Botany Photo of the Day: January 2007 Archives

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January 31, 2007

Lilium columbianum and Campanula rotundifolia

Lilium columbianum, or Columbia lily, was previously featured on BPotD here and here.

Though I learned the common name for Campanula rotundifolia as bluebell, harebell is far more often used. This helps distinguish it from species of Hyacinthoides, in the Hyacinthaceae. On the other hand, the USDA PLANTS database uses bluebell bellflower, again demonstrating the variable nature of common names.

The distinctive bell shape of the flower in the genus Campanula (illustrated in these photographs from the Burke Museum: Campanula rotundifolia) earns its own morphological term: campanulate, or bell-shaped. Do note that the use of this term isn't restricted to members of this family.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:54 AM | Comments (5)

January 30, 2007

Pistacia atlantica

A nod of appreciation to Amir A. from Israel for once again sharing a photograph! Thank you!

With a name like Pistacia, you might make a mental association with pistachio. You wouldn't be far off, botanically speaking. The pistachio of commerce is Pistacia vera, a close relative of this species. As mentioned in the Plants for a Future database, however, the fruit of Pistacia atlantica is not eaten directly – it has the flavour of turpentine.

This property is reflected in one of its many common names, the turpentine tree. Other English common names include terebinth, Mount Atlas pistache, Atlas pistachio and Mount Atlas mastic tree.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has a database of economically important grassland species from around the world. It includes an interesting entry on Pistacia atlantica, with some of the information derived from a traditional Bedouin doctor.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 AM | Comments (3)

January 29, 2007

Grasslands National Park

Annual visitation numbers of Canadian and US National “Places” I've visited in the last few years (sources: US National Park Service Visitation Reports and Wikipedia):

Grand Canyon National Park (US): 4 401 522 (2005) – 4 927 km²
Banff National Park (Canada): 3 927 557 (2004/2005) – 6 641 km²
Olympic National Park (US): 3 142 774 (2005) – 3 734 km²
Point Reyes National Seashore (US): 1 988 585 (2005) – 288 km²
Jasper National Park (Canada): 1 908 000 (2004) – 10 878 km²
Joshua Tree National Park (US): 1 375 111 (2005) – 3 196 km²
Death Valley National Park (US): 800 113 (2005) – 13 628 km²
Saguaro National Park (US): 727 208 (2005) – 370 km²
Petrified Forest National Park (US): 598 378 (2005) – 885 km²
Redwood National Park (US): 394 144 (2005) – 455 km²
Chiricahua National Monument (US): 60 224 (2005) – 49 km²
Grasslands National Park (Canada): ~ 6000 annually – 907 km²

More people visit Grand Canyon National Park in under 12 hours than Grasslands National Park (previously on BPotD) in a year.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (5)

January 28, 2007

Isomeris arborea

Today's photograph from Descanso Gardens is thanks to van swearingen@Flickr (original photo | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!

The families Cleomaceae (cleome family), Capparaceae (caper family) and Brassicaceae (mustard family) are all closely related. Depending on what reference you read, you may find today's plant, bladderpod spiderflower, in any one of those three families. Traditionally, it is most often placed within the Capparaceae sensu lato (in the broad sense), but I've opted for the Cleomaceae as it forms a well-defined group (scroll up on that page to read the taxonomy of these three families).

Not only is its family under disagreement, but so is its scientific name. I've chosen to use Isomeris arborea as it was used in the Jepson Manual, but the USDA PLANTS database uses Cleome isomeris.

The USDA PLANTS link contains more photographs of the plant, including images of the bladderpods the common name refers to. I might share my photographs of the bladderpods taken in Joshua Tree National Park (this is a plant of the southwest USA and Mexico) in a future BPotD entry.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (8)

January 27, 2007

Dombeya ×cayeuxii

A thank you to Rosa, aka contemplar@Flickr for contributing today's photograph from Jardim da Estrela (original image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). If you haven't visited recently, be sure to visit Rosa's weblog, Blog De Cheiros. Thank you, Rosa!

