"Is it time to say farewell to Botany?" asked authors in a recent op-ed.
Tag - science communication
Erin Zimmerman
Plants that … CURE
Plants that cure: A natural history of the world’s most important medicinal plants* by Elizabeth A Dauncey and Melanie–Jayne R Howes, 2020. Kew Publishing. A few years ago Kew published a book about the deadly...
Nigel Chaffey
The crowning glory of Kew
Palace of Palms: Tropical dreams and the making of Kew by Kate Teltscher 2020. Picador. The UK’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew near London are famed as much for the buildings and grounds, as the ground-breaking, world...
Much more than juniper – the botany of gin
The Botany of Gin, by Chris Thorogood and Simon Hiscock 2020. Bodleian Library. As one who ‘appreciates’ a well-proportioned gin & tonic, and having previously read Just the Tonic by Kim Walker & Mark Nesbitt, I...
Plant blindness eradicated *
Side-view of the human eye, viewed approximately 90 degrees temporal, illustrating how the iris and pupil appear rotated towards the viewer due to the optical properties of the cornea, by Paul Savage Plant blindness...
Do we need evidence in books about plants?
Without a source are facts really facts, or just factoids?
Can’t Botanists agree on common names..?
A rose by any other name... would be incorrectly described.
Seaweeds, lichens and phytoplankton, what’s not to like..?
Rocky Shores, by John Archer–Thompson and Julian Cremona 2019. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. “Rocky shores are one of the most extreme environments on the planet.” [Anon.] This is a BOTANY blog site! OK, let’s...
Running rings around world history
Tree story: The history of the world written in rings, by Valerie Trouet 2020. Johns Hopkins University Press What links the following: That (in)famous ‘hockey stick graph’ which showed that Earth’s temperature...
The refreshing tale of gin-and-tonic (well, half of it…)
Just the tonic, by Kim Walker and Mark Nesbitt 2019. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. What is: carbonated water, citric acid, sodium citrate, natural quinine, and aspartame? That is the declared list of ingredients in a can...
Tales of tea, still stirring emotions in 2020
Tea leaves might not predict the future, but they have a powerful connection to our past.
Koalas up a gum tree, but having the last laugh..?
Koalas break the local stereotype by being Australians who don't drink. Or so it was thought.
