Ep. 184 - Fossilized Bryophytes: A Journey Back In Time

The odds of any living material becoming fossilized are extremely rare, especially if that living thing is a moss, liverwort, or hornwort. It does happen, however, and my guest today is dedicating his career to studying and understanding what bryophyte fossils can tell us. Joining us is Alex Bippus, a PhD student at Oregon State and his work is absolutely fascinating. From climate change to evolution, there seems to be no end to the fun of studying bryophyte fossils. This episode was produced in part by Carly, Stephen, Botanical Tours, Moonwort Studios, Lisa, Liba, Lucas, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, doeg, Daniel, Clifton, Stephanie, Rachelle, Benjamin, Eli, Rachael, Anthony, Plant By Design, Philip, Brent, Ron, Tim, Homestead Brooklyn, Brodie, Kevin, Sophia, Brian, Mark, Rens, Bendix, Irene, Holly, Mountain Misery Farms, Caitlin, Manuel, Jennifer, Sara, and Margie.

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Ep. 64 - Bryophyting

When you meet someone like today's guest, you hold on to them tightly and make them go hiking with you. I met Sarah Hecocks earlier this summer. She joined our research station as a seasonal avian tech. However, she wasn't into birds alone. Sarah has a deep passion for mosses, liverworts, and lichens alike. As such, we spent many hours in the woods geeking out over the often overlooked organisms. What follows is a recording of our final hike before she returned to California to start a new adventure. Sarah and I are not experts on bryophyte or lichen ID but we do hold a deep passion and appreciation for these plants. Armed with a hand lens and the recorder we set off into the woods to see what we could find! This episode was produced in part by Mark and Gregory. 

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Ep. 57 - The Fascinating World of Liverworts

Say liverwort to some random person on the street and you are going to get some funny looks. Say it to the right person, however, and brace yourself because you are about to enter into a world hundreds of millions of years in the making. Liverworts represent something akin to the earliest stages in terrestrial plant evolution. Despite their diminutive stature, the world of liverworts is endlessly fascinating. For this reason I was very excited to sit down for a conversation with this week's guest. Laura Briscoe is a Research & Collections Assistant at The Field Museum who specializes  in liverwort biology and her work focuses on cataloguing and describing liverwort diversity. Her research takes her to a small island off the coast of Chile where liverwort diversity far outnumbers that of vascular plants such as trees. This was one of the most fascinating conversations I have ever had and I really think you are going to enjoy it.

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Click here to see a video journal of Laura in the field. 

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