When the Exploring project began back in mid-April, the inaugural collection of materials scanned were 2,200 botanical photographs from the collection of the Department of Botany (precursor to the Department of Plant Sciences). The final scan of this collection was…
Hardly a day goes by where I don’t take a lunch break to enjoy a sandwich complete with an essential ingredient: mushrooms. But on Wednesday, just two days ago, my hand-packed sandwich was sans mushrooms on a rare occurrence (for…
Last Friday, I traveled out to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, MN. The Arboretum, part of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, is home to over one-thousand acres of gardens and…
Within the past few days, I have seen multiple reports of the demise of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) – the official State Butterfly of Minnesota. Multiple local media sources have reported recently that extreme weather conditions in the south…
In addition to carrying out explorations and documenting the unique geologic formations of the state for the Minnesota Geologic and Natural History Survey, State Geologist Newton Horace Winchell (pictured at left) also assumed the responsibility of providing initial instruction in…
From the collection of the Department of Botany, Box 17, photo 148: Burl on oak, Glenwood ’00 Burl: a hard woody often flattened hemispherical outgrowth on a tree (Merriam-Webster)…
Earlier this week I received an email announcement from the Bell Museum of Natural History about BioBlitz 2013, an event slated for this upcoming Saturday, June 15th. At the event, scientists and nature lovers will participate in a 24-hour natural…
Ernst Abbe, University of Minnesota instructor, began a memorial article about his colleague Frederic K. Butters with the following quote: “‘Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas Atque metus omnes, et inexorabile fatum Subject pedibus’ – Vergil Fred Butters appreciated…
– Wellcome Photographic Exposure Diary, F. K. Butters, 1911, from box 83 of the collection of the Department of Botany. “The most dainty, compact and useful pocketbook for photographers. Handsomely bound and beautifully illustrated.” So reads an advertisement for…
From the collection of the Department of Botany, Box 17, photo 2: Viola blanda, L. Calhoun ’00 (Lake Calhoun 1900) [Sweet White Violet]…