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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Washington DC
We inspire curiosity, discovery, and learning about nature and culture through outstanding research, collections, exhibitions, and education. Comment policy: http://www.si.edu/Termsofuse
Recent Activity
Delayed ocean acidification confirmed in Gulf of Maine
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 2, April 2025. -Adapted from The Pinnacle Gazette Recent research indicates a delayed onset of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Maine due to complex water mass interactions and temperature variations. The Gulf of Maine, significant for its ecological and economic value, particularly for... Continue reading
Posted 3 days ago at The Plant Press
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Nearly half of the species of Heliconia are threatened with extinction
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 2, April 2025. A new analysis from researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History reveals that nearly half of the genus Heliconia, a group of tropical plants popular for their bright, beakshaped flowers, are threatened with extinction. The findings, published in the... Continue reading
Posted Apr 17, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Art by Alice Tangerini: Schiedea waiahuluensis W.L.Wagner, Weller, B.Nyberg, & A.K.Sakai
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. Schiedea waiahuluensis, a newly discovered species from Hawai‘i, is likely the first plant to be identified and collected using drone technology. The species is found only on the dry cliffs of Waiahulu on the island of Kauaʻi, with an estimated population... Continue reading
Posted Mar 26, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Staff Activities
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. On November 25, Erika Gardner gave a presentation titled, “What is a Type Specimen,” to the Riderwood Senior Living Community Garden Club in Silver Spring, Maryland. The presentation included historical collecting accounts and the continued preservation of specimens, the use of... Continue reading
Posted Mar 20, 2025 at The Plant Press
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New Faces
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. Danielle Remor (center) with Carol Kelloff and Warren Wagner Danielle Remor is a Brazilian Ph.D. student in Botany at the State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS) and was awarded the 2024 Harold E. Robinson and Vicki A. Funk Award. Remor... Continue reading
Posted Mar 12, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Peanut illustration used to honor President Carter
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. When Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) passed away on December 29, 2024, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History used social media to honor him. To mark his passing and to recognize that Carter rose from Georgia peanut farmer to the 39th president... Continue reading
Posted Mar 4, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Untangling Trebouxia, a green algal lichen photobiont in southern Africa
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. By Ian Medeiros. A recent study in the American Journal of Botany (2024; https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16441) provides a first view of the southern African biodiversity of the green algal genus Trebouxia (Chlorophyta), the most common photosynthetic partner in lichens. Trebouxia in a squash... Continue reading
Posted Feb 26, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Oahe Dam Archaeology: 39CO5 – Fort Manuel
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By Lotte Govaerts This blog post is part of my series on the historical archaeology of the River Basin Surveys (RBS). In the next few entries in this series, I will be focusing on individual sites within the Oahe Dam reservoir area. Although RBS archaeologists investigated many Native American sites... Continue reading
Posted Feb 21, 2025 at Rogers Archaeology Lab
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A new grass family phylogeny is published
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. A collaborative effort from the Grass Phylogeny Working Group III has resulted in the publication of a new grass phylogeny inferred from 331 nuclear genes for more than 1,100 grass species entitled, “A nuclear phylogenomic tree of grasses (Poaceae) recovers current... Continue reading
Posted Feb 18, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Researchers call for better coordination of the rules for benefit sharing for the use of digital sequence information
From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. - Adapted from EINPresswire.com The 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) was held in Cali, Colombia, in October. At the conference researchers and international partners elucidated a message on the management for the global harmonization of the different regulations on digital... Continue reading
Posted Feb 10, 2025 at The Plant Press
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It’s time to get serious about nature
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. By W. John Kress, Curt Lindberg, and Walter Poleman When John Kress (Curator Emeritus) returned from Cali, Colombia, after attending the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), he and two others representing Vermont... Continue reading
Posted Feb 5, 2025 at The Plant Press
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The 22nd National Botanical Symposium to explore the future of collections-based plant science
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Department of Botany, the United States Botanic Garden, and Smithsonian Gardens will hold the 22nd National Botanical Symposium (formerly Smithsonian Botanical Symposium), "The Future of Collections-Based Plant Science," on May 16, 2025. What does... Continue reading
Posted Jan 30, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Species discovery is propelled as scientists use drones to discover rare Hawaiian plants