It is little surprise that this plant is growing in Lisbon, Portugal; it is named after Henri Cayeaux, who was the director of the Botanic Garden of Lisbon during the late 19th / early 20th century. Considering Cayeux's work with hybridization of other plants, it is very likely he was also the plant breeder responsible for this cross, thought to be between Dombeya burgessiae and Dombeya wallichii.

The common name for this plant is pink ball dombeya or pink snowball. One of its parents, Dombeya wallichii, has the common name of tropical hydrangea (though it is not a hydrangea).

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:00 AM | Comments (10)

January 26, 2007

Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus

If I had to make a list of my favourite top ten common names for plants, this one would surely be among them. I'll quote from Schofield's “Some Common Mosses of British Columbia”: Commonly called the rough neck moss or shaggy moss because of the untidy leaves at the shoot tips. A whimsical name, electrified cat tail moss, has gained some popularity in British Columbia (emphasis added). The USDA Plants Database uses rough goose neck moss, as yet another alternative. I'll stick with electrified cat tail moss. Had ~~E. E. Cummings~~ Walt Whitman (see comments) been a bryologist, I'm sure he would have written, “I sing the moss electric.” for this particular species.

Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus is circumpolar for the northern hemisphere in its distribution, extending south into lower latitudes along mountain ranges (e.g., California and Arkansas). A broad range typically means a plant can grow in a variety of conditions, and it is no exception. Substrates for this moss species include well-drained sites in coniferous forests, on boulders and logs and, less frequently, tree trunks (source is again Schofield's book), though Mosses and Liverworts in Wales also mentions dunes and “certain types of broad-leaf woodland”.

Photography resource link: From Guy Tal's “The Essential Landscape” series: In the Name of All That is Good – On the Roles of the Artist, the Activist, and the Critic via Nature Photographers Online. Guy questions whether it is possible to be both artist and activist.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (8)

January 25, 2007

Liquidambar styraciflua 'Lane Roberts'

This photograph taken in mid-September of last year is of the same tree that produced this leaf (abstract).

With a quick glance, you might mistake sweet gum for a maple due to a similar leaf shape. However, if you can't recall while taking a closer look that maples have opposite leaves and sweet gums have alternate leaves, you can always look for fruit – you won't mistake that for a maple!

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:12 AM | Comments (12)

January 24, 2007

Agave deserti

In my mind, I referred to this plant as “the plant so big, it requires two photographs to capture all of it”. Not really, of course – at a height of up to 6m (20ft), it is quite possible to take a photograph with the entire desert agave in the frame. However, one has to do it from so far away that it doesn't look like much (or at least my attempts failed), considering that 5/6 of that height is the slender flower stalk. So, I'm only able to share a photograph of the inflorescence, in this case from an individual that was only 3m or so high.

Fortunately, other sites have photographs for you to examine. The Living Desert in Palm Desert / Indian Wells, California shares not only a few photographs of the rest of the plant, but also has an excellent factsheet on desert agave. The superb CalPhotos has thirty photographs of Agave deserti for you to peruse. I also love the illustrations of Agave deserti via the Flora of North America entry for the species.

On a different subject, this photograph was taken in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I note with concern that there is a movement afoot to erect a major powerline through the park.

Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photograph of Nancy Rotenberg and Michael Lustbader at Natural Tapestries. Much to admire in the photo galleries! Not only did I find the nature galleries wonderful, but I also enjoyed this series of photographs of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (4)

January 23, 2007

Darlingtonia californica

If you visit the Oregon Coast near Florence, it is worth the brief amount of time away from the dunes and ocean to step into the Darlingtonia State Natural Site (map). A short boardwalk trail affords the opportunity to observe this species en masse. This photograph was taken in March of last year, a couple months prior to the flowering season.

