All the plants in New York’s Central Park – Cataloged

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Ken

Daniel Atha put on his waders and ventured slowly into the Pool, near West 103rd Street, one of several bodies of water in Central Park. He was after a broad-leaved yellow pond lily and an iris of indeterminate species.

He carefully collected the two specimens, along with a baseball bearing Derek Jeter’s signature. After he studied the iris for a moment, his face brightened. He thought the flower might not … Read more

Urban farming in post-Flood New Orleans

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Ken

Michelle Posey of Pelican Produce. Upper Ninth Ward

By Elsa Hahne

Sometimes the vacant lot next door, overgrown with weeds, turns into a beautiful garden. Not by itself, of course, but since nobody’s moved in and no houses are being built there, it can seem like magic.

That’s true for hundreds of neighbors in the Lower and Upper Ninth Ward as well as for residents throughout the city. And in … Read more

Dr. James Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Ken

Dr. James A. Duke, PhD, Ethnobotanist, PhD in Botany (UNC, Chapel Hill; Phi Beta Kappa; Distinguished Alumnus), served 3 years with Missouri Botanical Garden, 7 years with Battelle Memorial Institute in Panama, Colombia and Columbus Ohio, as an ecologist; and 27 years as economic botanist, with USDA in Beltsville, Md.

On Sept. 30, 1995, he retired from the USDA. Before retiring, Dr. Duke brought his ethnobotanical and phytochemical database online … Read more