That’s the title of an IFPRI project funded by the Gates Foundation which aims to document success stories in agricultural development. We mentioned it here before, when it was just being launched. There are a couple of agrobiodiversity examples among the case studies, including maize in Africa, mungbean in Asia and diet diversification in Bangladesh.
The orchids that fell through the cracks
My sincere apologies to Ted MacRae, who submitted a blog post about Great Plains ladies-tresses to the Berry Go Round carnival we hosted here a couple of days ago. Stupidity made me leave it off. Sorry Ted.
Nibbles: Goldman Environmental Prize, UK networking, European landraces publication, Seed Warriors, India agrobiodiversity sites, Beer books, Teosinte, Drought foods, Sugarcane genebank, Regional genebank in South Asia, Rhubarb, Annals, Food articles, Cryo
- Goldman Prizewinner Jesús León Santos: “It is time we recognize that traditional agricultural methods can make strong contributions to biodiversity conservation. We should encourage it and value it as a way to produce healthy foods that conserve and care for the environment.” Time indeed.
- British twofer: The Food Climate Research Network aims “to better understand how the food system contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and to research and promote ways of reducing them.” Then there’s the Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures. Will they talk to each other, I wonder.
- From Bioversity, “European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use.” I wonder if the Foresight Project will download a copy.
- The “Seed Warriors” trailer. Oscar buzz, I hear.
- Agricultural biodiversity heritage sites in India. Ethnobotanist brings together information on food plants used during drought. Mashup, anyone?
- A book about beer. My two favourite things. Oooh, here’s another couple! And it’s not over: Spiegel weighs in on the old chestnut about beer being the reason for agriculture. My tankard runneth over.
- CIMMYT team monitors teosinte. Teosinte planning to fight back.
- Regional sugarcane genebank is actually being used! Heartwarming. Oh, and, coincidentally, here’s a history of Indian sugarcane breeding.
- “A SAARC Plant Genetic Resource Bank for rice, wheat and maize may be created to facilitate free exchange of germplasm between the member countries. To begin with, the Indian Gene Bank facilities may be utilized, with suitable modalities.” Not so heartwarming.
- The Russian roots of Alaskan rhubarb. Take that, Palin! Note the bit about St Isaac’s Cathedral, which of course sits opposite VIR. How apposite is that?
- Nigel Chaffey rounds up the usual suspects in presenting a potpourri of “plant-based items from the world’s media” for Annals of Botany. May well be one to watch. And not just because genebanks make an appearance.
- Amazing food roundup.
- Cryopreserving Chip, the Tennessee fainting goat.
Nibbles: Indian buffalo, Indian local crops, CBD, AgricultureBridge, Kew, Geo-referencing, Cyprus, China and climate change, CC icons, Chinese AnGR, FAO information, Rose symbolism, Pacific ethnobotany, Grape history and genetics, Taraxacum
Hold on to your hats, this will make up for lost time. Hope you all had a nice break, Happy New Year!
- Video on the “Night Queen of Chilika.” Not what you think: it’s a buffalo breed.
- Indian jury calls for more work on local crops. Wait, a jury?
- Indian NGO says “[n]ational sovereignty over genetic resources could undermine food security.” Wow.
- AgricultureBridge “connect[s] practitioners to each other and to leading universities to help resolve some of the world’s most pressing questions in agriculture and conservation.” We’ll see.
- Big year for Kew: many new species described, including CWRs; many blogs launched; much geo-referencing done.
- Not agrobiodiversity, but speaking of geo-referencing and the like…
- Cypriot no man’s land good for biodiversity. Including crop wild relatives? I think we should be told.
- Chinese farmers struggle to adapt to climate change. Plenty more of this kind of thing out there, no doubt. Like this, for instance?
- And yet list of “climate change icons” only includes one plant. Something should be done.
- Chinese researchers talk about animal genetic resources conservation. If you’re frustrated at missing that, get ready for Europeans talking about the Mediterranean pig. But meanwhile, get to grips with the FAO Animal Genetic Resources Information Bulletin.
- Speaking of FAO info bulletins, feast on the ones on non-wood forest products and plant breeding.
