Herbarium of the Bizarre

Anyone feel like starting a campaign to make tomatoes the national fruit? Music by James Milor on Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.arborday.org/perspectives/americas-national-tree-mighty-oak https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/159/text https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/108th-congress/house-report/689/1 https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF13097 Dirksen and the Marigold https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwogofdiGys&t=158s https://www.nybg.org/planttalk/elizabeth-brittons-roses-campaigning-for-the-national-flower/ https://www.history.com/articles/oak-tree-national-tree-of-united-states-of-america https://extension.psu.edu/the-national-tree-and-national-floral-emblem-of-the-united-states https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/gardening-basics/national-flower-bird-tree-united-states/ https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-or-officially-designated-item/state-flower/rose https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-or-officially-designated-item/state-tree/mighty-oak-tree https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title36-section303&num=0&edition=prelim

Attendees at the Exotic and Carnivorous Plant Expo join the podcast to talk about their own favorite bizarre plants. I intended to post this episode a week or so after the expo, but then I caught the con crud from hell at ConCarolinas and have only just now gotten my voice back. Music provided by James Milor from Pixabay Additional Information: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock/overview https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-woodcock https://www.sandiegocarnivorousplantsociety.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophyte

Come see me at the Exotic and Carnivorous Plant Expo this weekend: https://www.carnivorousplants.org/about/CEPExpoDetails Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.burymeinthebog.com/grow/rainbow-plants https://botany.org/home/resources/carnivorous-plants-insectivorous-plants/byblis-the-rainbow-plants.html https://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/guides/Byblis The carnivorous rainbow plant Byblis filifolia Planch. secretes digestive enzymes in response to prey capture independently of jasmonates by A Pavlovič, et al. (2025). Plant Biology, 27 (4), 549–557. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.70029 Chemonastic Stalked Glands in the Carnivorous Rainbow Plant Byblis gigantea LINDL. (Byblidaceae, Lamiales) by Simon Poppinga, et al. (2022). International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (19), 1151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911514 https://www.sarracenia.com/pubs/byblis.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byblis_(plant)

I learned some lessons from the 2024 discoveries episode, and I think this one is not quite so messy. I also managed to contain it all in one episode this time! Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/california-academy-of-sciences-and-partners-uncover-new-sunflower-species-in-big-bend Damian Carrington (2026, Jan 7). Fly-arousing orchid and zombie fungus among 2025 botanical and fungal finds. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/08/fly-arousing-orchid-zombie-fungus-among-new-plant-fungus-species-finds-2025 Aaron P. Davis, et al. (2005). Galanthus subalpinus (Amaryllidaceae): A new species of snowdrop from the Western Balkans. Kew Bulletin, 80 , 169-175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-024-10239-8 James Doubek (2025, Feb 26). Meet the 'wooly devil,' a new plant species discovered in Big Bend National Park. National Public Radio . https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308248/wooly-devil-new-species-genus-big-bend Gabriel A. Iturralde, et al. (2025) Telipogon cruentilabrum (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae): A new species from mid-western Ecuador, long misidentified as T. dendriticus. Phytotaxa, 694 (3), 271–280. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.694.3.6 [Abstract] https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/top-10-species-2025 Yee Wen Low, et al. (2025). Eugenia venteri (sect. Jossinia, Myrtaceae): A new flagelliflorous tree from the rainforest of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Kew Bulletin, 80 , 733-743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-025-10264-1 https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/news/new-plant-species-discovered-in-big-bend.htm https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/ecoregion.htm Rosa Villanueva-Espinoza and John R. I. Wood (2025). Two new species of Aphelandra (Acanthaceae) from Peru. Kew Bulletin, 80 , 983-991. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12225-025-10334-4

Merry Christmas? Happy New Year? Happy Holidays! That covers it. Personally, I celebrated four this year. Enjoy this more-or-less seasonal episode about the New Zealand Christmas Tree. Music by James Milor from Pixabay. Information provided by: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/pohutukawa-flame-of-the-north/ https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/pohutukawa/ https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/pohutukawa-trees https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/metrosideros-excelsa/ https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-forgotten-pandemic/ https://www.tanestrees.org.nz/species-profiles/pohutukawa/ https://help.treesthatcount.co.nz/en/articles/8584808-pohutukawa https://meaningoftrees.com/2019/02/05/pohutukawa-metrosideros-excelsa/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%8Dhutukawa

Pass the cranberry sauce! Did you read that to the tune of the Bob’s Burgers song? I hope so. Music by James Milor Information provided by: https://www.cranberryinstitute.org/cranberry-health-research https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/the-botany-behind-why-cranberries-became-a-thanksgiving-staple Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014) https://www.cranberries.org/ Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009) Cranberry: Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and impact on human health by Boris V. Nemzer, et al. (2022). Molecules, 27 (5), pg. 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27051503 Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977) The Kitchen Witch Companion by Sarah Robinson and Lucy H. Pearce (2023) Domestication, genetics, and genomics of the American cranberry by Nicholi Vorsa and Juan Zalapa in Plant Breeding Reviews, Volume 43 by Irwin Goldman (Ed.) (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119616801.ch8

