In Defense of Plants Podcast

This episode picks up where we left off with Dr. Devani Jolman and blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) hyrbids. Join us as we dive much deeper into the ecological underpinnings of hybridization in wild blueberry species. Learn what these insights can tell us about ecology, evolution, and even humanity's role in all this. What started with some intriguing natural history observations a...

Hybridization in plants is an incredibly interesting subject from an evolutionary perspective. Add in the ecological element, however, and it becomes absolutely mind blowing. This is why Dr. Devani Jolman decided to dive head first into botanical science. What started with some intriguing natural history observations about variations in blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) tra...

Silviculture is a branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests. It can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people but at its core, silviculture is all about how we manage forests. How do we make this process more ecologically friendly? It can be complicated to answer this, but that is where people like Dr. Ben Knapp come in. Join us for a look at...

Plants don't have ears, a nervous system, or any sort of brain-like organ, yet they have the capacity to detect and respond to sounds. Moreover, the vibrations they are exposed to, AKA their 'vibroscape,' is highly complex and we are only beginning to understand this on a deeper level. Joining us to discuss this topic is grad student Luke Bowles who is using borage (Borag...

Bee cognition is an important topic in the world of plants and pollination. How various bumblebees learn and remember to visit various flowers influences how plants reproduce and evolve. Plants also have a major role to play in the form of floral traits as well as nectar and pollen chemistry and nutrition. As you can imagine, teasing apart these interactions is complex proces...