Me @ Medaille

Plant Buddy Adoption at Fall Open House! Sponsored by the Science, Mathematics & Technology (SMAT) Department

This year as part of the Fall open House Celebration at Medaille University, the Department of Science, Mathematics & Technology (SMAT) is offering prospective students the chance to adopt a new “Plant Buddy.” Each Plant Buddy is a live specimen of Kalanchoe daigremontiana. Each Plant Buddy originated as a plantlet produced vegetatively from a mother plant specimen and was cultivated in the Botany Lab at Medaille University.

Kalanchoe daigremontiana is a succulent closely related to the jade plant and is native to the island of Madagascar. Unfortunately, this species has now become endangered in its native habitat. However, the individual plants are resilient! Each Plant Buddy is hardy, drought-tolerant, and capable of handling intense heat. The Plant Buddy species have an adaptation to arid conditions called Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night and conserve water. With some basic care, each Plant Buddy will grow and produce many many more plantlets.

The SMAT Department hopes that this Plant Buddy will introduce you to the wide and wild world of scientific discovery. Students who major in Biology at Medaille take Botany as part of their course sequence and get the opportunity to get to work with amazing model organisms like Kalanchoe daigremontiana. Some of our Biology program graduates have gone on to pursue amazing careers in Botany, Horticulture, and other Plant Sciences and contribute to the conservation of endangered species, the discovery of new medicines, and helping meet the food needs of the growing human family.

The SMAT Department at Medaille University thanks you for adopting a Plant Buddy into your family! As they grow up, please post your pictures here on Me@Medaille. And see the Plant Buddy Care Sheet for info on how to take care of them.