Few plant species can have been better studied than rice. There is a wealth of information out there; I’ve picked a few interesting and enlightening extracts- a résumé of rice if you like.
Taro: The Oldest Food Crop on Earth with a 10,000 Year Culinary History Colocasia esculenta, also known as Taro or Dasheen as well as many other vernacular names, is an important food crop, widely cultivated in a zone spanning across … Continue reading
Lacking ideas this Movember? Why not take inspiration from Spanish Moss and the great Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, from whom the plant was thought to originate. Well at least as the legend goes… Apparently Hernando De Soto pursued an Indian maiden through the forest … Continue reading
Averrhoa carambola L., the starfruit is one of those strange and unique products that come from the east of Asia, with its funny shape and curious flavours, which you can love or hate, it is beggining to appear broadly in … Continue reading
Thunbergia alata, commonly known as the Black Eyed Susan vine, is a climbing vine from the Acanthaceae family (Heywood et al, 2007)1, which produces large showy yellow flowers with a black spot in the centre. These large bright flowers and … Continue reading
On Wednesday 16th October the results of the Reading in Bloom Schools Challenge were announced at a ceremony hosted by the University of Reading. Eight of the ten winning schools attended a meeting that started with a tour of our … Continue reading
The 2013 MSc Plant Diversity intake arrived on Wednesday to a busy session of induction, safety talks and the formative plant ID test. The students were given 30 numbered plants to identify to family (plus genus and species if they … Continue reading
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The tropical biodiversity greenhouse has had a year to settle down now and the plant growth has been amazing. Species that had never grown more than a metre or two high are now double their previous size and several have … Continue reading
On 26th June the University Tropical Biodiversity glasshouse hosted a visit of 90 pupils from Aldryngton Primary School. This was the first official school visit we have hosted since the refurbishment of the glasshouse. Mrs Dunn from Aldryngton was the … Continue reading
On Monday 20th May we held what might be considered the official opening of the Tropical Biodiversity Glasshouse. The University of Reading community open event provided a means for both the Harris Garden and our greenhouse to be shown to … Continue reading
