In Defense of Plants Podcast

By In Defense of Plants

Natural Sciences Science & Medicine

What's In Defense of Plants Podcast about?

Plants are everything. They are also incredibly interesting. From the smallest duckweed to the tallest redwood, the botanical world is full of wonder. Join my friends and I for a podcast celebrating everything botany.

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Ep. 345 - Reconstructing Tw...

11.28.2021

Understanding the role of fire in an ecosystem is very important. It can also be a very difficult task where good data are limited. This hasn't stopped Dr. Greg Spyreas and colleagues from trying! By scouring over two centuries worth ...

In Defense of Plants Podcast episodes:

11.28.2021 Ep. 345 - Reconstructing Two Centuries of Midwest Prairie Fire History Understanding the role of fire in an ecosystem is very important. It can also be a very difficult task where good data are limited. This hasn't stopped Dr. Greg Spyreas and colleagues from trying! By scouring over two centuries worth ...
11.21.2021 Ep. 344 - A Thistle on the Brink Pitcher's thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) just might be one of the most intensely studied endangered plants in the world and yet its numbers are still in decline. From habitat loss to biocontrols gone awry, this poor dune specialist just can't catch ...
11.14.2021 Ep. 343 - Native Seed Science Unlocking the mysteries of seed germination is vital for effective plant conservation and restoration. Join Dr. Marcello De Vitis and me as we discuss the ins and outs of native seed science. This episode was produced in part by Levi, ...
11.07.2021 Ep. 342 - The Way of the Gardener Gardener, author, and environmentalist Lyndon Penner returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, "The Way of the Gardener: Lost in the Weeds Along the Camino de Santiago." This book details his 825 km (512 mi) journey across ...
10.31.2021 Ep. 341 - Moonwort Madness In this episode, we explore the mysterious world of moonworts (Ophioglossaceae) with botanist and moonwort fanatic, Steve Popovich. Whereas we still have a lot to learn about these strange ferns, the insights we have gained have revealed amazing things about ...
10.24.2021 Ep. 340 - The Race to Save a Remnant Prairie Upwards of 170 million acres of prairie once covered North America. Today, humans have reduced this to only 0.01%. The remnant prairies (fragments of the original, pre-colonial prairie landscape) that remain represent vestiges of this once great ecosystem and harbor ...
10.17.2021 Ep. 339 - Urban Lichens Lichens have so much to teach us about our planet and yet we have so much to learn about them! That is where people like Dr. Jessi Allen come in. She has devoted her life to understanding lichens and their ...
10.10.2021 Ep. 338 - How Old are the Oldest Trees? How long can a tree live? How old are the oldest trees? The answers to questions like these are more nuanced that some might think. We sit down with curator of the Gymnosperm Database, Dr. Chris Earle, for some insights ...
10.03.2021 Ep. 337 - DNA Duplication & Plant Evolution In this episode, we journey back in time with the help of DNA and fossil evidence to learn what they can teach us about plant evolution. Specifically, we explore how genome duplication events has influenced the evolutionary history of gymnosperms. ...
09.26.2021 Ep. 336 - Parasitic Plants & their Hosts How do parasitic plants find an appropriate host and what determines their range of host possibilities? These are the kinds of questions that drive Dr. Caitlin Conn's research. Join us as we explore some of the insight she has gained ...
09.19.2021 Ep. 335 - A Global Effort to Help Magnolias Magnolias are among the most iconic trees in the world. This family (Magnoliaceae) has also been around for a very long time. But, for all their history, intrigue, and interest, the magnolia family is not faring well in our modern ...
09.12.2021 Ep. 334 - An Azalea Extravaganza To look upon a flowering azalea is to bare witness to one of our planets most stunning botanical spectacles. These ericaceous shrubs enjoy celebrity status among many a gardener because of this. Azaleas are also ecologically important plants in their ...
09.05.2021 Ep. 333 - Variability in Plant Coloration Plants come in a bewildering variety of colors. Even within species, colors can vary from individual to individual. How and why color can differs are exactly the kinds of questions that intrigue PhD student Cierra Sullivan. Join us as we ...
08.29.2021 Ep. 332 - The Ecology of Douglas Fir In this episode, we celebrate one of the most venerable conifers in North America - the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). This wide ranging species can establish early after disturbance and live for centuries, bolstering the ecology of the forests it comprises. ...
08.22.2021 Ep. 331 - Unraveling Quillwort Mysteries Their ancestors once dominated the coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period, growing into massive trees that could reach upwards of 160 feet (50 m) into the canopy. Today, the quillworts (Isoetes spp.) are all that remains of this lineage. Though ...
