Paleobotany Archives

From cuetlaxochitl to Poinsettia: The botanical diplomacy of Joel Roberts Poinsett

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 2, 1779 Dearest reader, On this day, we celebrate the birth of Joel Roberts Poinsett, a remarkable physician, botanist, statesman, and diplomat whose name today graces one of the most beloved holiday…

February 23, 2021 The Father of the RBGE Archives, Agnes Arber, Marion Delf-Smith, English Cottage Gardening by Margaret Hensel, and the Very Best Flowers for Drying

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

January 6, 2021 The Best Indoor Plants, Kaspar von Sternberg, Syd Barrett, Growing Poisonous Plants, A Nature Poem for Every Night of the Year by Jane Hunter, and Lee Reich’s Tree ID Secrets

Frederick Orpen Bower: Pioneer of Botanical Morphology and Evolutionary Plant Science

The Man Honored by the Bower Building November 4, 1855 Today is the birthday of the English botanist and Primitive Plant Expert Frederick Orpen Bower. Bower served as the Regius chair of botany at the University of Glasgow “Glahs-go.” When he arrived in 1885, the department was housed in two rooms, and the herbarium was…

Charles Leo Lesquereux: Deaf Bryologist and Pioneer of Paleobotany

The Man Honored by the Bower Building November 4, 1855 Today is the birthday of the English botanist and Primitive Plant Expert Frederick Orpen Bower. Bower served as the Regius chair of botany at the University of Glasgow “Glahs-go.” When he arrived in 1885, the department was housed in two rooms, and the herbarium was…

Frederick Orpen Bower: Botanical Pioneer and Champion of Plant Evolution

The Man Honored by the Bower Building November 4, 1855 Today is the birthday of the English botanist and Primitive Plant Expert Frederick Orpen Bower. Bower served as the Regius chair of botany at the University of Glasgow “Glahs-go.” When he arrived in 1885, the department was housed in two rooms, and the herbarium was…