Botany Photo of the Day

Today's nod of appreciation goes to Cliff aka The Marmot@Flickr. Cliff's original image is here: Douglas iris (via the Flickr BPotD Group Pool). Be sure to check out Cliff's set of photographs of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Thank you, Cliff!

Douglas iris is highly variable for traits such as flower colour and flower size. It also freely hybridizes with other species of Iris, including Iris innominata. Typically, these properties would lend themselves to an important role in Iris breeding and the creation of novel cultivated varieties. However, in the case of California irises (or Pacific coastal native irises) like Iris douglasiana and Iris innominata, the hybridization potential is limited due to growing requirements of these species. Few of the over four thousand cultivated irises have California irises in their parentage.

Extra Flickr BPotD Group Pool Pics: more photographs of irises! I'm revealing my ignorance here about the nomenclature of cultivated irises, but perhaps I'll investigate the names when I have a bit of time.

• Bearded Iris 1 and Bearded Iris 2 from bbum@Flickr
• Purple, White and Gold Louisiana Iris from Monceau@Flickr

Agriculture / genetics resource link: Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resource Guide. From the site: “The goal of this web site is to provide balanced information and links to other resources on the technology and issues surrounding transgenic crops (also known as genetically modified or GM crops). The site's authors are engaged in plant genetics research and teaching at Colorado State University. They receive no funds from companies involved in transgenic crop development, nor are they affiliated with groups campaigning against such crops.”