08.15.2021 Ep. 330 - Horticultural Taxonomy Have you ever walked through a plant nursery or garden center and wondered about who keeps track of all those named varieties, selections, and cultivars? The answer to this are horticultural taxonomists! From registering new plants to maintaining herbarium records ...
08.08.2021 Ep. 329 - A Closer Look at Algae It's important to give credit to the small but important things in life, like algae! In this episode we dive under the microscope lens with Julia Van Etten to talk about the microscopic world of algae and how they relate ...
08.01.2021 Ep. 328 - Behind the Scenes at Prairie Moon Nursery In this episode, we explore how a small native seed company selling native plant seeds out of their living room grew into one of the biggest native plant nurseries in the United States. Joining us is Horticulture Educator Kaitlyn O'Connor ...
07.25.2021 Ep. 327 - A Rallying Cry for Restoration The United Nations kicked off 2021 is a rallying cry for restoring ecosystems around the globe. The so-called UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is aimed at preventing, halting, and reversing ecosystem degradation around the globe. Importantly, ecosystem restoration should not ...
07.18.2021 Ep. 326 - Trillium Diversity: A Story of Ants & Seed Dispersal This episode explores the amazing world of Trillium diversity. This charismatic genus is incredible in its own right, but what makes it so diverse only adds to the intrigue. Joining us is Dr. Chelsea Miller to talk about her research ...
07.11.2021 Ep. 325 - Toxic Soils & Drinking Water From Rocks Everyone needs a bit of calcium in their diet, but too much of it can cause serious health issues. The same is true for plants. Growing in soils high in calcium is no walk in the park and yet, around ...
07.04.2021 Ep. 324 - Palms Through Deep Time Palms (Arecaceae) are among the best known and easily recognizable groups of plants on Earth. Their diversity is staggering and they play important roles in the ecology of the habitats in which they grow. But how much do we know ...
06.27.2021 Ep. 323 - Cacti, Microbes, and More! Cacti may appear like strong, independent organisms but that simply isn't the case. No organism operates in a vacuum and cacti are no exception to this. This episode, we talk with Stefan Burger, or as you may know him, Cactus ...
06.20.2021 Ep. 322 - Rue-production in Thalictrum Plant sex is strange. Rooted in place, plants have had to get really creative (evolutionarily speaking) when it comes to reproduction. Moreover, there is no single pathway to success, and each plant lineage seems to have evolved multiple strategies for ...
06.13.2021 Ep. 321 - Rapid Changes in Slow-Growing Ecosystems Disturbance is an integral part of any ecosystem, but as the human presence on this planet continues to grow, disturbances are becoming more frequent and more severe. In this episode, Dr. Brian Buma joins us to discuss his research on ...
06.06.2021 Ep. 320 - The Prehistoric Path to Flowering Plants Resolving the origins of flowering plants requires an understanding of how their morphology came to be. After all, despite their rapid appearance in the fossil record, flowering plants did not evolve over night. There had to be transitional phases between ...
05.30.2021 Ep. 319 - Evolution of the Seed Seeds are among the most important biological structures on this planet. Seeds have been instrumental in the diversification of plants, allowing them to spread into new habitats all over the globe. In fact, you and I would not be here ...
05.23.2021 Ep. 318 - The Challenges of Protecting an Endemic Mint More than half of the species on the Endangered Species List are plants and yet plants receive less than 5% of all conservation funding. If we care about slowing or reversing biodiversity loss, we need to start prioritizing plant conservation ...
05.16.2021 Ep. 317 - Leaf Margins, Paleoclimates, and Continental Movements Are the leaf margins smooth or toothed? How dense are the leaf veins? Are the petioles thick or thin? The answers to these questions go far beyond helping us identify plant species. Dr. Ian Miller of the Denver Museum of ...
05.09.2021 Ep. 316 - How an Asteroid Changed Neotropical Rainforests The asteroid that slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula some 66 million years ago marked the end of the Cretaceous and the reign of the dinosaurs. As famous as this extinction event is, we know considerably less about how such disturbances ...
05.02.2021 Ep. 315 - Deer & Forest Health In today's human-dominated world, healthy forests require healthy and sustainable management practices. To do this, we must try to understand the myriad processes that affect forest health and that is where our guest comes in. Dr. Matt Russell is an ...
04.25.2021 Ep. 314 - The Silversword Alliance In this episode, we take a deep dive into the wild world of the Hawaiian silversword alliance. This group of daisy relatives represents one of the most remarkable adaptive radiations on the planet and is comprised of three genera: Wilkesia, ...
04.18.2021 Ep. 313 - Of Bluebells & Bracken Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are a biological treasure throughout parts of Europe and the British Isles. When left undisturbed, these spring-blooming bulbs can pain entire landscapes in blue for a few weeks each year. Aside from their beauty, bluebells are also ...
