What's up Plant People! Sticking with our Parade of Botanists (TM), today's guest is Dr. Naomi Fraga. Naomi is a Research Assistant Professor at Claremont Graduate University and the Director of Conservation at the California Botanic Garden. She's a plant lover, a brilliant educator and scientist, a rare plant afficionado, and a tremendously good human. Tune in to hear us chat about everything from drama surrounding re-naming plants to accesibility and clarity in science...

Greetings Plant People! In this episode, Vikram and I answer a listener's question and talk about the current state of our gardens and what else we're planning to grow. It's randomness and there's talk of soggy squirrels, catalytic converters, and Top Gun. We still have some kernels of gardening wisdom in there, so don't worry. Next time, we'll be back with more to help you get in the grow! Join us for randomness and squirrels. :) The Science PawdcastThe Science Pawdcast breaks down the...

Hey there, Plant People! It's been a while! Thanks for your patience as I've been traveling and dealing with some family stuff. I'm excited to get back with you today with a super fun episode! Emily Stamm is one of our Master's students in the Simpson Urban Horticulture Lab in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University. She already holds 2 degrees in Math and has taught professionally, but decided she wanted to learn more about her passion for plants and human health....

Hey Plant People! I'll be doing some traveling and will be in and out a bit this summer, so this is the first of what will be a few sporadic throwbacks to some of my very favorite episodes from the back catalog! Stay cool and stay well this summer, my friends! ******************************************************************************** Y'all, today's episode is great. Dr. Becky Bowling is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Urban Water with the Department of Soil and Crop...

**************************************************** I'm super excited to announce our partnership with Forest Proud! Forest Proud is a non-profit organization supporting forest-based climate solutions. Their mission is to build awareness and support for keeping forests as forests to fight climate change. Forest Proud believes: Forests provide powerful climate solutions.Forest management is how we deliver those solutions.Forest markets and products are how we sustain those solutions.I'm...

The final project for the introductory horticulture class I teach is to create a science communication piece about something we discussed in the class. They can choose to make a short podcast episode, a YouTube video, a TikTok, or write a paper. One of my students asked if he could be a guest on Planthropology as his project. I thought about it a while and decided it would be a fun idea! Ivan Rodriguez is a Freshman Landscape Architecture major at Texas Tech. In this short episode, he...

You've got questions, I have answers and a rant about bananas and cucumbers! Let's jump into the April 2022 Q&A! **************************************************** I'm super excited to announce our partnership with Forest Proud! Forest Proud is a non-profit organization supporting forest-based climate solutions. Their mission is to build awareness and support for keeping forests as forests to fight climate change. Forest Proud believes: Forests provide powerful climate...

It's spring! Ok, it's been spring for a little while, but in my part of the world the fruit trees are just finishing up blooming and starting to set fruits! Let's talk today, in episode 4 of Tree Talk, about the benefits of fruit trees, important considerations when planting them, and and spring tips to make them more successful! **************************************************** I'm super excited to announce our partnership with Forest Proud! Forest Proud is a non-profit organization...

I'm not sure if you know this, but I think plants are pretty cool. My guest for today's episode, Dr. Chris Martine, thinks Plants Are Cool Too! Chris is a Professor of Plant Genetics and Research, Associate Department Chair of Biology, and Director of the Manning Herbarium at Bucknell University. He's also a science communicator, musician, past (and present?) actor, and the host and creator of the fantastic Plants Are Cool Too YouTube channel! Chris and I talked about his past and experience,...

What's up, y'all! Sorry I've been a little absent lately. My life got super busy for a few minutes and I needed a couple of weeks to reboot. New full episodes start up again next week, but check this quick update out to learn more about Podchaser's #Reviews4Good campaign. Podchaser is donating 25 cents to World Central Kitchen (supporting Ukrainian refugees) for every podcast or episode review left on the side throughout the month of April. Buzzsprout (my podcast host) will be matching those...

It's time for the March 2022 Q&A episode! If you have questions you'd like answered in future months, send them my way! **************************************************** I'm super excited to announce our partnership with Forest Proud! Forest Proud is a non-profit organization supporting forest-based climate solutions. Their mission is to build awareness and support for keeping forests as forests to fight climate change. Forest Proud believes: Forests provide powerful climate...

Trees and forests are incredibly important in our lives. From the natural landscape to the ones we manufacture for ourselves, forests provide food, habitat, shade, recreation, and powerful climate solutions. Today's guest, Rae Tamblyn (@GuessingAtGreen) is the Director of Partner Experience at #ForestProud. Her background in sociology and anti-poverty along with her love for nature make her an inspiring advocate for equity and a healthier climate. Rae and Forest Proud believe we can creative...

