Conifers
May 30, 2009
Wollemia nobilis
Douglas Justice wrote today's entry. I took the photos of the tree, recently planted at the garden's front entrance. The first image shows a side branch photographed to show the new growth. The second shows a small male cone.
Wollemia, previously known from fossils as old as 90 million years and thought to be extinct for at least 2 million years, was discovered alive in a rainforest grove in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia, in 1994, by David Noble, a field officer of the Wollemi National Park. The discovery caused tremendous excitement and fanfare in the scientific community. While we can never be entirely certain of the identification of fossil species, pollen and leaf studies show that Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine) and the fossil Wollemia are close relatives, if not the very same species. Read more about this tree here.
Fewer than 100 mature individuals of Wollemia nobilis exist in the wild—an additional two small groves have been identified since the original discovery—making this one of the rarest and most endangered trees in the world, but conservation work, funded primarily through sales of propagated trees, has helped to ensure the species' survival.
The tree pictured, “Little Billy,” is a first descendant propagation of the “Bill Tree,” the tallest of the Wollemis in the original grove. The species has been through plenty: from dinosaur browsing to multiple ice ages and extended periods of drought. We're confident that with limited winter protection, it should be able to survive here.
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:42 PM| Comments (12)
March 23, 2009
Pinus bungeana
It's a Monday, and Jackie's shared another photograph and write-up with us. Thanks again! Jackie writes:
Young specimens of Pinus bungeana have smooth bark that peels off in round patches resulting in a beautiful mosaic of colours, giving rise to the common name of lacebark pine. The patches can range in colour from creamy white and grey-green, to brighter shades of red, yellow and brown. With age, the bark takes on a more uniform, chalky-white colour (here's an excellent photograph of the bark).
The tree is slow growing and can reach about 20m in height. It is multi-stemmed and can grow almost as wide as it is tall, an unusual shape for a pine tree.
Its green needles are stiffer than many other members of the Pinaceae. Needles are held in sparse clusters of three, each tipped with a sharp point. When crushed, the foliage gives off a distinctive scent sometimes compared to turpentine. The cone of Pinus bungeana is slightly egg-shaped, yellow-brown in color, and approximately 7cm long. Each scale of the cone is tipped with a sharp spine. Virginia Tech's factsheet on Pinus bungeana contains pictures of the needles, cones and bark, while Kew has a good description of the species and a larger photograph of the tree: Pinus bungeana.
Pinus bungeana is native to northern China, where it is found growing on steep mountain slopes in the shade. It has been cultivated for centuries in China, often planted near temples. Lacebark pine was introduced into cultivation in Europe by Robert Fortune in the 1840s. Fortune was a Scottish plant hunter who spent several years collecting plants in China.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:23 PM| Comments (9)
March 16, 2009
Pinus albicaulis
Ruth continues with the series on UBC research:
Dr. Sally Aitken is a member of the UBC Faculty of Forestry. She heads many research initiatives through the Centre for Forest Conservation Genetics.
Sally writes: "Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a keystone species of many high-elevation environments in British Columbia and the western United States. The wingless seeds of this pine are dispersed by the Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), and these seeds are also a key pre-hibernation food for grizzly bears in some regions. Populations of this five-needled pine are being decimated by a combination of the introduced fungus, Cronartium ribicola, which causes the disease whitebark pine blister rust, as well as the current epidemic of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Rapid climate change presents yet another threat to this species."
"At the Centre for Forest Conservation Genetics in Forest Sciences at UBC, we are evaluating levels of genetic diversity and developing models to predict the distribution of habitat for this species under various climate change scenarios. PhD candidate Sierra Curtis-McLane is testing these predictions by planting seeds in subalpine habitats within the current species range and in model-predicted areas north of the range. She is also growing seedlings in controlled growth chamber experiments under different temperature and drought regimes. We hope the results will assist in restoration efforts for this ecologically important species."