Like the related Sarracenia purpurea, cobra lily or California pitcher plant is an insectivorous plant. As aptly explained in the Wikipedia entry on Darlingtonia californica, it does have a few qualities that distinguish it from Sarracenia (and the third genus in the family, Heliamphora). First, instead of capturing rainwater, it regulates the water level in its trap through its roots. Second, the species does not produce digestive enzymes to break down the captured insects, but instead relies on symbiotic bacteria to act in a similar way. A third difference is the structure of the modified leaf; its curved, nearly-enclosed trap is seemingly the most effective in preventing the insect from leaving, with a number of “false exits” (transluscent leaf tissue) befuddling and tiring the insect as it tries to escape.

If you're seeking more photographs of this plant, I highly recommend Makoto Honda's Insectivorous Plants in the Wilderness photo gallery page for Darlingtonia californica.

As a botanical aside, the genus was named after the botanist Darlington by the botanist Torrey, who himself had a genus named after him: Torreya, which is prominently mentioned in the linked-to article in this weblog entry from yesterday.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:57 AM | Comments (2)

January 22, 2007

Erinacea anthyllis

A different sort of thank you to lead off today's BPotD: thank you to those BPotD readers who attended yesterday's lecture. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sharing.

Erinacea anthyllis, or hedgehog broom, was previously featured on Botany Photo of the Day in Nov. 2005: Erinacea anthyllis. Its distribution in the western Mediterranean region includes populations in Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada (Sierra Nevada National Park) near Granada, Spain.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:25 AM | Comments (8)

January 21, 2007

Espeletiopsis corymbosa

Another thank you to Andreas of Bogotá (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) for sharing images of plants from Colombia (original). This photograph is part of a set that Andreas has assembled on Cerro de Usaquén. Much appreciated!

I had a difficult time discovering any information about this genus of plants until I broadened my search a little bit and learned that the genus Espeletiopsis (and 7 other related genera) were all once lumped under the genus name Espeletia. That led to discovering this site by Dr. Jason Rauscher, The Espeletia Page. Dr. Rauscher has written a brilliant introduction to this fascinating group of plants. Some tidbits: most of these plants grow in tropical montane regions with the growth form of a giant rosette. The height of plants in these genera range from small rosettes measuring only 5 cm high to the tallest plants in the local landscape at over 5 m. Photographs of some of these giant relatives of today's Espeletiopsis corymbosa can also be found on Dr. Rauscher's site in this gallery of images.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (3)

January 20, 2007

Aesculus californica

Eric in SF@Flickr has kindly shared today's photograph with us (original image posted ~ a year ago on the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you once again, Eric.

California buckeye is endemic to the state. Its poisonous properties were recognized and utilized by the First Nations of the region, who ground the seeds into flour and then used the flour as a fish poison (ref: Jepson Manual and expanded in the Wikipedia entry on Aesculus californica).

Henry W. Coe State Park shares a series of photographs of California buckeye on its web site, if you're keen to see the plant from other perspectives and in detail.

On a different note, if you live in the Seattle area, you might like to attend my lecture on “Beauty and the Botanist” at 1pm tomorrow at the Centre for Urban Horticulture (3501 NE 41st St.), hosted by the Northwest Perennial Alliance. Cost is $5 if you're not an NPA member.

Botany / art resource link: Discovered via Pruned weblog, Wood Anatomy of Central European Species shows the beauty of wood at the cellular level. Take a look at Larix decidua as a fine example of what's available in the list of species.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (8)

January 19, 2007

Lachenalia liliflora

Another African plant today, this time courtesy of sky_view@Flickr from California (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Do have a look at sky_view's other stellar images of flowers! Thank you for sharing.

“Lachenalia liliflora is one of the most beautiful and most endangered bulbs on the planet.” states Adam Harrower of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in this thorough article on the species. Along with biological details about the plant, Harrower relates a sad story of the destruction of one of the three known remaining wild populations; it involves a bulldozer and a new housing development. Though his story mentions that half of the plants had survived, more recent accounts I've read suggest that all of the plants have since been wiped out. The Wine Estate De Grendel and the Tygerberg Nature Reserve near Capetown now host the two remaining populations.

