Laura Lagomarsino, PhD
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tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Laura Lagomarsino, PhD
@tropicalbotany.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.1K following 480 posts
Botanist. Evolutionary biologist. Associate Professor and Herbarium Director, LSU. Passionate about plants, inclusive mentoring, and puzzles. I don't know what I'm doing here.

https://www.lagolab.net
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tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I have no pony in this game (though 1 seems likely to be correct). However, our 90+ pound dog Rocoto is named after a chile pepper and we sometimes call him Megachile (second pronunciation) 😅.
Rocoto the yellow lab (Canis familiaris) stands next to a rocoto the red chile pepper (Capsicum pubescens)
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I got to hold first edition Linnaeus and first edition Darwin today, nbd.

(Both jewels of the @mobotgarden.bsky.social library.)
Me holding a book open to the front page of Origin of Species Me holding a book open to the front page of Species Plantarum.
November 15, 2025 at 4:01 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Just realized that @laymonstera.bsky.social acknowledged my silly dog Rocoto in her recent @journal-evo.bsky.social ms! "Continued encouragement" = hot doggy breath over her shoulder when she's eating.

Anyway, it's an excellent paper and you should check it out! academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
Acknowledgments We thank Louisiana State University (LSU) and Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) for generously granting access to their herbaria and permitting the destructive sampling of specimens. We thank Aislinn Mumford, Diego Paredes- Burneo, Janet Mansaray, Katherin Arango-Gómez, Jeremy Brown, Jordan Dowell, and Kyle Harms for their valuable feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript. We thank the associate editor, Dr. Diogo Provete, and two anonymous re- viewers for their insightful comments and suggestions, which strengthened this work. Finally, we are grateful to Rocoto, Science Brown, and Stella Bedoya for their continued en- couragement and support Large yellow lab wearing a red collar and green Goodr sunglasses at a beach. Rocoto stares encouragingly at Laymon when she's eating and not paying any attention to him, you can also see the warm breath dampening up her red cozy sweater.
November 7, 2025 at 9:26 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Proud of @laymonstera.bsky.social’s @amsocplanttaxon.bsky.social webinar in her research on macroevolution of #Hillieae #Rubiaceae! She rocked it, and we had a fun little watch party here at @mobotgarden.bsky.social!
November 7, 2025 at 7:37 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Rocoto got to me @ixchelgr.bsky.social’s Patata today- just two very good Solanaceae pups hoping for a piece of stray pizza crust in a post-conference happy hour 🌶️🥔.
A spotty orange and white Pyrnese-cattle dog mix in a fetching holiday sweater and light up collar stands next to a giant yellow lab wearing a fall leaf bandanna.
November 3, 2025 at 4:31 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I hate application letter season...
Radio bar box asking me to rank "The applicant's possession of a fertile imagination and originality in the field are:"
October 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
My first full week on sabbatical at @mobotgarden.bsky.social has been wonderful, full of beautiful #Campanulaceae specimens, a vibrant botanical community (including @jaguirresant.bsky.social !), and long, luxurious dog walks among the fall colors in Tower Grove Park 🥰🍂🔬🦮.
Me standing in front of a bunch of herbarium specimens Julián, Laura and Maggie oír at dinner Daniel throws an Osage orange for Rocoto to chase A tree’s leaves turn bright yellow
October 25, 2025 at 2:02 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Hace 200 años, nada pasó ni nadie nació. Feliz 13 de octubre a los que lo celebran 🤪.

