James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Our new #SDM case study is out! Congratulations to @tuataratuatarae.bsky.social and colleagues. #sarracenia #botany #biogeography #ecologicalmodeling #conservation 162
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 28/04/2025The genus #Viburnum can be hard to ID to species. This one, northern arrowwood (Viburnum recognitum), is distinguished by leaves that are nearly hairless, save for tufts in the vein axils on the abaxial side. #botany #adoxaceae 030
Reposted by James OjascastroDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/04/2025Universities like mine are limiting hiring, travel, and other spending using federal funds because of the fear of things like this. It's basically impossible to do science, whether NSF takes back funding or not.nytimes.comNational Science Foundation Terminates Hundreds of Active Research Awards (Gift Article)The agency targeted grants focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as research on misinformation. 7533156
Reposted by James OjascastroDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/04/2025One of the most disheartening experiences for me over the past 80 days has been the shattering of the illusion I harbored that academia (particularly wealthy private institutions filled with smart people) would uphold and fight for the ideas and values we cherish. 821962302
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/04/2025Florida #staranise (Illicium floridanum) in bloom Forrest County, Mississippi #botany #schisandraceae #illiciaceae 0112
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/04/2025Cahaba paintbrush, endemic to Bibb County. One of Alabama's eight Dolomite Denizens. #castilleja #castillejakraliana #orobanchaceae #botany 150
Reposted by James OjascastroNaomi Fraga @naomibot.bsky.social · 29/03/2025Amargosa Niterwort (Nitrophila mohavensis) waking from its winter slumber. 1252
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 07/03/2025Flowers of Miccosukee gooseberry (Ribes echinellum), a rare, spiny shrub represented by just two widely disjunct populations in SC and FL. #grossulariaceae #botany 020
Reposted by James OjascastroAndrew Hipp @andrewlhipp.bsky.social · 06/03/2025Post-bac training in rare plant science / conservation at 4 collaborating institutions: The Morton Arboretum, Atlanta Botanical Garden, California Botanic Garden, San Diego Botanic Garden. Great mentors and projects, competitive pay. Pls share! ** APPLY BY 3/14 *** atlantabg.org/conservation...atlantabg.orgAtlanta Botanical Garden | RaMP: Post-Baccalaureate Training and Research Program in Rare Plant Science and ConservationThe mission of the Atlanta Botanical Garden is to develop and maintain plant collections for display, education, research, conservation and enjoyment. 066
Reposted by James Ojascastro闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 23/02/2025There’s a google doc trying to keep track of funding/grad school admission/hiring freezes & status please share 🧪 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...docs.google.comGraduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025) 17465
Reposted by James OjascastroThe Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 22/02/2025WYOMING: “Thank you, Madam chairman.” “I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.” “Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.” 1413400749537
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 17/02/2025#Lepanthes caritensis, a tiny #orchid endemic to Puerto Rico. #orchidaceae #botany 040
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 14/02/2025After 6 years of work, I'm pleased to announce my 1st, 1st-author pub is now in print! Special thanks to coauthors Trần Hồng Nhung, @veronicaypham.bsky.social & @oreotrephes.bsky.social for their contributions! Order @ link ⬇️. #followingthepapertrail #ethnobotany ethnobiology.org/publications... 0133
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 12/02/2025Wooden mallets used for beating #barkcloth in Hawai'i. Round hohoa made from milo (Thespesia populnea), square i'e kuku from 'ōhi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha; middle) and koa (Acacia koa; bottom) woods. #botany #ethnobotany #hawaii 091
Reposted by James OjascastroMike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 10/02/2025I wrote this bit that is entirely unrelated to current thingsmcsweeneys.netVoting for the Mayor Who Promised to Blow Up the City Doesn’t Mean I Approve of the Mayor Blowing Up the CityIt’s so easy to label people these days. From the way folks have been talking, you’d think everyone falls into two buckets: those who voted against... 15381711914
Reposted by James OjascastroJulia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025Important and also we need to start explaining to people that humans are just one species on the planet and research doesn’t have to be directly applicable them to be interesting, significant, or worth doing. 1124
Reposted by James OjascastroChanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 31/01/2025What the NSF is doing this week is damaging *generations* of scientific researchers and American investments in science. Billions of US tax payer dollars in investment, being thrown away, because of a fucking fishing expedition that is intended to terrorize and set the stage for a real witch hunt. 22766364
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 26/01/2025Papers I made by hand from phloem of select #Moraceae. L➡️R: Higuerón (Ficus aurea) Red mulberry (Morus rubra) Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) Cultivated fig (Ficus carica) Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) White mulberry (Morus alba) Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera) #papermaking #ethnobotany 1140
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 21/01/2025In Tahiti 🇵🇫, #barkcloth textiles are typically printed using pinnae from the pala'ā #fern (Odontosoria chinensis). From the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, MA, USA #ethnobotany #botany #fiberarts 040
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 08/01/2025Curious how the phloem of this performs as artisanal paper. 082
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 07/01/2025#Amate (🇲🇽 indigenous #paper) art made by Yolanda Jiménez in San Pablito. Although amate traditionally was made from Ficus phloem, these have been depleted to supply the craft tourism industry. Artisans now use alternatives like tule (Typha domingensis, used below) for amate. #ethnobotany #botany 020
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/01/2025#origami Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis), folded from one uncut square of handmade Osage-orange phloem fiber paper #botany #papermaking #fagaceae #quercus 161
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/01/2025#Paper I made from #Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera) phloem. Despite the intense yellow-orange color of the xylem, the dye is not conferred to the paper and the brown shade is likely due to the presence of a small amount of tannins. #papermaking #followingthepapertrail #ethnobotany #moraceae 040
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 02/01/2025Some phloem fibers in the fibrarium (fiber herbarium) held in the @mobotgarden.bsky.social William L. Brown Center Biocultural Collection. These serve as known references to help identify unknown fibers in paper, textiles, & other ethnobotanical artifacts. #botany #ethnobotany 0114
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 01/01/2025two #origami #oak leaf sketches - Blackjack oak, #Quercus marilandica Southern red oak, Quercus falcata 0123
Reposted by James OjascastroPlants, People, Planet @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social · 28/12/2024Botanic gardens and arboreta are amongst our most loved public spaces. This virtual issue highlights their role in understanding the importance of ecosystem services that plants provide to people: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc… 0114
James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 23/12/2024#Kakishibu 柿渋 is a tannin-rich liquid made from aged, fermented unripe persimmons, #Diospyros kaki. It's brushed onto washi (🇯🇵 handmade paper) to improve its durability & water-imperviousness. L: washi treated w/ kakishibu; R: untreated washi. #botany #ebenaceae #ethnobotany #followingthepapertrail 060