« Previous Day: Thalictrum rochebruneanum |
Main
| Next Day: Tricyrtis hirta 'Matzukaze' »
Nov 6, 2009: Cypripedium montanum
Nov 7, 2008:
Ranunculus aquatilis
Nov 7, 2007:
Quercus suber
Nov 7, 2006:
Pediomelum esculentum
Nov 7, 2005:
Verbascum eriophorum
July 11, 2005 : Pinus thunbergii
Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!
Keywords: Pinaceae | Pinus thunbergii Parl. | 13732-0117-1972
Jeremy Cherfas, who runs the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's Public Awareness Weblog visited Vancouver a few weeks ago. While in town, he dropped by to introduce himself and say “hello”, so I took him and his Vancouver host, Ruth, for a tour of the garden. When we walked by this Japanese black pine, Jeremy asserted that I had to take a photo of these immature female cones for the Photo of the Day, so here they are.
In North America, there is much news about pests from elsewhere causing widespread damage to North American ecosystems. Rarely is the opposite reported here, i.e., North American natives causing problems in other countries. Media coverage or not, the introduction of exotic species is a global problem, and not confined to North America. The Gymnosperm Database's excellent account of Pinus thunbergii makes reference to Busaphelenchus xylophilus, a North American nematode, decimating the native Pinus thunbergii of Japan's coasts.
Conversely, Pinus thunbergii is sometimes regarded as being an undesirable exotic itself. Brooklyn Botanic Garden classifies it as invasive in its New York Metropolitan Flora Project. The specimen records of Pinus thunbergii reveal that is a particular problem on Long Island. However, the plant does not seem to exhibit the same behaviour locally in the Pacific Northwest of North America.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at July 11, 2005 2:31 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Michael at July 11, 2005 7:19 AM
Hey, thanks for that Daniel. And thanks too for another great photograph. I love the surprises of looking closely at bits of plants. flowers get all the good press, but there is some real beauty, and some real interest, elsewhere, and you bring it to life.
Posted by: Jeremy Cherfas at July 11, 2005 8:31 AM
Looks like a pineapple - good enough to eat! Is the resemblance how pineapples got their name? However in the culinary department nothing beats those blueberries you showcased several days ago!
Posted by: Anthony at July 11, 2005 9:47 AM
Michael - I'll put it on my to-do list to add a page about the steps I take on the site sometime soon.
Jeremy, thanks, as always.
Anthony - I suspect so. I was thinking about your comment while browsing through a book I have featuring the floristic work of Imogen Cunningham (note: web site includes artistic nudity), and thought it might be interesting to do a still life of a pineapple with these pine cones. I'll have to try it out sometime, and maybe it will be a future photograph on the site.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at July 11, 2005 11:58 AM
Stunning. And yes, your camara work is top notch!!!
Posted by: Gabriel at July 12, 2005 3:04 AM
I think you are right about the resemblance between pine cones and pineapples, Daniel. But speaking of entire books being needed, I'm sure there ought to be one about the Fibonnaci series in plants. That's the underlying mathemtical basis of the spiral in pine cones and pineapples, and the pattern on a sunflower head, and so many other aspects of plant growth. To my knowledge, nobody has done such a book, although there are classics such as On Growth and Form and one that I am not familiar with, The Curves of Life, both of which, coincidentally, use a Nautilus shell as their cover illustration.
Posted by: Jeremy Cherfas at July 12, 2005 5:04 AM
To add on to what Jeremy mentioned: Spiral Phyllotaxis in Plants, with discussion on Fibonacci numbers.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at July 12, 2005 1:50 PM
Dear Sir:
Do you have any pinus parviflora or pinus thunbergii for sale?
Regards,
David
Posted by: David Lau at November 13, 2008 8:02 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
After seeing the comments of your knowledgeable viewers I have been deterred from asking non-botanical questions. But I can contain myself no longer - with what do you take these great shots? and how do you get such clarity, is it an enhancement of the green hue?
If you have time, please feel free to answer off-site.