Rhododendrons in the Middle of Nowhere: Helping Hannah work on her thesis research

The scene was like something out of a movie:

Scottish Sunset at Corrour Train Platform.

I'm the only who gets off of the train at the Corrour platform as the sun is setting in the Scottish Highlands. The train attendant gives me a coy smile and then shuts the door behind me. The silence of the expanse of glens and mountains around me floods my senses. The openness of where I found myself almost makes me gasp. The trains pulls away into the sunset and I am left alone with the mountains. The only semblance of humans is the empty platform and closed lodge.

Whoa. I was alone in the truest sense of the world.

The Lonely Mountain?

Not for long, anyway. I knew Hannah would come pick me up, but man, as I walked along the road towards Loch Ossian, , as the sunset behind the mountains, I felt an immense silence and alone-ness like I'd never experienced.

Hannah did come get me and what ensued can only be described as amazing. We stayed at incredible accommodation, ate tasty food, and wandered in a private Rhododendron garden set amongst hundred-plus-year-old conifers. We did get some work done, pressing plants and taking data for Hannah's project, but we also took time to enjoy being where we were. The mountain views over the loch and the soft mats of sphagnum moss were like something out of a faerie tale. Even for being eaten alive by midges, it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Click here for more photos!

Classes are over!! A year in review of the Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants

My first dissection of a fall-blooming Anemone hybrid, family Ranunculaceae, order Ranunculales, showing a cross-section of the bracts, receptacle, the fruits and the stamens. 

So....it's been more than a week since classes were over and now I'm coming down from, literally and figuratively, a vacation and extra Beltane performance at the Museum Late Celts Evening at the National Museum of Scotland. Whoa!

Needless to say, this year has been insanely busy, challenging, hectic, crazy, insane, borderline manic, amazing, insightful, and full of good people, great plants, and incredible experiences.

Monday I start my thesis work (in not so many words: evaluating how existing ecosystem services evaluation systems are able to assess botanical garden collections), but I thought it would be appropriate to reflect back on the year of classes on angiosperms (what most folks know as flowering plants), gymnosperms ('naked seed plants', or what most folks know as conifers, Gnetophytes, and Ephedras), and evolution of all the plants and all the things associated with plants, like algae, fungi, and fossils (which Scotland is rich in!!).

The common themes you'll probably notice from the photos are flower dissections and plant walks with Louis and Jenny. I will work on trying to annotate the photos so you know what I was trying to look at!

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Nathan being a human yard stick to show how big these Vireya Rhododendron trusses are.

Orchid Days in November

It has been such a dreamy day in Edinburgh, thinking about orchid, snow and history.

Well, it all started last night with the snow. I was hanging out with Tom after class and as we walked to the Old Town the snow started. It was beautiful against the trees outlined in with Christmas lights.

Today I took a moment to visit the farmers' market and take a walk through the city. It was a bit unnerving that 1 p.m. looked like 4 p.m., but the golden light on the old buildings was worth it. The streets were full of tourists visiting for the Christmas celebrations and the farmers' market was full of tasty meats and produce from local farmers and artisans. Lots of great spoils from the day, thanks to the wonderful ladies and gentlemen there who helped me get some great deals (including a pack of local striped bacon and three pounds of local Aberdeen Angus for 12 pounds). I was even fortunate to catch a glimpse of snow on the hills north of here as I walked home. Stunning.

The view from the kitchen window this afternoon, about 2:30 p.m.

Anyway, the night was complete with a surprise Christmas fireworks show right outside of Patrick Geddes Hall and homemade hot chocolate I made to celebrate the chilly occasion. A busy, productive day.

It's a bit of a stretch, but this is a fitting way to end a great week!

Dracula bella, an orchid that is pollinated by fungus gnats, which you can understand if you give the mushroom-like lip a sniff.

Click here for more photos from orchid classes.

We've turned toward conservation issues and focused on orchids this Thursday and Friday. Of course I was beside myself most of the time, because orchids are my favorite plants (among many)! We had a lecture about orchids Thursday morning, followed by a practical in the afternoon, where we drew flowers, talked about morphology, and scents. Friday morning we were in another practical on basic pollination biology. It was nice to get back to the plants again.

In honor of this occasion I'd like to finally share my photos from my afternoon in the orchid greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. While what you'll see at the link below might just seem like a stream of photos, it can also contribute to a body of work on the phenology of orchids, or the studying of timing of natural cycles in plants (and animals). Even so, they're just so cool!!

I would like to leave you with the final thought Kerry left us with after his orchid lecture:

'Man's mastery of the Earth pays him greatest tribute when he achieves the humility to leave some of it alone.' -Unknown

Click here for photos of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Orchid Collection.

Rhynchostylis? of some kind.