Chad Husby

"Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.”
~Robert F. Kennedy (4 April 1968)

This stunning Blakea sp. is flowering in the Wings of the Tropics butterfly conservatory @fairchildgarden. Like many other members of the Melastomataceae family, the dramatic comb-like stamens curve down from above.

"preventive war is like suicide for fear of death"

"even victorious wars cannot be justified unless they are forced upon one, and that one cannot see the cards of Providence far enough ahead to anticipate historical development according to one's own calculation."

~Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)

Dwarf red powderpuff (Calliandra haematocephala 'Nana') has set the Butterfly Garden ablaze with scarlet stamens @fairchildgarden. This is by far the most impressive display I have seen from this wonderfull compact flowering tree. Bees rejoice in the abundance of nectar.

The spiralling inflorescences of Anthurium wendlingeri never fail to amaze. The form of the spiral varies from one inflorescence to another (as seen here) and by geographic origin. This wonderful specimen from @nsetropicals is on display in the Conservatory @fairchildgarden

A magnificent cycad, Zamia lindenii, is producing an impressive flush of new leaves @fairchildgarden. Native to South America, this is one of the largest Zamia species in the world and produces an impressive trunk. The specimen in this photo is nearly 60 years old.

Stems of horsetails (here Equisetum giganteum at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden) are unique in the plant kingdom: combining telescoping stems with whorled leaves fused into sheaths and whorled branches originating between the leaves (rather than in leaf axils as in seed plants).

YouTube video by OnlyPlants Meet TONS of Fascinating Plants! Fairchilds Tropical Garden Miami (3 episodes in 1)

youtu.be/xmbhxGkumjw?...

Lungfish xkcd.com/3064

Close-up photo of a leafy branch with a terminal cluster of three fruits. The large, fleshy pedicels are yellow and attractive. The true fruits are the C-shaped nuts that are borne on the tips of the fleshy pedicels. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

The fruits of cashew (Anacardium occidentale) are unusual. The familiar nut is borne inside the hard-shelled fruit at the distal end of the fleshy, attractive, edible pedicel. I don’t know what disperses the seeds in nature. Primates? Bats? #Anacardiaceae #tropicalbotany #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

"All nations want peace, but they want a peace that suits them."

~Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher (1894)

Photo: Sir John Fisher in 'Renown' (1897)

The large fronds of this impressive rabbit's foot fern (Davallia species) are very lacy as they unfurl, but then mature to a fuller texture @fairchildgarden

A coloured pen restoration in a single grown Stem, which is 10 m tall,next to a tall woman. The stem is ribbed with clusters of short frilly branches in the top half, looking like a wide pipe cleaner. There are pale silhouetted of other stems in the background and a short growing stem is to the left of the big one.

For #FossilFriday, here's a restoration of the possible life appearance of #Equisetites arenaceus, from the Early Late Triassic of Europe; a horsetail with stems up to 25cm across! I have more information about this on my patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/107353...
#paleobotany #paleoart

This fascinating flowering tree from Madagascar has young leaves that unfurl like fern fronds! Pseudopteris decipiens was given its genus name "Pseudopteris" (i.e. "false fern") due to this uncanny resemblance. This exciting new introduction thriving in the Sunken Garden @fairchildgarden

Full moon at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

A low, flat rosette of short, spirally arranged leaves. The spirals are clearly visible.

A small aloe with distichous (2-ranked) leaves growing among gravel and rocks.

I love the interesting leaf arrangements in Aloe. They are typically spirally arranged & none shows it better than A. polyphylla (📷: John Dransfield). Occasionally they’re distichous, as in A. suprafoliata. #Aloe #Asphodelaceae #TropicalBotany #botany 🌾🧪🌱

Snake Plant Varieties for Every Low-Light Corner of Your Home Even botanists can be surprised at the sheer variety of a houseplant often known only for being indestructible.

Article in the New York Times about how the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Sansevieria collection developed, with especially large contributions from Alan Myklebust, Arid Lands Greenhouses and many others, often associated with the International Sansevieria Society
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/r...

Some Sansevieria species from the region around the Horn of Africa can have dramatic orange root color. This is a beautiful glaucous form of Sansevieria powellii with elegant long spiralling leaves that I recently planted near the Garden House Lawn @ Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Sloanea montana is producing a stunning array of waxy flowers that look like they are made of porcelain at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. This beautiful small tree is from the island of New Caledonia. Many thanks to Atlanta Botanical Garden for sharing this remarkable species with us!

YouTube video by Emily Smith - Topic Winter Song

"The nights are drawing into shorter days
I hear the old folk and the country people say
Don’t fear the dark, nature has it all in hand
Time to reflect and renew the tired land
So we’ll stoke the fire and light the lamp
Turn our backs in from the damp"
youtu.be/kCoTG7YZuA8?...

Winter evening reflections at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Sunset at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Euphorbia mayuranathanii is in full bloom near the southern part of the Vine Pergola @fairchildgarden. This beautiful succulent is now considered a variation of E. antiquorum, but is distinct enough to continue using the former name in horticulture.

Sansevieria sp. 'Blue Kew' is a beautiful arborescent type of Sansevieria with stout vertical stems arsing from a spreading rhizome and thick silvery-green leaves with sharp tips. This handsome plant hails from the border area between Somalia and Kenya. It is thriving @fairchildgarden.

In December and January the endangered semaphore cactus (Consolea corallicola) of the Florida Keys typically blooms and one can see the beautiful flowers at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. This interesting cactus is now restricted to one remaining wild population but is easy to cultivate.

Phyllanthus epiphyllanthus has flattened stems (cladophylls) that provide most of the photosynthetic surface instead of leaves. Flowers arise from the cladophyll nodes and the leaves are inconspicuous. One can observe this remarkable plant near the Visitors Center @FairchildGarden

"The sea was calm as a lake, and the glorious sun of the tropics threw a flood of golden light over all...I was in a new world, and could dream of the wonderful productions hid in those rocky forests, and in those azure abysses"
~Alfred Russel Wallace, 'The Malay Archipelago'
(Image by Jason Chin)

"Do not despair of life. You have no doubt force enough to overcome obstacles. Think of the fox prowling through the wood and field in a winter night for something to satisfy his hunger. Notwithstanding cold, hounds and traps his race survives."
~Henry David Thoreau, Journal (13 December 1857)

A view of fog desert near Puerto San Carlos, BCS. The sky is clear. A large cylindrical cactus lies flat on the ground with Baja ocotillo plants in the background

The creeping devil (Stenocereus eruca) is a strange cactus that only grows on Baja California’s Magdalena plain, where it grows on the ground. It has the unique ability of being able to regrow roots and kill off old sections of itself, allowing it to move across the fog desert (up to 60cm/yr!) 📸

An exceptionally sculptural gumbo limbo tree (Bursera simaruba). The wonderful tree is native throughout the Caribbean basin, including south Florida. Artful pruning and sculpting by humans (in this case) or nature sometimes produces quite striking individuals.