The Newfoundland and the New Frontier: Seaman’s Tale

Captain Meriwether Lewis

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 2, 1803 On this verdant day, the United States, a fledgling nation, expanded its borders significantly when Napoleon ceded the vast Louisiana Territory to the Americans for a mere pittance. A botanist’s…

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John Mitchell: Botanist of Virginia and Maker of the Famous Mitchell Map

The Mitchell Map

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 13, 1711 Dearest reader, On this day, in the dawn of the 18th century, a mind both precise and poetic entered the world — John Mitchell, an American physician, botanist, and polymath…

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Humphrey Marshall: America’s Forgotten Father of Dendrology

Humphrey Marshalls Home

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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Meriwether Lewis and the Discovery of the Snowberry

Meriwether Lewis

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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Benjamin Smith Barton: Pioneer American Botanist and Naturalist

Benjamin Smith Barton thumbnail image

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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Meriwether Lewis and the Douglas-fir: Early Discovery and Botanical Legacy

Meriwether Lewis thumbnail image

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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Lewis and Clark: The Expedition That Brought Back America’s Wild Plants

Lewis and Clark thumbnail image

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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David Hosack Writes to Jefferson: Seeds, Lewis & Clark, and a Gardener’s Wish

David Hosack thumbnail image

The Father of American Dendrology November 5, 1801    Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Humphrey Marshall. The Marshalls were cousins to the Bartrams – their mothers were sisters. Humphrey’s cousin, John Bartram, was known as the “Father of American Botany” after establishing the country’s first botanical garden, and he ignited…

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Meriwether’s Mistake: The Serendipitous Discovery of Snowberry

Meriwether Lewis thumbnail image

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 13, 1805 My darling garden companions, gather ’round as I regale you with the most enchanting tale of botanical discovery! On this day in 1805, our intrepid explorer Meriwether Lewis stumbled upon…

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Seeds of Discovery: Jefferson’s Botanical Expedition Request to Lewis

Meriwether Lewis thumbnail image

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 20, 1803 On this day, President Thomas Jefferson, with a flourish of his quill and ambition stretching beyond the Mississippi, sent a formal letter to his private secretary and aide, Meriwether Lewis—a…

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Botanical Chronicles: Meriwether Lewis Names the Narrow-Leaf Cottonwood

Meriwether Lewis thumbnail image

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 12, 1805 On this day, in 1805, the intrepid explorer Meriwether Lewis stood just one day’s journey from discovering the Great Falls of Missouri, blissfully unaware of the natural wonder awaiting his…

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