Ep. 274 - Hollow Trees = Habitat

Move over raccoons and squirrels, hollow trees have some additional residents to support. Joining us on this episode are Dr.'s Lary Reeves and Andrei Sourakov to talk to us about how hollow trees are proving to be great spots to find massive congregations of moths, mosquitoes, and many other arthropods. When you consider how many hollow trees are on the landscape, you begin to realize just how much habitat these trees can provide. This episode also stands as proof of the power of natural history observations. By taking the time to observe nature no matter where you are, amazing discoveries will be made! This episode was sponsored by The Great Courses Plus and produced in part by Judy, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Dana, Chloe, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Vaibhav, Kendall, Christina, Brett, Jocelyn, Kathleen, Ethan, Kaylee, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Donica, Chris, Shamora, Alana, Laura, Alice, Sarah, Rachel, Joanna, Griff, Philip, Paul, Matthew, Clark, Bobby, Kate, Steven, Brittney, McMansion Hell, Joey, Catherine, Brandon, Hall, Vegreville Creek and Wetlands Fund, Kevin, Oliver, John, Johansson, Christina, Jared, Hannah, Katy Pye, Brandon, Gwen, Carly, Stephen, Botanical Tours, Moonwort Studios, Liba, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, doeg, Clifton, Stephanie, Benjamin, Eli, Rachael, Plant By Design, Philip, Brent, Ron, Tim, Homestead Brooklyn, Brodie, Kevin, Sophia, Mark, Rens, Bendix, Irene, Holly, Caitlin, Manuel, Jennifer, Sara, and Margie.

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Learn more about Dr. Sourakov’s work and the Florida Museum of Natural History

Learn more about Dr. Reeves’ work and the University of Florida’s entomology department

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Ep. 200 - Books, Books, and More Books!

This week In Defense of Plants is celebrating its 200th episode with a bunch of book recommendations. I get a lot of emails from listeners each week and unfortunately I simply do not have the time to respond to all of them. One of the most popular questions I get revolves around which books I recommend. And because In Defense of Plants wouldn't be where it is today without the wonderful support of listeners like you, I thought it would be great to dedicate the 200th episode to a list of books worthy of your time. Joining us to discuss our reading adventures is the wonderful Sara Johnson, who has brought some great recommendations to the table. So join us as we talk about some of our favorite botanical/natural history themed reads.

Books in this episode:

1. Alice in the Land of Plants: Biology of Plants and Their Importance for Planet Earth - Yiannis Manetas

2. Readers Digest North American Wildlife

3. Nature's Palette: The Science of Plant Color - David Lee

4. A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold

5. A Natural History of Conifers - Aljos Farjon

6. The Orchid Thief - Susan Orlean

7. The Timber Press Guide to Succulent Plants of the World by Fred Dortort

8. Earthly Pleasures - Roger B. Swain

9. The Flowering of Gondwana - Mary E. White, Jim Frazier

10. Gods of the Morning - John Lister-Kaye

11. Flora: Inside the Secret World of Plants by Helen Fewster, Megan Douglass, Karyn Gerhard, Jamie Ambrose, Ross Bayton, Matt Candeias, Sarah Jose, Andrew Mikolajski, Esther Ripley, David Summers

This episode was produced in part by Oliver, John, Johansson, Christina, Jared, Hannah, Katy Pye, Brandon, Gwen, 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, Caitlin, Manuel, Jennifer, Sara, and Margie.

Follow Sara on Twitter: @sjohnson4888

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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.

Click here to learn more about Laura's work.

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

Click here to contact Laura.

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