Luigi Guarino

Hottest chili pepper in the world

Bhut Jolokia is a hottie.

Travel the Frankincense Route. Three Wise Men unavailable for comment.

Happy (and nutritious) Halloween!

Boffins keen to get hands on pubic lice. Everybody unavailable for comment.

Our friend Andy Jarvis of Bioversity/CIAT is off and running with his blog on Ecosystems and Poverty. It’s part of the Ecosystems Services & Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) project. Your RSS feed is in our reader, Andy. Welcome to the blogosphere.

1. On the occasion of Thanksgiving, The Botanist in the Kitchen explains the difference between potato, sweet potato and yam — inimitably. And thanks for the shout-outs!
2. A tour of the wild fruits of Goa. Their sourness has been culturally and economically marginalised in much the same way that extractive systems marginalise the people, landscapes and food traditions associated with it. Well, maybe.
3. How Charity Mueni Ndivo built her own seed bank in Kenya, and then wrote about it for FAO. No sourness in sight.
4. Dr P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, celebrates genebanks, plant breeding, and farmers like Charity.
Published on November 13, 2026