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:18 PM| Comments (10)
March 2, 2009
Abies religiosa and Danaus plexippus
Abies religiosa is native to southern Mexico and western Guatemala at high altitudes: 2100m to 4100m (or thereabouts). According to the Gymnosperm Database entry for Abies religiosa, its common name of sacred fir is due to "its widespread use in Mexico to create decorations for use at religious festivals, especially Christmas", though others have suggested it is because the tips of the branches form a cross. The common name of oyamel fir tends to be more widely-used in popular texts about the species, particularly with regard to its ecology and its relationship with the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.
The oyamel fir forests of Mexico are the wintering grounds for the monarchs of eastern North America, where the insects can be found in densities of 10 million individuals / hectare (4 million individuals / acre). While the species Abies religiosa itself is in no conservation danger, deforestation (ranging from illegal clearcut logging to thinning of trees -- see this documentary on illegal logging near the monarch reserves) is altering the ecological conditions of the oyamel fir forest such that the monarchs may one day no longer find suitable wintering habitat. Journey North explains the ecological requirements of the wintering monarchs in point form: The Monarch's Forest Ecosystem: Mexico's Oyamel Fir Forest. Simply put, deforestation is changing the humidity and temperature regime of the forest, such that the monarchs will not be able to meet their physiological requirements for wintertime survival.
You can learn more about monarch butterflies from these valuable sites: MonarchLIVE, the monarch butterfly page from Canadian Biodiversity (discusses threats and monarch migration) and Monarch Watch (blog) (these great folks also could use a little bit of financial help, if you're so inclined).
Ah, one last thing -- I apologize about the quality of the photographs. I forgot my polarizing filter for this trek to see the butterflies so the photographs have a lot of glare. I also wish I could've taken better photographs of the firs, but the butterflies kept getting in the way. Perhaps these videos I took will make up for it (one thing to note in the videos -- what appear to be solid masses of black shaded foliage are actually clusters of butterflies resting on the branches):
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:26 PM| Comments (17)
January 19, 2009
Pinus monticola and Leptoglossus occidentalis
Today's entry is courtesy of Hannah Bottomley from Simon Fraser University, who has recently co-authored a paper on today's subjects. We've Hannah to thank for the write-up and thermographic images and Stephen Takács for the conventional photographs. Hannah writes:
Pinus monticola (western white pine) cones glow warmly in contrast to cool conifer needles in the infrared spectrum (top right; bottom left). Cones can be up to 15˚C warmer than needles (as indicated by the temperature bar on the right) and emit significantly stronger infrared radiation. Infrared radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation that the human eye is unable to perceive; it has longer wavelengths than visible light (380-750 nanometres), but shorter wavelengths than microwaves (1 millimetre to 1 metre).
These thermographic images of Pinus monticola cones were taken with an infrared camera, exposing a previously unknown way in which insects are able to hone in on their host plant. Recent research by Takács and his colleagues reveals that Leptoglossus occidentalis (western conifer seed bug) has infrared receptors and is able to exploit the difference between cones and needles in the infrared spectrum, and zero in on cone-laden conifers from afar. This insect is a specialist herbivore that feeds on the contents of developing conifer seeds; in the second photo, it can be seen feeding on a Pinus monticola cone.
This phenomenon of warm cones is not limited to Pinus monticola - it has also been observed in Pinus contorta var. latifolia (lodgepole pine), Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce) and Larix occidentalis (western larch). It is attributed in part to the fact that larger objects retain more heat than smaller objects, as well as to the tendency of a cone's surface to reflect solar radiation. In all likelihood, seed development (and associated metabolic activity) is also generating warmth, contributing to the relatively high temperature of conifer cones.
Although there are a few recognized infrared-detecting insects, this is the first study to show that herbivorous insects are using infrared emission from a specific part of a live plant as a foraging cue. This research is yet another testament to the complexity of plant-insect interactions and reminds us that there is a world of nature that exists beyond our own perception.
