NON-BOTANY PODCAST! This week's podcast is a conversation with my friend Jay Lesoleil,  political anthropologist and half the means behind the "Fucking Cancelled" podcast about right-wing populism, the failures of the American left, identitarianism, and how to build a non-insane American working class left.

Andrew Hipp is the director of the herbarium and Senior Sciensist and Researcher in Plant Systematics at Morton Arboretum in Chicago. 

This is one of the most fun and inspiring conversations I've had in a while, and it's about one of the most ecologically important genera of plants in the Northern Hemisphere : THE OAKS (genus Quercus).

In this episode we talk about the 13,000 year old Palmer's Oak in the California Desert, what the hell "Delayed Fertilization" is (hint: it's not common but it's ubiquitous in all members of genus Quercus), Oak Evolution, we go in depth explaining oak pollination and flower morphology and how acorns develop and disperse, how acorns can stand get a bite taken out of them by a squirrel and still germinate, and what overall f*cking beasts of organisms oak tree and scrub oaks are. We also talk about the future of oaks, how oaks will deal with climate change, how oaks dealt with the incredibly hot temperatures during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), why there's so much oak diversity in Mexico, the multitude of ecological services oaks provide and the numerous ecological relationships oaks foster within a plant community, landscape and regional setting. This was a fun conversation and massively enlightening.

Pre-Order Andrew's Book at : 

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo236998258.html

Oak Taxonomic Tree (as inferred from molecular genomic data)

Oak Subgenus Cerris : Eurasia
Oak Subgenus Quercus : North America

Subgenus Quercus, section Lobatae (Red Oaks)

Subgenus Quercus section Quercus
Subgenus Quercus section Virentes
Subgenus Quercus section Ponticae
Subgenus Quercus section Protobalanus

This episode sponsored by Fiberpad, where you can glue duct-taped wheatgrass and fiberglass to your face in order to clear up any blemishes nice. What can limestone do for you and how does it form?

A long, winding rant through the mountains of Querétaro about habitats and species encountered at elevations between 6,000' and 10,000' including:
Karwinskia humboldtiana (Rhamnaceae)
Baccharis conferta (Asteraceae)
Penstemon campanulatus (Plantaginaceae)
 Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus (Cactaceae)
Kadenicarpus pseudomacrochele (Cactaceae)
Isolatocereus dumortieri (Cactaceae)
Opuntia stenopetala (Cactaceae)
Pinguicula moranensis (Lentibulariaceae)
Quercus crassipes (Fagaceae)
Agave salmiana subsp. crassispina (Asparagaceae, Agavoideae)
Dasylirion longissimum (Asparagaceae, Nolinoideae)
Various Stevia sp.  (Asteraceae)

featuring mountains made out of marble, seafloors made out of calcium-rich muck, and much more.

In this episode, recorded in the cloud forests of Oaxaca, we discuss the entheome project, which centers around genome sequencing of entheogens as well as many of their sympatric species of fungi, plants and microbes that also grow in the ecosystems these entheogens are native to. We talk about democratizing science and DNA sequencing, and we talk about what some practical applications of this science are and how to make it accessible to people who DON'T want to take out 150 grand in student loans in order to learn it.

Out of Huntsville, Alabama, Kyle Lybarger is an advocate for native plants, ecosystems and for getting people to see things that they might otherwise overlook. Kyle runs the Native Habitat Project which encourages people to consider doing things a little differently in the realm of land management than the ways that they've been doing things for too long.

I've admired this guy's work for a while and I love what he's doing so I figured we'd sit down and have a two hour conversation about everything from growing native plants, collecting seed, discovering species once thought extinct and having a reverence and awareness for the land, for the plants and for the life that depends on them.

Chicago Meditative Cassette Tape Intro by AL Scorch.

In this episode we talk about using transgenic technology to fight the invasive pathogenic fungus that has decimated the American Chestnut tree and made it functionally extinct in the region where it was once a cornerstone of the ecosystem. We also get into the weeds regarding chestnut flower morphology, pollination and evolution and why it's such a f*cking incredible species.

