Lena Struwe
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drgentian.bsky.social
Lena Struwe
@drgentian.bsky.social
Scientist, botanist, artmaker, microscopist, photographer, nature nerd, knitter & writer, iNatter, cares deeply about Earth's human and non-human inhabitants. (Views my own and I block AI content)
I cancelled my NYTimes subscription today, this is the last drop in the bucket. Seriously, whose bad decision was it to publish this anti-woman, anti-justice, and anti-equality piece? Feminism means equal rights and respect for all. "Conservative feminism" is fake, doesn't exist. Disrespectful, NYT!
November 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM
That feeling after you have read a truly uniquely wonderful book and you do not want to start another book because you know you will get disappointed when you compare, and you also know that the only way is down from a high point, to be able to find other high points in the reading landscape.
#books
October 28, 2025 at 1:07 AM
The talons of the red-tailed hawk are something truly impressive! We visited the Zoological Collection at #Rutgers University today with our students to investigate bones, skins, pickled, and taxidermied animal #biodiversity. #HiddenTreasures #SpecimenStories #museum #raptor #birds
October 16, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The ivy-leaved morning glory has fruits that look like something out of… the seashore, medieval fashion fur hats, or rose buds… Right? Seen in New Jersey, USA.
September 19, 2025 at 4:33 AM
New York City in fog, skyscrapers with ’their heads in the clouds’, 53rd Street, May 6, 2025.
May 8, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Here is a screenshot of the article that your link goes to for me (Rettkowski et al.): "Modulation of bone marrow haematopoietic stem cell activity as a therapeutic strategy after myocardial infarction: a preclinical study". Still goes to the wrong article (not Heidt et al.). No idea why...
April 28, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Me playing with water drops, watercolor, and yupo (plastic) paper to see what happens - this will take hours to dry. I will post the results later.
April 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
When you found an interesting pond with green slimy algae but forgot your #plankton sampling jar and plankton net, and you luckily are right next to the student campus center’s cafe… #microscopysave #RutgersUniv #fieldwork #biodiversity #CookCampus #SEBS
April 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
After the #handsoff demonstration in Princeton, NJ (with great speakers, great crowd, great signs), an Aperol Spritz at Teresa’s restaurant. Aperol is an Italian invention from over 100 years ago and includes one of my favorite plants, the gentians :).
April 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Climate change and early spring warming - when the magnolias flower in March in New Jersey, USA. This tree opened its flowers today (!), when it got up to over 80 degrees F outside. I love #flowers, but this is not normal… #climatechange #phenology #earlyspring
March 29, 2025 at 11:39 PM
In the middle of the storm and bad news, make some space for art, friends and nature. Take breaks to gather inner strength.
Here is a drawing I made yesterday after Cezanne’s Three Pears, with color pencils. Find your own creative outlet to stay sane. We all know things are crazy. (c) L Struwe
February 8, 2025 at 5:34 AM
If you see this, quote with flowers from your gallery. (Quince)
January 26, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Just some amazing earthly rocks at #Natural #History #Museum in London. Agate, opal, agate, and petrified wood - so soft-looking but hard. #geology #rocks #science #nature #pattern #nature (Own photos, Lena Struwe).
January 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Och, vill du kommentera och läggs uppgså klicka på kommentarsikonen, sedan väljer du en bild från telefonen genom att klicka på den lilla blå fotoikonen till vänster nedan. ALT-text är en beskrivning av bilden du kan lägga till för de som har nedsatt syn, helst på engelska.
January 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
When you cut down the stems of the invasive barberry (Berberis thunbergii) you will find sunshine inside the stems. Yellow berberine pigment - now how to save this gorgeous color? (New Jersey, USA, own photo; (c) Lena Struwe, 2024). #colors #photography #botany #science #dyeing
January 8, 2025 at 4:28 AM
I like this! ’Struwe-like solutions…’ by Hocquet (2018).
I have no idea what this paper is actually about, I just happened to find it today in a library database. (Abstract in first comment).
January 7, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Good quote to have ready to go in your mental pocket during a lab meeting or class:

”Now this is complicated so get your brains out of neutral!”

Vera Stanhope,
In VERA, season 1, episode 3 (British mystery TV drama)
January 6, 2025 at 4:51 AM
A hyrax (rock dassie) is sunning itself on a rock by Cape of Good Hope, southern tip of Africa, and beyond the horizon is Antarctica. These #animals are related to elephants (similar feet!), had a common ancestor long ago. (Own #photography, c Lena Struwe, 2008) #nature #Africa #ocean #bluesky
January 4, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Waiting for warmer times, they will come. Big winds and chills outside today, but the sun is shining. Planting hopeful seeds today for future growth (winter sowing).

Leaflets on a legume tree in a school yard in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (Own photo, c Lena Struwe). #botany 🌱 #green
January 2, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Well, the word I got is not one I would associate with me or the world right now. Unless you talk about flowers, plankton, trees, birds, arthropods, sunsets, waves, color spectra, rocks, and the awesomeness of the universe. I like some flaws in my life, so not sure how to view this result. Hmmm.
January 1, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I wonder if the new Asian grocery store intentionally has (edible and weedy) chickweed (Stellaria media, Caryophyllaceae) included on the photo of the melons? Seen today in New Jersey, USA. Lovely! #weeds #biodiversity #advertising #botany #food #ethnobotany Own photos (c) Lena Struwe, 2024.
January 1, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Fresh banana stems (10 cm in diameter) at the new local Asian market! My mind: wow, how can I use these to teach #plantanatomy better… cells, leaves, epidermis, stems, monocot, vascular bundles, stains, #microscopy….? And of course, must test it first. #botany #education #food #plantlove 🌱 🔬
December 31, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Smaller format for traveling and #naturejournaling - Moleskine #Watercolor journals. They can take a good amount of water, open flat, come in landscape binding (for long horizontal views) and are archival. It is cold press, so surface a bit bumpy, but you can draw in ink and pencil. #sketching
December 31, 2024 at 4:14 AM
Part 2 of Alstroemeria flower #microscopy - monosulcate #pollen grains, with a long slit opening (no stains used, natural yellow color). Needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides common in the cells of the style. Stigma surface with clear papillae. (Own photos, c Lena Struwe, 2024)
December 30, 2024 at 12:46 AM
Last night's #microscopy of Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily) whole fresh petals: dark magenta nectar guides on white petals: from below #light to sidelight (regular or UV) - glimmers and shimmers of botanical anatomy. Part 1. (Own photo, Lena Struwe, 2024). #botany #real #plantscience #photography #pink
December 30, 2024 at 12:17 AM