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PODCAST

Herbarium of the Bizarre

Meredith Hemphill

A podcast about strange, spooky, and misunderstood plants (and sometimes fungi). Support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/HerbariumoftheBizarre

science life sciences

All Episodes

00:11:08

Skeleton Flower

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/10/10

Sorry it sounds so echo-y. I’m dog/housesitting for my parents, so I’m not in my usual recording space. Ruby the Beagle says “hi.” Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Diphylleia grayi-inspired stretchable hydrochromics with large optical modulation in the visible–near-infrared region by Guofa Cai, et al. (2018). ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(43), pg. 37685-37693. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b12490

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00:13:16

Narrow-leafed Campion

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/09/26

There seems to be disagreement whether it ought to be spelled narrow-leafed or narrow-leaved. Neither is easy to say, for the record.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17100574https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-sciencehttps://www.livescience.com/2602-extinct-tree-christ-time-rises-dead.htmlhttps://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/22/3436826.htmGermination, genetics, and

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00:17:17

Dutch Elm Disease

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/09/14

This episode ended up being way more involved that I expected, but I learned so much, and I thought I knew Dutch Elm Disease pretty well already. Hopefully, y’all will learn a lot, too.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.dontmovefirewood.org/pest_pathogen/dutch-elm-disease-html/https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/pdlessons/Pages/DutchElm.aspxhttps://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/dutch-elm-disease-ophiostoma-novo-ulmi/A

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00:17:21

Vegetable Lamb

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/09/06

We will resume my trilogy of invasive plants next week once I find my mind. Has anyone seen it?Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/running-ponies/animal-or-vegetable-legend-of-the-vegetable-lamb-of-tartary/The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary: A curious fable of the cotton plant by Henry Lee (1887)https://www.nybg.org/poetic-botany/barometz/https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/curious-tale-of-vegetable-lambThe Vegetable Lamb of Tartary by Alice

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00:00:58

Episode 89 Delayed (feat. Autumn)

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/08/28

Don't worry, I'm okay. My car is very much not okay, unfortunately.

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00:08:50

Privets

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/08/15

If you’re thinking of planting a Privet, you should pivot and plant something else. Well, if you live in North or Central America, anyway, but that doesn’t rhyme.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided

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00:11:12

Callery Pear

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/08/03

I have a complicated relationship with this stinky dead fish tree.For your entertainment, a Reddit thread about Bradford Pears: https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/comments/1bn1wpv/why_bradford_pear_is_so_hated/Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided

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00:12:55

Rafflesia, a.k.a. Corpse Flower

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/07/18

Meet the world’s biggest (and possibly stinkiest) flowers.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/world/worlds-largest-flower-indonesia-scn-trnd/index.htmlhttps://www.britannica.com/plant/RafflesiaPlants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants by Elizabeth A. Dauncey and Sonny Larson

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00:09:15

Fairy Lanterns

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/07/04

If you’re in the U.S., I hope you try and have a happy 4th of July. And as a public safety professional in my day job, I must remind you to please not start any fires or injure anyone with fireworks. ‘Kay thanks.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided

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00:11:35

Lavender

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/06/21

Be a lavender menace.Music provided by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/https://www.britannica.com/plant/lavenderhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Lavender-ScareCunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)Herb Magic for Beginners: Down-to-earth Enchantments by Ellen Dugan

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00:08:06

Pansy

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/06/13

Support the Pansy Project and get a cute shirt: https://birdscanflystore.com/collection/the-pansy-project/Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan

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00:07:40

Violets

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/06/07

Roses are (sometimes) red,Violets are (sometimes) blue,And if you ask Sappho,Violets are gay, too!Happy Pride Month 🌈Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)https://bouqs.com/blog/violet-flower-meaning-symbolism/Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd

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00:13:40

Ginkgo

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/05/30

These extra-special trees are similar to both conifers and fruit trees, but they are actually something much, much older. Ginkgoes are the only tree species around today that was alive at the same time as dinosaurs! 🦕 How cool is that?Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ginkgo-biloba-benefitsMedicinal Plants at Home by Maria Transito Lopez Luengo and Carlota Manez Ariso

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00:10:01

Walking Palm

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/05/16

Is it really possible that these trees walk around the rainforest like the Ents in Lord of the Rings?I forgot to mention that there won’t be an episode next week. Here’s your one-week notice that I’ll be on vacation next Friday. ✈️Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Stilt-Root Walking by an Iriateoid Palm in the Peruvian Amazon by John H. Bodley and Foley C. Benson (1980). Biotropica, 12(1), pg. 67-71.

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00:11:15

Henbane

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/05/10

Today, at long last, I am revealing my favorite fact about witches’ flying ointment. 🧹Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/witches-garden/witch-garden-feature/witches-garden-plants/henbane/Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)https://www.britannica.com/plant/henbaneCunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)Plants That Kill: A Natural History

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00:09:09

Cobra Plant

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/05/02

A.k.a. the California Pitcher Plant or the Cobra Lily. It’s not a lily, not even a little bit, but it does look surprisingly serpentine. 🐍Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:The cobra's tongue: Rethinking the function of the “fishtail appendage” on the pitcher plant Darlingtonia californica by David W. Armitage (2016). American Journal of Botany, 103(4), pgs. 780-785.

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00:11:12

Sundews

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/04/25

The carnivorous plants are back, and this time we’re looking at my favorite bug traps, Sundews!I forgot to mention in the intro that I’m going to be at RavenCon in Richmond, VA this weekend—actually, as this airs, I’m probably already on my way—and AtomaCon in North Charleston, SC next weekend. Come say “hi!”Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke

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00:14:24

Cordyceps

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/04/19

Watch the real-life Zombie Fungus in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://screenrant.com/girl-all-gifts-fungal-infection-hungries-explained/https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/cordycepsInterkingdom host jumping underground: Phylogenetic analysis of entomoparasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps by Naruo Nikoh and Takema Fukatsu (2000). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17(4), pg. 629-638.

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00:09:01

Cambodia's Penis Pitcher Plants

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/04/12

Sometimes plants come in very silly shapes.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:https://sarracenia.proboards.com/thread/3891/nepenthes-bokorensis-wildSpecies composition of ant prey of the pitcher plant Nepenthes bokorensis Mey (Nepenthaceae) in Phnom Bokor National Park, Cambodia by Shingo Hosoishi, et al. (2012). Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 5(1), pg. 3-7.Report of carnivorous plants (Droseraceae, Lentibulariaceae and Nepenthaceae) from seasonally dry savannahs in

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00:11:31

Aquatic Waterwheel

Herbarium of the Bizarre ·

2025/04/05

While researching this episode, I stumbled across an Insta called @horrorcultureplants that I highly recommend giving a follow.Music by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Biological flora of Central Europe: Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. by Lubomír Adamec (2018). Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 35, pg. 8-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2018.10.001Studies on the leaf movement of Aldrovanda vesiculosa L., part I: Process and mechanism of the movement

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93 results

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