This species has also been the subject of artist illustrations. I'm fairly certain one of the first appeared in Icones Plantarum Rarorium (published between 1781 and 1793), available online thanks to the Missouri Botanical Garden's Rare Books initiative here. Jean Emmons, a member of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Florilegium Society, likely has one of the most recent illustrations: Lachenalia liliflora (2006).

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (4)

January 18, 2007

Zantedeschia aethiopica

Thank you to Brent aka foliosus@Flickr from Portland, Oregon for sharing today's photograph with us (original) via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool. Check out Brent's web site for an appealing mixture of plants and web design.

A close-up shot of Zantedeschia aethiopica, or arum lily, was previously featured on BPotD. It's accompanied by a good set of links about the plant, so I won't pursue that again today.

However, a little bit of botanical history might be intriguing. Zantedeschia is named after the physician Giovanni Zantedeschi, by the physician and botanist Kurt Sprengel. This pattern of medicine and botany intertwined is longstanding, which makes sense considering the original medicines were directly derived from plants (and, of course, animals).

As another example, the University of Uppsala in 1692 had a professorial chair in “medicine and botany”. This chair was eventually occupied by Linnaeus, after a swap with Rosén for the chair in “practical medicine” (this meant Linnaeus was now in charge of the botanical garden, chemistry and botany while Rosén headed the university academic hospital, human anatomy, human physiology, etc.).

Finally, here's a search on Google for both “physician and botanist” and “botanist and physician”.

Gardening resource link: Kingsbrae Garden in New Brunswick has started up the Kingsbrae Garden Weblog, so you can follow along on how their garden progresses. Discovered via bloomingwriter (jodi DeLong), who posted a comment to yesterday's photos (her take on Kingsbrae is here).

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:43 AM | Comments (2)

January 17, 2007

Phoradendron leucarpum

Today's photographs are courtesy of David Smith of Delaware, who shared them via the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. It would have been more appropriate to show these a few weeks ago when David submitted them, but BPotD was running the abstract series at the time. Despite the seasonal relevance of this plant fading for another year, they're also interesting botanically, so here they are. Thanks, David!

Mistletoes, such as this oak mistletoe, are obligate hemiparasites – obligate, because they are obliged to do something, in this case meaning they are dependent on a host plant to complete their life cycle. If they could sometimes live and reproduce independently of a host plant, while at other times live the intriguing life of a parasite, they'd be described as facultative.

David's photographs show quite clearly why these are also termed hemiparasites. Strict parasitism, or holoparasitism, occurs when a parasite is entirely dependent on its host for all of its nutrients, minerals and water. Hemiparasites, on the other hand, do not entirely depend on the host. In this case, Phoradendron leucarpum is capable of its own photosynthesis (sugar production) through chlorophyllous leaves, while still parasitizing the host plant for minerals and water. Compare this strategy with Monotropa uniflora, if you're interested in an assignment.

Will Cook of Duke University shares a different interesting tidbit about Phoradendron leucarpum – a dispersal strategy that involves sticky pulp inside the fruit and birds.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (6)

January 16, 2007

Ganoderma lucidum

A nod of appreciation to bevcraigwhite@Flickr from southwestern Ontario, Canada for contributing today's image (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!

The common name of this fungus in Chinese, lingzhi, means “herb of spiritual potency” (lingzhi on Wikipedia). It has been used for millenia in Chinese herbal medicine, while Western medicide has yet to satisfy its need for proof about the claims for lingzhi's efficacy. Efforts to examine the science behind the claims are aptly detailed in both the linked Wikipedia entry and this Fungus of the Month article by Kathleen Engelbrecht and Tom Volk. Do read the Fungus of the Month article for more on this storied fungus.

On the topic of fungi and fungus of the month, January 2007 is the tenth anniversary of Fungus of the Month – if you've ever spent some time reading and learning from Fungus of the Month, I suspect it would be well-received if you sent Dr. Volk a note of appreciation (his email address appears on most pages of his site).

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (7)

January 15, 2007

Colchicum sp.

