Horticulture & Related FieldsUma Venkatesh
2018 The Garden Club of America Montine M. Freeman Scholarship in Native Plant Studies
Uma Venkatesh, PhD, is a post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Biology at Pennsylvania State University. She is involved in the analysis of large- scale genetic data for the entire collection of over 1,200 species of native and naturalized plants as well as cultivars at the university’s arboretum. Venkatesh is also studying the phylogeny, or molecular evolution, of parasitic plants. This project will allow her to rediscover and propagate three rare native parasitic plants. In the course of her work Venkatesh will gather information about the plants’ biology, current status, growth requirements, and performance as cultivated plants in botanical gardens with an eye toward their conservation.
The Garden Club of America Montine M. Freeman Scholarship in Native Plant Studies
To encourage the understanding, development, and use of underutilized native plants. Established to encourage the development of research, documentation, and teaching skills in the field of horticulture.
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