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Last seen on Belle Isle, Michigan in 1896, the thicket bean established itself in the thickets of this island in the middle of the Detroit River. It was never seen again. “If native, this was surely at the northern edge of the range for this species” wrote Edward G. Voss in Michigan Flora Part 2 …
Continue reading “The Thicket Bean Makes a Return to Michigan”…
When the giant of all beans reaches new heights unseen of by modern society, then it’s natural to find out why something so ancient was used so extensively.
The hog peanut is an unassuming plant of immense importance producing a delicious small tuber.
More on the people behind the plants and the origins of blight and a series of solutions that develop as a result… (To read Part 1, click here). The Plum Guy The Story Behind the Plant: Ralph loved the idea of a tree crop farm. Having worked in the paper industry his whole life, he …
Chestnuts: Immune to Blight In 2010, we received an email from a long-time customer who conducted some research he had done on our trees. The research used a group of hybrid American Chestnut trees from our farm, (namely Timburr American Hybrid Chestnut and Ken’s Select Hybrids), to determine the amount of blight resistance and cold tolerance. …
Recently at Oikos Tree Crops we have been reflecting on some inspiring stories of plants and people we admire for various reasons. Here are three short stories we think you will enjoy. Mirabelle Plums represent one of the most widely distributed and highly coveted plums throughout the world. Part of the mystique is its label as …
Continue reading “In praise of discovery and the spirit of sharing”…
It was only by accident that I found an American chestnut tree one summer …