Mesmerizing: Explore The Wonders Of The Ancient Plant Garden At Kansas University

With much of our ancient past, scientists must rely on fossilized remains to research our roots. The KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum offers a unique opportunity to explore those roots in the form of its living ancient plant garden.

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The University of Kansas Museum is located in Lawrence, KS. Although it contains artifacts such as bones, fossils, and non-living displays, it is also the home of living ancient plants.

Visitors can explore the history of biodiversity, from fossils to living relatives in our forests today. Fossil displays include giant horsetails, ferns, and clubmoss trees from hundreds of millions of years ago. Nestled in the live display are living examples of these same plants. The comparison allows visitors to see how little the plants have changed over eons.

Plant life has been an essential part of the Earth’s ecosystem since the dawn of time. Early herbivores depended on plants for their nutrients. Today, they convert carbon monoxide (CO2) to oxygen (O2), sustaining all living creatures. Lewis and Clark described plant diversity in their travel journals. The explorers chronicled how the diverse plant life provided forage.

A healthy ecosystem has four principles: minimizing soil disturbance, plant diversity, soil armor, and continual live plant and root growth. These principles weren’t always recognized, creating conditions like the Dust Bowl when man began increasing agricultural farming. Overfarming, lack of crop diversity, and drought contributed to the Dust Bowl. Fortunately, we have learned from past mistakes and have corrected farming practices that significantly decrease the risk of future problems.

The display of ancient plants at KU visually represents plant flexibility. You can take a virtual tour of the ancient plant garden on YouTube.

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