Nhu hanging on to a rock above a precipitous drop looking at Calochortus raichei. Summer 2009.
I am currently an assistant professor at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa where I study interactions between plants and soil microbes. My interest in plants came from a very young age that never went away. These days I find myself completely surrounded by plants where ever I go.
When I moved to California from Louisiana (quite a dramatic change), I discovered a whole new world of bulbs. It first started with a research project to study the phylogeny of California onions. A copy of the research paper can be found here. I was introduced to more interesting bulbs by Uluwehi Knecht and was hooked since. I also love photography, and plants are one of my most favorite subjects. I have added a lot of these photos to the Wiki where they best fit.
My interests in bulbs are most anything in the Amaryllidaceae but especially South African and American species. I also love native California geophytes like Calochortus, especially the fairy lanterns, anything in the Themidaceae (including Triteleia, Brodiaea, Dichelostemma), Mexican geophytes, South African Hyacinthaceae like Lachenalia and Ledebouria, interesting Oxalis with strange leaf morphology, and South African irids.
I also grow a miscellany of other non-monocots including gesneriads, Impatiens, and Drosera.
Email: xerantheum@gmail.com
Photography website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/
Honolulu weather: Local microclimate at my place: Tropical. Dry, warm summers and slightly cooler moist winters.