FRBC Video Presentation Archives

 

The Tian Shan and Its flowers with Vojtech Holubec

Vojtěch Holubec discusses plants of Tian Shan and the ecological conditions in which they grow. He travels extensively to photograph plants and wild habitats in the world, and has published a book on this subject with the same title with David Horák. The Tian Shan is a very remote 1500 mile mountain range running east-west from Mongolia and northern China to Tajikistan, encompassing incredibly diverse habitats from desert to high snow-covered peaks. In between these two extremes, are vegetation zones of steppe, broadleaf forests, coniferous forests, exuberant moist meadows and rich alpine ecology. The combination of amazing plants and stunning scenery is mesmerizing.   (Click Here) 

The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, with Amy Stewart

Amy Stewart is the author of The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, Flower Confidential, From the Ground Up, and several other popular nonfiction titles about the natural world plus the Kopp Sisters novels. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide and have been translated into 18 languages. Sue and Kelly had a great time being interviewed for her latest book and it felt like we were chatting with an old friend even though we had never met.   (Click Here)

A phylogeny of Trillium: what we've learned, with Aaron Floden

This is a deep dive into the genus Trillium as it is currently understood, including recently described species. The talk focuses on the phylogenetic studies of Trillium, using images from field and garden grown plants. Many molecular phylogenetic projects are covered, including the overall phylogeny of Trillium, subgeneric classification, and the sessile species of subgenus Sessilia (formerly Phyllantherum) and subgenus Trillium. The recent changes of classification, novel species, and distribution will be covered, along with new questions that have arisen because of the results. (Click Here)  

The Collections of Tromsø Arctic–Alpine Botanic Garden, with Martin Hajman

Join Martin Hajman, Head Gardener of the Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden in Tromsø, Norway, as he takes us through their collections. This is located north of the arctic circle and has the distinction of being the northernmost botanical garden in the world. The garden displays arctic and alpine plants from all continents with special emphasis on cold-hardy plants from the Caucasus, Himalaya, and South America. Renowned collections of specific genera include dwarf Ericaceae, Meconopsis, Saxifraga, and Ranunculus among others. (Click Here)  

The World of Plants at Windsor

Join John Anderson, Keeper of the Gardens, as he showcases the amazing plants of Windsor Great Park. The park covers 4,800 acres of sweeping parkland, forest, award winning exotic gardens, and ancient woodland. Prior to his appointment at Windsor, John Anderson trained at the National Botanic Gardens in Ireland and studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London. He has held "head gardener" positions at Mount Usher Gardens in Ireland; Inverewe Gardens in Scotland; and Exbury Gardens in England. (Click Here)  

A Summer Visit to the Deserts of Ladakh with Seamus O’Brien

Seamus O’Brien recounts the adventures of a trip he led in July 2022 to the mountains of Ladakh in the Kashmir region. Ladakh has some of the greatest glaciers in all Asia, which provide water to the deserts on the mountain slopes and valleys below, giving rise to a rare ecosystem rich in flora. He and his group studied its high-altitude desert flora, which is being threatened by climate change. (Click Here)  

Alpines Down Under with Harry Jans

A closer look at mountain plants in Australia and Tasmania. An unknown area for many of us, but with a wealth of very attractive alpine plants. The lecture will start with some botanizing around the Canberra area and move to the only high mountain in Australia with a ski resort, Mount Kosciusko. After this location we will see what special plants Tasmania has to offer. Harry Jans will also feature other plants of interest alongside the alpines. He has led and organized many botanical tours to various mountain ranges throughout the world, and is a passionate plant explorer and rock gardener for more than 40 years. He is a recipient of the AGS Lyttel Trophy in 2014, and his own garden is well known for its tufa wall. (Click Here)  

The Amazing Plants of Southern China

In the fall of 2019, FRBC Directors Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken were part of a small team exploring for plants in southern Yunnan and Guangxi. Some of these areas have rarely, if ever, been visited by westerners and the rich flora was amazing, ranging from Begonia to gesneriads, Arisaema to Shortia, Rhododendron to Schefflera, to towering old-growth trees of Schima, Rehderodendron, Rhodoleia and the rare Abies yuanbaoshanensis. (Click Here)  

Botanical Bright Spots 2021

Join us for a fun and gratifying look at some of 2021’s highlights in the FRBC collection. These include first flowerings for the collection as well as some exciting firsts for cultivation anywhere. Other rarities have earned mention by simply looking particularly good. Normally, we would be including numerous exciting introductions from our efforts abroad but with Covid, our stifled plant hunting was directed towards our local flora. (Click Here)  

Botanical Bright Spots in 2020

A look back at some of the highlights in the FRBC collection in 2020. We had many first flowerings to celebrate and a lot of new acquisitions rounding into form, showing exciting potential. This is a fun stroll through the stock houses, giving you a nice slice of the wide range of plants we are introducing and conserving. (Click Here)  

To the Mountains of Myanmar

Seamus retraces the expedition routes of Frank Kingdon-Ward, a prolific plant explorer in Asia in the early half of the 20th century. This lecture will give you a taste of what plant hunting is like in Myanmar now. Seamus’s boots-on-the-ground approach to botanical biographies brings a vivid and personal interpretation to historical accounts and to the rich flora of northern Myanmar.  (Click Here)

Seamus O'Brien Hooker and Henry

Seamus O’Brien is Head Gardener at the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh, as well as an award-winning author, explorer, and plantsman. His explorations have taken him to the far-flung corners of the globe to study plants in their native habitats, most notably to China,Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar, Chile, Tasmania, New Zealand, and in more recent times successive trips to the Sikkim Himalaya. (Click Here)