Latest news with #botany
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Brian Whitton obituary
My former PhD supervisor and colleague Brian Whitton, who has died aged 89, was an academic expert on the blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. He spent his entire career at the University of Durham, latterly leading a laboratory that performed much innovative research. Current methods for assessing plants and algae in UK rivers had their origins in his laboratory, and he was widely consulted by biologists in the water industry when algae-related problems arose. Brian was born in London to Arthur, a banker, and Florence (nee Ferrier), a telephonist. He went to King's College school in Wimbledon, did his national service in Cyprus with the Royal Corps of Signals, and then studied at Wadham College, Oxford, where in 1959 he gained a first-class degree in botany. A PhD followed at University College London, where he narrowed his interests down to algae – and cyanobacteria in particular. He joined Durham in 1962 as a temporary lecturer while he finished writing his PhD thesis, then became a full lecturer in the department of botany in 1963, rising to be a senior lecturer (1972-80), a reader (1980-99) and then a professor of botany in the last two years before his retirement in 2000, when he became professor emeritus. We first met in 1983, when I began studying for a PhD with him, and we later became work colleagues. In the early 1960s at the university, David Bellamy, a fellow botany lecturer, introduced him to the limestone habitats of northern England, and the cyanobacteria Brian found in those places subsequently became his primary focus. His research took him to various parts of the world, including the Aldabra atoll in Seychelles and the deepwater rice fields of Bangladesh, as well as to highly polluted habitats where these ancient but tenacious organisms thrive even though all other life has withered. He studied them in the field and in the laboratory, and in later years worked with molecular biologists to understand the genetic basis of their adaptations. For many years Brian also ran an annual course at Durham University in algal identification that became the standard introduction to freshwater algae for biologists from government agencies, as well as for many overseas students. His work on that course led him to become a co-editor of the Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles (2002), a guide to identifying the algae of Britain and Ireland. He was also an editor of several journals, and the founding editor of Journal of Applied Phycology. Drawing on his many contacts across Europe, from 1990 onwards Brian organised workshops on the use of algae to monitor the health of rivers, bringing scientists together from across Europe to share their knowledge and laying the foundations for methods that are now widely used to evaluate riverine ecological status. Outside his work, Brian was a collector of the paintings of the British surrealist John Tunnard. He also grew many examples of the alpine plant genus Corydalis in his garden, hosting annual open days for the public and heading off on collecting trips to China until curtailed by the Covid pandemic and an awareness of his growing frailty. Without an immediate family, Brian nonetheless nurtured friendships with a wide group of former research students and associates.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Aussie discovery to end centuries of 'confusion' around $5 billion plant species
Growing in a sunny flower bed at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney are evergreen shrubs that thousands of visitors have strolled past without a second thought. But cutting-edge research led by its experts has overhauled our understanding of these plants, disrupting an industry already worth up to $5 billion a year. Hibiscus flowers were bigger business than botanist Russell Barrett ever imagined when he began a deep dive into the plant. 'I was surprised when I started,' he told Yahoo News. Powder from the roselle species (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is probably the most valuable product. Flowers are dried and made into red dye for foods and cosmetics, as well as health drinks, while the stems from the kenaf variety (Hibiscus cannabinum) have been used as a fibre for hundreds of years, and remain common in commercial textiles. There are also big international ramifications for any reordering of the plants, because the yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei) is Hawaii's state flower. Related: 200-year-old mistake corrected after 'suspicious' details emerge about common plant As a systematic botanist at the Gardens, Barrett's role is to understand the origins and complicated evolutionary history of plants. And when it comes to hibiscus, there are hundreds of species and a lot of confusion about which genus each one belongs to. Over the last 250 years, identification has often been drawn from "guesswork" that was based on appearance. This approach can be problematic because not all related species look the same. For instance, there was a myth that the closest living relatives of hippos were pigs, when it's actually dolphins and porpoises. Using DNA analysis of 850 species, Barrett and his team were able to better understand which plants were related, and this resulted in the proposal that 123 species and subspecies should be moved into the genus Sabdariffa. Some were already categorised as Sabdariffa, but they were only recognised as a distinct section, not a full genus. 'While plant name changes are not always popular, and take time to get used to, these proposed changes in Hibiscus represent a breakthrough in our understanding of relationships between Hibiscus and its relatives that have remained clouded for over 250 years,' Barrett said as the paper was published in the journal Australian Systematic Botany. Improved knowledge of hibiscus relationships is important because it helps botanists predict which species could be hybridised to make commercially improved plants. Barrett noted the team has made 'significant improvements' in our understanding of kenaf. 'Clarifying the definition of that species should enhance our ability to study its wild relatives, and that may well lead to enhancements and additional opportunities to improve fibre quality, particularly under changing climates where you can draw on additional genomic resources to expand the scope of where it can be grown,' Barrett told Yahoo. Although the scientific names will likely be changed, the decision won't alter the way food manufacturers have to label their foods. Food Standards Australia New Zealand confirmed with Yahoo News consumers will still see familiar names like 'hibiscus' or 'roselle' on their labels. 