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