Foto tomada en Villa de Leyva, Colombia en 2023 con @jaguirresant.bsky.social y @justkathe.bsky.social
Selfie con tres personas enfrente de un rotulito de azulejo en la pared que dice “El 13 de octubre de 1825 en esa casa no pasó nada, ni nació nadie importante.” (English translation of the sign: On October 13, 1825 in this house, nothing happened and nobody important was born.”
October 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I had a great in person “lab meeting” (really extended happy hour). I’m back on sabbatical travel this weekend, so this is the last time I get to soak up this combination of #LagoLab members. They are truly the best- I’ve lucked out with recruiting some of the best people as grad students.
Laymon, Kathe, me, Aislinn and Diego pose for the camera Kathe with lab members holding up their stickers of Koehleria huilensis, a species she described
October 11, 2025 at 3:02 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I’m so proud of my grad student @evoyeyo.bsky.social for defending his @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD thesis on macroevolution of #Brachyotum and the broader Andean flora today. Felicidades, Dr. Paredes-Burneo!! ⛰️🧬🌻🥳👨🏽‍🎓🇵🇪
Diego and I posing next to each other after his defense in the LSU herbarium. Diego in front of a slide that says “Plant evolution in the Andes is more complex than current phylogenomic models can explain” with lots of pretty plant photos around the text. A celebration in Diego’s honor in the LSU herbarium. Diego, family, me and other close friends celebrate at dinner.
October 7, 2025 at 3:02 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
I’m going to miss this city (y especialmente su gente). #Bogota 🇨🇴❤️
Impressive and colorful display of fruits in the Paloquemao market A delicious bowl of ajiaco (from a restaurant appropriately named El Mejor Ajiaco del Mundo), a chicken and potato stew topped with sour cream and capers and paired with avocado and rice. Daniel’s looking hungry in the background. Daniel and I at the SINCHI, the Herbario Amazónico Colombiano de Dairon Cárdenas López Sofía, Daniel, Julio and I take a selfie after our cenita de despedida
October 2, 2025 at 4:07 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, one of my happiest places 🇨🇴🌼⛰️❤️.
Close up of a white-wooly frailejon in flower, its yellow compositae inflorescences reaching comically above the plant. Theres a windswept tree in the background. Espeletia grandiflora? A close up of a deep red inflorescence of an Ericaceae, maybe Macleania Landscape image with paramo in the foreground, a lake in the middle and endless mountains beyond. The blue sky is largely clear (where it would normally be cloudy), allowing you to see far into the distance. Cute, Dr Suessy frailejons look like cartoon palms on a hillside. Espeletia uribei?
September 29, 2025 at 3:25 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
*Twitches in bilingual*
In NYT Spelling Bee, “tamale” is an accepted word, but not “tamal”
September 24, 2025 at 1:51 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Sábado en Bogota- ajiaco, amigos, aventuras 🇨🇴.
A warm bowl of chicken soup, known as ajiaco, with avocado, fried plantain, rice, cream and capers on the side Three cute smiling men are wearing their new hats. The guy in the center has a recently baked treat called pandebono in his hands. Daniel and me stand next to the plaque describing the importance of botanical exploration in early Colombia Julio gives a thumbs up in a fairy-lit cobble shone street
September 14, 2025 at 5:38 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Todas mis frutas favoritas 🥰🍊🥑☕️🍫🥰. Amo Colombia 🇨🇴.
A bunch of fruits- mandarins, passion fruits (granadillas), mamones (quenepa/Spanish limes), and avocados- with a bag of coffee with a cute shaggy dog named Alonso on the front and a big bar of Tony’s chocolate. There’s an annona in the background too, if you look hard enough.
September 9, 2025 at 2:52 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
An informal party before I start taking sabbatical seriously: cooking, puzzling, crafting, conversing- I’m gonna miss my people while I’m out this semester 🥲. #LagoLab
Seven people sit at a table full of homemade food, puzzles, and jewelry making gear. Kathe and her first puzzle! Two dogs look hopeful among a sea of people eating food Rocoto supervises Diego as he makes hummus
August 28, 2025 at 3:30 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Professor Rocoto is ready to teach Plant Diversity this semester! #IAmABotanist #LosCusucos

(I, on the other hand, will be sitting this semester out— sabbatical, baby!)
A large yellow lab wearing a hand lens sits in front of a table full of flowers
August 25, 2025 at 2:26 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
A pretty good airport experience indeed.
August 14, 2025 at 5:46 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Challenge: post your last photo taken in DC to show what a hell hole it is.
Butt nut from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum!
August 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Wow- a #Siphocampylus #Campanulaceae specimen at @mobotgarden.bsky.social collected in Peru 🇵🇪 in 2012, when Daniel and I were newlywed baby botanists 🥹. And accompanying it, a picture of us from a couple years ago, when my grad student took us to his old haunts in Peru.
Specimen of an indet Siphocampylus described in post Daniel and I on our most recent trip ton Peru, a couple years ago
August 2, 2025 at 8:31 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Tower Grove Park is giving neighboring Missouri Botanical Garden a run for its money on this glorious Saturday afternoon. #WildflowerHour
Lobelia cardinalis in bloom Gingko ovulate cones for days Sea of black eyed Susan’s Catalpa drip
August 2, 2025 at 7:24 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Even though #Botany2025 is over, the botany hasn’t stopped for the #LagoLab! Aislinn and I are spending a few days working at @mobotgarden.bsky.social with Charlotte Taylor and our beloved rubes. #Rubiaceae #Taxonomy #Classification #Phylogeny #WomenInSTEM
Two women stand in an herbarium smiling, each holding a specimen
August 1, 2025 at 11:41 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
Can’t wait to see Rocoto when I’m back from my post-Botany side trip! He, however, seems to be doing just fine without me.
August 1, 2025 at 3:09 PM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
What a night for #Rubiaceae! I’m so proud of my student @laymonstera.bsky.social for taking home the American Society of Plant Taxonomist’s Cooley Award for best talk, and my colleague and dear friend Charlotte Taylor for receiving the lifetime achievement Asa Gray Award. #Botany2025 #LagoLab
Laymon receives the award from Dave Tank. Charlotte gives the her statement after the award is announced.
July 30, 2025 at 7:14 AM
tropicalbotany.bsky.social
The incoming ASPT incoming presidential address by @andrewlhipp.bsky.social was a beautiful meditation on the importance of natural history and natural history is my highlight of #Botany2025 (so far, but probably overall).
July 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM