Naming the Rainbow: Viola / Violet
In an etymological twist, the color violet takes its name from the violet…
Naming the Rainbow: Purpurea / Purple
The deep color purpura, Latin for purple, is commonly used to indicate…
Bigelow's mushroom photographs
In the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden there are over 30,000…
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…
Sarah “Sadie” Frances Price
Sarah “Sadie” Frances Price (1849-1903) was one of Kentucky’s most esteemed botanical…
Caroline Coventry Haynes
Caroline Coventry Haynes (1858-1951) is best known for her significant contributions to…
Gertrude Simmons Burlingham
Gertrude Simmons Burlingham (1872-1952) was an American mycologist who specialized in the…
Women in Cryptogamic Botany
As scientific perspectives of the Enlightenment movement fostered enthusiasm surrounding the acquisition…
Josephine Elizabeth Tilden
Josephine Elizabeth Tilden (1869-1957) was one of few women allowed a faculty…
Elke Mackenzie (I.M. Lamb)
The work and dedication of Elke Mackenzie (1911-1990) is critical to our…
Clara Eaton Cummings
Clara E. Cummings (1855-1906) was a cryptogamic botanist who focused primarily on…
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…
Label Appreciation: Favorites
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
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…
Follow a 1910 Botanical Expedition through Western Cuba
The United States entered the Spanish American War in April of 1898.…
Views from a 1910 Botanical Expedition through Western…
New York Botanical Garden led around 136 botanical expeditions between 1898 and 1918.…
Polka-dot Ferns
Unlike flowering plants, ferns reproduce with spores instead of seeds. Fern spores…
Sister Mary Clare Metz: Faith and Flora
While digitizing specimens for the Texas and Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria,…
Elizabeth Knight Britton's Expeditions and Honors
When the Garden began a series of expeditions to the Caribbean during…
Elizabeth Knight Britton's Childhood in Cuba
Elizabeth Knight Britton’s grandfather James Knight owned a sugar plantation and a…
Elizabeth Knight Britton's Legacy in Cuba
Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton’s career as a bryologist and her central role…
Elizabeth Knight Britton's Early Career
Elizabeth Knight Britton went on to complete her schooling at the Normal…
Rooted in Plants: An Interview with Arvolyn Hill
Arvolyn Hill is the Family Programs Coordinator at the Everett Children’s Adventure…
Thomas Gaither - Activist and Biologist
Dr. Thomas Walter Gaither (1938 - ) was born in Great Falls, South…
Reindeer Lichens
In this most wonderful time of the year, Christmas is naturally on…
Conifers and Mistletoes
Evergreen trees and mistletoe both come to mind when we decorate with holiday…
"Posy" Dodge, an Exemplary Citizen Scientist
In an age of growing efforts to engage the public in research…
Flora Borinqueña
In February 1906, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Britton, founders of The New York…
Brown and Beautiful
Whether naturally brown, or turning brown during the preservation steps needed to create herbarium…
Creepy Cultivars
The word "cultivar" is a blend of the words "cultivated" and "variety".…
Extraordinary Oak Leaves
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
Oak trees are a familiar sight to people all around the world,…
The Three Sisters
Companion planting is the technique of growing plants closely together for mutual…
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…
Rainbow of Plant Dyes
People have been dyeing their clothing with plants since ancient times. All around…
Greetings from Camp
Even if you have never attended a sleepaway summer camp, chances are you've gotten a…
Label Appreciation: Borders
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
Arthonia stevensoniana
Arthonia etymology unknown stevensoniana from Stevenson, honoring Robert Louis Stevenson, author of…
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…
Octopodotus stupendus
Octopodotus from octopus and the Greek suffix–otus, indicating resemblance, because of the…
Sticky Rice
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
A couple of years ago I was asked by Michael Purugganan (Dean…
Exploring the Conservation Status of Jamaican Root Tonic…
Jamaican root tonics are fermented beverages composed of roots, bark, and other…
A World of Tulips
Tulip bulbs that have been tucked safely underground all winter are springing…
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…
Garden Vegetables
If you're planting your own garden this spring what will you choose to grow?…
Draw and Create Specimen Challenge
Herbarium specimens are an important piece of a larger puzzle; helping people…
Plant Inspired Innovations: Nepenthes and Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous…
Most plants absorb nutrients from the soil through their roots. Carnivorous plants…
Wild Cinnamon
Although not related to true cinnamon, Cinnamodendron corticosum is a similar spice tree.…
Picnic in Central Park
Since its completion in 1876, Central Park has been a favorite destination…
Snap shot of the Rock Garden, circa 1942
NYBG's Rock Garden in the spring is full of treasures that have been documented…
Palm Patterns
Creating specimens of palms pose a challenge to collectors—how best to trim, arrange,…
Understanding Interactions: Taking Botany Out of Isolation
For centuries we have viewed plants and fungi in isolation. Tried to…
Jane Colden - America's First Female Botanist
Highly respected among her male peers in the 18th century, Jane Colden…