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From the Smithsonian Museums

Gary Krupnick

Gary Krupnick is a research scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where he heads the Plant Conservation Unit. He studies plant conservation biology, the use of herbarium specimens to determine rarity and endangerment of plant species, plant reproduction, and plant-pollinator interactions. He has conducted conservation assessments of the flora of Hawaii and the flora of the West Indies. Gary serves on the steering committees of the North American Orchid Conservation Center and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. He is the co-editor of the book Plant Conservation: A Natural History Approach (University of Chicago Press; 2005), and serves as the editor of The Plant Press (newsletter of the U.S. National Herbarium).

The seeds of common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) only germinate when the soil in which they live is disturbed. Intense fighting during World War I decimated Europe’s physical environment, causing thousands of poppies to bloom where battles once raged. (Gary Houston, CC0 1.0)

100 Years Ago, Poppies Became More Than Just Flowers

Here's how the poppy came to symbolize World War I.

Before its residence at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, this pressed plant (Cyananthus macrocalyx subspecies spathulifolius) was housed at London's Natural History Museum where it survived a bombing during World War II (Photo Credit: Ingrid P. Lin, Smithsonian).

Are Pressed Plants Windows Into World History?

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