Botany Photo of the Day

Nick from Fort St. John, British Columbia, sent in this photograph of a prairie crocus (or pasqueflower) taken in the Peace River region in the early spring. After reading about BPotD in the National Post, Nick was inspired to send this little gem along to be identified and shared. I was quite happy to oblige, as its scientific name was one of the first I had ever learned. Many thanks, Nick!

I suppose I should have held onto this photograph (since I don't have one of my own for this species) until March 16, 2006. That day is the one-hundredth anniversary of this plant receiving Royal Assent to be adopted as the floral emblem of Manitoba, after having been selected by school children of the province. After the blizzards of last week, though, I think Manitoba readers might appreciate this harbinger of spring as a reminder that winter will ultimately pass.

If you search for more information on this plant, you ought to be aware that it has a number of scientific names (synonyms). Of these, the one used most often as an alternative is Pulsatilla patens subsp. multifida, a taxonomic view which places this plant in a different genus in part due to the long plumose achene beaks seen when the plant is in fruit. Phylogenetic analyses, however, suggest that Pulsatilla should be subsumed into Anemone. For a discussion on the topic, see the entry on the genus Anemone in the Flora of North America (you can also read more about Anemone patens var. multifida in the FNA).

Nature resource link: It might seem a bit odd, but I'm going to link to an earlier BPotD. Picea sitchensis 'Bentham's Sunlight' was originally written to coincide with the release of John Vaillant's book “The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed” (ISBN: 0393058875). Two weeks ago, the book received the 2005 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction. If you haven't read the original post and accompanying resources (and the book), it's a fascinating story with a UBC Botanical Garden connection.