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From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025. By Jon Letman, National Tropical Botanical Garden Scientists in Hawai‘i have achieved what is believed to be the first new species discovery using aerial drone technology. Researchers from the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), Smithsonian Institution, Outreach Robotics, and Hawai‘i’s Division... Continue reading
Posted Jan 22, 2025 at The Plant Press
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Art by Alice Tangerini: Bahiana occidentalis K.Wurdack
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. Bahiana occidentalis K.Wurdack (PhytoKeys 219: 121-144; 2023) was first collected 40 years before it was described based on an accumulation of 35 collections from the seasonally dry tropical forests of northern Peru. Since none of those collections was flowering – sterile,... Continue reading
Posted Dec 12, 2024 at The Plant Press
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By the Numbers: Collections Edition
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. U.S. National Herbarium By the Numbers * Collections Edition * A volunteer in the Department of Botany carefully mount plant specimens to herbarium sheets. (photographer unknown) 16,042 Specimens digitized/imaged in FY24 6,109 New specimens accessioned into the collection in FY24 6,027... Continue reading
Posted Dec 2, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Staff activities
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. On July 16, 2024, Alice Tangerini traveled to Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF) in Upperville, Viriginia to teach a class on Botanical Illustration and present a lecture entitled, “Botanical Illustration at the Museum.” Alice Tangerini (top right corner of the table)... Continue reading
Posted Nov 26, 2024 at The Plant Press
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New faces
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. Bertrand Black is a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Biology at the University of Vermont. He joined Botany as a predoctoral fellow in August 2024, working under the mentorship of Eric Schuettpelz. His dissertation focuses on the phylogenomics, biogeography, and systematics of... Continue reading
Posted Nov 20, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Congressional 'Night at the Museum'
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. Smithsonian Congressional Night was held at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) on the evening of July 24, 2024. The event was attended by approximately 1,800 guests, including Members of Congress, Congressional staff, representatives of Nissan North America, senior Smithsonian... Continue reading
Posted Nov 14, 2024 at The Plant Press
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New taxa recently described by Smithsonian botanists
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. Over the past few months, Smithsonian botanists have discovered, described, and published 11 new plant species, a new plant genus, and established two new plant tribes. These taxa are found in South America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, and they represent... Continue reading
Posted Nov 4, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Scientists unravel transition of survival strategies in grape family
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. - Adapted from Chinese Academy of Sciences In a study published in Nature Plants, scientists have identified Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene boundaries as turning points for the transition of survival strategies in the grape family, Vitaceae. Understanding the origin and dynamics... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Museum specialists meet in Okinawa at the 39th annual meeting and SPNHC-TDWG joint conference
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. By Carol Kelloff, Meghann Toner, and Erika Gardner This year the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) held a joint conference in Okinawa, Japan, from September 2-6, 2024. The theme was “Enhancing Local... Continue reading
Posted Oct 23, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Botanists meet in Madrid at the XX International Botanical Congress
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024. By Gary A. Krupnick Department of Botany staff members and affiliates joined colleagues from near and far at the XX International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Madrid, Spain, from July 21-27, 2024. Botanists participate in the Nomenclature Section of the XX International... Continue reading
Posted Oct 17, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Art by Alice Tangerini: Zizania aquatica L.
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2024. The 21st Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, “Advancing Plant Conservation Through Horticulture,” was held on May 17, 2024. Among the talks was one about conservation action for crop wild relatives. In 1997, Alice Tangerini illustrated this image of Zizania aquatica, southern wild-rice, an... Continue reading
Posted Sep 19, 2024 at The Plant Press
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Staff Activities [video]
From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2024. John Kress presented a lecture, "Art meets Science: How artists and botanists capture the essence of Nature through color, composition, and classification," at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2024. In his talk, he described how artists and... Continue reading
Posted Sep 12, 2024 at The Plant Press
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New Faces
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From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2024. Lucy Anderson is an undergraduate NHRE intern working in Botany this summer. She is a Plant Biology major at the Pennsylvania State University interested in plant genomics, systematics, and conservation. She is working on a continuation of a project with Warren... Continue reading
Posted Sep 4, 2024 at The Plant Press
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