For a scientist studying climate change in the mountains, Missouri might seem an odd place to end up. But for the Missouri Botanical Garden, a global research institution, the Himalayas are the perfect place to work. The Himalayas are one of the most botanically rich alpine areas in the world, home to hundreds of plant…
Tag: Climate Change
Garden Weather Station Turns 10
This intriguing machine offers crucial information to the Garden, which has evolved in use over time, and celebrates its 10 year anniversary in 2022.
Garden Plans Restoration After Fire Burns 35 Acres of Precious Forest in Madagascar
When Dinasoa Tahirinirainy got a phone call in early October telling him there was a fire at a Missouri Botanical Garden conservation area in Madagascar, he wasn’t too worried. Tahirinirainy is the park manager of Ankafobe Forest, an area of rare highland forest where fires are common. He deals with three to four fires a…
Heat-tolerant Plants
As St. Louis and much of the surrounding area experience another round of triple-digit temperatures, the plants around us are feeling it too. Hot, sunny weather will dry out soils quickly. With less water available for the roots to absorb, leaves and stems may start to wilt and flag. An occasional deep, slow watering should…
Climate Change and Common Violets
In many Missouri backyards, a carpet of small purple or white violets is a sure sign of spring. In future springs, we’re likely to see more of these cheerful flowers earlier in the season as a result of climate change, a recent study from Garden researchers found. This may seem like an unexpected positive outcome…
Garden News and Notes: January 2020
The Garden in Madagascar, 71 Homes to Install Solar Power through Garden Program, The Conservation of Fraser Firs, Why Our Scientists Are Studying Guano
Spotlight on Science: Adam Smith
Adam Smith, Assistant Scientist, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development Studying climate change can be bleak, but there have been a couple times Garden Scientist Adam Smith has been truly shocked with the results of his studies. Smith, Assistant Scientist in the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) at the Missouri Botanical Garden, uses…
Spotlight on Science: Dr. Robbie Hart
Dr. Robbie Hart Assistant Curator, High Elevation Ethnobotany and GLORIA Robbie Hart has always been a mountain man. No, he doesn’t sport a long beard and flannel apparel, but since Hart was a kid, he’s loved spending his days immersed in the unique ecosystems of the mountains. He grew up above Port Angeles, Washington, in…
Spotlight on Science: Dr. Jan Salick
A monthly look at the people behind plant science at the Missouri Botanical Garden Dr. Jan Salick Senior Curator of Ethnobotany, William L. Brown Center As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Jan Salick couldn’t decide on a major, so she took a temporary leave to figure it out while traveling the world. …
Shorter Future for Big Bluestem
Scientists at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Kansas State University, and Southern Illinois University–Carbondale have completed an analysis of the effects of climate change on a dominant and economically important grassland plant. Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a common grass in natural and restored prairies that extend across the central Midwestern region (Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri,…
A Baby Boom for Rare Legumes
A new study by partners from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Washington University concludes that populations of rare plants should be aggressively increased now, before the effects of climate change become more severe. Of all the effects brought on plants by a changing climate, drought is among the most potentially damaging. While much of the…
The Garden As A New, Modern Ark
Botanical gardens hold documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display, and education. Serving as a botanical ark will always be at the core of institutions like the Missouri Botanical Garden. However, new times call for new measures. Plant species are going extinct at unprecedented rates today, and botanical gardens’…