Have had an interest in plants for a long, long time. It started with growing cacti and succulents as a teenager in northern California. Later, I earned a Ph.D. in palynology and paleobotany at Michigan State University. Recently, I earned a Certificate in Native Plant Studies from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Alabama. Interested in all sorts of plant-related topics: native plant conservation in general; wetland, swamp and bog plants; honeybee-plant pollination - melissopalynology; and from my childhood - the Crassulaceae (though here in Alabama, not many of these will thrive without a greenhouse).