How Do You Describe a New Species? Botanical Illustration of Gysophilic Plants from the Chihuahan Desert, Mexico

In today’s technology-dominated society, botanical illustration may seem like a throwback to the past. Why spend so much time doing botanical illustration when you can just take a photograph and call it done? Botanical illustration allows the artist to depict the true essence of the plant in a way that a photograph cannot. Exploration of the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico by the Moore lab has led to the discovery of new plant species on gypsum deposits. I illustrated multiple new species and worked with Professor Moore on a species description of the new Acleisanthes species