Daniel adds: For a popular summary of the paper, see "Heat Sensors Guide Insects to a Hot Meal" from ScienceNews. To view the scientific paper, see: Takács, S. et al. 2008. Infrared radiation from hot cones on cool conifers attracts seed-feeding insects. Proceedings of The Royal Society B. 276(1657):649-655. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0742. For those of you who are particularly keen, I note that mast-seeding is mentioned in the abstract as a hypothesized method of producing a cone-crop large enough to exceed the capabilities of the insect herbivores to eat them all.
Horticulture / Garden Design link: Les jardins de Quatre-Vents, a garden I first learned about yesterday from the guide (thank you, Luana!) at Montréal Botanical Garden. Here are some photographs of the landscape and the plants. Virtual tours (in English) are available here: Virtual Tours of Les jardins de Quatre-Vents.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:23 AM| Comments (16)
December 5, 2008
Picea engelmannii subsp. engelmannii
BPotD has previously featured Engelmann spruce; that entry already has a few great links, so trek on over there for further reading.
This photograph was taken in Mistaya Canyon (Banff National Park). I was intrigued by both the colour of the canyon backdrop and the tenacity of the tree. It's worth pointing out (as I have in entries in previous years) that this is likely the area where I felt the least safe while taking photographs in 2008 -- I trekked out onto the rock cliffs forming the canyon (or overhanging the canyon), much like the ones you can see in this image. I suppose it's a bit of a fear of heights, heightened somewhat by the loss of the sense of hearing due to the noise of the water coursing below.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:53 AM| Comments (15)
September 26, 2008
Wollemia nobilis
Thanks again to Ruth for today's write-up:
A living fossil found in Australia! The genus Wollemia was only known to scientists as a fossil until 1994, when David Noble, a hiker and officer of Wollemi National Park, discovered a grove of Wollemi pines nestled in a sandstone gorge in the Blue Mountains of eastern Australia. Amazingly, this gorge is only 150 km from Sydney, Australia! Fewer than 100 individuals were discovered.
Since the discovery of Wollemia nobilis, seeds have been collected and plants grown with the intent to release the plant into cultivation and thus distribute it widely to ensure the survival of the species. You too can be a part of this extraordinary conservation project (if interested just type "Wollemi pine" into any search engine to find vendors).
As a member of the Auracariaceae, the Wollemi pine is not actually a pine at all, but rather a close relative of the monkey-puzzle (Araucaria araucana) and kauri (Agathis spp.). Wollemia, Agathis and Araucaria are the only three remaining genera of this ancient family (unless a new discovery changes things again!). The fossil record dates the Araucariaceae back to the Jurassic period (approximately 200 Ma ago) where it reached its peak diversity and existed nearly worldwide. The Wollemi pine is dated back to the Cretaceous period (approximately 140 Ma ago) from the fossil record. Along with the passing of the dinosaurs, the Araucariaceae vanished from the northern hemisphere and members of the family are now found in only the southern hemisphere unless cultivated. Wollemi pines have a wild habit of growth. They often have multiple trunks making them bushy but will grow to 40 meters (130 feet) in the wild. In cultivation, one can expect a much shorter height.
The photo accompanying this article is of the male cone from a Wollemi nobilis in the UBC Botanical Garden collections. This plant is under quarantine until mid-2009 as it was imported with soil. UBC Botanical Garden received this plant via Dr. Susan Murch -- it is grown from one of the original cuttings of the oldest living Wollemi pine, "King Billy". Daniel Mosquin took this exquisite photograph, Thanks Daniel!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:30 AM| Comments (17)
September 25, 2008
Pinus aristata
Ruth is again responsible for today's write-up:
In keeping with our gymnosperm theme, it is appropriate to mention that the oldest-living known organism is a gymnosperm, an approximately 4,789 years old individual of the species Pinus longaeva. It has been named "Methuselah" after the oldest living person in the Bible. Methuselah resides in the White Mountains of California. Pinus longaeva is one of three pine species in a group called the bristlecone pines: Pinus longaeva, Pinus aristata and Pinus balfouriana.
