Ep. 344 - A Thistle on the Brink

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2021

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Pitcher's thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) just might be one of the most intensely studied endangered plants in the world and yet its numbers are still in decline. From habitat loss to biocontrols gone awry, this poor dune specialist just can't catch a break. As stacked as the battle to save this species might be, that doesn't mean people like Dr. Kay Havens of the Chicago Botanic Garden aren't trying. Tune in and learn what is being done to ensure this rare Great Lakes endemic doesn't go extinct. This episode was produced in part by Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Indefensive plants is made possible by all of our wonderful patrons that support the podcast
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0:08.0	Their monthly contributions ensure that indefensive plants can continue to bring you
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0:32.4	Hello everyone and welcome to the indefensive plants podcast, the official podcast of indefensiveplants.com.
0:38.3	What's up? This is your host Matt. Welcome to the show. How's everyone doing this week?
0:42.5	Joining us today is Dr. Kay Havens. She's the director of Plant Science and Conservation for
0:47.4	the Chicago Botanic Garden, and she is here to talk to us about a critically endangered
0:52.0	thistle called Pitcher's Thistle, Cersei and Pitcher Eye. It's a wonderful species that grows on
0:57.4	sand dunes around a handful of the Great Lakes here in North America. Now this plant has a lot of
1:01.9	stories to tell. There are stories of habitat loss and bio-controls gone bad, but there's also
1:07.7	stories of hope in here and Dr. Havens is going to tell us all about that. So I don't want to steal
1:12.8	any more of her thunder without further ado. Here's my conversation with Dr. Havens. I hope you enjoy.
1:31.9	All right Dr. Kay Havens, it's wonderful to have you on the podcast. Welcome, but before we jump
1:36.8	in, how about we introduce yourself? Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
1:42.2	Oh, thank you so much for having me. So my name's Kay Havens, and I have been working at the
1:48.0	Chicago Botanic Garden for 25 years. I'm the senior director of Ecology and Conservation.
1:55.9	Prior to that, I worked at Missouri Botanical Garden for a few years as a conservation biologist,
	...

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