"Benefitting pollinators" is a phrase that gets used a lot, especially in gardening circles. While most of us will agree with the sentiment, what does it mean in practice? How does one "benefit" pollinators in their community? There are a lot of great ways to do this, especially when it comes to native plants, but finding good, digestible informati…

Restoring healthy wetlands isn't an easy task. Often times, altered hydrologic cycles means wetlands no long act like they once did. Nevertheless, the many ecological and cultural benefits of functioning wetlands means that wetland restoration is certainly worth the time, money, and effort. Join me and Dr. Gary Sullivan of The Wetlands Initiative a…

Healthy wetlands are vital to maintaining biodiversity and a healthy way of life for us. Sadly, we haven't always treated wetlands like the essential habitats that they are. While protecting natural wetlands is a must, we also need to understand how to restore them and plants play a major role in such efforts. Join me and Katie Kucera of The Wetlan…

Pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys) produces no leaves nor any chlorophyl. It “eats” fungi and can be found growing in many areas around the globe. It flowers in spring, fall, and summer and noby really knows if it is a single species or many. Despite its uniqueness, relatively little scientific attention has been paid to this little parasitic plant. Joi…

The Adirondack Mountains are home to a remarkable diversity of plant species. Situated in northern New York, these mountains are harsh enough that they foster a thriving alpine community. Despite their ability to handle some of the worst weather conditions, alpine plants can be quite sensitive to human traffic. With more and more people flocking to…

Variegation among leaves is a fascinating phenomenon. Though plant breeders have accentuated this trait in a variety of cultivated plants, variegation does occur naturally as well. Its function isn't well understood for most species either. Such is the case for two species of wild ginger in the genus Hexastylis. Join me and Dr. Cierra Sullivan as w…

Fossils offer some of the best evidence of how diverse various branches of the tree of life once were. They help us understand speciation and extinction as well as biogeography. Dr. Steve Manchester has spent much of his career using fossilized seeds to understand the ancient histories of flowering plants such as the walnut family (Juglandaceae). J…

Sedges are a complex group of plants in the family Cyperaceae. Within this family lies the genus Carex, which boasts ~2000 species found in all kinds of habitats. From specialists to generalists, there seems to be no lifestyle the sedges have not experimented with. But how did all this sedge diversity come to be? That is the question Dr. Andrew Hip…

The grape family (Vitaceae) is known and appreciated the world over, largely for their culinary value. Ecologically speaking, they are very important plants as well. However, we know very little about their origin, evolution, and rates of extinction. Thanks to some lucky paleobotanical finds, that story has become a bit clearer in recent times. Joi…

Plant conservation isn't easy work, but it is vital to maintaining ecosystem health. Nowhere is this more apparent than in extreme environments like beach dunes and deserts. Join me and plant conservationist Emily Guinan as we explore some of her adventures in plant conservation. This episode was produced in part by David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, …

Join Dr. Sarah Allen and me as we journey back in time to the Eocene. Earth was a very different planet some 49 million years ago. Though we may recognize some Eocene flora, the combination of various plant lineages would be enough to make your head spin. Earth was experiencing a warming period and the plants had responded accordingly. Tropical spe…

The High Arctic is not a place you go looking for forests today. It is extremely harsh, cold, and nearly void of most forms of plant life. However, that has not always been the case. The Eocene Epoch was a period where Earth was much hotter than it is today and forests flourished at the poles. This is also when much of the flora we know and love to…

Deserts are difficult places for any organism to survive, let alone plants. Despite the challenges, rich a unique floras have evolved in deserts all over the world which support myriad other forms of life. Restoring these communities in human-disturbed areas is critical in solving so many ecological and cultural issues and that is exactly what we a…

Bark beetles may be small, but they can have major impacts on forests around the globe. It may be easy to think of these insects as always a bad thing, but what if they aren't? Simple stories rarely apply in ecology and nowhere is that more apparent than in the work of scientists like Dr. Seth Davis. Join is as we take dive into the complex relatio…

Plants cannot run away from the herbivores that eat them, therefore plants have evolved numerous strategies to defend themselves from being consumed. Plant defenses are as varied as the plant kingdom and the ways in which they operate will blow your mind. We are joined by Dr. Rupesh Kariyat who studies plant defenses in a variety of nightshade rela…

Plant defense compounds are great for the plants that produce them as they can ward off herbivore attacks. But what happens when a group of specialists evolves a way to utilize said compounds? Such is the case for milkweeds (Apocynaceae) and milkweed butterflies (Danaina). A long evolutionary history together kicked off an evolutionary arms race dr…

Join Chief Botanist for NatureServe Wes Knapp and me as we take a deep dive into an all-too-often overlooked group of plants - the rushes (genus Juncus). Rushes are fascinating and beautiful plants when you get to know them, and the genus has a lot of secrets waiting to be revealed. From their unique morphological characters to what it takes to des…