Remembering Botanist Richard Walter Pohl and his Love for Costa Rica

"When Richard died in 1993, one of his graduate students observed something uncanny:
all the Costa Rican bamboo Richard had brought to the University Greenhouse were blooming."

May 21, 1916

On this day, botanist Richard Walter Pohl was born.

Richard was an expert on the grasses of temperate and tropical America.

He was an avid gardener, growing fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals in his home garden.

One of the most impactful experiences in Richard's career was the chance to teach an agrostology course in Costa Rica. He lost his heart to the plants and people there.

Richard made over 20 field expeditions to Costa Rica, Central and South America after 1966. He botanized in the region, collecting bamboo and grasses, amassing over 15,800 plants in his lifetime.

When Richard died in 1993, one of his graduate students observed something uncanny: all the Costa Rican bamboo Richard had brought to the University Greenhouse was blooming.

The bamboo had grown for years without ever flowering, and like Richard, they were at the end of their life cycle. Once bamboo flowers, it dies.