Sorry it sounds so echo-y. I’m dog/housesitting for my parents, so I’m not in my usual recording space. Ruby the Beagle says “hi.” Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: Diphylleia grayi -inspired stretchable hydrochromics with large optical modulation in the visible–near-infrared region by Guofa Cai, et al. (2018). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10 (43), pg. 37685-37693. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b12490 [Abstract] https://www.thespruce.com/skeleton-flower-plant-profile-4802581 Cytological effects of chemicals on tumors, XXV: Further studies on the effect of Diphylleia grayi extracts on tumor cells by Kohtaro Yamamoto and Yanagi Kimura (1964). Journal of the Faculty of Hokkaido University, Series 6 - Zoology, 15 (3), pg. 347-352. https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/skeleton-flowers-how-does-this-white-flower-turn-transparent-in-the-rain.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphylleia_grayi https://www.bhg.com/how-to-plant-and-grow-skeleton-flower-8553286 Diphylleia grayi -inspired intelligent hydrochromic adhesive film by Gang Yeol Yoo, et al. (2020). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12 (44), pg. 49982-49991. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c13185 [Abstract] Diphylleia Grayi -inspired intelligent temperature-responsive transparent nanofiber membranes by Cengceng Zhao, et al. (2024). Nano-Micro Letters, 16 (65). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01279-z

There seems to be disagreement whether it ought to be spelled narrow-leafed or narrow-leaved. Neither is easy to say, for the record. Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17100574 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-science https://www.livescience.com/2602-extinct-tree-christ-time-rises-dead.html https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/22/3436826.htm Germination, genetics, and growth of an ancient date seed by Sarah Sallon, et al. (2008). Science, 320 (5882), pg. 1464. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1153600 [Abstract] https://www.selinawamucii.com/plants/caryophyllaceae/silene-stenophylla/ Exceptional seed longevity and robust growth: Ancient Sacred Lotus from China by J. Shen-Miller, et al. (1995). American Journal of Botany, 82 (11), pg. 1367-1380. https://doi.org/10.2307/2445863 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_viable_seed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_stenophylla Regeneration of whole fertile plants from 30,000-y-old fruit tissue buried in Siberian permafrost by Svetlana Yashina, et al. (2012). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109 (10), pg. 4008-4013. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118386109

This episode ended up being way more involved that I expected, but I learned so much, and I thought I knew Dutch Elm Disease pretty well already. Hopefully, y’all will learn a lot, too. Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.dontmovefirewood.org/pest_pathogen/dutch-elm-disease-html/ https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/pdlessons/Pages/DutchElm.aspx https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/dutch-elm-disease-ophiostoma-novo-ulmi/ A Dictionary of Plant Pathology by Paul Holliday (1989) https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/native-elm-bark-beetle https://themanitoban.com/2009/11/dutch-elm-vaccine-tested-in-winnipeg/530/ https://www.unisci.com/stories/20013/0828015.htm https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_elm_disease

We will resume my trilogy of invasive plants next week once I find my mind. Has anyone seen it? Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/running-ponies/animal-or-vegetable-legend-of-the-vegetable-lamb-of-tartary/ The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary: A curious fable of the cotton plant by Henry Lee (1887) https://www.nybg.org/poetic-botany/barometz/ https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/curious-tale-of-vegetable-lamb The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary by Alice F. Tryon (1957). American Fern Journal, 47(1), pg. 1-7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_Lamb_of_Tartary

Don't worry, I'm okay. My car is very much not okay, unfortunately.

If you’re thinking of planting a Privet, you should pivot and plant something else. Well, if you live in North or Central America, anyway, but that doesn’t rhyme. Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.lewisginter.org/chinese-privet/ https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/chinese-privet https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-japonicum/ https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-sinense/ https://triangleland.org/company-news/species-spotlight-chinese-privet https://www.se-eppc.org/manual/privet.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligustrum_sinense

I have a complicated relationship with this stinky dead fish tree. For your entertainment, a Reddit thread about Bradford Pears: https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/comments/1bn1wpv/why_bradford_pear_is_so_hated/ Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://indiananativeplants.org/2013/callery-pear-a-bad-bad-plant-in-bloom-right-now/ https://www.bhg.com/gardening/trees-shrubs-vines/trees/bradford-pear-tree/ https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/callery-pear-bradford-pear https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/callery-pear https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pyrus-calleryana/ https://extension.umd.edu/resource/bradford-pear/ https://www.invasivespeciesva.org/species/callery-pear https://dyckarboretum.org/callery-pear-cut-them-down/

Meet the world’s biggest (and possibly stinkiest) flowers. Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/world/worlds-largest-flower-indonesia-scn-trnd/index.html https://www.britannica.com/plant/Rafflesia Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants by Elizabeth A. Dauncey and Sonny Larson (2018) https://www.kew.org/plants/rafflesia-arnoldi https://parasiticplants.siu.edu/Rafflesiaceae/Raff.arn.page.html https://richardniesenbaum.com/plants-people-2/rafflesia/ https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/02/colossal-blossom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafflesia

