rootbound
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rootbound episodes

  • episode 128: Summer Vacation 1.2

    Another summer vacation episode of rootbound. Steve spends a lot of time talking about a bug but he eventually gets back to plants. The show closes with a song by Surrija

    Show Notes!
    About Fireflies
    rootbound episode 103
    Listen to Firefly by Surrija on Apple Music or Spotify
    Surrija.com

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    14 min
  • episode 127: Summer Vacation 1.1

    It’s a tale of three summers on this summer vacation episode of rootbound.

    Show Notes!

    Meteorlogical vs Astronomical Seasons
    National Phenology Network
    Listen and download “Phenological Summer”

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    13 min
  • episode 126: Snake Plant and Snake Berry + the Future of Orchids

    The guest on this episode is Phaan Howng! We talk about two botanical “snakes”, get slightly provocative regarding houseplants, go on several tangents, and finally end on the Future of Orchids. We also meet Virginia Thaxton, Interior Horticulturist at Smithsonian Gardens at the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery/American Art museum.

    Show Notes!
    The Kogod Courtyard
    The Future of Orchids
    Dracaena trifasciata
    Mock Strawberry: A Disdained Common Edible
    蛇莓
    传说之物“蛇泡草”,你听老人讲过吗?其实没有毒!
    Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the Brendel plant model
    Art by Phaan Howng
    Smithsonian Gardens

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    1 hr
  • episode 125: Coastal Redwood and Brazil Nut

    The guest on this episode of rootbound is Sophia Mahoney-Rohrl aka Gentle Millennial Friend. First, Steve is in Switzerland talking about clouds. Then, Sophia shares a big, fire-loving, mysterious tree. Steve shares about killer nuts and the tree they belong to. Finally, Steve discovers a tree in an unexpected place.

    Show Notes!

    Trees bend the laws of physics

    Epicormic Growth

    Trees of Mystery

    Albino Redwoods

    Ensatina salamanders

    Bertholletia excelsa

    Brazil nut harvesting proves a win-win for forest and community livelihood

    Meet the Agouti: the master behind Brazil nuts

    Giant Sequoia at Bleicherweg & Todistrasse in Zürich, Zurigo, Switzerland

    Gentle Millennial Friend on Instagram

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    49 min
  • episode 124: Chemistry Near the Straw-Colored Flatsedge

    Due to a sick kid, this won’t be a normal episode of the program. Steve is joined by Karla and they talk about chemistry and love near the straw-colored flat sedge.

    Show Notes!
    A Historical Overview of Natural Products in Drug Discovery
    Discovery of Camptothecin and Taxol
    Aspirin: Turn-of-the-Century Miracle Drug
    episode 097: Variegated Winter Daphne and Mountain Mint
    Download Near the Straw-Colored Flat Sedge

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    26 min
  • episode 123: Sword Fern and Virginia Copperleaf

    The guest on this episode of rootbound is Tina Guldhammer-Frei of Greet The Wild! First, Steve stands near some trees. Then, Tina shares the first fern on the show and how it has lead her on her journey into nature. Steve talks about yet another “weed” in his yard. Finally, Steve dives deep into the reproductive cycle of ferns.

    Show Notes!

    rootbound episode 028: Sassafras!

    Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

    Reasons to Love Sword Ferns

    Virginia Copperleaf (Acalypha virginica)

    The Fern Life Cycle

    Watch Ferns Get Freaky

    Greet The Wild on the web

    Greet The Wild on Instagram

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    49 min
  • episode 122: Potatoes!

    The guest on this episode of rootbound is Krystal Frame. It’s another special episode of rootbound and this time we’re talkin’ the humble potato! Steve and Krystal chat about potato joy, potato sorrow, outer space, potato face, and history — both family and world varieties. The show closes with some facts inspired by potato jams.

    Show Notes!
    Potato wikipedia
    Frederick the Great, potatoes and the art of rebranding
    Did Frederick The Great Introduce The Potato To Germany?
    Space potatoes
    The Lumper: A humble potato that changed history
    The Irish Famine: Complicity in Murder
    Rösti recipe
    Crossing the Röstigraben
    Idaho Potato Museum
    George Crum aka George Speck
    Sustain Frame on the web
    Sustain Frame Instagram

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    53 min
  • episode 121: An Eclipse in Spring

    On this special spring episode we are talking total eclipses! April 8, 2024 was a total solar eclipse and Steve shares his experience — but this is a plant podcast and so Steve also talks with Daniel Beverly. Daniel shares is experience researching the effect of total solar eclipses on plants during not one, but two total solar eclipses!

    Show Notes!
    Hydraulic and photosynthetic responses of big sagebrush to the 2017 total solar eclipse
    Eclipses give IU researcher a glimpse into plants’ reaction to environmental stressors
    Why the Eclipse Leaves Us Awe-Struck
    The AmeriFlux Network
    A composite image I took at the 2017 eclipse
    Daniel Beverly’s website

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    56 min
  • episode 120: Ghost Pipe and Eleven O’Clock Lady

    The guest on this episode of rootbound is Hannah Vega! First, Steve discusses the concept of medicine (again). Then Hannah explains a ghostly plant that loves mushrooms. Steve talks about avian excrement, the bible and yet another weed in his lawn. Finally, we speculate about the meaning of biblical text in a non-religious way.

    Show Notes!
    Monotropa uniflora (ghost pipe)
    The Ghosts of the Forest Floor: Ghost Pipes
    Ornithogalum umbellatum(eleven o’clock lady)
    2 Kings 6:25
    A exploration of Dove’s Dung from the biblicalcyclopedia.com
    Definition of thermoperiodicity
    Pedanius Dioscorides
    Pharmacognosy
    Hannah Vega on Instagram (@afroforagers)
    Hannah Vega’s Photography

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    49 min
  • episode 119: Mixed Greens no. 6

    This special Mixed Greens episode of rootbound is kind of all over the place. Steve eats cactus, learns about a gruesome tomato commercial, learns about the nuts history of his family and does a deep dive on fake music with Party Nails.

    Show Notes!
    How to Harvest Prickly Pear Pads
    All fake rootbound theme songs!
    Los Tomatitos Muy Contentitos through the decades
    Black Walnut episode of rootbound
    Article by my Great Grandfather about my 3xGreat Grandfather
    All Versions of Nose Twister!
    Party Nails on the web!

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    48 min

About rootbound

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A podcast about plants for when you’re stuck inside.