Bradford Pear trees suck. You know, it know, and most importantly today's guest Dr. Dave Coyle knows it. Dave is an Assistant Professor of Forest Health and Invasive Species at Clemson University and is an expert on all things tree and insect. We discussed past diseases and insects that have had huge negatuve impacts on tree populations, invasive species, life in academia, the importance of outreach, and competitive shrimp sports. Dave is an impressive scientist and an outstanding educator...

The Pokemon franchise has a long history of coming up with some really ~wild~ grass-type creatures. With the recent release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, this is the perfect time to dive into some of their designs and origins. Luckily, my dear friend Ellen Weatherford is an animal and Pokemon aficionado and was kind enough to come chat with me! Ellen is the host of the wildly popular Just the Zoo of Us podcast and one of my absolute favorite humans. This episode is a pretty long one, and you're...

It's time for me to answer your burning plant questions! I picked 6 questions from the couple dozen I was sent and I'm going to talk about them today in our very first monthly Q&A! If you'd like me to answer one of your questions and give you a shoutout on the show, send your queries my way on social media or at the email address below! **************************************************** As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your...

Our climate is changing. While there are those who would certainly deny it, the facts and evidence are clear that we've had a profound impact on our global ecosystem. Let's talk today about a few of the ways climate change is affecting tree growth, development, and survival. **************************************************** As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It really helps the show keep growing and reaching...

Y'all, what happened to all the chestnut trees? They were here, then they went away, and it was really sad. Could it happen again? Should we fear the shrimp invasion? Why is writing SO HARD? Find out all these things and more in today's amazing episode with PhD Student and Graduate Researcher, Emily Dobry! We talked about plant pathology, invasive species, living live as a non-traditional student, and pursuing your dreams. Emily is brilliant and fun and I know you're really going to enjoy...

Ok look, I don't know what to say about this one other than that the plant buy/sell/trade market right now is ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS and that monsteras are really not that cool. Enjoy!  **************************************************** As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It really helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! Also, check out Planthropology on our website and various social media pages,...

Ok, we established in Tree Talk Part 1 (check it out here) that trees aren't real. If they WERE, hypothetically of course, it would be cool to know where they came from, right?  Let's hang out talk about the evolutionary history and life cycle of trees! It's going to be great! **************************************************** As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It really helps the show keep growing and reaching...

Y'all, I'm SO excited about today's episode. My guest and I have been Twitter and podcast friends for quite a while now and I was completely thrilled at the opportunity to finally get to talk with her. Elana Gloger is a PhD candidate in psychoimmunology, host of the incredible Dear Grad Student podcast, and one of my very favorite people. She's kind, passionate, hilarious, brilliant, and just an all around good person. We talked about the benefits of nature, the effects aging has on our...

Happy Winter Solstice 2021, Plant People! The Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year and the start of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Let's celebrate together with a replay of a fan favorite episode from last year, Plants of the Winter Solstice. Also, be sure to check out the new Buy Me a Coffee page and Planthropology Rebubble store at the links below to find great merch and support the...

What's up Plant People? Paige Boyle is back! Last time she was on the podcast (go listen here), we talked turfgrass science, being a woman in a STEM field, protecting your time, and a lot more! Today we touched on a few of those things again, but really dove into her research and how it relates to making the home lawn more resilient and diverse, as well as the psychology of lawns! We also talked a lot about advocating for yourself in graduate school (and life), fighting burnout, influencing...

It's time for the 2021 Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends charity battle! Check out this quick update about last year's results, this year's charity partners, and reasons why you should help revive the Botanical Bunch! Wild Green Memes Links TikTok Facebook Twitter Instagram Wild Green Future Website Wild Green Charity Battle ****************************************************** As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite...

What's up Plant People??? Today's the first episode of my new, monthly Tree Talk series! Over the next year, we'll go through the life of a tree, from seed to industry to folklore and everything in between. We'll start off with a discussion on whether or not trees are even real. It should be fun! Be sure to check out the links below for some of the source materials I used and mentioned in today's episode! What is a tree? -Colorado State Forest Service There's no such thing as a tree...

What's up, Plant People? You wanted another episode about tea and you know it! When Abby Morrison, a crowd favorite from wayyyy back in episode 17, heard my recent episode ranking teas, she told me that tea was one of her very favorite things! I asked her if she'd be interested in doing a deep dive into tea with me and she graciously agreed. We talk tea production, differences between kinds of tea, tea ceremonies from around the world, how to brew (steep?) the perfect cup, and the very best...