… know the extent that urban areas impact native bees. My research at the Chicago Botanic Garden is investigating how urban areas may affect native bees in Chicago. Chicago is an ideal city to study the impact of urbanization on native bees because the intensity of … that attract and capture the bees. Secondly, we use a butterfly net to capture bees at the site throughout the day. When we are finished sampling, the bees are taken back to the lab at the …
Type: Blog
… When it comes to controlling invasive plants, a little faith can’t hurt. This is particularly true for garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). We have been struggling to get … observations circulating in the Chicago region regarding a possible disease that apparently is having a significant negative effect on garlic mustard (see woodsandprairie.blogspot.com ). Observers have reported an almost complete absence of garlic mustard in areas that are …
Type: Blog
… Grounds supervisor. Melecio supervises four regular employees and 43 seasonal employees, and is responsible for general grounds maintenance, major event support (set up and tear down), and the landscape waste program. He is an expert equipment operator and trains staff and volunteers in safety and equipment …
Type: Staff bio
… in science to pursue careers in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math. Divine, who is from the Chicago neighborhood of Ashburn, will be a freshman at Lindblom Math and Science Academy next year. Another participant, Alexis, who is from Little Village, begins his freshman year at Northside College Preparatory High School in … recommended that she apply to the program, which seemed a perfect fit—her interest in science is rooted in the books she read as a child. Divine has always loved reading and would sometimes …
Type: Blog
… air and from the leaf litter in the tree niche it inhabits. Orchid Roots Are Adventitious That is, an orchid’s roots can grow along the stem of the plant, not just out of the bottom of it. The … removed from the mother plant along with their own set of adventitious roots. The White Stuff Is Velamen An aerial root should look fleshy and green; the white coating that covers it is called the velamen. Thin and rather papery, but spongy and protective, it’s a one-way water …
Type: Blog
… graduate program run by Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Flower timing is critical for many reasons. For the earliest of the spring bloomers, earlier flowering provides … spring blooms known as ephemerals, these early foragers would go hungry because nothing else is in bloom. In return for pollen and nectar, bees and other pollinators move pollen from flower … us a better understanding for how certain plant species will respond to climate change, which is signaling many plant species to flower earlier than in the past. Samantha Danguilan is a …
Type: Blog
… the Garden's research capacity to address priority management needs. Ultimately, our goal is to play a leading role in supporting the conservation, management, and restoration of native … agricultural ecosystems and to train the next generation of scientists. Much of my research is carried out with students as part of the Garden’s graduate program in Plant Biology and … opportunities to learn how to care for and understand natural areas. Our natural areas team is working to make natural history data on Mary Mix McDonald Woods available - the following …
Type: Staff bio
… watercolor paintings of flowers and insects, embroidery patterns, and copper engravings, she is also credited with being the founder of German entomology. At age 13 she began studying the … century. Nine species of butterflies, six plants, and two beetles were named for her. She is still a well-known historic figure today and is represented on the 500 deutsche mark banknote and a German postage stamp; she was the subject …
Type: Blog
… diversity of fossil plants and animals. The Early Cretaceous of Mongolia in particular is well known for its fossil dinosaurs and other vertebrates, but fossil plants from Mongolia are … and China that are yielding new, exceptionally well-preserved fossil seed plants. Our goal is to understand the diversity and evolutionary implications of these fossil plants. The fossils … and Cretaceous age “whole plants” from multiple co-occurring fossil organs. Our research is adding significantly to knowledge about extinct seed plants during the Jurassic and Early …
Type: Staff bio
… scientist who invented dozens of products for peanuts. What’s most important about his story is why he devoted so much time and ingenuity to peanuts and how he did so much more than make a … and Marie Clark Taylor, who studied how light affects plant growth). Instead, this snapshot is devoted to celebrating how one humble scientist used his botanical superpowers to solve a real-world problem. It is a story about successfully tackling agricultural sustainability and economic stability at the …
Type: Blog
