Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey

There are over 200 species of native Clematis found around the world and then, when you get into the ornamental hybrids that number goes up and like a Facebook relationship, it’s complicated.

How cool is it to run into a bunch of white nosed coati mundi? Very cool!

I love our annual Christmas tree hunt. Every year or so, and especially after our kids left home, Ms. Mesquitey and I will joke about maybe just tagging one with our permit and leaving it…catch and release.

I’m not sure I can add a whole lot more about jojoba (Simmondsia chinesis) other than what you hear in this show except that it is now in its own family, Simmondsiaceae, and not in the boxwood family.

It's true that life in southeastern Arizona is full of “behold!” moments. It is so exciting to live in such a diverse land, both in plants and animals.

There is a large batch of horehound (Marrubium vulgare) under a mesquite in our yard. Well, along a fence line that defines “our yard. It hasn’t spread thankfully and I doubt if I beat it back or tried to dig it up I could eradicate it. It seems so tenacious and that could be why it is found all over North America.

“Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!” I know, often overused, but that line from the Rubaiyat fits the way I’ve always felt about getting out to gather seed and having wildlife encounters as a bonus. Thank you, Omar.

It is nice to have a yard full of native plants.

I’m Emma Armstrong, and I’m a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science and minoring in Linguistics and Biochemistry. After graduating undergraduate and medical school, I hope to become a psychiatrist specializing in especially severe psychiatric disorder cases. Currently, I can be found in both Dr. Jean-Marc Fellous’s lab, where I am studying the affect of sleep-altering drugs on memory reconsolidation in rats, and Dr. Vicky Lai’s lab, where I am just beginning to study how emoji’s affect emotional and linguistic processing of emotionally ambiguous phrases. When I’m not in lab or otherwise busy with homework, I enjoy writing, reading, casually playing video games, and keeping my kittens entertained!

 

 

 

The University of Arizona’s Undergraduate Biology Research Program is partnering with KXCI 91.3 to produce “Thesis Thursday,” a weekly segment featuring student researchers talking about their undergraduate thesis projects, or research projects while working with University professors. Students describe their research, their overall goals and career interests and where they think their research will lead. They also get a chance to share their music and interests that motivate them.

Broadcast three times every Thursday with a new student each week.

Thursdays: 9:55 AM, 11:55 AM, and 2:55 PM

Created by Cathy Rivers, produced by Bridgitte Thum.

I was incorrect about the species of Acalypha in this show. The correct name is A. phleoides (the former A. lindheimeri), not neomexicana as I stated.