botanic notables

botanic notables

Articles & Photos

Three presidents, three trees, three histories: Andew Jackson's southern magnolia, Abraham Lincoln's honey locust, and George Washington's tulip poplar.
The American chestnut tree has dominated Eastern forests for centuries, but it almost disappeared when a foreign blight was introduced in 1904. Scientists have been trying to breed blight-resistant trees and recently planted several at the New York Botanical Garden, just steps from the blight's origins over one hundred years ago. 
Leaves, berries, blossoms, and bark: A guide to the plants of The Hunger Games.
No one knows exactly how many albino redwoods there are in the world, but their snow-white needles are unmistakable. These "ghosts of the forest" lack chlorophyll, and receive nutrients from a parent redwood tree. 
A rare, endemic daisy-like wildflower was named after a local botanist in Oregon—now, a forest road could threaten one of its two habitats. Look for Veva's Erigeron on your next hike!

Looking for a new blossom for your Easter vases? How about a lily with three times as many petals as traditional Liliums? Designed primarily for the cut flower market, Roselilies have some very unique attributes: an absence of pollen, a lighter fragrance, and a very long vase life. Check your local florist for two varieties ('Belonica' and 'Fabiola'); the others will be available later in 2012 and 2013. 

 

The purple-leaf plum tree is blossoming, which means it's spring! It is a beautiful ornamental tree that bears edible fruits—perfect for summer foraging and winter preserves.
Here's to a holiday filled with the luck of the Irish and the spirit of St Patrick; just remember, their leafy symbols don't look the same. We look at the stories behind the legend of St. Patrick's emblem, and the difference between a shamrock and a four-leaf clover.  
A 385 million-year old forest, the world's oldest, was recently excavated in an upstate New York quarry.
On the mainland, celebrities get a Hollywood star; in Hawai'i, it's a tree on Banyan Drive. 
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