the Rainbow: Caeruleum / Blue
The rarest color in nature, caeruleum (Latin for blue), usually indicates a…
Naming the Rainbow: Viridis / Green
Most plants are green, but only a select few have viridis (Latin…
Prairie White Fringed Orchid
Nearly all of the habitat of the endangered Prairie White Fringed Orchid…
Orchids of New York: Fairy Slippers and Dragon…
Although most orchids are found in the tropical mountain systems of the…
Meet Spiranthes bightensis: A New Orchid in Our…
Focus on ScienceSpecimen Stories
Botanists have probably described and named 99% of the plants native to…
A Botanical Tour of Harlem
The New York City neighborhood of Harlem is a center for Black…
Royal Symbols
Plants have been employed as royal symbols through time and across cultures.…
The LGBTQ+ Legacy of NYBG: Out of the…
Herbarium specimens are kept in metal cabinets to protect them from damage.…
Naming the Rainbow: Indicum / Indigo
Indigo, the dark bluish-purple color of blue jeans, is a natural dye…
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis, the moth orchids, are perhaps the most commonly cultivated orchid. With…
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…
Miltonia
Miltonia consists of 20 naturally occuring species and hybrids that are entirely…
Naming the Rainbow: Rubrum / Red
Rubrum, Latin for red, is often used to indicate firey red flowers…
Naming the Rainbow: Flavum / Yellow
Flavum (Latin for yellow) is often used to indicate yellow flowers, hairs, or…
Incised fumewort
A new invasive, this relative of the Bleeding Heart was recently found…
Naming the Rainbow: Coccineum / Scarlet
A close cousin of the color rubrum, coccineum (Latin for scarlet) is…
Vanishing Lakes: Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake is a shallow, highly saline, terminal lake situated in northern…
Dancing Lady Orchids Take Center Stage
Dancing Lady Orchid is the collective common name for the orchid genus…
Botany & Birds: Taking Flight
The exhibition on now at The New York Botanical Garden, is the work of…
Paphiopedilum
Paphiopedilum is genus of slipper orchid found in tropical Asia, from eastern…
Naming the Rainbow: Aurantiaco / Orange
Alas, the Latin name of the sweet orange that makes orange juice…
Vanishing Lakes: Lake Poopó
Lake Poopó is a saline lake in the Altiplano Mountains of Bolivia.…
Naming the Rainbow: Viola / Violet
In an etymological twist, the color violet takes its name from the violet…
Cattleya
Cattleya is a genus of 129 tropcial American orchids distributed from Costa…
NYBG 2021 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plant, fungal, and lichen species from…
Naming the Rainbow: Purpurea / Purple
The deep color purpura, Latin for purple, is commonly used to indicate…
NYBG 2022 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plant, algal, fungal, and lichen…
Honoring the Quechua Language
What's in a name?Specimen Stories
Quechua is a family of indigenous languages spoken by the Quechua peoples of…
Dendrobium
With over 1,800 know species, Dendrobium is one of the 10 most…
NYBG 2023 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plants, algae, fungi, and lichens…
Exploring the Bahamas with Lewis Jones Knight Brace
The Bahamas suffered its worst natural disaster recently as Hurricane Dorian, a…
No Leaves, No Problem!
Although the vast majority of plants have leaves, not all plants do,…
Orchids in your Home!
Orchids are the largest plant family, with over 28,000 known species, and…
NYBG 2024 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plants, algae, fungi, and lichens…
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…
Reindeer Lichens
In this most wonderful time of the year, Christmas is naturally on…
Madagascar periwinkle
Commonly known as Madagascar periwinkle, this member of the dogbane family has…
Alice Eastwood
Alice Eastwood was a self-taught Canadian-American botanist. After graduating from high school…
Plant species named after Alice Eastwood
Several botanists have honored Eastwood's contributions to science by naming new plant…
Love Potions & Charms
Love potions and charms are mentioned countless times throughout literature; from ancient…
Mary Agnes Chase: Mentor, Activist, Botanist
Mary Agnes Chase was a self educated, determined, and influential botanist. Early…
The Three Sisters
Companion planting is the technique of growing plants closely together for mutual…
Pollination after dark
Although sometimes overlooked, bats are vital pollinators for many economically important species…