Post AP1yJulpVzAPOAIzJY by neglesaks@mstdn.io
(DIR) More posts by neglesaks@mstdn.io
(DIR) Post #AP1xiuORxDPVVLivNw by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T15:39:38Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
So, I am a #botanist. This means, I'm not a gardener (sorry, I can't help with your dying houseplants) but that I am trained to identify and name #plants. Applying the correct name to an organism is important. It's the same a calling a person with the correct name with the difference that plants aren't offended, but it could cause that you are poisoned, use the wrong medicine, grow the wrong stuff or make bad policies or business ideas and waste time and money.
(DIR) Post #AP1xiv15dYJpRBnmc4 by neglesaks@mstdn.io
2022-10-28T15:49:11Z
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@dr_norb Has anyone ever told you to touch grass? 😂
(DIR) Post #AP1xiw65cRucmz9I2q by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T15:45:49Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
So, who gives a plant #species its name?Well, technically, everybody can do it, but there are rules to it (called #nomenclature) and you need to make a convincing case that the plant you think is new and deserves a name is in fact significantly different from all plants known so far.In order to do that, you need to know the plants that are related to the potential new plant and how they look like.This is the point where collections of plant samples, so called #herbaria come into play.
(DIR) Post #AP1xrj8lA6sTD5acN6 by Hyolobrika@gleasonator.com
2022-10-28T15:50:47.105294Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
He's right. My dad likes picking mushrooms. If he wasn't able to identify the different types, he would probably be dead by now.
(DIR) Post #AP1xtMt0sAt8ln0TzM by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T15:51:01Z
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@neglesaks Sure. On the surface of grass leaves, there are hairs and other structures that can be rough and a bit like a burr. Stroking a grass leaf can be useful to identify a species.
(DIR) Post #AP1y9Av18Un4HnTvAe by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T15:53:04Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Hyolobrika @neglesaks Yes, there are many extremely poisonous mushrooms. It's not just vomiting or diarrhea but a horribly painful death. Bad identification skills when harvesting mushrooms can have really bad consequences.
(DIR) Post #AP1yJulpVzAPOAIzJY by neglesaks@mstdn.io
2022-10-28T15:55:26Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@dr_norb Plus, you can actually with sufficient skill use it as an impromptu musical instrument.
(DIR) Post #AP1ytqZ6cwpMltUHo0 by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:02:16Z
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@neglesaks Yes, I heard that one can do it. I never tried to be honest. But I grew up in Berlin, where it's not a smart idea to put grass blades close to your mouth anyway. :D
(DIR) Post #AP22g3S6JgLeVCtEPI by Tattooed_mummy@wandering.shop
2022-10-28T15:55:26Z
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@dr_norb presumably you could also survive if you got stranded on Mars ?
(DIR) Post #AP22g4APevnGidccTY by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:06:17Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Tattooed_mummy No, I couldn't. #Mars doesn't have #soil. The Mars surface is dust and rubble with a lot of iron (hence the red colour). Too much iron isn't good for plants, and real #soil has a complex structure and many organisms. It will be hard to grow plants on that substrate. Plants require nutrient compositions that are not available on Mars. Until we can grow plants on Mars, it will take a lot of time and bioengineering.
(DIR) Post #AP22gDgIHldwE7bhuy by Tattooed_mummy@wandering.shop
2022-10-28T16:38:03Z
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@dr_norb I can't believe Matt Damon lied to us
(DIR) Post #AP22iYxK9qQEmvgr5s by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:00:38Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
#Herbaria are such collections. They store many many samples of usually dried and pressed plants. They are basically a #library of #plant #species.Just like a #librarian, I need to keep order in the chaos, help scientists and visitors to get access or send material on loan. I also provide help to interpret old labels, and I update and reidentify the material.This is where I work: the #herbarium at the #NaturalHistoryMuseum in London:
(DIR) Post #AP22ibSErsL6XOAZYe by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:13:21Z
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The NHM in London has about 6 million specimens of plants (and lichens, but no fungi). In my section, I take care of about 500,000-600,000 specimens.As you can imagine, it is not to easy and cheap to travel to herbaria, and it's not always necessary. That's why many #herbaria digitise their collections. In order to find them, we scan and database them. As you can imagine, this takes a lot of time, but we are working hard.
(DIR) Post #AP22idbAtcfxBgMjlQ by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:19:18Z
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We have about 1 million specimens digitsed so far, and you can check them freely online: https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/56e711e6-c847-4f99-915a-6894bb5c5dea/resource/05ff2255-c38a-40c9-b657-4ccb55ab2feb?filters=collectionCode%3AbotSome but not all specimens are fully databased and some but not all have an image. We are working on it, but again, it will take time, as we uncover issues, need to correct mistakes etc. Digitisation means, we also so a kind of an inventory. That's one of the best parts of my job: finding specimens with very cool stories. I will toot about those in the future. Stay tuned!
(DIR) Post #AP22jThLBwVOlreOau by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:42:50Z
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@Tattooed_mummy It's still called "#science fiction" for a reason.Living on #Mars will have more consequences. The constant difference of the gravity, radiation, isolation. We don't know if humans can actually survive in #space or on Mars for a longer time.That's why we need to take much better care of our blue planet right now. Our current life is adapted to the present. #Life will look quite different if #GlobalWarming continues.
(DIR) Post #AP23Fev909wOqOS5aK by Hyolobrika@gleasonator.com
2022-10-28T16:51:09.084792Z
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>Digitisation means, we also so a kind of an inventoryDigitisation means you also what?
(DIR) Post #AP23qGsTM8b8zSf0Zk by dr_norb@fediscience.org
2022-10-28T16:57:09Z
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@Hyolobrika There was a typo, not "so" but "do".By digitising, we systematically see and database all the specimens that we have.At the moment, we only have guesstimates of how many specimens we actually have.
(DIR) Post #AP23sQdC3zzrosXhMe by Hyolobrika@gleasonator.com
2022-10-28T16:58:09.437836Z
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Ah, I see. Ty. :blobcatthumbsup: