Our August newsletter is out, and it's all about stone fruits, the origin of the peach butt shape, and the weird biochemistry of the Amygdaloideae, plus a recipe for peach-mint jam and our usual roundup of recent papers and one oldie.

The Botanist in the Kitchen@bitkblog.bsky.social · 3w ago

Peaches and other stone fruits are the stars of the August 2026 edition of our Gather and Sow newsletter. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Peaches and other stone fruits are the stars of the August 2026 edition of our Gather and Sow newsletter. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: August 2026

Does the summer heat have you feeling drupey? Last month we broke down brambles for you, showing that their “berries” were really aggregates of drupelets. This month in Food for Thought we take on ful...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

The July 2026 issue of Gather and Sow is all about brambles (genus Rubus) and plant spinescence. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: July 2026

This month we continue our summer romance with the rose family, specifically the cane fruits, or brambles, which include blackberries, raspberries, and their many look-alikes. These cane fruits belong...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

This month's Gather and Sow newsletter is all about strawberries. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: June 2026

Welcome to June, when strawberry season is finally well underway across wide swaths of the Northern Hemisphere. While the fruits are growing fat, the moon will move through its phases, ending with the...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

Happy International Bee Day! In the Rethinking Lawns lab @negauneeinstitute.bsky.social Chicago Botanic Garden, we're working to help turn our lawns into better spaces for native pollinators. To celebrate, have some id keys for Midwestern/NE American bumblebees! drive.google.com/drive/folder...

New book "A Primer for Experimental Evolution" with coauthors Michael Rose, Margarida Matos, and Joe Graves. www.worldscientific.com/worldscibook... A compact primer for students and colleagues interested in planning and designing experiments to address questions in evolutionary biology.

The May 2026 issue of our Gather and Sow newsletter is out. In Food for Thought, we argue that Mother’s Day should include more coconut. In Botany Lab of the Month we make Extreme Monocot Cookies. We end with our literature and media roundup. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: May 2026

Coconut palms grow some of the biggest seeds on the planet, and vanilla seeds, from an orchid, are among the smallest. They are both delicious! They are also the subjects of this month’s newsletter. J...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

Thank you to everyone who celebrated #IPAD2026 and supported PlantingScience today! It is not too late to get involved: 🌿 Donate: crm.botany.org/makeadonation 🌿 Shop PlantingScience t-shirts and totes with proceeds going directly to PlantingScience: www.bonfire.com/store/bsa-spring-swag-store-2026/

New paper! From Sam Snodgrass and @genomeofforrest.bsky.social, w/ @druncie.bsky.social, @gcbias.bsky.social, and a collaboration with Andres Moreno and @santiagogmm.bsky.social. Can we quantify the impact of humans on maize dispersal? Plant yourself in a comfy chair and lend me your ear: 1/10

The Gather and Sow: April 2026 newsletter is out, just in time for Easter. We write about betalains, the pigments that impart brilliant colors to beets and their relatives. And we dye Easter eggs with plant dyes, make violet syrup, and learn about pH. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: April 2026

This month’s newsletter lands just in time for Easter. If you haven’t dyed eggs yet, consider making homemade dyes from a variety of plants. The recipe is below in Botany Lab of the Month: Dyeing East...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

Can confirm it does! Reading David's new book has been a joy 🥹 Thank you for giving us this window into the world of flowers, it is truly magical!

David G Haskell@dghaskell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Flowers belong at the center of our creation story. Writing this book transformed how I experience, think about, and feel the world. I hope it will do the same for you. Publishers Weekly: "deep research and lyrical prose…astonishing" www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775876...

The Gather and Sow: March 2026 issue is out, just in time for leeks on St. David's Day (March 1st) and saffron polenta cake for Women's History Month. gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s...

Gather and Sow: March 2026

We observe two holidays in this March 2026 issue of Gather and Sow: St. David’s Day (March 1st) and Women’s History Month (all of March), which coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8th.  ...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

gather-and-sow.ghost.io/gather-and-s... We have a new online presence and monthly newsletter: Gather and Sow. The February 2026 issue is all about live and chocolate, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Gather and Sow: February 2026

Inaugural Note Welcome to Gather and Sow: The Botanist in the Kitchen Newsletter, our new monthly missive! If you followed our Botanist in the Kitchen blog on the old Wordpress site, we thank you. We...

gather-and-sow.ghost.io

Macbeth: SHIT

simi@simifresh.bsky.social · 7mo ago

the bushes were people 😂

Do we sound like this? youtube.com/shorts/e-HAh...

Next time you’re in the woods, look at the tree’s FICO score #trees #botany #forest #comedy #shorts

YouTube video by Matt Lyons

youtube.com

Did you see @racheljabaily.bsky.social new open educational resource "Biology of Plants" coloring textbook when you were at #Botany2025 ? No? WELL GO CHECK IT OUT: oercommons.org/courses/the-... Gorgeous illustrations by MGB Hurst 😍

What’s the first thing I did after I got back home from #Botany2025? Showed off that sweet bulbous @ijpsjournal.bsky.social journal cover to my mom, which prompted her to then read the article! The bulbous propaganda spreads!! ✌️😎🧅 #PlantPeopleFTW

This week we have an appraisal of a book about plants – mainly angiosperms, and with an emphasis on their flowers and floral biology. Intrigued? More at plantcuttings.uk/2025/06/06/2... Cheers! #Botany #PlantScience

24 hours of flower power…

“Flower Day” by Sandra Knapp presents 24 mini-essays on diverse plants, highlighting their biology, ecology, and ethnobotanical significance. The book reflects on floral beauty and the …

plantcuttings.uk

May 25, 1925: A grand jury in Dayton, Tenn., indicts John T. Scopes on a misdemeanor count of violating the state's law against teaching evolution. Witnesses against him include his high school students who testify he read from a textbook dealing with the banned science. 1/2

Talking Biotech 459 - where did the key domestication mutations in corn come from? Were they present in resident gene pools waiting to be selected, or new mutations? I discuss with @jrossibarra and his student Regina Fairbanks. @aspb @ASHS_Hort @UF_IFAS share.transistor.fm/s/bed2ffa6

Without bees and other pollinators a lot of our food wouldn't exist! When you eat today, think of the tiny helpers who worked hard to produce your food! #WorldBeeDay #FoodHeroes

This snack company is trying to change the way you think about chocolate. Making chocolate wastes most of the cacao plant. Are you ready to try other parts of the cacao fruit? grist.org/food-and-agr... #Cacao #Chocolate #Food #Vegan #Environment #Agriculture

This snack company is trying to change the way you think about chocolate

Making chocolate wastes most of the cacao plant. Are you ready to try the whole cacao fruit?

grist.org

Prepping for a lecture in China and just remembered this talk I gave in 2023 about oak reproduction, dispersal, migration. Some of the most fascinating research I've read is represented here... enjoy, and feel free to share. docs.google.com/presentation...

Migration - 2023

In a Nutshell Oak reproduction, dispersal, migration OUTLINE: Oaks as individuals Reproduction / natural history Dispersal Migration The upshot: genes knitting individuals into populations Andrew Hipp...

docs.google.com

🌼🐝 We’re buzzing into the weekend with some fascinating pollination science 🐝🌼 A new study reveals how flower health, namely turgor pressure, affects buzz pollination mechanics. 🌸 Wilted flowers = poor response = struggling bees 🐝 📽️ Don’t miss the video showing how tricky it gets! #PlantScience 🧪

Epic and useful thread on the cause of climate change by the indomitable @katharinehayhoe.com

Katharine Hayhoe@katharinehayhoe.com · last yr.

Scientists who study climate don't automatically attribute all changes to human activity. Rather, we carefully investigate every possible natural factor that could explain the planet's warming. Could these be the real culprits? The evidence is in--and the answer is NO. This thread explains! 🧵

A complete and dynamic tree of birds - out today in PNAS! Teamwork with @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others at @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social and Open Tree of Life to put together current relationships across all birds. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Photographer Mitch Epstein's years-long project highlights the majesty and vulnerability of old growth forests across the US

Images capture the timeless beauty of America's ancient forests

Photographer Mitch Epstein's years-long project highlights the majesty and vulnerability of old growth forests across the US

newscientist.com

The average American diet requires about 2 acres of land per person per year (and that’s food grown and raised by people who are experts at growing and raising food)

Dr Grace S Peng@gspeng.bsky.social · last yr.

The problem with a "Grow Your Own" approach to tariffs and food security is that I get one bunch of small bananas once a year.

Chocolate lovers take note. A comprehensive study across three continents shows natural pollination of cacao is declining while higher temperatures reduce yields by up to 31%. Read about practical solutions for sustainable production. wp.me/pdRZhH-lUq

Could Climate Change and Pollinator Loss Turn Chocolate Back into an Expensive Delicacy?

A new study outlines some of the biggest threats that environmental change poses to the worldwide production of cacao,...

wp.me