The Flying Flowers: Dr. Hugh Cutler’s Botanical Airmail Adventure

July 2, 1940

On this day, dear readers,the esteemed pages of the St. Joseph Gazette revealed a most delightful botanical discovery. Dr. Hugh C. Cutler of St. Louis—a gentleman of scientific prowess—had unearthed two remarkable plant species in the wild terrains of Utah: the wild bridal wreath and a crucifer (a member of that most practical family that gives us everything from cabbage to radish).

One can only imagine the thrill of such a discovery!

The wild bridal wreath, with its cascading white blossoms like a bride's veil caught in a spring breeze, standing proudly against Utah's dramatic landscapes. And alongside it, a crucifer—perhaps unremarkable to the untrained eye, but to a botanist like Dr. Cutler, a treasure worthy of immediate documentation.

Indeed, these specimens were deemed of such importance that they were whisked away via airmail—quite the modern extravagance for plant transportation in 1940!—to the hallowed halls of Washington University in St. Louis.

One must appreciate the urgency with which botanical discoveries were treated in those days.

No languishing in collection boxes or waiting for the next academic conference. These green treasures required immediate attention from the university's botanical authorities!

For the devoted gardener, such news would have sparked considerable interest. While our cultivated bridal wreaths (Spiraea species) grace many a garden border with their fountain-like display, their wild cousins remind us of the untamed beauty from which our garden favorites descend. Nature, after all, is the greatest garden designer of all, creating plants perfectly adapted to their environments long before humans began our horticultural tinkering.

And what of this mysterious crucifer?

The Brassicaceae family—known then primarily as crucifers for their cross-shaped flowers—contains some of our most essential garden vegetables and ornamentals. From the humble cabbage to the sweet-scented stock, from the peppery radish to the golden alyssum, this family's contribution to both plate and garden is immeasurable.

Dr. Cutler's expedition reminds us that even in 1940, botanical frontiers remained to be explored. While Europeans had been cataloging North American flora since colonial times, new discoveries awaited the keen-eyed botanist willing to venture into less-traveled terrain. Each new plant identified added another piece to the vast botanical puzzle of our continent—a legacy that continues to inform our understanding of plant diversity and evolution today.

For those tending their Victory Gardens in 1940, such news might have seemed remote from their immediate concerns of growing food during wartime shortages.

Yet every garden plant we cherish today was once a wild species, discovered and documented by botanists like Dr. Cutler before being introduced to cultivation.

Our gardens are living museums of such discoveries, spanning centuries of botanical exploration.