In this episode (after a 35 minute rambling rant about West Texas Archaeology, the joy of holding 31,000 year old ground sloth shit, obscure Chihuahua Desert Sunflowers, and rich freaks, we talk with Dr. Eric Lopresti about sticky plants and the evolution and adaptive benefits of glandular-ass trichomes in plants, namely the genus Abronia (sand verbena) and the flower structure of the Bougainvillea Family, Nyctaginaceae.

In this episode we discuss the glory of lawn killing, using a fake name at the ER since our Healthcare system sucks, facilitating the use of an auger for installing native plant gardens, and a whole other series of rants.

In this episode we talk about the long lost population of Euphorbia antisyphylitica, thornscrub getting destroyed for a solar farm, moth pollination and night blooming plants in the Chihuahua Desert, and the Catholic Materialism Death Cult of South Texas.

After a thirty minute rant about how the epic desert crucifixion thorn (one of the 6 different plants with that annoying common name), Holacantha stewartii needs to be placed in the genus Castela (Majure, 2022) among other topics, we talk with legendary West Texas Botanist and Horticulturalist Patti Manning about growing desert plants and cultivating native plant gardens.

Rambling intro ends at 47:00, Conversation about Velcro Leaf Family Loasaceae begins at 48:00.

Jeff Ollerton is a pollination biologist and researcher based out of the EU and currently working in KunMing, Yunnan Province, China. He has written two excellent books - one entitled "Pollinators and Pollination" and another entitled "Birds and Flowers" about birds as pollinators. In this nearly two hour long conversation we talk about a variety of taxa as well as ecological phenomena. I am still kicking myself for forgetting to bring up the topic of the South African monocot genus Strelitzia (Order Zingiberales) which has a weighted-lever-mechanism that allows only birds to access the stamens.

Intro ends and conversation starts at 43:00.
My guest today is Joe Ben Walker from the indigenous peyote conservation initiative and we talk all things peyote in South Texas. We discussed the Peyotero System, How licenses are monitored, how the DEA keeps track of licenses, how habitat is being severely threatened and destroyed by land clearance, and how peyote came into use among modern Indigenous Americans (not just the tribes that lived where Peyote grew). This was a very enlightening conversation and one that needs to be listened to by anybody interested in the long term conservation of this threatened plant. 

A Conversation with Dr. Stacy Smith from University of Colorado Boulder about the genus Iochroma and Plant Evolution. A 24 minute intro followed by 90 minutes of talk about evolution, selection pressures and why plants evolve the way they do. I haven't had this much fun on a conversation in a while. 

In this episode we talk Northern Mexican Botany with the wonderful Carlos Velazco, author of numerous papers describing the floristic relationships of Northern Mexican Plants as well as the Nuevo León field guide to plants. The last thirty minutes we spend talking about the discovery of the incredibly cool and bizarre cactus, Astrophytum (Digitostigma) Caput-medusae.
 
 

A long rant about Namibian Botany, Dark Humor, Myrothamnus flabellifolius the resurrection plant, Welwitschia habitat etc.

One long rant about Nuevo Leon plant communities, gypsum endemics, cactus poaching, high elevation "sky islands", Mall Security Guards at US Customs, Herbarium vouchers, etc

In this episode we talk with Kerry Knudsen, a  blue-collar-construction-worker turned lichenologist. We spend a good first half of the podcast talking lichens and the last half of the podcast talking philosophy, and why it's important to be aware of -  if not at least occasionally immerse yourself in -  the non-human world known as "the rest of the biosphere (for chrissakes)". 

In this episode we discuss the rare and endangered Texas Almond, a sand endemic. We also discuss the trough urinal at Taqueria Jalisco by the Pilot Station in Falfurrias, whether Tetragonotheca rrpanda can be grown in West Texas, and being kicked in the groin for exuding "forced-positivity". 

