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Botany Photo of the Day
In science, beauty. In beauty, science. Daily.
December 19, 2009
Hemitomes congestum
To conclude the series of Oregon wildflowers, a photograph of a gnome plant. The conifer cone and needles gives a sense of scale, I hope. These small plants are easily overlooked, and perhaps this is why this past August was only the third time I've encountered this species (the first being in July of 2002 in West Vancouver's Cypress Falls Park, the second in July of 2004 on Mt. Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast of BC). Coincidentally, while doing this wet hike in Willamette National Forest, I was thinking about Hemitomes congestum during the walk in. On my way out, I spotted this plant (and a few others that were just emerging). Perhaps I noticed it from the corner of my eye while passing by it the first time, and that brought it into my thoughts.
A monotypic genus (only one species in the genus), Hemitomes congestum can only be found in western North America, from southwestern British Columbia to California (although Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and MacKinnon reports a disjunct population in west central British Columbia near Terrace).
Like its botanical cousin Monotropa uniflora, Hemitomes congestum is a mycoheterotroph; lacking chlorophyll, It taps into an existing tree-fungal root-association and extracts sugars via the fungus via the tree (please read the Monotropa uniflora entry for a better explanation / additional links). What excites me is that one of the known fungal associates of Hemitomes congestum is Hydnellum peckii, a fungus species I've wanted to see since I first became aware of it in that forum thread. Now that I know a few locations for gnome plant, maybe I can track down a bleeding tooth fungus!
Lastly, Botany Photo of the Day is taking a bit of a holiday. The next entry will certainly be published by January 4, 2010, though there is the possibility of some entries being published during the prior week. In 2010, not only will Botany Photo of the Day be celebrating its 5th anniversary in April, but there will also be a series of thematic photographs each month to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity. More details to follow in early January.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 AM | Comments (38)
December 18, 2009
Lewisia triphylla
Continuing with the plants of Oregon series, here is number 4 in a series of 5.
I suppose I might get in trouble with Lewisia experts for displaying an unrepresentative plant of this species. Most plants tend to have one to a few flowers with 2-5 leaves and dot the area where they grow (for examples, see photographs of Lewisia triphylla from the Burke Museum). This particular cluster was either a relative beast or, possibly, a hybrid. To give a sense of scale, this is about as wide across as the palm of my hand -- a very relative beast.
As you might expect, a plant native to Oregon will likely have a distribution spanning some parts of western North America. Do note, though (if you clicked on the link), the scattered distribution, coinciding roughly with high elevations as intimated by the Flora of North America account for the species: Lewisia triphylla (growing at elevations of 1500-3300m).
This population of plants was located in an exposed vernal streambed that had mostly dried out by the time of this photograph in early July, but not enough to avoid mud on the knees of my shorts. Other populations later observed elsewhere also had a high degree of soil moisture, usually from recently receded snow.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 PM | Comments (11)
December 17, 2009
Campanula scouleri
Well, it seems like I'm doing a series on the plants of Oregon to end the year, so let's say this is three of five in this series.
Scouler's harebell or pale bellflower is native to western North America from Alaska to California. This uncommon species is generally found on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. The photographs today, taken from two different locales in early August, reflect the preferred habitats. One was taken in moist woods while the other was from an exposed rocky slope -- a bit of an odd combination, if you ask me. Individual plants are small, to 40cm tall, and infrequently cultivated.
As these were the first two times I encountered this species, I would normally have spent more time photographing it, but rain on both days limited the time I was willing to spend on any one thing. For more images, either visit the Burke Museum's page on Campanula scouleri or the Oregon Flora Project's page on Campanula scouleri.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:05 PM | Comments (12)
December 15, 2009
Calochortus macrocarpus
And another brief entry... sagebrush mariposa lily has been featured twice on BPotD so far: Calochortus macrocarpus in June 2005 and Calochortus macrocarpus in October 2006 (from a July photo).
Today's photograph is also from July, but highlights the uncommon albino variant of this species -- a real treasure to find. This was one of a few white or nearly-white individuals in a population with hundreds of plants with light pink to purple flowers.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:00 PM | Comments (10)
December 14, 2009
Clarkia pulchella
My apologies for the brief entry today, but for an extended write-up about the species in today's photograph (taken on July 2), please see the previous entry on Clarkia pulchella.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:15 PM | Comments (6)
December 11, 2009
Picea sitchensis
Conifers haven't been receiving many entries lately on BPotD, so time to change that.
These photographs were taken in early summer near Port Renfrew, British Columbia. Both are of the same species, Picea sitchensis or Sitka spruce, previously featured on BPotD several years ago: Picea sitchensis.
The dwarfed spruce, growing on the end of the submerged log, is subject to fairly harsh conditions beyond the obvious one of trying to extract much of the needed nutrients from decaying wood. If I recall correctly from the conversation I had with one of the locals, Fairy Lake (where this is located) is occasionally subject to an influx of salt water from the ocean. The same local also commented that this tree is at least 40-50 years old, as he remembers it growing there -- and of a similar size -- when he was a child over twenty years ago. I plan on revisiting this particular plant in the future, to hopefully photograph it with a still lake surface.
The other spruce, growing about 15 or so km away, is known as the San Juan Sitka spruce. It is claimed by some to be Canada's largest spruce tree and the second largest in the world (another photograph of it shared in that link). I'm not so sure about that claim, as British Columbia's Big Tree Registry (PDF) suggests that BC has Sitka spruce trees that are larger in circumference, taller, more spreading, and (when combining all three of these measures in a points system), "bigger". The only measure I could see where it may earn the title of Canada's largest spruce tree is in volume of wood. Whatever status it may or may not be entitled to, it is still an impressive individual, measuring 62.5m high (205 feet), 11.66m circumference (36 feet, 3 inches), and a spread of 23m (75 feet). Still, it was only the second-largest tree I encountered that day.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 PM | Comments (22)
December 10, 2009
Echinocystis lobata
The author of today's entry is again Lindsay Bourque. Lindsay writes:
Thanks again to Rusty Clark for sharing an image with Botany Photo of the Day (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Echinocystis lobata is an annual herbaceous vine commonly known as wild cucumber, balsam-apple or mock apple. The species is widely distributed throughout eastern North America, where it is found growing in wet lowland areas. It is also found elsewhere in North America, including British Columbia, as an introduced species. The genus name is derived from the Greek echinos, meaning "hedgehog", and cystis, meaning "bladder".
Pictured today is the inflated fruit (though also of interest is its sweetly-scented flowers). These fascinating fruits go out with a bang, having an explosive dehiscence mechanism. Each fruit contains four seeds, which develop under increasing hydrostatic pressure. If birds or small mammals don't interfere with the fruit before it fully ripens, the fruit will expel its seeds at a speed of 11.5 m/s (PDF)!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:30 PM | Comments (9)
