Plant Cuttings
BusyBotVacPlan
What should a busy botanist do in the summer holidays? Perhaps rest if he’s been teaching a lot during term-time, maybe catch up on
Plant Cuttings
New methodologies…
In the olden days – e.g. the 19th Century – science was severely hampered by the lack of technology to perform the experiments that those gentlemen (sorry,
Plant Cuttings
Pharmacopoeia Shakespeariensis
Continuing the ethnobotanical theme of previous posts, another great source of information regarding folk uses of plants is the writings of the Bard of Avon, England’
Plant Cuttings
What does ethnobotany mean to you?
I’m probably not alone in associating ethnobotany with tales of derring-do, usually involving arduous treks through unbearably hot, mosquito-infested, disease-ridden, swamps or
Plant Cuttings
I want to be… a tree!
In trying to encourage my students to consider the structure–function issues in being a land plant, I often joke that all plants really want to
Plant Cuttings
Every day is Dewsday in the forest…
The dew point is ‘the temperature to which a volume of humid air must be cooled… for water vapor to condense into liquid water’, and is
Plant Cuttings
Botany, a man’s world?
What do you make of this: ‘In the 18th century, not yet 30 years old, she became the first woman to travel around the world. Along
Plant Cuttings
The clue’s in the title (but is it?)
With no disrespect intended to the authors – Takashi Yaeno et al. – who, at first glance, is able to tell me what the article entitled, ‘Phosphatidylinositol monophosphate-
Plant Cuttings
Don’t underestimate the druse
Although known from plants for a long time, the function of mineral inclusions – included amongst the so-called ergastic substances of old – remains speculative. Frequently composed
Plant Cuttings
Putative phytological pugilism (probably…) [or, One species – two genomes?]
In the genteel world of botany, one may be surprised to discover that – occasionally! – disagreements can arise, and that tempers can get just a little heated.
Plant Cuttings
Proof of phytological principle
Sadly, we don’t have time machines that would permit us to go back and see ancient evolution in action. So we have to make do
Plant Cuttings
The answer is blowin’ in the wind…
How does a rooted-to-the-spot plant escape the attentions of would-be herbivores? Well, according to Kazuo Yamazaki in his review straightforwardly entitled ‘Gone