Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium

Jim Folsom provides the opening remarks for the "Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium". Folsom is the Marge and Sherm Telleen Director of the Botanical Gardens at the The Huntington.

Jodie S. Holt, Ph.D., discusses why plants are essential to our existence on earth, yet most people only notice plants as a green backdrop to their daily lives. Without greater human awareness of plants and their importance, efforts to conserve plant biodiversity will be futile. Why don’t we ‘see’ plants even though they are all around us? Using principles of plant form and function, Dr. Holt explores why plants look like they do, which enhances our ability to ‘see’ plants.

Mieko Ishikawa, discusses the enormous number of living things in the tropical rain forests of Borneo: giant jungle trees rising 200 to 250 feet high, insects carrying pollen, animals feeding on fruits—all interacting with each other and the unique weather in a complex and mysterious dance. Rafflesia, the largest flower on earth, can grow only in this kind of jungle. Ishikawa has visited Borneo 11 times. Each time, she is fascinated with the energy and mystery that fills the jungle.

Phillip Crib, discuss The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which has a magnificent collection of original botanical art that has accumulated over the past 250 years. It is actively being improved and curated and is utilized by Kew’s many botanists and visitors on a daily basis. Crib uses Kew’s collection to illustrate the development of botanical art through the ages, and improvements of technique and printing that have made it more useful and accessible to both scientists and the wider public.

Alain Touwaide, Ph.D., discusses how thousands of plant representations can be found in multiple ancient books, in manuscript or printed form, in many languages preserved in libraries all over the world. Sometimes original, but more often copied from one another, these illustrations rarely correspond to each another, and do not always allow for an unambiguous identification of the represented plants. Going beyond such notions as artist's individuality, choices, style and their own vision, this lecture explores what may seem to be weird plant illustrations to decipher their silent language and meaning.