Today's photos are of Pinus aristata, also known as the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine. It is found in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Douglas Justice, the acting director of UBC Botanical Garden, took these pictures in the Mount Goliath Natural Area of Colorado. Thanks Douglas! These trees were growing at an altitude of 3300m (11000 ft), within the typical elevation where Pinus aristata can be found: 2500-3700 meters (8,000-12,000 feet). As you can imagine, these are cold, dry, subalpine conditions at or near tree-line.
One critical step in identifying any pine is to count the number of needles per fascicle (the fascicle is the tissue that holds needles together at the base of a cluster). This species maintains five stout needles per fascicle, and, unlike the other bristlecone pines, it typically has only one resin canal. According to the Wikipedia article on Rocy Mountains bristlecone pine, the resin canals are "commonly interrupted and broken...which looks a bit like 'dandruff' on the needles."
Unlike Pinus longaeva, Pinus aristata rarely lives over 1,500 years. The oldest individual of Pinus aristata was found to be 2,435 years old growing on Mount Evans in Colorado. If you ever venture out to visit any of the three bristlecone pine species, take note that although they might be sparsely foliated, they are still alive. Often they will have only a thin strip of live tissue running along the gnarled tortured trunk connecting the leaves to the roots. These phenomenal trees have a strong dense and resinous wood that develops very slowly and defends the trees from pests. The Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine can be found in cultivation and makes a decent slow-growing tree for the home garden.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:08 PM| Comments (17)
August 1, 2008
Picea mariana
There are approximately 35 species of spruce in the world. Picea mariana, or black spruce, is one of seven that are native to North America (north of Mexico). In comparison, China has sixteen native species.
Black spruce is distributed throughout Canada, Alaska and some northeastern US states, where it is typically a plant of wet organic soils (e.g., swamps and bogs) (distribution map).
Links to investigate: the Silvics of North America factsheet on Picea mariana, the always-excellent conifers.org page on the species, and Picea mariana in the Flora of North America.
I also note that the Plants for a Future database page on Picea mariana cites a reference stating that "The sawdust, the resin from the trunk and even the needles can cause dermatitis in some people." I don't think I ever received dermatitis from trees while walking through bogs in Manitoba, but I do recall a slight burning feeling on my forearms from the many light scratches I received from the sharp dead lower branches.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 10:32 AM| Comments (17)
April 14, 2008
Callitropsis macrocarpa
One housekeeping item before today's entry: if all goes well with my schedule, I'll be upgrading the software that runs BPotD tomorrow. I expect at least a few outages where the BPotD entries won't be accessible.
Thanks to Douglas Justice for writing today's entry. The photographs are from my recent trip to California. Douglas writes:
Up until 2006 and the publication of a paper by D. P. Little, the genus Cupressus L. was thought to be a northern Hemishere genus distributed roughly evenly (in numbers of species) between the Old and New Worlds. However, the New World cypresses (including Cupressus nootkatensis and the northern Vietnamese Cupressus vietnamensis) are now believed to be more closely related to the genus Juniperus than to the Old Word cypresses. You can read more about this change and the possibility of further name changes here.
Whatever name is applied to this species, it is a beautiful and iconic tree, forming huge, densely layered crowns with often picturesque twisted stems and braided bark. In the wild, it is known only from the Monterey Penninsula on the central California coast (see Cupressus macrocarpa on Wikipedia), but it is now very widely grown in horticulture. In gardens, it is primarily valued for its dark, dense foliage and fast growth for screens and windbreaks, but there are numerous mutant forms with a variety of branching and foliage effects (weeping, fastigiate, golden, etc.) and these appear to be extremely popular as specimen and accent plants. Despite the name, the cones of Callitropsis macrocarpa are not the largest of the cypresses. They are somewhat smaller than those of Callitropsis guadelupensis, a species from the island of Guadelupe, off the coast of Baja Cailfornia (and also smaller than those of the Italian cypress, Cupressus sempervirens). See a cone size comparison via Michael P. Frankis’s wonderful cone collection.
