Posts Tagged ‘plant genetics’
Muriel Wheldale Onslow: Pioneer of Flower Color Genetics and Biochemical Genetics
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 3, 1880 Dearest reader, On this day, we tip our whimsical garden hats to Muriel Wheldale Onslow, a woman whose curiosity was as vivid as the snapdragons she so loved to study.…
Read MoreEdna St. Vincent Millay and the Controversial Jimsonweed: Poetry Meets Botany
Clever Compositions February 22, 1892 Today is the birthday of the American lyrical poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay. Gardeners cherish Edna’s verses like: April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers. I would blossom if I were a rose. I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch 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 MoreOrville Redenbacher: The Scientist Who Popped to Fame with Hybrid Popcorn
The Number One Popcorn On this day, Orville Redenbacher was born. Orville was a USDA scientist and the co-creator of a new hybrid of popcorn called “snowflake.” It was lighter and fluffier than traditional popped kernels, and Orville became a household name with his commercials for his popcorn. To this day, Orville Redenbacher is the…
Read MoreRudolph Boysen: The Unsung Creator of the Boysenberry
The Boysenberry Today is the anniversary of the death of the plant hybridizer Rudolph Boysen. In the 1910s and ’20s, Boysen had been playing around with plant genetics. He worked on an 18-acre farm owned by John Lubbens in Napa Valley. On one June morning, Boysen took a walk along a creek bank to inspect…
Read MoreGeorge Shull, the father of hybrid corn and agricultural innovation
The Father of Hybrid Corn Today newspapers announced the retirement of the “father of hybrid corn,” George Shull. An Ohio farm kid, George was a noted botanist who taught at Princeton University for 27 years. George’s work resulted in a one hundred and fifty million-dollar increase in the value of US corn as a result…
Read MoreRudolph Boysen: The Forgotten Hybridizer Behind the Boysenberry
A Cross Between Berries Today is the anniversary of the death of the plant hybridizer Rudolph Boysen who died on this day in 1950. In the 1910s and ’20s, Boysen had been playing around with plant genetics. He worked on an 18-acre farm owned by John Lubbens in Napa Valley. On one June morning, Boysen…
Read MoreEK Janaki Ammal: The Botanist Who Sweetened India’s Sugar Cane
The Sugar Botanist Today is the birthday of the Indian botanist EK Janaki Ammal who was born on this day in 1897. She was born in Kerala and studied in numerous colleges in India and received her masters and doctorate at the Unversity of Michigan. Before Ammal’s work, the sugar cane grown in India didn’t…
Read MoreJean-Baptiste Van Mons: The Titan of Pear Breeding and Pomology Pioneer
Selective Beeding for Pears Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Jean-Baptiste Van Mons who died on this day in 1842. The name of the game for Mons was selective breeding for pears. Selective breeding happens when humans breed plants to develop particular characteristics by choosing the parent plants to make the…
Read MoreA Botanist Uprooted: The Passing of Edgar Shannon Anderson
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 18, 1969 On this day, we bid farewell to Edgar Shannon Anderson, a botanical genius whose life withered like an autumn leaf after years of brilliant bloom. Your devoted correspondent finds it…
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…
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