In this episode we talk about the notorious Bristol Mountains Buckwheat which is still formally undescribed despite being known of for a decade and a half. We also talked about limestone geology of the Mojave Desert as well as why people should kill their lawns and why we should film a show about it. This episode also contains a cut at the hilarious Rod Blagojevich Cameo regarding the brad nailer and the $40 for pizza. 

Generic Recombination is the means through which mutations (and evolution/speciation /phenotypic variation) occur, leading to changes in an organism's adaptation to and tolerance of its environment. In flowering plants, meiosis occurs in megaspore mother cells (in ovules aka seeds) and in microspore mother cells (in pollen grains that are produced within the anthers).  A pollen grain then lands on a stigma and germinates, fertilizing an ovule and producing a seed (which is a new and different genetic individual). In fungi, it's a bit different - and a lot weirder. In this episode we explore how it's different and how it happens. 

A ninety minute conversation just scratching the surface of the bizarre-ass phenomenon of lichens, with Matt Berger aka Sheriff Woody. This is a talk about fungi enslaving/farming algae and cyanobacteria and the extremely weird shit that these symbionts can do, occupying some of the harshest terrain - hot or cold - on planet Earth. If you don't find this conversation fascinating you're a dick.

In this episode we talk with field botanist Ernest Herrera about the rich floristic diversity of the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas and Northern Mexico. We talk about a variety of cool plant species as well as the cultural history and cultural repression of this unique region, how it will adapt to climate change, how to change culture in order to get people to start appreciating their native flora more, how to convince people to kill their lawns, what happened to horned lizards, what's up with Texas Tortoises, and a sh*t ton more.

Ernest Herrera is a botanist, herper, and field biologist born and raised in South Texas.

In this episode we listen to a 50 minute rant about peyote conservation in South Texas, the importance of the hundredth Meridian and the humidity differential and the differences in habitat it causes, as well as what the hell a Perithecium is and some of the vertical-rock-wall cacti of Nuevo León. 

The family Fabaceae is one of the most ecologically successful and diverse plant families in the world, especially in arid and subtropical regions. In this episode we talk Legumes - their ecology, floral morphology and evolution - with Marty Wojciechowski at ASU. We talk about the 50kb inversion, psychoactive and poisonous secondary chemistry, subfamily classifications elucidated by molecular phylogenetics, how mimosoids lack Rhizobium root affiliations (bummer) and a bunch more interesting sh#t. Plant in the thumbnail photo is Schotia afra. 

In this episode we talk with Tom Givnish, a well-known research botanist at UW Madison about a diverse number of topics including plants that can completely dry out and not die, how orchids came to be the most diverse and largest plant family on Earth, what my dad's mafioso cousin has in common with achlorophyllous,non-photosynthetic plants and Tepuis in Venezuela, among about other twelve other fascinating topics.

After a 40 minute opening rant, we explore the nuances of the Orchid Family - the most species-rich and diverse family of flowering plants, and we touch on a few of the things that make this family so ecologically successful. This is a good crash course for anybody interested in learning about this plant family and understanding the differences between the five subfamilies Apostasioideae, Vanilloideae, Cypripedioideae, Orchidoideae and the largest subfamily of them all - Epidendroideae. 

In this episode we rant about Asclepias prostrata, the rare and elusive prostrate milkweed of South Texas Thornscrub, as well as obscure subfamilies of the Legume Family, Cops & Dildos, and Old Peyotes. What exactly does the New Legume Phylogeny Working Group DO at their annual Pea Dungeon meet-up? Also, "why you gotta do dat"? 

Jahan Khamsehzadeh, Ph.D. is a psychedelic therapist who's been actively conducting legal, guided Psilocybin sessions in Jamaica for the past 4 years. He's trained within the Mazatec mushroom tradition and mentored for a year at the Center for Consciousness Medicine comprehensive guide program. He's also done workshops with the San Francisco Psychedelic Society. 
 