Callitropsis macrocarpa grows well where winters are mild and there is plenty of humidity, tolerating wind and salt well, but the species doesn’t fare well at all in areas with both high summer heat and humidity. Monterey cypress is the parent of the formidable Callitropsis × leylandii (C. nootkatensis × C. macrocarpa) (syn: ×Cupressocyparis leylandii), Leyland cypress, to which it lends considerable influence (most would be hard-pressed to guess the other parent from the appearance of this hybrid). Locally, both the species and its hybrids are susceptible to cypress tip moth (Argyresthia cupressella) and to cypress canker (Seiridium cardinale), but only where summers are hot (see this Australian fact sheet on cypress canker).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 8:39 AM| Comments (10)
January 28, 2008
Pinus roxburghii
Thanks again to Douglas Justice for both today's write-up and photographs.
As I wrote the other day, last year at this time my wife and I were in India. Driving through Corbett Park on the way to our “forest rest house,” we passed through forested rolling hills and crossed a number of washes and streams. It was while bouncing along over one of these boulder-strewn washes at about 1200m elevation that I noticed what were clearly pine trees in the distance. We did stop, after much pleading, but I had to take the photographs from inside the vehicle (it is a tiger reserve).
Pinus roxburghii is a fairly wide ranging species, common in the Himalayas at low elevations from Pakistan in the west through northern India and Bhutan in the east. Both from a distance and close-up, I guessed that it was a three-needled pine, reminiscent (at least to me) of Pinus ponderosa (western yellow pine). Chir pine is somewhat distantly related to any of the North American three-needled pines, however. According to most accounts, this species is more closely related to Pinus pinaster (maritime pine) and Pinus canariensis (Canary Islands pine). Keith Rushforth (in Conifers, Christopher Helm, London, 1987) notes that fossils show Pinus roxburghii and Pinus canariensis once formed a single population across southern Europe to the Himalayas.
Chir pine is named for the so-called father of Indian botany, the Scotsman William Roxburgh. As for the etymology of the name “chir,” I can only find that in Urdu, chir means milk. My guess is that the resin, which is utilized for a wide variety of uses (see the Wikipedia entry), is white. Perhaps one of our Indian Botany Photo of the Day correspondents and/or a chir pine expert can expand on this.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 8:41 AM| Comments (7)
December 28, 2007
Taxodium distichum
Thank you to Regina Alvarez, Director of Horticulture and Woodland Management at the Central Park Conservancy in New York, for sharing today's photographs. Much appreciated!
The first photograph of bald cypress is from an ice storm that occurred a couple weeks ago, while the landscape perspective photograph of the stand of trees includes the same individual in autumn colour, along with one of the park's visitor centers.
Taxodium distichum was previously featured on BPotD, so I'll add two more links to the mix: Taxodium distichum from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Native Plant Database and the Kemper Center for Home Gardening's entry on Taxodium distichum both provide additional photographs, as well as cultivation, descriptive and economic information about the species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 8:26 AM| Comments (3)
December 25, 2007
Pinus wallichiana
Today's photographs and entry are courtesy of Douglas Justice, the garden's Curator of Collections. – Daniel
This pine is a favourite of mine, being both exuberant in growth and delicate in overall effect. Himalayan pine produces long, relatively soft needles in fascicles of five on long, shoots that retain their smooth silvery sheen for many years. See the Wikipedia entry and the page at conifers.org for more information. The blue-green of its needles, the shape of its cones and the regular, whorled branching is somewhat typical of white-pines (compare with Pinus strobus, Pinus monticola and Pinus flexilis), but its crown is broad, at least in the cultivated material I’ve seen. According to Keith Rushforth (Conifers, Christopher Helm, London, 1987), nearly all of the soft pines (Section Strobus) “do not like exposure.” In the David C. Lam Asian Garden, the Pinus wallichiana pictured is sheltered on a southeast-facing hillside with a variety of other exotics under mature Abies grandis (grand fir).
