MK Nature Center Auditorium, Idaho Fish and Game
600 South Walnut Avenue (Behind Fish and Game Headquarters)
Thursday January 20, 2005 — 7 p.m.
The Black Pepper Family: Its Origins and Its Showy Ecological Associates
Ah, the Mystery of it …Piperaceae, the black pepper family, is one of the world’s first lineages of flowering plants. You know it if you’ve ever owned a peperomia houseplant, but that’s just one of about 1,500 tropical species.
Dr. Jim Smith, professor of biology at Boise State University, is researching the biogeography of the black pepper family, with the intent of resolving relationships among the species. Are the African species more closely related to Asian, South Pacific or South American species -or a combination- and how do botanists find answers to biogeographical questions? Dr. Smith will illustrate his presentation with photos of the black pepper family and its astonishingly showy ecological associates.
Next on February 15 (Tuesday), 6 p.m. – Plant physiologist Bruce Welch of the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Provo, Utah, on “Countering Misinformation Concerning Big Sagebrush.” Watch for details in February.