John Davidson

« Previous Day: Lantana camara (tentative) | Main | Next Day: Crocosmia masoniorum »
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

December 31, 2005 : Allotropa virgata

Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!

Keywords: Ericaceae | Allotropa virgata Torr. & Gray ex Gray | Mt. Elphinstone, British Columbia

Allotropa virgata
Allotropa virgata

A “seasonal” image to complete 2005 – candystick or sugarstick, with its red and white stem striping, obviously deserves its common names. The photographs lack visual cues (other than the moss) to give perspective, so I'll mention that this particular plant measured roughly fifty centimeters (nearly two feet) high. Photographed in early July of 2004, this plant has nearly completed its flowering for the year, though a few blossoms have yet to senesce on the uppermost part of the plant.

Like the closely related Monotropa uniflora, Allotropa virgata is a mycoheterotroph, or one of the “ghostly fungus-robbers”. Lacking chlorophyll and therefore the ability to produce sugars, Allotropa virgata insteads taps sugars (and other nutrients) from an underground fungal network (which itself garnered the sugars from an association with a nearby conifer!).

Photography resource link: Ten Tips for Becoming a Better Landscape Artist, an article by Guy Tal for Nature Photographers Online.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at December 31, 2005 12:00 AM

Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries

Comments

Cool plant! I think it looks like it was covered with tiny penquins!

Liz

Posted by: Liz at January 1, 2006 2:49 PM

I guess I'm not the only one who thought that!

Posted by: Daniel Mosquin Author Profile Page at January 1, 2006 6:15 PM

I believe the moss shown in the photograph and referenced for size is Hylocomium splendens. In addition to being very beautiful, it is one of the most common mosses of circumboreal and arctic tundra habitats. Description and line drawing can be seen at the BFNA website:

http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/V2/HyloHylocomium.htm

Posted by: Carl Wishner at January 2, 2006 11:17 AM

Carl, I agree, it likely is Hylocomium splendens.

Posted by: Daniel Mosquin Author Profile Page at January 3, 2006 2:36 AM

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




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)

XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools

Locations of visitors to this page

Creative Commons License
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.