Dr M is delighted to congratulate John Warren on his very recent promotion to a Chair in Botany at Aberystwyth University and to welcome him back here to present this guest blog on 21st century botany, it’s not all long beards, khaki shorts and Cyclanthaceous pith helmets…
Dr M first discovered Niki Simpson’s work while admiring the colour illustrations in the Vegetative Key. The clarity and accuracy of the illustrations seemed to reach a new level and it was only a shame that there were not more in that volume! Meeting her unexpectedly at a botanical illustration event in London recently, Dr M was determined to learn more about her approach
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Botanical theme parks don’t come along every day and so the Eden project has carved a special niche for plant lovers everywhere. Without plants our world is no world and there are few better place to see this message in action than at Eden.
Dr M has always been particularly fond of art, and although convention wisdom tends to pigeon-hole art and science as separate disciplines Dr M feels that, on the contrary, there is a very natural connection between them, perhaps most obviously seen in the art of botanical illustration, but also much more widely as demonstrated in the recent Symbiosis project. And so Dr M is delighted to continue his series of
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Dr M is delighted to introduce this typically non-contentious guest post from fellow botanist John H Warren
To contrast with the endless rains of recent weeks Dr M is pleased to present this guest blog: an eXtreme botanical story from drier climes! Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a desert, and in that desert was a house, and beside that house was a garden and in that garden was a visitor, a botanist and plant
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Dr M looked out of his window and notices – it’s raining again! Roger Brugge of the Meteorology Department at University of Reading, puts the recent rains in context: “after a dry start to December 2013, a total of 165.3 mm (roughly 6.5 inches) of rain was recorded in the 28 days ending on 8 January 2014.”
Dr M’s occasional series of guest blogs continues this Boxing Day with ethnobotanist Susanne Masters on seeking orchids in Madagascar – the hard way…
Dr M continues his occasional series of guest blog posts with a glimpse into the wonderful world of the bog mosses (Sphagnum species) by Charlie Campbell. As you read this, Charlie is travelling north to bog moss capital Sweden, to really indulge his passion through PhD research in Sphagnum ecology!
Surprised to see grasshoppers in the featured image on Dr M’s renown botanical site? Dr M is nothing if not inclusive, but grasshoppers love Poaceae (just like Dr M!) and are pretty much half grass whichever way you look at them (GRASS-hopper – get it?!) 😉 so it’s all pretty botanical! Anyway, today Dr M begins an occasional series of guest blogs where he
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