… the Grounds department since 1991, when he started out as a seasonal employee. He was promoted to Grounds crew leader in 2009. Patino has broad expertise in landscaping, particularly in … Also, Patino is the lead employee on the team that puts outdoor lights on the large trees for Wonderland Express, a task that takes him more than 240 hours every fall. Patino grew up in …
Type: Staff bio
… I am the Managing Ecologist for the prairie and river at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The natural areas I maintain at the … and the 22-acre riparian buffer of the Skokie River. Management includes but not limited to, removal of invasive species, controlled burns, tree removal, planting local genotype plants, …
Type: Staff bio
… flowers can be found in patriotic shades of red and white, the color blue is very difficult to find at the Garden. In fact, blue is a rare sight in the entire natural world. Less than ten … the plant kingdom features blue flowers, which is extraordinary, since pollinators don’t seem to have a problem with them. Scientists have been investigating the origins of blue flowers for a long time, and it was not until recently that they came up with a result. Blue sea holly ( …
Type: Blog
… the Chicago Botanic Garden is working with international collaborators in Southeast Asia to study the distribution and evolution of an economically important group of plants. With … and mulberries (Moraceae). Artocarpus contains numerous economically important species (grown for timber and fruit) native to Southeast Asia. Two species, jackfruit and breadfruit, are cultivated throughout the tropics. …
Type: Research
… but what it means is that this endangered species can handle urban environments. Now we need to figure out why that is and what we can do,” said Gruver. Gruver’s research will improve conservation efforts to promote healthy native bee populations in urban environments, especially for rare and threatened species. …
Type: Research
… In fact, its other name is snout beetle. Weevils, or snout beetles, make up what many believe to be the largest family of insects in the world—estimated at almost 40,000 species. The majority … relationship between plants and insects is a very close one. Insects can be very beneficial to plants, as pollinators, or very destructive to plants, which is the basis of the weevil … sense if you have some background on the life of these two groups of prairie plants. Look for the white-and-cream wild indigos in a prairie near you—they are blooming now. Of course you …
Type: Blog
… from late spring through frost. This water-wise selection only needs sufficient water to establish the root system, with supplemental water thereafter during extreme droughts. Cosmos …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… regulate plant species abundance and community composition has been a long-standing endeavor for ecologists, especially in restoration. Traditionally, this issue has been examined using a … into urban soils and former agricultural fields. These communities are ideal systems in which to tease apart the relative contributions of microbes, soil conditions, and plant species in … Studies include linking soil microbial, mycorrhizal abundance, and physicochemical factors to the plant community over a restoration chronosequence and testing the effects of soil …
Type: Research
… the threats posed by seed or plant predation from biological control agents released to control exotic thistles (weevils Rhinocyllus conicus, Larinus carlinae, and Cleonis pigra ) as … southern edge of the species range, causes fluctuations in overall population size in response to lake level dynamics, and may cause the decline in pollination services rendered by native … populations that span its range. We are synthesizing range-wide population monitoring data for Cirsium pitcheri that has been collected over the last 35 years by a variety of researchers. …
Type: Research
… When plants are introduced to a new location, either intentionally or accidentally, they can spread prolifically, out-compete native species for resources, and eventually even dominate the landscape. Biologists are studying the mechanisms underlying a taxon’s ability to become invasive, but it can be difficult to predict whether or not a species will become …
Type: Research
