Posts Tagged ‘plant evolution’
January 19, 2026 Alice Eastwood, G. Ledyard Stebbins, Janus and the Snowdrop, The New Romantic Garden by Jo Thompson, and Harris Olson
Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Patreon Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Today’s Show Notes January is a quieter season in the garden. The beds are resting. The work is mostly invisible. This is the time of year…
Read MoreThe Healing Horticulture of Oliver Sacks
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 11, 1933 On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of a most remarkable individual, Dr. Oliver Sacks – neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer extraordinaire. While his contributions to…
Read MoreAntoine Nicolas Duchesne: The Botanical Pioneer Behind the Modern Strawberry
The Modern Strawberry February 18, 1827 Today is the anniversary of the death of the French botanist, gardener, and professor at Versailles, Antoine Nicolas Duchesne (“do-Shane”). A specialist in strawberries and gourds, Antoine was a student of Bernard de Jussieu at the Royal Garden in Paris. A plant pioneer, Antoine, recognized that mutation was a…
Read MoreAlbert Francis Blakeslee: Pioneer American Botanist and Geneticist
Plant Genetics November 16, 1954 Today is the anniversary of the death of the prominent American botanist and geneticist Albert Francis Blakeslee. For his doctoral dissertation, Albert revealed incredible new facts about bread molds: bread molds can be male or female, and bread molds have sex. In 1937, Albert proved that colchicine caused chromosomes to…
Read MoreFrederick 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…
Read MoreAdolphe-Théodore Brongniart: The Father of Paleobotany and Linnaeus of Fossil Plants
Father of Paleobotany Today is the anniversary of the death of the French botanist and the Father of Paleobotany; Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart (“Bron-yahr”). Adolphe-Théodore and his wife had two sons, and when Adolphe-Théodore died, he died in the arms of his eldest son. As one of the most prominent botanists of the 19th century, Adolphe-Théodore worked…
Read MoreAdolphe-Théodore Brongniart: The Father of Paleobotany and the Linnaeus of Fossil Plants
Father of Paleobotany Today is the birthday of the French botanist and the Father of Paleobotany Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart (“Bron-yahr”). Adolphe-Théodore was born in Paris. His father, Alexander, was a geologist. There’s no doubt his father’s work helped Adolphe-Théodore become a pioneer in the field of paleobotany. A paleobotanist is someone who works with fossil plants.…
Read MoreKathleen Basford: British Botanist and Cultural Scholar of The Green Man
The Green Man Today is the birthday of the British Botanist Kathleen Basford who was born on this day in 1916. As a young girl, Basford’s nanny, Winny, taught her about the natural world; she learned to identify wildflowers and trees. In the 1940s, Basford had three children of her own. She began gardening. When…
Read MoreWild Relations: Jack Harlan and the True Origins of Agriculture
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 7, 1917 On this day, dear readers, we welcome into our world one Jack Harlan, a botanist whose passion for plants would rival even the most devoted of garden enthusiasts. Like a…
Read MoreHewett Cottrell Watson: The Father of British Plant Geography and Darwin’s Forerunner
by Hewett Cottrell Watson 21 Nov 1859 My dear Sir Once [I started] to read the ‘Origin’ I could not rest [until] I had galloped through [all of it]. I shall now begin to re-read it more deliberately. Meantime I am tempted to write you [my] first impressions… 1st. Your leading idea will assuredly become…
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