VanDusen Botanical Garden (Vancouver’s other botanical garden) also has a collection of Pinus wallichiana in its Sino-Himalayan Garden, and like ours, the trees are of unknown provenance. Sometime in 1981, I was working at Massot Nurseries, a large wholesaler in Richmond, BC (just south of Vancouver). One of my duties as a shipper was alternate truck driver, and one day I had occasion to deliver a load of these Himalayan pines (now in #5 pots) to the still developing VanDusen Garden. The plants had originally been grown at Hybrid Nurseries, a forest seedling grower, whose owner at the time, Bruce Morton, was interested in disseminating exotic conifers around the Vancouver area. At VanDusen, I met a kindred spirit in Gerald Gibbens, the gardener for the Sino-Himalayan Garden at VanDusen. Gerry had recently returned from an internship at Windsor Great Park and was still high on the experience, which he explained in some detail as we unloaded the pines. Ten years later, Gerry made it possible for me to intern at Windsor—a seminal experience for me. Windsor was not only a way to ease myself out of the nursery industry, but it was my starting point on the road to a career in public horticulture. What a great tree!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:00 AM| Comments (10)
December 21, 2007
Taiwania cryptomerioides
Today's photographs and entry are courtesy of Douglas Justice, the garden's Curator of Collections. – Daniel
Taiwania, or coffin-tree, is currently recognized by most authorities as consisting of a single species, which ranges from SW China to Myanmar (Burma) and Taiwan. According to the entry on Wikipedia for Taiwania, it is the tallest species in Asia, at 80m.
UBC Botanical Garden has three wild collections of Taiwania cryptomerioides, all derived from sites in Taiwan: Tahsuehshan, 2200m (accession pictured), Tachien, 2200m, and Hsiuluan, ~ 2000 m (foliage detail accession pictured). Little seed is available outside of Taiwan, as the species is rare and now protected in China. Despite the relatively low elevation and southerly provenance of this species in Taiwan, our plants appear to be reasonably hardy in the David C. Lam Asian Garden (USDA Zone 8), having never suffered frost damage in more than 20 years. Our taiwanias are located in a variety of environments, in forest under the shade of mature Alnus rubra, Acer macrophyllum, Abies grandis, Thuja plicata and Tsuga heterophylla, and in the open. Some plants receive irrigation (our thin soils and dry summers necessitate supplemental irrigation for many ornamentals), but most have to fend for themselves. A few of the plants in the open display yellowing foliage, but all plants are growing strongly and many are strikingly beautiful, displaying the typical drooping branch tips, blue-green curtain-like foliage and narrow conical habit.
None of our plants has started coning (as outlined in our interpretive sign), although there was a report in 2006 of what could have been male cones in the upper branches of one of our oldest trees. To our knowledge, no cultivated Taiwania in a North American or European botanical garden has ever produced a seed cone. There is a point to wanting our taiwanias to produce seed cones, beyond having bragging rights. Upon reaching reproductive maturity, the leaves change from awl-shaped (similar to Cryptomeria japonica) to smaller, more appressed and scale-like (see illustration of a branch with cones via conifers.org). This is example of foliar dimorphism due to heterochrony. More significant (from a botanical point of view) is that Taiwania appears to have “features crucial to the understanding of the evolution of the cupressaceous cone, characteristic of the families Cupressaceae and Taxodiaceae, and provide further evidence for the need to merge these families”. See Farjon and Garcia's Cone and ovule development in Cunninghamia and Taiwania (Cupressaceae sensu lato) and its significance for conifer evolution and Schulz and Stützel's Evolution of taxodiaceous Cupressaceae (Coniferopsida).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:02 AM| Comments (10)
November 26, 2007
Pinus monticola
Pinus monticola, or western white pine, is native to western North America. It can be found at many elevations, from sea-level to 3350m (11000 ft.), but local conditions dictate the elevation range of the species. This particular tree was growing at around 600m (2000 ft.) along Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The trees growing at high elevation can only be found at the southern end of its distribution range, in the Sierra Nevada.
