Written specifically for the horticultural student, this new text presents an ideal introduction to botany for the non-science major. The book’s systematic organization around the five-kingdom system effectively covers the botanical basics, while the many illustrations make new scientific concepts easy to understand. By clearly presenting such topics as respiration, fermentation, photosynthesis, and physical properties of protoplasm, the text builds a solid biological foundation for further...Read Full Story
Thought I'd start with some of my own photos today and show you how some of my babies are coming along, starting with the random assortment of species Pelargoniums from South Africa, the first two of which I pricked out today, putting them straight into the humid cloche as they'd come from a sealed unit. A pelargonium (copyright Chris Mackay) And the Gallery Dwarf Lupin hybrids are tanking along, which is gratifying with the winter approaching Dwarf Lupin showing true leaf (copyright Chris...Read Full Story
Rhododendron floccigerum Rhododendron griersonianum Rhododendron hyperythrum Today those lovely, nay indispensible, people at Chilterns Seeds delivered packets of fun from Rhododendrons at Muncaster Castle in the Lake District, the seeds having been collected from the original specimens planted there from collections made in the Far East in the late 18th century by such luminaries as Forrest and Kingdon Ward. I went for R. yunnanense on the premise that it is a very common parent in modern...Read Full Story
It's always fun to get parcels in the post because if you're me it's either a rare record or some plants or seeds. It's even better when you can't remember ordering them, although the contents, Iris magnifica, Fritillaria elwesii and Crocus "Remembrance" are exactly the sort of thing I would order. Hopefully one day they will look like this (apologies to copyright holders) F. elwesii I...Read Full Story
I'll be using this blog to ramble excitedly about my botanical exploits: what I'm growing, what I'm sowing and what I'm blowing. Today I sowed seeds of Tulipa turkestana, Fritillaria meleagris, Iris douglasiana hybrids, Verbascum phoeniceum mixed hybrids and Lilium canadense. About 100 Dianthus knappii have burst through in literally three days, as have Digitalis ferruginea gigantea, and I've managed to root 2 of 4 cuttings of Dahlia Bishop of Landaff. Although they are covered in mildew (as...Read Full Story
The Brazilian plant Philcoxia minensis feasts on nematode worms — making this spindly plant the first known to trap its prey using sticky leaves buried underground.Philcoxia (pictured) grows in the white, nutrient-poor sands of the Brazilian Cerrado, a biodiversity hot
A team of researchers has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts. The discovery shows that plants evolved a new function for this enzyme by changing merely one of its protein building blocks.
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has appealed to the Pakistani government to release more than 4,000 copies of a botany text book destined for Afghanistan. The 10 tonnes of books have been ...
Almost all of us who visit museums do so to be educated and entertained. We enjoy those big dinosaur skeletons, the scenic dioramas, the mounted animals and birds, the working models of physics principles and the explanatory posters. We also ...
This just in: Spencer Stephenson is also dropping a new song with two members of Fleet Foxes.
Although Spencer Stephenson is now the one-man group named Botany, his story begins with the beloved Denton band Sleep Whale. Sleep Whale was Stephenson's favorite band, at the time a duo band called Mom. The band then changed its name to Sleep Whale, added vocalist Paul North, and a...