When Kelli Schowalter first visited the Missouri Botanical Garden after moving to St. Louis from Virginia for college, she was not aware of the institution’s vast science and research work. “It’s fascinating,” Schowalter says of the Garden’s internationally renowned research program. A Washington University senior, Schowalter first learned about the science side of the Garden…
Tag: research
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. …
Learning from Dad
Many professionals credit their parents for the inspiration to pursue a particular career. Some may admire their parents’ ability to channel their passions into a profession and seek to follow a similar path. Others may cite the parental encouragement they received to follow their own unique interests. Whatever the circumstances, parental support can be a…
Collection Connection: Whiskey and Research
“There’s a deeper story to almost all of these,” says Ralph Haynes as he peers into a box of dried corn cobs. The co-founder of Pinckney Bend Distillery is meeting with Garden research staff, exploring the herbarium, and flipping through the pages of rare botanical books—taking a deeper look at the intersection of his passion…
Spotlight on Science: Tom Croat
A monthly look at the people behind plant science at the Missouri Botanical Garden Dr. Tom Croat P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany Tom Croat has been called the Indiana Jones of botany, and when you hear him describe his collecting journeys to the Tropics, it fits. Croat, 80, has spent about a third of his…
Spotlight on Science: Monica Carlsen
A monthly look at the people behind plant science at the Missouri Botanical Garden Dr. Monica Carlsen Assistant Scientist, Education Coordinator, Research Before Dr. Monica Carlsen moved from Venezuela to St. Louis for graduate school, she had never heard of St. Louis or Missouri. But she had heard of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Carlsen had…
Plant Science Superstars
Some of America’s all-star athletes have spent the past couple of weeks at the Winter Olympics bringing home the gold (and silver and bronze), but did you know there are some all-stars closer to home, too? While they may not be champions of ice dancing or curling, the Missouri Botanical Garden is home to some…
Spotlight on Science: Dr. Carmen Ulloa
A monthly look at the people behind plant science at the Missouri Botanical Garden Meet Dr. Carmen Ulloa Curator, Science & Conservation If Dr. Carmen Ulloa could share one message about the Missouri Botanical Garden, it would be this—St. Louisans should know, and be proud, of the Garden as a global institution. “It has a very high reputation among botanical institutions all over the world,”…
Cataloging Diversity Across The Americas
“Now we know what we can conserve.” -Dr. Carmen Ulloa “What trees! … all utterly new to us; Bonpland keeps telling me he’ll go out of his mind if the wonders don’t cease soon.” Alexander von Humboldt words of excitement when first landing in present day Venezuela in 1799 demonstrate the exuberance of plant diversity…
Plant Profile: The Poinsettia
Perhaps no plant has as stronger connection to the holiday season than the poinsettia. The brightly colored shrub has been a feature of Garden floral shows for more than a century, and remains an annual star of the Gardenland Express Holiday Flower and Train Show. What is a poinsettia? The poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is a…
From Collection to Conservation: The Botanical Data Driving the Garden’s Mission
After looking at it closely, horticulturists Jared Chauncey and Dave Gunn have determined that the plant in front of them is, in fact, Quercus arkansana. They collect several different plant parts—branches, leaves, and acorns. A few of them will be pressed, dried, and mounted to create two herbarium vouchers—one for the National Arboretum and one…
Mosses: Undiscovered Diversity
Bryophytes make up one of the two major groups of land plants. They are small, non-vascular plants that are divided into mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They are the second largest group of plants in terms of diversity. In fact, according to Curator Dr. John Brinda, if you catalog the plants in any landscape, chances are…