In Defense of Plants Podcast

For Dr. Lily Lewis, a love for mosses came early. This passion for bryophytes has taken her far up into Alaska and all the way down into Subarctic Chile. She has made some incredible discoveries along the way. From the feces of mammals to the feathers of birds, Dr. Lewis and her collaborators have uncovered some incredible aspects of moss ecology no one knew existed. Join us for a fascinating discussion about these underrated plants and learn how moss conservation may have serious consequences for ecosystem health. This episode was produced in part my Mark and Gregory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The long awaited sequel to our behind the scenes tour of the Atlanta Botanical Garden is here! Listen as Plant Recorder, Mike Wenzel shows us the amazing botanical diversity within the garden. We meet orchids, carnivorous plants, and even Amborella! This is a fun episode full of discovery. This episode is produced in part by Gregory and Mark. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The opportunity to go behind the scenes at a place like the Atlanta Botanical Garden doesn't come often. As such, a few of us jumped on the opportunity to do so. Led by their resident Plant Recorder, Mike Wenzel, we were taken on a day-long adventure to explore the myriad plants they have in their collection. The Atlanta Botanical Garden is the real deal and should serve as an example for how other botanical gardens should be run. Mike was an amazingly generous and knowledgeable guide and needless to say we had a blast. So, without further adieu, please enjoy part 1 of our tour. This episode was produced in part by Gregory and Mark. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When you meet someone like today's guest, you hold on to them tightly and make them go hiking with you. I met Sarah Hecocks earlier this summer. She joined our research station as a seasonal avian tech. However, she wasn't into birds alone. Sarah has a deep passion for mosses, liverworts, and lichens alike. As such, we spent many hours in the woods geeking out over the often overlooked organisms. What follows is a recording of our final hike before she returned to California to start a new adventure. Sarah and I are not experts on bryophyte or lichen ID but we do hold a deep passion and appreciation for these plants. Armed with a hand lens and the recorder we set off into the woods to see what we could find! This episode was produced in part by Mark and Gregory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bogs are not a common occurrence in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. That's why when we heard rumors of a re spruce bog not far from where we are staying we had to check it out. Join my friends and I on a journey to find this bog. Along the way we met many different species of plants, fungi, and birds. What better way to spend the holiday weekend than geeking out in the woods with friends? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up until a little over a week ago I had no idea mountain camellia existed. Belonging to the same family of plants that give us tea, Stewartia ovata is something you have to see to believe. Had I not been briefed in advance, I probably would have thought I had stumbled into some sort of escaped garden cultivar. What follows is my first encounter with this lovely native tree. A group of us were guided by Stewartia expert, Jack Johnston on a fun adventure to see them in bloom. We were not disappointed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you have paid attention to flowering plant taxonomy over the last few decades you have undoubtedly come across the work of Dr.'s Pam and Doug Soltis. Evolutionary geneticists by training, these two have devoted their lives to figuring out the relationships between the world's flowering plants. This is no small task and the collaborative effort put forth is both astounding and inspiring.Their early efforts to tackle such relationships led to the birth of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG), which is now in its 4th iteration. Throughout their career, the Soltis Lab has been on the forefront of technological advances in genetics and conservation. Their work goes beyond theory and tackles difficult questions of not only what it means to be a species but also how to conserve plants in an age of accelerated climate change. This is one conversation you don't want to miss! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

People like Dr. Mark Whitten are why I started this podcast. In the context of botany, Mark is the real deal. He started his academic career studying the interaction between orchids from genera such as Stanhopea, Catasetum, and Gongora and the orchid bees (Euglossini) that utilize them for the complex perfumes they produce. Today Mark is working on the USA-China Biodiversity Project which has him scouring the Appalachian Mountains for disjunct flora shared by these two continents. I have had the honor of being able to interact and learn from Mark over the last few weeks and I would be remiss if I didn't get him on the podcast. This was a fascinating conversation that you are certainly going to enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A visit to The Field Museum in Chicago is always an adventure. You never know who you might run into. On a recent visit I had the honor of sitting down for a chat with one of the herbarium collections managers, Christine Niezgoda. She has dedicated her career to herbarium work and it was a wonderful experience to be able to pick her brain a bit. This episode was produced in part by Gregory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Save the rainforest." It is probably the most pervasive meme in environmentalism. It means a lot of different things to many different people, but what does it mean in practice? How do we save the rainforest? This week's guest is working on exactly that. Dr. Corine Vriesendorp is the director of the Andes-Amazon Project for The Field Museum. Their multifaceted approach is highlighting the need to conserve these biologically diverse areas while at the same time, empowering and engaging local communities and governments by helping preserve their quality of life. In total they have managed to protect over 9 million acres of pristine rainforest in countries like Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. This is one episode you do not want to miss! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.