Whenever a North American species conifer is featured on BPotD, I'm obliged to link to two excellent resources: Pinus monticola from The Gymnosperm Database and Pinus monticola from the Silvics of North America.
I find it grimly amusing to note that toothpicks are mentioned as one of the economic uses of western white pine in the Silvics of North America factsheet. It brings to mind a quote I've failed to recall precisely, but was along the lines of: “Surely the supreme value [of trees] is not toothpicks”.
White pine blister rust (photo gallery), a foreign fungal pathogen introduced into North America from Europe (though originating in Asia), is significantly reducing the number of trees. Resistant strains are starting to appear, however, and are being used in breeding programs to eventually restore and reforest affected areas.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:02 AM| Comments (9)
October 28, 2007
Pinus longaeva
In its high mountain habitat, Greast Basin bristlecone pine is subject to weathering from ice crystals and dust, particularly from the direction of the prevailing wind. On the side of the tree away from the wind, the individual continues to eke out an existence, but on the side of the tree facing the wind, the trunk tissue is subject to a “death by a hundred million cuts”. This abrasion over hundreds of years will first wear away the living tissue of the trunk and then begin work on polishing and sculpting the dead interior wood, as is shown in today's photograph.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 9:01 AM| Comments (10)
October 4, 2007
Populus trichocarpa
Black cottonwood has previously been featured on BPotD here: Populus trichocarpa. Two resources to add to those listed there: the Silvics of North America treatment of Populus trichocarpa and GRIN's Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa (a synonym; the previous BPotD touches on the naming issue).
This photograph was taken on the shores of Medicine Lake in Canada's Jasper National Park. “Medicine Lake” should actually be in quotes — it's not a true lake, as it only exists for part of the year. The in-flowing Maligne River backs up in this area for several months of the year due to the volume of glacial meltwater, forming the lake-like body. The water slowly drains via a series of sinkholes, travels through a cave system and then emerges 16km / 10miles downstream in Maligne Canyon. You can estimate the summer high-water mark from the band of vegetation-free shoreline.
Entomology / photography resource link: Via the Zooillogix weblog, mantis photographs by photographer Igor Siwanowicz. If you want to see more of Siwanowicz's work (and trust me, you want to), visit his photo.net gallery: Igor Siwanowicz.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:54 AM| Comments (5)
September 25, 2007
Abies bracteata
Thank you again to Douglas Justice for both today's photograph and accompanying written entry. – Daniel.
Today's photo was taken at the Botanical Garden, but the tree from which the cone was taken grows some distance away on the UBC campus. John Worrall, whose thumb and forefinger can be seen in the photo, planted a seedling tree grown from seed he collected in the wild in California approximately 25 years ago. Worrall, Professor Emeritus of Forestry, is well known as a dendrologist and fierce tree advocate, and equally, for his guerrilla tree plantings around UBC.
Known as the bristlecone or Santa Lucia fir (it is found in the Santa Lucia Mountains), the campus tree is now close to 15m tall and is coning for the first time. Most authorities place this species in its own group (some place it in its own subgenus — Pseudotorreya), based upon its unique, long, sharp-pointed buds and needles, and extraordinary cone bracts. These stiffly curving squirrel guards extend 5 or 6 cm from the cone and are each supplied with a sticky gob of resin. Although this beautiful conifer has an extremely restricted range, its conservation status was assessed as a “lower risk” Lr/cd (lower risk, conservation dependent) on the IUCN Red List (version 2.3, 1994).
Abies species are often difficult subjects in gardens, most preferring deep soils and the cool conditions of mountain slopes. However, western North American, Pacific Slope conifers are adapted to relatively dry summer conditions, and the Californian species to an especially long, hot, dry summer regime. This specimen has probably done as well as it has because it's planted against a large brick building, facing south and out of the reach of irrigation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:27 AM| Comments (11)
September 24, 2007
Picea engelmannii subsp. engelmannii
The high elevation subalpine and montane forests of the Rocky Mountains often have Engelmann spruce as a major tree species in their composition. A distribution map illustrating the broad western North American distribution can be viewed via the USDA Forest Service's Silvics of North America entry on Picea engelmannii. Note that Engelmann spruce can also be found within the Coast-Cascade Mountains and some of the high-elevation areas between the two mountainous belts.
