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The State of some Florida Grasses after a Severely Cold Arctic Blast
An arctic blast brought freezing temperatures to Central Florida the last couple weeks. For three consecutive nights, temperatures dropped below freezing. In the aftermath of these disastrous weather events, whole swathes of herbaceous ornamentals, trees, and shrubs were left seemingly dead, their leaves turned a crinkly brown. Even the succulents were affected, with the big…
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The Spread of Rust (A Slight Detour into the Foundational Language Wars)
I’ve been busy the last week or two learning a new computer language. At first glance, this might seem to have nothing at all to do with the natural world, and specifically with the Poaceae. But first some background. In addition to being a biologist and a scholar of the grasses, I am a software…
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Laobambos calcareus: The Discovery of the World’s First Succulent Bamboo!
Succulence in botany refer to the ability of a plant to store water by varying the size of various organs. Although the Poaceae can exist in varying environments, including the driest seasonal environs, there has been a notable lack of succulence in the list of 12,000 plus members of the family. The one notable exception…
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Surprising Filipino Lawns: Axonopus compressus in the Philippines
One of the interesting things I found out when visiting the Philippines was the heavy use of Axonopus compressus as turf grass. Although this stoloniferous species (it uses above ground shoots to spread laterally) is also used in the United States, and especially in Florida, I don’t believe I’ve actually ever encountered it there, where…
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In Search of Climbing Bamboo at the Makiling Botanical Garden and Forest Reserve
About two hours away by car from my place of lodging, in the beautiful province of Laguna in the Philippines, sits the Makiling Botanical Garden and the Makiling Forest Reserve. Surrounded and maintained by the University of the Philippines at Los Banos, it is probably the premier botanical garden in the country, and I had…
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A short Palawan Interlude
The island of Palawan is a tropical paradise that lies between the Philippines and Malaysia. It is a large tourist destination, but one that has maintained its natural beauty even with the onslaught of tourists. The flight from Manila was a short 1.5 hour hop, but it was interesting because we went via a propeller…
Sejarah Poaceae (Volume 2)
The Story of Grasses – Grasslands and Grassy Open Ecosystems