Asa Gray: The Birth of American Botany’s Greatest Voice

Asa Gray by Sir David McNee, 1838

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 18, 1810 On this day, Asa Gray (1810-1888) was born. He was a figure who would become America’s preeminent botanist and one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century. Born…

Read More

A Pioneering Voice in Texas Botany: Maude Jeannie Young

Maude Jeannie Young with Texas yellow roses

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. November 1, 1826 Maude Jeannie Fuller Young (pronounced “MAW-duh JEE-nee FULL-er YOUNG”) was born on this day in 1826. Though she would become known for many accomplishments, it’s her groundbreaking contribution to botanical…

Read More

A Child of the Forest – Heinrich Cotta’s Legacy

Heinrich Cotta

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1763 It was on this day that Heinrich Cotta [HINE-rick COT-ah] was born beneath the open sky of Kleine Zillbach [KLINE-eh TSIL-bock], Germany. His personal account of his origin story reads…

Read More

Parsing Petals: John Berkenhout and the Language of Botany

John Berkenhout

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 8, 1726 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of one John Berkenhout, an English physician, naturalist, and writer of no small repute. While his name may not be as…

Read More

Classifying the Centuries: Gustavus Adolphus College Honors Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus, Portrait by Alexander Roslin, 1775

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 2007 On this day, dear readers and fellow devotees of botanical classification, Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota held its second Linnaeus Symposium, a grand affair titled “Linnaeus @ 300.” Can you…

Read More