A second subspecies of Picea engelmannii is recognized, subspecies mexicana. It is known from populations in Mexico and (some say) the Chiricahua Mountains. The Gymnosperm Database's entry on Picea engelmannii suggests that subspecies mexicana is found in the USA, while the Flora of North America concludes otherwise.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:19 AM| Comments (7)
September 20, 2007
Larix decidua
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Monika F (aka monika & manfred@Flickr) for contributing today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Pool). We're grateful once again, Monika.
European larch is native to higher altitudes of southern and southeastern Europe, extending as far east as Ukraine. Like all larches, it is a deciduous conifer, losing its needles annually. As with all conifers, I recommend visiting conifers.org for more information on the species and genus.
Thanks to Michael F of the UBC Forums for the identification and explanation of the oddball cone.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
September 1, 2007
Araucaria araucana
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Today's image is a scan from the John Davidson lantern slide archives here at UBC Botanical Garden. This photograph was likely taken in the 1900s or 1910s before Davidson immigrated to Canada, as the locale of the image is Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen, Scotland (Aberdeen was Davidson's home prior to Canada).
Monkey-puzzle trees are classified as vulnerable (VU B1+2c) by the IUCN Red List. Native to Chile and Argentina, logging (including illegal logging in national parks) is contributing to the decline of these intriguing trees in the wild.
Read more about Araucaria araucana via the exceptional Gymnosperm Database (including the ethnobotanical aspect) and the Enciclopedia de la Flora Chilena.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
July 16, 2007
Pinus longaeva
The attempt of blogging the expedition wasn't very successful – a combination of too-long days and consecutive nights in places without web access forced me off regular updates. Catching up then became an impossible task on the road, so I halted. I'll still do a few more posts about it this week, now that I'm back in the office.
Today's BPotD posting is a companion to this posting about the expedition. Great Basin bristlecone pine, according to the Gymnosperm Database, “is generally regarded as the longest-lived of all sexually reproducing, nonclonal species, with many individuals known to have ages exceeding 4000 years.” Although the oldest individuals are often thought to occur in California's White Mountains, the oldest of them all, Prometheus, was found on Wheeler Peak in the same population where this photograph was taken. Was found, I emphasize, because it was cut down to determine its age. The story of Prometheus, the Martyred One, is covered in-depth by Leonard Miller on his set of pages dedicated to the bristlecone pine.
Ancient living trees share their groves with the skeletons of trees that have died, like the one in today's photograph. Decay of dead trees is extremely slow due to a combination of wood quality and the dry, cold, high elevation habitat in which the groves occur.
Though protected in a number of locations throughout its distribution range in California, Nevada and Utah (areas in red), Pinus longaeva is IUCN-listed as vulnerable due to the fragmented and low area of occurrence, as well as a decline in the replacement of mature individuals.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 AM| Comments (14)
April 28, 2007
Cedrus deodara
BPotD is in brief entry mode on weekends and holidays from April through September. – Daniel
A thank you to Dr. Iain Taylor for contributing today's image from Vancouver, BC. Iain's had many roles with UBC Botanical Garden; he is currently helping the garden navigate some of its infrastructure projects through the intricacies of the university bureaucracy.
Iain photographed this handiwork of Bernard and Lorraine Portier a couple weeks ago (the excavation made the local news). I think it's fascinating to see the interwoven roots freed of the surrounding soil. This (former) deodar cedar was planted in 1958 by the mother of Mrs. Portier. Thank you to the family for the permission to share this with you.
A note to local residents: Darts Hill Garden Park in Surrey will be open to the public for two days: tomorrow and next Sunday (the open house also includes a plant sale). It's a beautiful garden, and public opportunities to visit it are rare, so do plan to visit if you've the time.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
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Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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.