The Most Strange Cactus in the Garden
Razor sharp spines. Plants that cut themselves to creep along the ground. Cactus with mutations! At Desert Botanical Garden, guests will encounter several ‘creepy’ cactus species throughout the trails.
Garden Researchers Describe 6 Agaves Domesticated by Southwestern Indigenous People
In the paper, “Pre-contact Agave Domesticates—Living Legacy Plants in Arizona’s Landscape” published in the Annuals of Botany, Garden researchers Wendy Hodgson, Andrew Salywon and volunteer Jane Rosenthal describe six rare domesticated agave species whose clones remarkably can still be found living in abandoned ancient fields in Arizona.
Meet the Garden’s Newest Research Assistant Luis Romero
Across the sandy desert floor in northwestern New Mexico, two small rare cactus species — Sclerocactus mesae-verdae and Sclerocactus cloverae — call this place home. Yet, these plants are threatened by poachers and habitat loss due to oil and gas development in the area, both of which have depleted their already low populations numbers in the wild.
Launch of Global Water Potential Network by Lab Member Dr. Jessica Guo and Colleagues
The National Science Foundation funded Global Water Potential Network, PSInet was recently launched by lab member Dr. Jessica Guo and colleague Dr. Kimberly Novick (University of Indiana).
Previous Lab Member Dr. Luiza Aparecido Starts New Faculty Position
Dr. Luiza Aparecido started her new position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah. We look forward to continue our collaboration with Luiza in the future. Congratulations Luiza!
Recent Papers Published by Lab Members in High-Impact Journals
Check out recent papers published by Kelly Kerr, Madeline Moran and Brad Posch
Huizingh Desert Research Fellowship Awarded to Lab Member, Madeline Moran
Madeline Moran was recently awarded the Huizingh Desert Research Fellowship. The award provides five years of funded to support her PhD program to study the thermal tolerance of plants exposed to heat stress. Madeline becomes the second student to receive this prestigious award. Congratulations Madeline!
Completion of M.S. by Lab Member, Ivanna Caspeta
Ivanna Caspeta successfully defended her thesis in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. Ivanna’s thesis focused the xylem anatomy of giant cacti, and tested whether allometric scaling equations used characterize the xylem anatomy of trees and shrubs also works for cacti. Congratulations Ivanna!
In Celebration of Oonagh and John Boppart
It is with great sadness that Desert Botanical Garden shares with you the passing of Oonagh and John Boppart. John and Oonagh were married in 1979....