If you’re in the U.S., I hope you try and have a happy 4th of July. And as a public safety professional in my day job, I must remind you to please not start any fires or injure anyone with fireworks. ‘Kay thanks. Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.popsci.com/environment/fairy-lantern-japan-extinct-fungi/ https://www.discoverwildlife.com/plant-facts/thismia-malayana-facts https://www.livescience.com/61925-fairy-lantern-plant-rainforest.html https://phys.org/news/2024-02-species-story.html Rediscovery of Thismia neptunis (Thismiaceae) after 151 years by Michal Sochor, et al. (2018). Phytotaxa, 340 (1), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.340.1.5 Fairy lanterns in focus by Chris J. Thorogood and Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh (2021). Plants People Planet, 3 (6), 680-684. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10217 Fairy lanterns may lure pollinators by mimicking fungi by Kenji Suetsugu and Masahiro Sueyoshi (2021). Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 19 (4), 233. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2342 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thismia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thismia_rodwayi

Be a lavender menace. Music provided by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023) https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/ https://www.britannica.com/plant/lavender https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lavender-Scare Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014) Herb Magic for Beginners: Down-to-earth Enchantments by Ellen Dugan (2016) https://www.hrc.org/resources/lavender-graduation The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Greatest Drinks by Amy Stewart (2013) https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o Lavender and the nervous system by Peir Hossein Koulivand, Maryam Khaleghi Ghadiri, and Ali Gorji (2013). Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine , https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/681304 Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009) https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/lavender https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/ A Floral Grimoire: Plant charms, spells, recipes, and rituals by Patricia Telesco (2024) Nature’s Remedies: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Herbs by Jean Willoughby (2016) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavandula https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender_Scare

Support the Pansy Project and get a cute shirt: https://birdscanflystore.com/collection/the-pansy-project/ Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023) https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/ Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014) Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan (2011) https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014) https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plants-LGBTQ-symbols https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/ A Floral Grimoire: Plant charms, spells, recipes, and rituals by Patricia Telesco (2024) https://thepansyproject.com/about/ https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/pansies/

Roses are (sometimes) red, Violets are (sometimes) blue, And if you ask Sappho, Violets are gay, too! Happy Pride Month 🌈 Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023) https://bouqs.com/blog/violet-flower-meaning-symbolism/ Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014) Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014) https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o Wild Flowers of North Carolina and Surrounding Areas by William S. Justice and C. Ritchie Bell (1979) https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2021/12/21/queer-botany-the-sapphic-violet/ Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977) PinkNews. (27 November 2024). Violet necklaces have become a sought-after lesbian accessory, but what is the history behind the trend? [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DC49dz8thuV/?igsh=X2xVeEQ2Y0Jl https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/ National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region (2nd ed.) by John W. Thieret, William A. Niering, & Nancy C. Olmstead (2001) Collins Gem: Wild Flowers by Martin Walter (2002) https://wildfoods4wildlife.com/monographs/violets/ https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/sweet-violet/

These extra-special trees are similar to both conifers and fruit trees, but they are actually something much, much older. Ginkgoes are the only tree species around today that was alive at the same time as dinosaurs! 🦕 How cool is that? Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ginkgo-biloba-benefits Medicinal Plants at Home by Maria Transito Lopez Luengo and Carlota Manez Ariso (2015) https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-ginkgo/art-20362032 Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009) https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/guest-blog/botanical-sexism-cultivates-home-grown-allergies/ https://www.obga.ox.ac.uk/article/seeds-from-hiroshima-atomic-bomb-survivor-trees-planted-at-oxford-botanic-garden https://tylerarboretum.org/ginkgo-biloba-an-ancient-species-in-a-modern-world/ https://arboretum.ua.edu/whats-growing-on/ginkgo-ginkgo-biloba/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba Nature’s Remedies: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Herbs by Jean Willoughby (2016)

Is it really possible that these trees walk around the rainforest like the Ents in Lord of the Rings? I forgot to mention that there won’t be an episode next week. Here’s your one-week notice that I’ll be on vacation next Friday. ✈️ Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: Stilt-Root Walking by an Iriateoid Palm in the Peruvian Amazon by John H. Bodley and Foley C. Benson (1980). Biotropica, 12 (1), pg. 67-71. https://doi.org/10.2307/2387775 https://www.sciencealert.com/a-persistent-rumor-suggests-this-tree-can-walk-around-but-is-it-true The function of stilt roots in the growth strategy of Socratea exorrhiza (Arecaceae) at two neotropical sites by Gregory R. Goldsmith and Rakan A. Zahawi (2007). International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, 55 (3). https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v55i3-4.5955 [Abstract] https://www.treeres.com/the-walking-tree-phenomenon-unraveling-the-secrets-of-socratea-exorrhiza/ https://www.natureandculture.org/directory/walking-palm-trees/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratea_exorrhiza The epiphyte vegetation of the palm Socratea exorrhiza: Correlations with tree size, tree age and bryophyte cover by Gerhard Zotz and Birgit Vollrath (2003). Journal of Tropical Ecology, 19 , pg. 81-90. DOI: 10.1017/S0266467403003092 Tropical Plants of Costa Rica by Willow Zuchowski (2007)