Science Spotlights: Sweaty Shrubs

Two women peering at tableware in the Resetting The Table exhibit

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Classroom B (Third Floor), 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

In-Person Presentation

Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks.

Sweaty Shrubs

Speaker: Melissa Mai, Graduate Student, the Holbrook Lab

2:00–2:30 PM

20-minute talk followed by 10-minute Q&A session

How do plants deal with too much salt? From the world’s driest desert and tropical coastlines to your own neighborhood, plants get exposed to more salt than they’d like. Some plants have developed unique adaptations to handle extra salt, including a shrub that sweats! Join Harvard scientist Melissa Mai as she explains how multiple branches of science come together to help unearth this shrub’s secrets.

Regular museum admission rates apply.

Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.

Headshot of Melissa Mai.