The New York Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants, an educational institution, and a scientific research organization in the Bronx.

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Snowy days are here at last. Whether they'll stay, who can say, but we're enjoying the change of scenery.

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"Do plants feel?” This is one of many questions that Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose posed. Bose, today's featured Google Doodle (11/30/16), did extensive research into measurable physical responses that plants exhibit, even claiming that plants, like humans and other animals, have a pulse. Bose wrote in 1926, "The barriers which have separated kindred phenomena are now thrown down and plants and animals are found to be a multiple unity in a single ocean of being. Our sense of wonder is quickened, not lessened, when we realize our kinship with all that live."

While Bose's research was at times controversial, this essential question of whether (and how) plants feel has remained one that some botanists and other scholars continue to research.

The clipping here comes from the collections of the LuEsther T. Mertz library at NYBG.

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Sundown at the Marjorie G. Rosen Seasonal Walk. Have a beautiful weekend, everyone. —MN

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Howautumnal

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The Bronx River paints a fall scene better than just about anyone. —MN

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On a dreary Friday, H. Isabel Adams’ poppy illustration from the Library’s 1910 copy of Wildflowers of the British Isles keeps us afloat. —MN

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Moving our ozukuri (thousand bloom) chrysanthemum is no simple task, but it safely made the trek from our greenhouses to the Haupt Conservatory ahead of its big debut in just over a week. Our Kiku exhibition kicks off Saturday, October 8, and only runs through the 30th, so don't sit idle next month!

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We're just seven months away from the April 22, 2017 opening of CHIHULY at NYBG—the first major New York exhibition of the sculptor's works in more than a decade. Learn more about the artist, his inspiring glass creations, and the Garden's nights of light and color planned for this momentous occasion at nybg.org.

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This 1925 algae specimen from our Herbarium proves there’s beauty (and sometimes horses) to be found in all plants. –MN

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While Rio's Olympic games have come and gone, there's always a race on in the Amazon. Ghillean T. Prance, former Vice President of Science at NYBG, spent a great deal of time in the Amazon documenting its vast world of plant life alongside the Tikuna people, seen here in a photo from his book That Glorious Forest: Exploring the Plants and Their Indigenous Uses in Amazonia.

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This week from the stacks of our LuEsther T. Mertz Library, original watercolor drawings from the 1885 copy of Flowers and Ferns of America by Sprague, Faxon, and Emerton; and Rembert Dodoens’ Nievve Herball in its 1578 English translation, demonstrating centuries-old annotations that gave us the word “marginalia.” You can learn more about that from The New Yorker!

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For 120 years, NYBG Press—the publishing program of The New York Botanical Garden—has made advancements in the discovery, use, and conservation of plants and fungi available to researchers and enthusiasts the world over. This week we highlight Anemia (Anemiaceae), a book by John T. Mickel that details one of the oldest still-living fern genera going back to Cretaceous times. Learn more about this and other books by NYBG Press here!

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For the first time in nearly 80 years, NYBG has a corpse flower on display! Also known as the titan-arum, Amorphophallus titanum last bloomed here in 1939, and our current specimen looks just about ready to unfurl. These unpredictable flowers—some of the largest on earth—have a brief but vivid blooming period of just 24–36 hours, and that's after 10 years of careful tending by our horticulturists.

We expect the plant to live up to its name in the next few days with a vibrant color and fragrance that should make clear why it's called the corpse flower. Head through to learn more and find out the best time to see this botanical spectacle!

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Eevees feeling at home in the ferns of the Native Plant Garden. Exeggcutes and Pinsirs causing trouble for joggers and hydrangea-lovers, respectively.

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It’s because of your support that NYBG’s good works in science, horticulture, education, and conservation are made possible. That said, today is the last day to see your impact doubled by our generous Board Members and the Urban Oasis Challenge when you make a contribution to the Garden. You can learn more here, and thank you for being a part of our 125-year history! —MN

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Roses don’t always need context or occasion. Namely when there are…lots and lots of them. —MN

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If the Garden wears spring like jewelry, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is our Hope Diamond. —MN