He has authored a book due out in April entitled "The Psilocybin Connection : Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution on the Planet - An Integral Approach". For more information, visits Jahan's website at www.PsychedelicEvolution.org
 
For more information on Psilocybin Therapy, visit the website www.psilohealth.co
 
For MDMA information and test kits visit the website www.dancesafe.org
 
For more information on current legal status and research regarding psychedelic therapy, look up Rick Doblin or visit his website at www.maps.org
 
 

Intro music by etsywitch.
In this episode we discuss the ever-annoying American culture war and then move on to the science behind mRNA vaccine technology and why viruses are so cool in regards to watching evolution in action (vaccines themselves will act as a selection pressure on viruses, but can the viruses cope and evolve or will they become extinct? Tengo miedo! ).
 
We talk about the history of this technology and just what the hell "mRNA" is and how you can pick it up at jewel-osco along with your ipass for the Illinois toll roads nice. This is a great conversation and hopefully people are inspired to spend a little less time looking at pictures of asses and food on their smartphones and instead spend a couple minutes or more reading about genomics. GFY Bye 😘

Note : Interview starts around minute 24:00
Recording quality on first 9 minutes of interview is lousy but improves after there after so sit still and wait it out ya schmuck.
 
The sunflower family, Asteraceae, does some wild things - morphologically, evolutionarily and ecologically speaking - in the Southern Part of the African continent, especially in the tribes Calenduleae (think trichomes & stinky, oily glands), Gnaphalieae (paper daisies), and Arctotideae (the infamous "beetle daisies"). 
 
In this episode, I speak with Nicola Bergh, the curator for the family Asteraceae at the Compton Herbarium at Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden in Cape Town, to explore just what the hell has gone on with this family in the evolutionary past and how various tribes and subfamilies have dispersed and radiated in Southern Africa.
 

In this episode we spend 150 minutes talking with David Gwynne-Evans covering some of the epic highlights of the Cape Floristic Region's Flora. Even if you are unaware of, oblivious to, or disinterested in this region of South Africa's plant life you will find this episode interesting. The whole landscape of this region is like a giant plant Evolution class and we cover multiple topics letter of interest to anyone who's fascinated by the ecology and evolution of Earth's plant life. 

Mike Brodie is a photographer, truck driver, artist, freight train rider, and diesel mechanic. In this episode we sit down with him to talk about modern American culture, youth subcultures, travel, and the human condition.
 
 

In this episode we talk about why plant "rescue" is a bullshit term, how Epipactis is probably pollinated hoverflies that it dupes, whats up with this new species of Asteraceae discovered in the Chihuahua desert, why people who don't know much about botany or ecology initially prefer non-native plants orver native ones, best place to get a Texas toast waffle machine, stealing a bus bin from Olive Garden, etc

Note : I mistakenly say Deb "described" this new species of composite. I meant to say "discovered". Blame my sleep deficit gfy

In this episode we talk about some of the plant families found in South Africa and the ecological success of the Mesembryanthemaceae, as well as what the hell is going on with the mess of valvate tepals, adnate anthers, and pollen presenters that is a Protea flowerhead...but first, we dapple 20 minutes of cultural observations into the mix.

One long disjointed rant between three filthy botanists covering the past three weeks of botanic surveys/rectal exams in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa. 

In this episode we talk with Chris Pires, Chief Science Officer at the New York Botanic Garden, about the taxonomic clusterf*ck that is the order Asparagales - the order of the Iris Family, the Orchid Family, the Agave Family, the Onion/Amaryllis Family, and many more obscure families located on distant and disjunct parts of the world. We also talk about how analyzing DNA made it possible to sort out this mess as well as where the larger clade of Monocots themselves fits into the flowering plant tree of life. Disjointed ranting in this episode notably comes AFTER the podcast guess to make it easier for those who might just be interested primarily in the subject of today's episode. 

Today's episode is inspired by the bRaVE individuals (all of us) who participated in the massive back-and-forth online shitposting last week regarding the inherent colonialism of using the binomial naming system of taxonomy, plant systematics and the study of evolutionary relationships among plant taxa.
This episode sponsored by Decolonial Colon Cleanse, the at-home kit for decolonizing Colo-rectal and gastrointestinal issues. Order online at www.DecolonialRectum.com

In this episode we speak with Peter Raven, former director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, about our current understanding of the rise of angiosperms and what the floristic landscape may have looked like prior to their appearance in the fossil record. 

