> The interesting thing for me in this study is that we've got a strong tie to surface level appearance I'm not surprised. Studying charismatic species will li

> The interesting thing for me in this study is that we've got a strong tie to surface level appearance I'm not surprised. Studying charismatic species will likely help with getting you funding, is more likely to get you news coverage, attract graduate students, etc. Keep in mind that field botany is not very well supported by the NSF. Those who work in this area often have to find other sources for funding. Studying a plant that looks good to the members of the California Native Plant Society, for example is not necessarily a bad strategy. I have no hard numbers, but you can see a similar pattern in other areas of field biology. For example, it sure looks like there are a lot more people studying birds and cute furry mammals than reptiles, fish, or insects.