Bill Cullina Talk In-Person / Online

Essential Partners: The Remarkable Coevolution of Flowers and their Pollinators

Flowering plants have literally exploded onto the evolutionary stage about 160 million years ago to quickly become the dominant and most diverse group of plants on earth. Flowering plants owe much of this success to their conjugal partners – the bees, flies, moths, ants, butterflies, birds and mammals that move pollen from one flower to the next. In this engaging and information-filled talk, learn how plants use bribery, deception, and the lure of sex to convince these disparate characters to do their bidding.

William Cullina is the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to this he was the President
and CEO of Coastal Maine Botanic Garden for eleven years. Cullina holds degrees in plant science and psychology, has been working in public horticulture for 25 years, and has extensive experience in in horticultural and forestry research, and commercial nursery production.

A well-known author and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include, Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Understanding Orchids, Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses, and Understanding Perennials.