Scott A. Mori, Ph.D., Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany, has been studying New World rain forests for The New York Botanical Garden for over 35 years. He has witnessed an unrelenting reduction in their extent and, as a result, is concerned about their survival.
Dr. John Pipoly
Botanists at The New York Botanical Garden discover, classify, and study the evolutionary relationships of plants and fungi, their ecological interactions, and how they are used by mankind. Their tool kit for identifying and studying plants includes examining a plant’s external appearance, internal appearance, and it’s genetic makeup (done through the aid of DNA sequencing). The knowledge our students gain in their studies gives them the ability to recognize plants and fungi even when only fragments of them are available. As a result, Garden scientists are periodically called upon by authorities to identify poisonous mushrooms, herbal medicines (whether whole, or ground into powders), hallucinogenic and other plant derived drugs, and even plants associated with crimes. The latter is called forensic botany.
Last November, a Ft. Lauderdale resident spotted a container floating in a canal outside of his house. When he went to see what was inside, he was astonished to find a pair of arms and legs inside. The torso was subsequently discovered by fishermen in a nearby canal, and a severed head was discovered by employees of a hardware store in another locality. This dismembered corpse was identified by its fingerprints as Warren Danzig, whose residence was listed as the home of Jamie Saffran. When officers visited his home, they were told that Danzig was in the Dominican Republic and only used Saffrran’s home as a place to get mail.
Because plant parts, especially leaves, were mixed in with the body parts the police contacted Dr. John Pipoly, a graduate of The New York Botanical Garden/City University of New York joint Ph.D. program in 1986. Pipoly, who is an urban horticulture extension agent for Broward County, was called to help identify the plant remnants mixed in with the body parts. Pipoly is a trained plant taxonomist (a scientist who, among other things, classifies and identifies plants) so the task of figuring out the name of a plant from just its parts did not seem the impossible task that it would seem to most people. Immediately, he recognized that the leaves represented two different cultivated plants, which he suspected were the umbrella tree, Schefflera actinophylla and the Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense. He then used the plant collections in the herbarium of the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables to confirm his identifications. Although the umbrella tree was common in the area, Pipoly had never seen the Chinese Privet in Broward County.
Finding parts of the umbrella tree and the rare Chinese privet intermixed with the body parts as well as on the property of Jamie Saffran confirmed the suspicion of the authorities that Saffran was likely the murderer. Other evidence was the discovery of the same kind of rope found with the body and on his property as well as the use of Danzig’s credit card by Saffran to pay for part of his daughter’s education. Saffran was recently denied bond in the case.
Pipoly’s position involves many tasks, such as heading the Florida Master Gardener Program, monitoring climate change, identifying what pests attack plants, and determining what native plants are best for growing as ornamentals, but it’s unlikely he ever imagined that one day he would help solve a murder!
In case you’ve missed some of the previous installments, NYBG photography instructorRich Pomerantz has a series of how-to videos specifically designed for garden photographers. In this episode, Rich talks about the age-old technique known as the “Rule of Thirds”.
Rich has an upcoming class that will be based out of our Midtown Education Center but will take photo trips to the High Line Park. Be sure to sign up while spots are still available. The flora should be amazing in May!
Do you have a burning question garden photography question that we can pose to Rich? Maybe your question will turn into the next tutorial! You can leave your suggestions in the comments.
In anticipation of opening day of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we decided to dedicate this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that will play both starring roles and bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
Ed. note: Here at the Garden, we are surrounded by plants and knowledgeable plant people, which means that even the average Garden employee/cubicle dweller tends to soak up a lot of information about how to best care for our plants. To many at the Garden, this immersion, combined with a nascent love of plants plus easy access information has driven us to practice what we preach in the form of tending a windowsill garden. On occasional Wednesdays, we’ll introduce you to some of the Garden’s many windowsill gardeners. We hope you enjoy this look at what our window gardeners grow.
Who are you and what do you do at the Garden? Amy Litt, Director of Plant Genomics and Cullman Curator. I study how plant genes differ among species and how those differences in genes are responsible for differences in plant form and function. In other words I study the genetic basis of plant diversity. I also teach and mentor graduate, undergraduate, and high school students.
What kind of plants do you have in your windowsill garden?
Mostly ferns, and one tiny “living stone.” The latter is a type of desert-adapted plant that grows in the driest parts of Africa. It has almost no stem and very fleshy leaves which store water; it only has 2-4 leaves at a time, and it grows in rocky soil that covers it up to the tops of the fat leaves, to keep it cooler from the hot sun. There are some for sale in the Garden Shop.
In anticipation of opening day of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we decided to dedicate this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that will play both starring roles and bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
In anticipation of opening day of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we decided to dedicate this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that will play both starring roles and bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Mark Pfeffer)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
In anticipation of opening day of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we decided to dedicate this week’s “Morning Eye Candy” posts to the cast of characters that will play both starring roles and bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
