« Previous Day: Acacia rigens |
Main
| Next Day: Ulva intestinalis »
Aug 28, 2008: Xanthosoma mexicanum
Sep 7, 2007:
Trochetiopsis ebenus
Sep 7, 2006:
Magnolia grandiflora
Sep 7, 2005:
Arisaema consanguineum
June 19, 2007 : Pelvetiopsis limitata
Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!
Keywords: Fucaceae | Pelvetiopsis limitata (Setchell) Gardner | Botanical Beach, Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
I revisited Botanical Beach on the weekend, in what I hope becomes an annual trip for me – it's one of my favourite places in the world. I found it strange that I and my companion were the only ones on the beach on early Saturday morning; I thought the attraction of seeing a zero tide, one of the lowest tides of the year here, would lure more people. More people did visit eventually, but it was perhaps an hour after the zero tide mark before we saw the first few, with numbers gradually increasing after that.
Pelvetiopsis limitata is distributed along the west coast of North America, from northern Vancouver Island to the mid-California coast in San Luis Obispo County. One curious morphological variation that occurs from north to south is an increase in the density of surficial hairs, such that the individuals in California are covered in fine hairs. Jennifer Skene of UC Berkeley is researching the origin, formation and function of these hairs, and whether they might have an impact upon buffering the effects of climate change.
Decew's Guide at the Center for Phycological Documentation contains a guide page about Pelvetiopsis limitata, including journal references associated with each of the facts (very handy). The Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network has more photographs of this species in its factsheet on Pelvetiopsis limitata.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at June 19, 2007 6:03 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Elizabeth Heinz at June 19, 2007 8:38 AM
Very cool.
Posted by: van at June 19, 2007 8:56 AM
Looks similar to European Pelvetia canaliculata - is it closely related?
Posted by: Michael F at June 19, 2007 10:23 AM
Very closely related, by the sounds of it - Evolution of the Fucaceae (Phaephyceae) Inferred from nrDNA-ITS suggests “the European Pelvetia canaliculata is more closely related to Fucus, Hesperophycus, and Pelvetiopsis than to other Pelvetia species. Sounds to me that there is going to be some taxonomic shuffling in this group (that paper also establishes Silvetia as a new genus).
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at June 19, 2007 10:38 AM
Interesting, thanks! Could be tricky nomenclaturally, as (without actually knowing) I'd think it is likely that Pelvetia canaliculata is the type species of Pelvetia.
Posted by: Michael F at June 19, 2007 12:56 PM
I am always glad when you take a trip to Botanical Beach.
Posted by: Anthony at June 22, 2007 4:31 PM
Pelvetia canaliculata is the type species. Designated by Decaise + Thuret in 1845.
BrianO
Posted by: bjo at June 20, 2008 3:44 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
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.
Thank you for this. It will enhance my next low tide walk on Moss Beach. (And thank you for reminding me to take one.)