Ghillean T. Prance showing the underside of a leaf of the Amazon water lily. Photo by S. A. Mori.
The waters of the Amazon fluctuate as much as 45 feet in years of heavy rainfall, meaning plants growing along the river are alternately subject to flooding in the wet season and dry soils in the dry season. To tolerate these extreme habitats, some Amazonian plants have evolved adaptations to both situations. A perfect example is the Amazon water lily (Victoria amazonica), which has adjusted its annual life cycle to the rise and fall of the rivers by growing rhizomes and new leaves from seeds, flowering at high water, fruiting as the water recedes, and surviving low water levels as seeds—each one surrounded by an impervious seed coat that protects against desiccation.
Just over one more week to go! We’re counting off the days until Mario Batali‘s first Family Dinner of the summer, with eminent chefs from both Lupa and Babbo presiding, and already our appetites are piqued. Not that it’s all too surprising—the promise of Mozzarella di Bufala, strip steak with marinated runner beans, pistachio olive oil cake and more would have the gourmand in almost anyone hopping with anticipation.
The event goes well beyond the family-style dinner, too. If you’ve got kids in tow, don’t worry about antsiness playing into it: we’ll have a bunch of hands-on gardening and craft activities to keep the little ones happy. Meanwhile, cooking demonstrations from Mario’s top chefs round out the experience in the Whole Foods Market® Family Garden Kitchen. It’s a lot to pack into one evening, but we’re not shy of saying how proud we are to host it! That said, we only have food for so many guests in the Family Garden at one time, so tickets are limited—better to register now than wait until next weekend! Check out The Edible Garden for more on this MasterCard® event, or head straight over to Priceless NY to get your tickets. Your tastebuds would thank you if they could.
For this weekend’s activities, Wild Medicine is as much the belle of the ball as ever, with horticulturists working each and every day to keep the Conservatory display at its peak. And we’re doing it one better this weekend with Saturday and Sunday gardening demonstrations geared toward the flower arrangers among you (or those who are hopeful of becoming one). Check the rest of the schedule below!
A recent graduate from Pelham Memorial High School, Owen Robinson worked as a volunteer Forest Intern at the NYBG in the summer of 2012. He will begin as a freshman at the University of Virginia this fall, where he hopes to continue his pursuit of science research as a part of the Echols Scholar Program.
Norway maple leaf pack
Last summer I conducted a project to determine whether or not invasive trees are negatively impacting aquatic macroinvertebrate populations. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are small, invertebrate insects that play essential roles in their ecosystems, acting as an energy bridge between outside plant life and the rest of their aquatic environment. They do this by breaking down tree leaves.
Invasive trees are an established and worsening problem in our region, one that impacts plant biodiversity as well as some mammalian and avian populations. As little research has been dedicated to my particular focus, I wanted to determine whether the leaves from these invasive trees were less beneficial to aquatic macroinvertebrate populations than the leaves of native trees. If this proved the case, there would be reason to work harder against the takeover of invasive plant species.
Crème Yvette, lime, and one all-important choice to finish it: tequila or mezcal? We’re moving off from the last Cocktail Evening‘s gin and cucumber combo toward something on the smoky side of the spectrum, couching the refreshing flavors of berry liqueur in everyone’s favorite agave spirits. And with the city baking like a blueberry pie this week, I can’t think of many things better than a complimentary cocktail, a stroll through Wild Medicine, and some music after dark to shrug off the day’s heat.
On stage, “Italia in Jazz” spotlights the musical talents of the Marco Pignataro Quartet, paying a proper tribute to timeless Italian standards and original compositions alike. And with Marco and his saxophone at the helm, the night’s entertainment is in good hands! Originally from Bologna, Italy, Pignataro has taken the stage with such jazz greats as Eddie Gomez and Danilo Pérez. In concert with the latter, he now leads Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute in Boston, but that hasn’t stopped him from performing on stages around the world—and he’ll be right at home with his quartet here at the Garden.
As a botanist, my idea of paradise is to have an identification tag appear on every plant that I or anyone with me does not recognize. At The New York Botanical Garden we enjoy what is about as close as you will get to that paradise. I am so thankful for those who perform the monumental task of labeling the plants in the Garden, even including the cultivar names on the labels where applicable.
Cultivar names (as in cultivated varieties) are those names that appear in single quotes following the scientific (“Latin”) name of the species. If you see an “x” in the name, that means the plant is an artificial cross by plant breeders between two species. The scientific name consists of two parts: the genus and the species name, with only the genus name capitalized. But in the case of cultivars, sometimes only the genus name is given because the species is not clearly delineated.
