The early botanist catches the data
This week I collected some live plant material from our fantastic collection of water lilies for future sequencing of complete chloroplast genomes.
Among the specimens collected was also the white water lily (Nymphaea ampla DC.), an enigmatic species that grows throughout Mesoamerica and that seems to have been an important component in Mayan rituals and of pharmacological use in their cultures (Bertol et al. 2004, J R Soc Med 97: 84–85).