[SOS-PCA] Fun Article: The world's longest-running experiment

[Lindsey Riibe]

Did you know the world's longest-running experiment began in 1879 when 20
glass bottles of seed were buried in Michigan?

The last bottle to be unearthed was in 2000.
Each bottle was buried with 50 seeds each of 23 different species. "Fifteen
bottles in, the clear winner is Verbascum blattaria, or moth mullein, a
splay-flowered weed common throughout the United States. Verbascum has
popped up consistently in every bottle, and 'of the 50 seeds of that
particular plant, 23 of them germinated' in 2000”

Originally an agricultural study, those currently involved speak briefly of
its conservation implications.

The next bottle is set to be excavated in 2020.

Link to the story:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worlds-longestrunning-experiment-is-buried-in-a-secret-spot-in-michigan

-- 
Lindsey Riibe
Conservation and Land Management Intern
Bureau of Land Management Plant Conservation Program
Washington Office, DC
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/sos_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160222/9f52e129/attachment.html>