A thank you to Hampshire, England's “Souren” for sharing this photograph via the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. These photographs were taken in September of 2006, in the Kharkiv University Botanical Garden (Ukraine). Much appreciated!

The alkaloid colchicine was first derived from plants in the genus Colchicum, hence the name. In addition to the medicinal uses outlined in the link, colchicine is extremely important in plant breeding research. If applied properly, a colchicine treatment can lead to a doubling of chromosomes in (half of the) gametes, resulting in offspring that are polyploid, or plants that have more than two similar sets of chromosomes.

Polyploidy is important for plant breeding in two respects. First of all, polyploids tend to be more robust than the diploid progenitors. As noted in the Wikipedia entry on polyploidy, many important crops were (unintentionally) bred to be polyploid: apple, banana, durum, maize, cotton, potato, tobacco, strawberry, sugar cane, etc. Compare wild strawberries to domesticated varieties, and you'll understand what's meant by more robust! Colchicine, by helping to induce polyploidy, can help create new ornamental or food varieties of plants. A second use of colchicine in plant breeding work is to overcome hybrid sterility, as is done with triticale.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (9)

January 14, 2007

David C. Lam Asian Garden

From December 16, 2006 to January 14, 2007, Botany Photo of the Day is going to be featuring photo abstracts posted with little or no scientific commentary. If abstracts aren't to your taste, please consider revisiting the site in mid-January. – Daniel

The Asian Garden in infrared. A path shot seemed appropriate as BPotD goes back to its regular format tomorrow.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:08 AM | Comments (7)

January 13, 2007

Pinus mugo subsp. mugo

Not sure which species or cultivar, as I couldn't find the label.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:11 AM | Comments (2)

January 12, 2007

Arctostaphylos manzanita

This (dead) plant discussed on the forums here.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (4)

January 11, 2007

Arbutus menziesii

Bark flaking off Arbutus menziesii. Previously featured on BPotD here, here, here and here.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:06 AM | Comments (3)

January 10, 2007

Geum triflorum

Previously featured on BPotD here: Geum triflorum.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:16 AM | Comments (8)

January 9, 2007

Sugarloaf Mountain

This image was photographed 35 minutes after this one of Lower Nicola Valley. Although the sky and earth were both taken with the same press of the shutter button, they were each processed differently – the digital equivalent to using a graduated neutral density filter while taking the image. The original photograph was also taken in infrared, then converted to black and white.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:10 AM | Comments (4)

January 8, 2007

Acer circinatum

Species previously featured on BPotD here, here, here and here. This abstract was taken of the plants illustrated in the second link, but one year later.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (3)

January 7, 2007

Hosta sieboldiana var. gigantea

A photo from mid-October.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:01 AM | Comments (4)

January 6, 2007

Fascicularia bicolor

Native to Chile – read more on Fascicularia bicolor via the BBC Gardening site.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:05 AM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2007

Eschscholzia sp.

I suspect when I started posting abstracts for this break, this is more along the lines of what some were expecting.

On a different topic, I've received a few enquiries about availability of prints. I'm pleased to announce I received the go-ahead to make prints available through one of the various online print stores – I now have to choose which online service to go with.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (5)

January 4, 2007

Actinidia deliciosa

These growing tips of the kiwi vine have nothing to climb, so instead form graceful arcs.

As an aside, the latest Festival of the Trees weblog carnival is up at The Voltage Gate: 7th Festival of the Trees.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)

January 3, 2007

Rubus thibetanus 'Silver Fern'

This bramble is the source of much recent photographic frustration for me. It beckons outside my second-floor office window with its tangled icy-blue mass of canes, asking to be photographed in pretty much the exact frame that I see through the window from my office chair – a window that only opens thirty degrees outwards, thereby requiring me to either 1) move furniture and lean out the window while undergoing unnatural contortions (which I suspect the safety folks might have something to say about); 2) take the photograph through the window glass (and accept some glare and reduced image quality); or 3) let it taunt me. I wonder if I can get away with propping a ladder against the side of the building...

This shot was from a much closer distance, with a new lens.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM | Comments (4)