'The requirements are that ingredients must be listed using their common name, a name that reflects the true nature of the ingredient or a generic name listed in Schedule 10 of the Code,' it said. 🌏 Carloads of Aussies flock to water's edge as 'exciting' ancient ritual begins 🧈 Aussie household staple being snapped up by Kiwis as local price jumps by 65 per cent 😳 Farmers lead Aussie research team to 'unreal' discovery on island For Barrett, the research has evolved his relationship with hibiscus, further deepening his affinity for the plants. 'I've actually known them from a young age, when I was growing up on a cattle station in the remote northwest Kimberley,' he said. 'Some of the species I started collecting when I was in high school hadn't been described at the time. That was one of the things that got me interested in that group. In that sense this has been a very long-term personal project to understand them.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Brian Whitton obituary
My former PhD supervisor and colleague Brian Whitton, who has died aged 89, was an academic expert on the blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. He spent his entire career at the University of Durham, latterly leading a laboratory that performed much innovative research. Current methods for assessing plants and algae in UK rivers had their origins in his laboratory, and he was widely consulted by biologists in the water industry when algae-related problems arose. Brian was born in London to Arthur, a banker, and Florence (nee Ferrier), a telephonist. He went to King's College school in Wimbledon, did his national service in Cyprus with the Royal Corps of Signals, and then studied at Wadham College, Oxford, where in 1959 he gained a first-class degree in botany. A PhD followed at University College London, where he narrowed his interests down to algae – and cyanobacteria in particular. He joined Durham in 1962 as a temporary lecturer while he finished writing his PhD thesis, then became a full lecturer in the department of botany in 1963, rising to be a senior lecturer (1972-80), a reader (1980-99) and then a professor of botany in the last two years before his retirement in 2000, when he became professor emeritus. We first met in 1983, when I began studying for a PhD with him, and we later became work colleagues. In the early 1960s at the university, David Bellamy, a fellow botany lecturer, introduced him to the limestone habitats of northern England, and the cyanobacteria Brian found in those places subsequently became his primary focus. His research took him to various parts of the world, including the Aldabra atoll in Seychelles and the deepwater rice fields of Bangladesh, as well as to highly polluted habitats where these ancient but tenacious organisms thrive even though all other life has withered. He studied them in the field and in the laboratory, and in later years worked with molecular biologists to understand the genetic basis of their adaptations. For many years Brian also ran an annual course at Durham University in algal identification that became the standard introduction to freshwater algae for biologists from government agencies, as well as for many overseas students. His work on that course led him to become a co-editor of the Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles (2002), a guide to identifying the algae of Britain and Ireland. He was also an editor of several journals, and the founding editor of Journal of Applied Phycology. Drawing on his many contacts across Europe, from 1990 onwards Brian organised workshops on the use of algae to monitor the health of rivers, bringing scientists together from across Europe to share their knowledge and laying the foundations for methods that are now widely used to evaluate riverine ecological status. Outside his work, Brian was a collector of the paintings of the British surrealist John Tunnard. He also grew many examples of the alpine plant genus Corydalis in his garden, hosting annual open days for the public and heading off on collecting trips to China until curtailed by the Covid pandemic and an awareness of his growing frailty. Without an immediate family, Brian nonetheless nurtured friendships with a wide group of former research students and associates.
Wall Street Journal
16-05-2025
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
‘Green Gold' Review: How the Avocado Grew on Us
An odd quirk of the avocado, Persea americana to botanists, is the clockwork performed by its blossoms. They undergo a complicated sequence of opening, closing and reopening that keeps each flower's male and female sex organs from operating on the same day. Among two large categories of cultivated strains, group A trees bear flowers that are functionally female in the morning and male the next afternoon. Meanwhile, group B's flowers are female in the afternoon and male the next morning. Unreliable pollination had long baffled commercial avocado growers until, on May 5, 1923, the botanist A.B. Stout had the game-changing idea of setting up cameras in a California orchard. His photographs solved the mystery by capturing the discrepancy between A and B's blossoming schedules, thus suggesting the wisdom of planting trees from both groups in close proximity. The lesson doesn't seem to have great priority in today's industrial-scale avocado production, at least as depicted by Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons in 'Green Gold,' a trenchant chronicle of the fruit's commercial and cultural exploitation from the late 19th century to the present. The authors' enlightening picture draws on a wide range of material—plant pathology studies, avocado-association yearbooks, Super Bowl commercials, leading figures' field notes and more. The book broadly centers on two 'mother trees' while saluting 'the people who nurtured them, for money and love.' In 1911 Carl Schmidt, an American investigator scouting for avocado specimens in Mexico, observed a tree bearing splendid crops near Atlixco in Puebla state. He was sufficiently impressed to take cuttings from the tree and bring them back for grafting in an Altadena, Calif., nursery, where the strain received the varietal name El Fuerte (Spanish for 'the Strong One').