04.11.2021 Ep. 312 - The Importance of Seed Banking Humans have been seed banking in one form or another for millennia. Whereas historically, seed banking has largely focused on agriculturally important plants, the practice has been expanded to protecting a multitude of species from extinction. Joining us in this ...
04.04.2021 Ep. 311 - How Oaks Get Around This episode is all about the fascinating world of oak seed dispersal. Many of us have undoubtedly enjoyed watching frenzied squirrels and jays hurriedly collecting and stashing acorns. But such observations are only the tip of the extremely complex iceberg ...
03.28.2021 Ep. 310 - Plants & Cities Cities are usually designed with only humans in mind, but that doesn't mean myriad other forms of life aren't adapting to live in these human-dominated landscapes as well. My guest today is Jasmin Green, a PhD candidate at UC Davis ...
03.21.2021 Ep 309 - Plants, Pollinators, Nature, and Society Pollination is arguably among the most important ecological processes on our planet. Entire careers have been devoted to trying to understand the countless nuances to plant pollination and yet we have only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. In this ...
03.14.2021 Ep. 308 - The Street Life of Trees What do street trees and oceanic islands have in common? It turns out a lot, at least from an ecological perspective. I sit down with Dr. Robert Warren to explore questions like do street trees constitute a functioning forest or ...
03.07.2021 Ep. 307 - Sleuthing to Save Plants A lot of detective work goes into saving plants from extinction and that is what we are discussing in this episode. Dr. Anne Frances joins us to talk about all of the plant sleuthing she does as NatureServe's lead botanist. ...
02.28.2021 Ep. 306 - The Art & Science of Rock Gardening Rock gardening is so much more than gardening with rocks. No one knows this better than Panayoti Kelaidis. A self-proclaimed acolyte in the cathedral of chlorophyll, Panayoti has spent a lifetime steeped in plants and gardening. As you will learn, ...
02.21.2021 Ep. 305 - In Defense of Plants In Defense of Plants is now a book! Hitting shelves on February 23rd, "In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants" explores my introduction to the world of botany and the amazing ways plants make a living. ...
02.14.2021 Ep. 304 - Proteas: Protecting These Botanical Shape-Shifters For those with even passing familiarity, the proteas represent something akin to botanical royalty. This family of plants exhibits a bewildering array of forms, lifestyles, and habitat preferences, which is why they were named in honor of the shape-shifting Greek ...
02.07.2021 Ep. 303 - Lessons in Biogeography from Conifers This episode occurs at the intersection of botany and geology, two inseparable components of the natural world. For Dr. David Charlet, what started with curiosity about a seemingly out of place population of conifers has developed into a life-long obsession ...
01.31.2021 Ep. 302 - Community-Based Oak Conservation We expand further on the topic of oak conservation in this episode by looking at two examples of in situ oak conservation projects. Joining us from the Morton Arboretum is Tree Conservation Ecologist, Dr. Silvia Alvarez-Clare to discuss her amazing ...
01.24.2021 Ep. 301 - Oaks in Trouble Oaks (genus Quercus) are among the most culturally and ecologically important trees wherever they are native, which is what makes the next sentence so alarmingly depressing. The IUCN currently estimates that nearly 41% of all oak species are of conservation ...
01.17.2021 Ep. 300 - Reconstructing a Cretaceous Flora Imagine being able to travel back 120 million years to the Early Cretaceous and scoop up handfuls of the forest floor. The amount you would discover in that material would be mind blowing and, amazingly, this is essentially what my ...
01.10.2021 Ep. 299 - Aquatic Plants & Phytoremediation Grab your snorkel and goggles because this episode takes us underwater. I sit down for a conversation with Assistant Professor Dr. La Toya Kissoon-Charles about the ways in which aquatic plants both impact and are impacted by their watery environment. ...
01.03.2021 Ep. 298 - Living the Gypsum Life: How Geology Can Drive Speciation You may have heard of the mineral gypsum through its use in making plasters, chalks, and drywall, but are you aware of its influence on plant speciation? Indeed, soils heavy in gypsum present unique challenges to plant growth but that ...
12.27.2020 Ep. 297 - A Deep Dive on the Cashew Family What do cashews (Anacardium spp.), mangoes (Mangifera spp.), pistachios (Pistacia spp.), and poison ivy (Toxicodendron spp.) have in common? They are all members of the family Anacardiaceae! In this episode, I sit down with Deputy Executive Director at the United ...
12.20.2020 Ep. 296 - Expanding Your Barberry Horizon In this episode, we do a deep dive into the barberry family, Berberidaceae, with environmentalist, author, and garden designer Lyndon Penner. Many of us will be familiar with the Mahonias or the prickly barberry shrubs, but they overshadow some of ...

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