Freycinetia cummingiana
Without a doubt, today was one of those days that the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory really made me take a step back and cherish my “office”. The amount of obscure and unique plants in bloom right is almost
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Freycinetia
This time of year, my house plants start sending out bright green leaves and cheery flowers. They recognize the longer, sunnier days and, since I don’t heat my house excessively, they revel in the warmth pouring through my south-facing windows. In the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory, the tropicals are responding to the same signals, with new growth and blossoms in plenty just now. A few tongue-twisters for you this week:
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by Vera Evenson, Curator of the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi
A great quote I heard lately, “ The first person served by Service is the Server,” perfectly exemplifies the impact the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi has had on our decades-long volunteer, Rosa-Lee Brace.
Sam Mitchel, the founder of our mycology herbarium in l965, inspired Rosa-Lee to study fungi during those early years and to become an expert and teacher of the Ascocmycetes and other mushrooms. Later along with her husband Bob, this dedicated pair repowered the mycology collection by spending thousands of volunteer hours retroactively and meticulously going through thousands of specimens in the collection, boxing, assessing photos and correcting errors and updating the taxonomy. The needs of a mushroom collection that they knew and loved provided this goal for them in their later years to do this great work. They both felt valued. They both knew they were doing a work that would be here for decades and decades. They honored their friend Sam Mitchel.
In their intense investigation of the mycoflora of the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, Bob and Rosa-Lee discovered a very unusual puffball. After years of collecting and studying this unusual mushroom, they showed it to world-renowned specialist Dr. Orson Miller who declared it a new subspecies of Mycenastrum. The discovery was announced to the world in a fine article in Mycologia, a peer-reviewed journal in 2005, with Rosa-Lee as co-author; it was highlighted by Rosa-Lee’s amazing photomicrographs of the taxon.
After the passing of Bob last year, our herbarium still provides a place where Rosa-Lee is honored for her expertise and sought after for her wisdom. She considers it a sanctuary as well as a place to express her need for service.
Rosa-Lee was honored last year with the prestigious Bernice “Pete” Peterson Award for exceptional volunteer service to the Gardens. Her contributions equal over 7,500 hours, and between her and her husband Bob, were the equivalent of over 5 1/2 years of full-time service.
If you are interested in the academic study of mycoflora, please contact us to explore volunteer opportunities.
Oh dear…I am longing for spring. It is that time of year when it is just beginning to warm up – but not enough to discard the coat and hat just yet. I have been looking for anything that will remind me that warmer weather, buds on trees and spring blooms are a mere month or so away. My wish was granted when I walked into Denver Botanic Gardens’ retail store, Shop at the Gardens. Hundreds of new items that bring on the flavor of springtime are appearing daily on the floor of the store. A french-style gazebo holds charming, robin’s egg blue plates and mugs, glimmering blue glass bud vases and fresh, flowering plants in popular Wolff flower pots. Many of the hundreds of items are well under $25. It is worth a peek to move you toward “getting your springtime on.” Stop by and remember there is plenty of free parking and no admission is required to visit Shop at the Gardens. Horray for spring!
Iris reticulata
An early morning, early March walk reveals surprising delights.
• Colors: the muted greys and browns of late winter are ever-so-slowly
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Spanish draba (Draba hispanica)
Poor drabas! Such a colorless name…and they have other image problems too–that acid
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Medinilla magnifica
If you haven’t been able to swing in and check out the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory in the last couple of weeks, now is a great time. We have just recently finished
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First Crocus at the Gardens
I checked my gardening journal this week. (I start each spring with good intentions, but writing in the journal occurs in inverse proportion to the amount of work that needs to be done in the garden!) I have been imagining that this winter has been longer and colder than recent winters. I wanted to verify that perception, using my crocus-o-meter.
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