I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been in this building for almost nine years (nine!!) and have only just realized that the stained glass feature by our ‘tree of life’ chandelier in the foyer has the scientific name of potato inscribed on it 🥔 🥔 🥔 — How did I miss this?!

Happy Friday! ❤️🥔

Some of the early generation diploid potatoes from today, 2nd or 3rd year in the field and putting out some interesting colored flesh 🌈

Purple Tomato tart, Purple Tomato nachos, Purple Tomato everything!

Sun moon, ying yang #cats composed for you today by Mia and Harry.

Has anyone encountered this tomato phenotype? It seems to be quite consistent and essentially self-pruning! The shoot apical meristem terminates into a floral meristem instead of continuing to grow vines. This was a volunteer seedling from vegetable bed that I randomly transplanted into a pot.

Any stone tool researchers out there? Beach find, this piece has a sharp edge and is perfectly grooved for holding with right hand as seen here. Material is unlike any rock found in the area.

Also the #cats of #giliair is the same as cats the world over—finding the best spot for attention, showered with fresh 🌺 and still be annoyed with the hoomans.

Sunrise and sunset at Gili Air, one of the islands off the coast of Lombok. Fun fact: we crossed Wallace’s line yesterday from Bali to get here, and this island has no motorized vehicles! To get around other than being on foot, you have a choice of bicycles, electric scooters or horse-drawn carts.

Sunset scene from St Andrews, earlier this week at a potato breeding and genetics meeting at the University of St Andrews. 🥔 🧬 🌱

We all need more cats in our timeline, no?

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) of the Great Smoky Mountain NP ~two weeks ago.

Back in the greenhouse today 🌱 🌱 and here are some good looking (and fragrant) inbred diploid potato flowers 🌸 🌸

This cat was superrr helpful at the checkout counter in ‘cat city’ in Borneo. So… is this worthy of @bodegacats.bsky.social ?

We’ve grown a lot of potato from botanical seed, but this is our first truly albino seedling. I know… I know… there are yeastie beasties on the plate but these were destined for soil, so it’s not an issue.

First frog sighting in ME of 2025 from 4 days ago, a cute spring peeper from our Maine Big Night survey. mainebignight.org

Today’s weird potato flower is one that looks like fasiflora (fa) mutants in tomato, but as usual, nothing is known about this mutation in tuber bearing Solanum. Pub with the fa mutant in tomato: www.researchgate.net/profile/Beat...

Here are some potato flowers from our crossing block this year! Getting ready to go.

One sits, one loafs. Two cats in two seemingly appropriately sized boxes for your consideration this evening.

Just so happened that I just made a batch of crispy roasted potatoes today for lunch. Potato variety used is a purple skin yellow flesh USDA ARS release called Peter Wilcox. So delish! 🥔 🌿

Sitting in a box, wishing everyone an insightful year of the snake which is supposed to bring renewal, wisdom and intelligence to us all 🙌🏽 🐍 🏮

Two sleepy cats, snow and a fire is what we needed today.

The Levesque Lab is looking for a summer REU student to work with us in Sarawak, Malaysia. I’ll post the ad on Tuesday but the in meantime feel free to share this treeshrew as a place holder :) umaine.edu/levesquelab/...

2025 mood thus far; peering out from the safety of a properly-sized box surrounded by lots of safety paper 😹

Smol, silvery Begonia piring on limestone cliffs is such fun one to find, also endemic to #Borneo like the others

Another Begonia sp from the same area as the previous one, pretty pink male 🌸🌸

Such a pretty flava var of Begonia calcarea, most likely—so easy to miss on hikes because you’re being constantly tracked and attacked by land leeches (true story…)

Here’s another Begonia sp. from #Borneo 🌱

Who doesn’t love a tropical Begonia? This has been a plant family I’ve come to enjoy more and more… this is Begonia paoana

Half flowers from the beach naupaka (Scaevola taccada)

Leptosporangiate fern alert, this is a tape #fern (most likely Haplopteris elongata) from #Borneo is regionally widespread, but can be found all the way to Hawaii

A common understory plant in the rainforest, but still favorite as we imagine their extinct tree-sized relatives covering the earth during the Carboniferous... this is Selaginella delicatula #Borneo #lycophyte

Plant of the day today, Eulophia nuda, a terrestial #orchid growing around limestone karsts in #Borneo #botany

I'll try to post a plant a day from #Borneo starting today--let's see how that goes. First up, Rafflesia tuan-mudae: stinky, warty, endopararite that makes an XXXL true flower which I've been lucky to see in bloom a half dozen times over the years 🙏🏽

Today’s curried potato product for your consideration: 🇲🇾 curry puff aka karipap pusing, named after the swirly, puff pastry-like casing surrounding the filling

Why isn’t there an “AiDecider” account on bsky yet? Like “ArtDecider” but actually useful and we can @ to detect AI writing, images etc?

Nothing to see here, just two piles of harmless paper 👀

Sometimes box can haz Just the right size and sun beam We sitz on bskyz

The first two days of below freezing nights had me dreaming about these bowls of vegan ramen and gyoza from our trip to Japan this summer 😭

Any potato enthusiasts here on bsky? This lovely spud was from our 2023 trial of diploid lines we made 🤩 #potato #plantsci 🥔🧪🧬

Hi all new people on bsky 👋🏽 Harry and Mia are here to welcome you the best that they can 😸

Can’t beat fall colors on campus in New England #Maine

The moon is quite bright tonight you get to see the fall colors with C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) — quite a treat

Plant of the day #potd 🌱 is New England asters which are wonderful in late fall as all other flowering plants senesce

Aurora borealis tonight 💚🩷

Still life come to life? 😸

Our first home-grown Purple tomato of the season #plantscience #biotechnology 🌾🧪🍅🧬

Oh, I like this game :) landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNam...

Orchid in Japan! Looks to be Goodyera schlechtendaliana 🌱 🤩