Boston Flora

Tag: Arnold Arboretum

  • Thursday, May 30, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Physical Fitness of Leaves

    Every organism must contend with its immediate physical environment, a world that both limits what organisms can do and offers innumerable opportunities for evolving ways to challenge those limits. Steven Vogel, author of The Life of a Leaf, will explain these interactions, using the leaf as example, on Thursday, May 30 from 7 – 8:30 at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum. In exploring the leaf’s world, Vogel simultaneously explores our own. He’ll answer questions about how objects get much hotter than air when in sunlight and far cooler when beneath a clear night sky; how air movement matters even when we can’t feel it; how objects such as trees avoid damage from storms; and ways leaves acquire the essential resources for growth and reproduction. Join us to learn about some of the extraordinary designs that enable a leaf to adapt to its physical world. Fee $10 Arboretum member, $15 nonmember.  Register on line at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Sunday, May 19, 2:00 pm – Learning from Leaves Guided Tour

    Landscape architect David Valbracht turned to botanical illustration to develop a better method for identifying trees. A guest researcher at the Arboretum, David gathers plant samples from his studies in the collections and arranges them in his studio as they grew in life. These “tree portraits” emphasize drawing as a method to develop observation and identification skills, and at the same allow for personal expression. Now through June 9 at the Arnold Arboretum Hunnewell Building lecture hall at 125 Arborway is his exhibition Learning from Leaves.  The exhibition  centerpiece is a thirty-foot mural illustrating over 100 species of trees, grouped according to the Arboretum’s landscape plan. Valbracht studied landscape architecture at Harvard University, botanical art at the Wellesley College Botanical Garden, and is currently attending the Academy of Realist Art, Boston.  He and Maggie Redfern, Visitor Education Assistant, will lead a guided tour of the landscape on Sunday, May 19, beginning at 2 pm.  The activity is free, but in case of inclement weather, call 617-384-5209.

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  • Saturday, May 11, 11:00 am – 3:30 pm – Ginkgo Fest: A Symposium Celebrating Ginkgo biloba

    Bombings, manhunts, and lockdowns forced the postponement of Ginkgo Fest: A Symposium Celebrating Ginkgo biloba at the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arnold Arboretum.  Luckily for us, the event has been revamped, rescheduled for Saturday, May 11 from 11 – 3:30, and even the fee has been reduced, so there is no excuse to pass up this great opportunity.  You will hear Peter Crane, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr., Dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Professor of Botany, Yale University
    William “Ned” Friedman, Director, Arnold Arboretum and Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and Peter Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist, Arnold Arboretum and Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. Join these three world renowned ginkgo experts for a celebration of all things ginkgo. The day will include lectures and a tour of the Arboretum’s Ginkgo biloba collection. So don your best ginkgo outfit (we know you have at least one article of clothing with a ginkgo leaf on it) and immerse yourself in the history and biology of this relict species. Lunch is included. Outfit below from xazdesign.blogspot.com.  Register on line at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1165&DayPlannerDate=5/11/2013.  Fee $20 member, $40 nonmember.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fSPNQAVp5w8/TH0Wm8efYkI/AAAAAAAAALs/vubDH7KjwqU/s400/full%2Bpicture%2Bgingko.jpg

  • Monday, May 13, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Written in the Genes: Forest Tree Evolution, Growth, and Reaction to Climate Change

    Recent advances in genomics research are providing insights into the fascinating biology of forest trees. Using information from paleobotany and genome sequencing of the model tree Populus, Andrew Groover, Geneticist and Director of the Institute of Forest Genetics of the US Forest Service, will explain the evolution of trees, including their origins and the processes underlying speciation. He will show how trees make wood at the molecular genetic level. Then he will use information from population genetics to infer migration of Populus species during past periods of climate change and what forest species’ migrations might look like in the future. The program takes place Monday, May 13 in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, beginning at 7 pm. Free, but registration requested at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Tuesday, May 14, 10:00 am – Rolling Ridge, A Fletcher Steele Landscape of the Country Place Era

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay will embark on a field trip to Rolling Ridge, a Fletcher Steele designed landscape in North Andover, 25 miles north of Boston and situated on a half mile of lakefront property, with 38 secluded acres of woods and rolling hills. The field trip will take place Tuesday, May 14, leaving from Back Bay at 9 am. Members will receive a car pool notice in the mail. The gardens feature a double labyrinth nestled in the peaceful woods, an outdoor chapel on the edge of Lake Cochichewick, and the award winning landscape features historic fountains, walking trails, and meditation benches.  In the past, it was a country estate owned by wealthy New Yorker Ethan Allen, who, in 1915, commissioned renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele to design and construct the gardens on the property. The commission was Steele’s first independent Country Place Era Estate project. The scenery and lake views were so important to Mr. Allen that he wanted the landscape and hardscape completed before beginning construction of the house (a forty room Georgian mansion). The features of the garden and hardscape are remarkably well-preserved and the intent of the use and design is readily apparent. It is said to be one of the best extant examples of a Fletcher Steele landscape.