- A rose is a rose is a rose. But for the Romans?
- Carcinogenic bark of endemic Pohnpei cinnamon not bad for you after all. If you boil it.
- “It is ironic that the despised grape Gouais blanc was not just a parent for several of the world’s best-known and most important varieties, such as Chardonnay and Gamay noir, it was the maternal parent, providing additional DNA and potentially determining important characteristics of the offspring.” Oh, so, so ironic.
- Natural rubber from weird dandelion? No, really, all kinds of boffins are working on it.
Berry Go Round #23: The Janus Edition
The cleverest carnival hosts seem to be able to weave the submissions they receive into a single themed ribbon of discovery. Not me. I knew when I volunteered to host the January edition that it would be a squeeze between returning from the festivities across six time zones and showing up for work bright-eyed and bushy tailed. I did not know I’d have to contend with extra delays en route. But hey, I have to stay up anyway, so here goes nothing.
A seasonal start, with Elizabeth over at The Natural Capitol sharing some of the lore surrounding holly. I didn’t know that Romans celebrated Saturnalia with holly; that’s one to revive.
Dave Ingram at his Natural History Blog has a dreadful punning title about the good things he discovered while cleaning up a lilac that had snapped under the weight of a snowfall. Lichens! Not the easiest things to identify; Dave’s photographs give an insight into the diversity of these strange plants.
John at KindofCurious has also been out and about with his camera, and posts a stunnning feast of flowers from the Christmas Display at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. (I always thought it was in Delaware.) Not very Christmassy — if you were expecting holly, ivy and red poinsettias — but pretty for all that.
The sole species of the sole genus of the family Tetracarpaeaceae is native to Tasmania. No wonder Dave at Tasmanian Plants is excited about the Delicate Laurel Tetracarpaea tasmannica, Tasmania’s iconic orphan.
Now, what’s the oldest living tree specimen in the world? I’d have got that simple question wrong; it isn’t a bristelcone pine, as I used to think, but a specimen of Palmer’s Oak (Quercus palmeri) in Southern California that is 13,000 years old, give or take. Thanks to Greg Laden for the information.
Just when I feared that there would be nothing about agricultural biodiversity, a couple of posts from Laurent at Seeds Aside, the founder of the Berry go Round Carnival. His first is about a wonderful member of the melon family, the kiwano or horned melon, Cucumis metulliferus. He pulls out three interesting factoids about kiwano, and the one that surprised me most (but really shouldn’t have) is that the leaves are extremely rich in micronutrients and could make a valuable contribution to a diverse and nutritious diet.
As for Laurent’s other post — OMGs GMOs — I am going to say absolutely nothing. It hinges on a video about GMOs as a “solution” to climate change. Watch it and join the debate at Seeds Aside or over at YouTube where, astonishingly, the video has attracted not one single comment.
Continuing the its-not-all-lovely-dovey-in-the-world-of-botany notion, Sally at Foothills Fancies documents her one-woman war on a ghastly invasive, Dalmatian Toadflax “(variously Linaria dalmatica, Linaria genistifolia ssp. dalmatica, etc.)” Did she win? Read the post and find out.
As host, I exercise my privilege to draw attention to a few things I’ve noticed. One has to be the 2009 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, an institution if ever there was one. In 2009 Professor Sue Hartley discussed “the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals, and how that conflict has shaped us and the world we live in”. And if you think that because the lectures are for kids there’s nothing there for you, think again. Then there’s the sumptuous Love Plant Life blog, new to me, and thanks to Anna for asking us to link to it. And Patrick at Bifurcated Carrots has a guide to buying and growing “heirloom/OP seeds” that could be of interest.
If you’re a follower of the Paleo (or palaeo) Diet, you might want to check out what our ancestors in Mozambique were eating 100,000 years ago. (Hint: sorghum.) And with a special hat tip to the Phytophactor, if you come across any further examples of the Inappropriate Use of Agricultural Images or any other pseudo-scientific nonsense, please send it to us.
And finally, if you’re into the whole turn over a new leaf because it’s the new year thing, here are some gardening New Year resolutions, from the PhytoPhactor.
Thanks everyone. Not sure who is hosting next time around.