iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The 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

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Reposted by James Ojascastro

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Universities 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.com

National 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.

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Reposted by James Ojascastro

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

One 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.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

phloem likely very suitable for artisanal papermaking too

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Florida #staranise (Illicium floridanum) in bloom Forrest County, Mississippi #botany #schisandraceae #illiciaceae

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Cahaba paintbrush, endemic to Bibb County. One of Alabama's eight Dolomite Denizens. #castilleja #castillejakraliana #orobanchaceae #botany

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Naomi Fraga @naomibot.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Amargosa Niterwort (Nitrophila mohavensis) waking from its winter slumber.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Flowers of Miccosukee gooseberry (Ribes echinellum), a rare, spiny shrub represented by just two widely disjunct populations in SC and FL. #grossulariaceae #botany

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Reposted by James Ojascastro

Andrew Hipp @andrewlhipp.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Post-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.org

Atlanta Botanical Garden | RaMP: Post-Baccalaureate Training and Research Program in Rare Plant Science and Conservation

The mission of the Atlanta Botanical Garden is to develop and maintain plant collections for display, education, research, conservation and enjoyment.

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闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

There’s a google doc trying to keep track of funding/grad school admission/hiring freezes & status please share 🧪 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

docs.google.com

Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

WYOMING: “Thank you, Madam chairman.” “I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.” “Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.”

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

After 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...

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Wooden 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

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Julia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Important 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.

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 31/01/2025

What 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.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Spaeth & Thieret 2004: "No one claimed to enjoy the taste or experience [of drinking KCT 'coffee'. Thieret drank] ⅓c of sweetened KCT 'coffee' daily for 2 weeks, hoping that, with familiarity, the flavor might improve for him. It did not. It poses no serious threat to Maxwell House or Starbucks."

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Black Rifle coffee consumers gonna look real stupid real quick

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Papers 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

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

In 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

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

I'm an origamist, papermaker, ethnobotanist, and plant conservationist. The execution of my art is directly informed by my background in botany, and by the collaborations and partnerships I maintain with papermakers in Vietnam, Mexico, and Nepal.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

see also: one graffito, two graffiti

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Curious how the phloem of this performs as artisanal paper.

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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

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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

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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

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

generally no, but I've seen examples of barkcloth from Antiaris toxicaria phloem; the latex from this tree is also used for blowdarts, so I imagine there's a need to neutralize the poison before draping the tissue on your body...

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Good paper plants tend to have long cellulosic fibers, regenerate readily, and are poisonous (toxicity means bugs won't eat resulting paper sheets). Best candidates are in the Moraceae and Thymelaeaceae, but bamboos are also used with regularity for lower-quality papers.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Some uses besides food are especially conservative. Most cultures that make paper or barkcloth use fewer than 5 species routinely as sources of fiber for such, and in many cases, just 1 sp. Fewer than 100 plants globally are known as raw materials in manual traditions of papermaking.

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Some 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

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

two #origami #oak leaf sketches - Blackjack oak, #Quercus marilandica Southern red oak, Quercus falcata

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Reposted by James Ojascastro

Plants, People, Planet @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Botanic 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…

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

This was the final chapter of my PhD dissertation! PDF already available, print is forthcoming imminently! #ethnobotany #followingthepapertrail ethnobiology.org/publications...

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Better "liquid euphoria" than "liquid Euphorbia"...

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Apropos to share 🎅laceae for Xmas!

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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

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James Ojascastro @manila-folder.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

This is now a commonplace adulterant in Himalayan lokta paper, as Eulaliopsis ("babiyo" in Nepali) is readily available and cheaper than Daphne bholua, the favored raw material

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