    Our guide is Maureen O’Brien. She has studied in depth the Fletcher Steele garden at Rolling Ridge. She co-authored the Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) and authored a Treatment and Maintenance Plan for Rolling Ridge. Maureen has a certificate in Landscape Preservation from the Landscape Institute at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and the Boston Architectural College. She is vice president and member chair of the New England Landscape and History Association (NELDHA), is on the Editorial Board for Perspectives, a landscape design and history publication with special emphasis on New England, and has been involved with a number of historic properties in Massachusetts. Coffee and scones will be served prior to Maureen’s talk, followed by a buffet lunch and walking tour. $15 for GCBB members, $20 for guests. For more information email info@bostonflora.com.

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  • Tuesday, May 14, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s 15 Year Celebration

    The Emerald Necklace Conservancy will celebrate 15 years connecting people and parks, and conserving the Emerald Necklace, on Tuesday, May 14, from 6 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens. The Olmsted Award of Excellence will be presented, and Emerald Necklace Parks Champions John Blackwell (posthumous) of the Arnold Arboretum, Isabella Callanan (posthumous) of the Riverway, Christine Cooper and John Iappini of Jamaica Pond, Sarah Freeman of the Emerald Necklace Parkways, Walter Little and Dan Richardson of Franklin Park, Arlene and Hugh Mattison of Olmsted Park, and Freddie Veikley of the Back Bay Fens will be honored.  Individual tickets $50, patron tickets $150. Purchase tickets at http://www.emeraldnecklace.org, or send a check to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115.  Kindly respond by May 1. For more information contact Jillian Levine at 617-522-2700, or email her at jlevine@emeraldnecklace.org.

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  • Wednesday, May 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Global Environmental Threats: Why They are So Hard to See and How Using a Medical Model Can Help

    Tragically and self-destructively, we human beings have so much difficulty recognizing that we are an integral, inseparable part of the natural world and that we have no other choice but to preserve it. Our failure in understanding this fundamental truth is central to our difficulty in seeing the changes, happening before our eyes, that we are making to the global environment and in acting to prevent them. This talk, given by Eric Chivian, MD, Director of the Program on Biodiversity and Human Health, Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health, shall look at why these alterations are so hard to see and how looking at their consequences from a medical perspective can be helpful. The session will take place on Wednesday, May 1 beginning at 7 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, $5 for Arboretum members, $10 for nonmembers. Sign up on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  And here he is below with Harrison Ford – perhaps not the photo the Arboretum had in mind for this post, and we doubt anyone will mistake Mr. Ford as an environmental threat, but we just couldn’t resist.

    http://archives.focus.hms.harvard.edu/2002/June7_2002/harrison_ford449.jpg

  • Monday, April 29, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Good Fungus, Bad Fungus

    John Klironomos, Professor of Biology at University of British Columbia – Okanagan, will speak to the public at the Arnold Arboretum on Monday, April 29, from 7 – 8:30 in the Hunnewell Building, in a program co-sponsored by the Boston Mycological Club. Fungi are found everywhere and play important roles in the environment. Some are decomposers (recyclers), others are parasites and pathogens, and yet others form mutualistic symbioses with plants and animals. In this presentation, the diversity and functioning of fungi in terrestrial ecosystems will be illustrated and discussed.  $10  for members of the sponsoring organizations, $15 nonmembers, and you may register on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Sunday, April 21, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Magnificent Maples at The Arnold Arboretum

    Explore the Arnold Arboretum’s world-class maple collection as flowers bloom and new leaves unfurl, on Sunday, April 21 from 1 – 3. Look for maple blossoms and bright new leaves – tiny, delightful signs of spring. Free. For more information call 617-524-1718. The Arboretum is located at 125 Arborway in Boston.

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  • Tuesday, April 30, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Mycorrhizal Symbioses and the Functioning of Terrestrial Ecosystems

    The Ecological Landscaping Association, The Arnold Arboretum, the New England Wild Flower Society, and The Boston Mycological Club will co-sponsor a lecture on Tuesday, April 30, from 10 – noon at the Weld Hill Research Building, 125 Arborway in Boston, on Mycorrhizal Symbioses and the Functioning of Terrestrial Ecosystems.  The lecturer is John Klironomos, Professor of Biology at University of British Columbia – Okanagan.  Mycorrhizal symbioses are mutualistic associations between plant roots and a small group of soil fungi.  These symbioses are very common – found in the majority of terrestrial plants.  Plants benefit from increased nutrient and water uptake, and also from increased protection from root pathogens.  Recent research has also shown that the symbiosis promotes higher diversity and productivity within plant communities.  This presentation will discuss the structure and functioning of mycorrhizal symbioses and the potential for their application and management.  $25 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $35 for nonmembers.  Register on line with one of the sponsors, call  617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.

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