A criminally underrated state for rare plants and plant ecology, Wyoming has a number of rare taxa and bizarre habitats. In this episode we talk with a botanist who spent twenty years in the state documenting, inventorying and becoming acquainted with the flora in the high deserts and alpine plant communities. We speak specifically about the Yellowstone Abronia, Abronia ammophila; the Blowout Penstemon, Penstemon haydenii; and the Desert Yellowhead, Yermo xanthocephalus, as well as about conservation, climate change and Western Botany in general. 

Plants that grow on sinter (silica) and travertine (calcium carbonate) deposits of hot springs, a really bizarre  central Wyoming endemic known from only two locations (Yermo xanthocephalus) whose closest relatives occur in the prairies of the Midwest, and many other topics plus the usual 90 minutes of unattenuated disjointed ranting. 

In this episode we have an hour long conversation with Matt Berger about a loop "trail" (there actually was no trail save for that created by wild horses) created through the mountain ranges of the Great Basin in Central Nevada and the plans seen along the way along with information on how anybody can do these long-distance hikes (especially when everything else in life has gone to shit).
Follow Matt on Instagram @sheriff_woody_pct and on Inaturalist via username Sheriff_Woody_PCT

This episode begins with a 56 minute rant concerning the crime spree caused by the meeting of the Eriogonum Society in Elko, Nevada, followed by rants on the silica "sinter" deposits occurring throughout Nothern Nevada as a result of the intermittent series of hot springs and geothermal activity, which are in turn a result of the extensional tectonics and the fact that Reno and Salt Lake City are moving away from each other and the crust is stretching and thinning. The last seven minutes before our conversation with Ben Grady starts include a rant on illegal squatted gardens and how activists and anarchists tend to consistently be some of the cheapest people on the planet. 

In this episode we speak with Bruce Baldwin about sequencing the DNA of plants to understand how closely we're distantly related they are and how they have evolved. At least an initial understanding, no matter how small, of how DNA is structured will help you understand this podcast but is not necessary. The first 40 minutes are just ranting anyway.
 
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Thanks, GFY.

In this episode we talk with Botanist Matt Berger about Death Valley Plants, discovering new species, Limestone endemic plants, Dune Beetles, Desert Shrimp, specifist.ecology and more.

In this episode we speak with Darin Penneys, Ph.D about his work with an incredibly diverse plant family that few in the temperate zones are familiar with - Melastomataceae. I first fell in love with this family when seeing some of the incredible diversity that it showed in the cloud forest of the Dominican Republic, and upon further inspection became enormously enamored and fascinated with it, and you should too, you prick. From an ecological and evolutionary standpoint this family in the same order as guava and eucalyptus will blow your mind, so get into it. 

In this episode of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't we talk with Naomi Fraga about the devastation to be imposed on 90% of a rare plant's population and the mining company sleaze bags who are trying to greenwash it. We also talk about the BLM whistleblower who first brought attention to the mining company's attempts to circumvent environmental impact reports as well as the vandalism and subsequent rodent damage that occurred at this plant's population last year. Joey also rants about the first time he saw someone shoot heroin on the west side of Chicago in 1997. Within the first 20 minutes of the podcast Joey mentions the numerous arrests that have taken place at the Eriogonum Society's meetings due to its members' penchants for violence and street-fighting. We also discuss the first time that the Eriogonum Society was banned (for life) from Tejon Ranch for raising a gripe about their planned luxury housing development for the spiritually incompetent. 

In this episode we talk about milkweed plants that dupe kleptoparasitic flies into pollinating them, greenhouses and conservatories as bastions of ex-situ conservation, floral mimicry and bat pollination among members of the coffee family, and why customer service is a psychological experiment in human torture.