… tarragon ( Artemisia dracunculus ) has silvery leaves and an anise-like flavor, but basil is the king of herbs, beloved by all. It’s such a crowd-pleaser that we’re giving away Napoletano … fish,” says Tankersley. “Please let there be driftwood available!” Beautiful in bloom, dill is delicious as a fresh herb, or use the seeds as part of a pickle. Dill is also known to help soothe upset stomachs and relieve insomnia. “Although the sound of waves on …
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… framework. Asian plants enrich our tables as well. The list of culinary vegetables from Asia is exhaustive. Wheat and barley originated in western Asia, and rice in the east. Fruits include … domesticated apples trace back to central Asian species. One of the Garden’s core values is the belief that beautiful gardens and natural environments are fundamentally important to the … from genetic resources. The ethical collection and propagation of plants from other places is a form of what’s termed ex situ conservation that many public gardens, including the Chicago …
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… on to other projects. One important thing I must mention: technically speaking, this mixture is not truly soil. Soil is the upper layer of material on the Earth that serves as an ideal medium for growing plants. It … and affect other properties of the mixture. The substance we would find on the surface of Mars is called regolith , which is mineral particles that result from weathering of rocks. Since my …
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… talks about guiding students away from their electronic devices and into the plant world. It is a pretty spring day. The sun shines through my office window, illuminating the old and worn photo on my desk. With the image is a handwritten note: “1912 photo of Bucknell botany class field trip.” Twenty-nine formally … exhibition. But then I notice something: nearly every one of them—instead of looking up—is looking down. Their attention is on the smartphones in their hands; they appear to be unaware …
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… enthusiasts, we often focus on how plants are affected by their environments. Their growth is affected by weather, water, nutrients, etc. But the plant-environment relationship is a two-way street, and plants can have a strong influence on the habitats they live in. We might experience this by walking in a forest and feeling ground beneath our feet that is spongy from the buildup of slowly decaying leaves that accumulated over decades or centuries. …
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… Pondering the Prairie Series A weevil is a type of beetle. It typically has an elongated head that appears as a snout. In fact, its other name is snout beetle. Weevils, or snout beetles, make up what many believe to be the largest family of … weevils in a blog that features prairie plants? The relationship between plants and insects is a very close one. Insects can be very beneficial to plants, as pollinators, or very …
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… As an active leader in international research collaborations, the Chicago Botanic Garden is participating in an initiative to set the stage for new partnerships. Patrick Herendeen, Ph.D. … from both countries together to explore research techniques and opportunities. (Systematics is the branch of biology that aims to understand the diversity of life and relationships among … Ph.D. , chief scientist at the Garden, also attended and spoke at the workshop. “There is an ongoing and increased interest in collaboration,” he said. “Chinese science is very …
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… about the coming bloom from the docents posted there, one of the most frequently ask questions is, “How could you tell this time that Spike was a flower?” How could we tell that Spike was … Even the most experienced botanists have a hard time determining whether a titan arum shoot is a flower or a leaf at first. But soon enough, the clues start to add up. An Amorphophallus … titanum plant looks leafy, unlike the smooth spadix that emerges from a flower bud. Spike is 12 years old. We know from other botanic gardens and conservatories that titan arums take a …
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… Sunshine is the latest corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden to bloom. A member of the Aroid plant … ( Arisaema triphyllum ) Skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus ) Photo by Jacob Burns Not only is it widespread, the members are also adapted to a number of environments from hot, humid … forests; temperate and tropical wetlands; Mediterranean climates; and deserts. The Araceae is one of the larger plant families, containing 117 different genera. The Garden features 27 of …
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… made of sugars. Even plant cell walls are composed of a substance called cellulose , which is a compound sugar. Sugars from plants are the basis of our food chain. Our favorite dietary … from, let’s use some sucrose to make a treat. The common sugar beet, Beta vulgaris (this one is cultivar ‘Bull’s Blood’), is the source of our refined white sugar—not sugarcane! How to Make Rock (Sugar) Candy Rock candy …
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