EP. 26: Saving Spiny Nightshades, Breeding Cannabis, Adapting Tropical Crops, and much more with Northeastern Connecticut Botanist Bryan Connolly

Dr. Bryan Connolly is a botanist, horticulturalist, and professor of Biology at Eastern Connecticut University in Willimantic, CT, my (Owen's) hometown. His research interests include rare plants of New England, the nightshade family, the rose family, and cannabis. Before Eastern, Professor Connolly was a faculty member at Framingham State University in Massachusetts and also worked for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Mississippi’s Medicinal Plant Garden, New England Wild Flower Society, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He is also involved in his family farm: Cobblestone Farm CSA in Mansfield Center, CT. Bryan appreciates his family's tolerance of his growing unusual plants, especially his wife Diane Dorfer, and he is sorry about the Erubia spines all over the yard a few years back. He thanks his son William for helping to take care of the spiny Erubia as well! 

In this interview we hear about Bryan's 33 year journey with seed saving, seed production, and plant breeding; his work with giving a boost and sometimes reintroducing native plants from New England to Puerto Rico; his work with students around growing cannabis for medicinal uses; and his trials and initial breeding work with some crops we shared with him, including pigeon peas, field peas, and roselle. 

SEED AND PLANT STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:

• • Chenopodium formosanum (Taiwan)

  • Grass Jelly (Taiwan, Indonesia)

  • Erubia (Puerto Rico)

  • Corpse Flower (Indonesia)

  • Easter in August Cherry Tomato

  • Minnesota 13 Field Pea

  • Bo (Black-Eyed Pea Leaves)

  • Mississippi Purple Hull Pea

  • Northern Adapted Pigeon Peas

  • Solanum chacoense (South America)

  • Cannabis (specifically the beverage, Bhang from India)

  • Chin Baung (Burmese Roselle Leaf)

MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

• • Bryan's ECSU professor bio

  • Bryan's instagram: Northeastern Connecticut Botany

  • Breeding Organic Vegatables, NOFA publication, by Rowen White and Bryan Connolly

  • Organic Seed Production and Saving, NOFA publication, by Bryan Connolly

  • Stewarding Indigenous Seeds and Planting by the Moon with Stephen Silverbear McComber, Seed Savers Exchange

  • Ploidy (number of chromosomes in a cell)

  • Ploidy, genetic diversity and speciation of the genus Aronia

ABOUT:

Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.

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