How to Find, Use, and Identify Common Sacred Plants
Almost every culture and religion out there make use of sacred plants. People revere these sacred plants for their medicinal qualities, culinary use, healing power, or cultural purposes. Learning about the history and culture of plants is part of the study of...
How Botany Twitter and a Bumblebee Rediscovered a Rare Plant
In June of last year, botany Twitter made a pretty big discovery. Rather than squabbling about politics or sharing ridiculous memes, botany Twitter actually made a contribution to science. It all started when Professor Chris Martine shared a photo of a bumblebee on...
Low-Light Houseplants That Will Survive Your Dark Office Cubicle
A few low-light houseplants can turn a bare, sterile space into one that’s much more inviting. Indoor plants improve concentration and can relieve stress. Just looking at a plant every so often can help you focus. Plants even filter out toxins and release fresh...
The 3 Best Hiking Apps
A few years ago, if you told me that there were apps that made hiking better, I’d have laughed. The point of hiking was to disconnect and escape the constant buzzes, chirps, and little red flags of my busy life. The concept of the “best hiking apps” wasn’t even on my...
Can We Measure Plant Intelligence? Science Tackles a Question We Didn’t Know We Should Ask.
Humans are pretty biased when it comes to evaluating the intelligence of other species. We only recently admitted that our closest relatives use tools. Many people still struggle to understand that other species can feel many emotions and even have culture. The more...
How Moss Removes Arsenic from Water
Scientists in Sweden just discovered a species of moss removes arsenic from water, taking the usefulness of plants up a few notches in my book. While it’s old news that plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, arsenic removal from a plant is really uncommon. ...
Ethnobotany Lets You Explore Useful Plants, History, and Culture All at Once
As children, we’re all interested in ethnobotany. We point at vegetables and ask where they came from, we put flowers into our mouths and make play of poultice making. For many, that curiosity fades later in life. Field botany textbooks can be cumbersome, and learning...