Please join us for a lecture on the evolutionary history of cycads this Friday!

Photo of Mario Coiro with a cycad

Mario Coiro, from the University of Zurich

Title: Much more lively than most fossils: the evolutionary history of cycads.

Speaker: Mario Coiro, PhD Student, University of Zurich.

When: 2:30 PM, Friday, October 28.

Location: Montgomery Botanical Center.

Description: Mario will speak about his research using anatomy to study the evolution of cycads. Mario’s studies began in his native Naples, Italy, home of one of the best cycad collections at the Orto Botanico Napoli. Mario will speak about the collection there, and provide background on his current research at the Institute of Systematic Botany at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Mario will also speak about how he is using the collection at Montgomery to reconstruct the history of this ancient plant lineage. Mario’s recent publication showed how the surface anatomy of Dioon suggests that this group’s evolution may be influenced by volcanic eruptions!