Flowering Plants (05)
November 7, 2005
Verbascum eriophorum
This mullein species has no English common name (mullein is the common name for the genus), which is not surprising considering its rarity in horticulture. In fact, a Google search for the name suggests that the alpine garden at UBC is one of the few places in the world you can see it in cultivation. To see it in the wild, you would need to travel to the Balkan Mountains.
If you were to visit the garden at UBC though, you'd notice that it is labelled as “Verbascum sp. (seedling of Verbascum eriophorum)”. It is a prime example of the difficulty in maintaining the genetic integrity of the plants in garden collections. From a research perspective, the most valuable plants in collections are often those of documented wild origin. These plants are known to share the genetic makeup of their wild counterparts, and can therefore be assumed in research undertakings to represent the true taxon. Plants of cultivated origin, or n generations removed from the wild populations, may have hybridized at some point – a particular risk in botanical gardens where a number of species from the same genus or closely related genera may exist in close proximity. With the possible introduction of foreign genes, it is impossible to be absolutely certain that the plant continues to be representative of the wild type, making it less valuable in research that relies on genetics.
Woody plants that do not reproduce for decades are the easiest plants to retain as known and documented wild origin, followed by woody plants with shorter generation times. Some perennials are difficult to keep genetically intact, while plants that are biennial or annual are virtually impossible (they would require seed to be collected from wild populations to be sown every one to two years). This is the case with this Verbascum, a biennial. The original seeds were wild-collected, and the first generation of the plant could be said with certainty to be of known and documented wild origin. As this is now the second generation, the possibility of hybridization has occurred, making the plant less valuable from a research perspective. Outward appearance and comparison of the second generation plants to the first generation (photographs – yes, it is over 2.5m tall) make me comfortable enough to write that it seems to be a similar enough genetic entity for the purpose of BPotD, but I would not bet a Ph.D. on it.
Botany resource link: The name Acacia retained for Australian species via the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research in Australia. Long-time readers of BPotD will know I often write about name changes – here's an instance where a decision was made to keep a name, instead of a strict interpretation of the rules.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:03 AM| Comments (4)
November 6, 2005
Osmanthus heterophyllus
Holly osmanthus, false holly and holly tea olive are just a few of the common names attached to this fragrant shrubby member of the olive family. As I mentioned in the BPotD entry on Osmanthus suavis, the genus has a reputation for sweet fragrance; indeed, the word Osmanthus is derived from the Greek osme, meaning fragrance, and anthos, meaning flowers.
Osmanthus, however, is not the only fragrant genus in the family. Other members of the Oleaceae known for their scent include Syringa (lilacs), Chionanthus (fringetrees), Jasminum (jasmines) and Ligustrum (privets).
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the incomparable photography of Mike Moats.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:36 AM| Comments (8)
November 5, 2005
Camellia sasanqua 'Setsugekka'
Updated February 6, 2006 at 11:58pm: Found the label, and my tentative identification was correct.
I couldn't find a label on this camellia in the winter garden, but based on the location, the plants in the location, and a bit of sleuthing I'm fairly confident it is Camellia sasanqua 'Setsugekka'.
As a name, setsugekka is composed of three parts: snow (setsu), moon (getsu), and flowers (ka). “Setsugekka no toki mottomo kimi wo omou”, from an ancient poem, translates into When I see the snow, moon, or flower, I always think of you. (source). Yasunari Kawabata, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, discussed the phrase setsugekka; Professor Isamu Kurita goes into more details in an article entitled: “Japanese Art and the Japanese View of Nature”.
Botany resource link: Economic Uses of Algae, a small site produced by the Smithsonian Institution. The secondary products pages are worth a read.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:55 AM| Comments (4)
November 2, 2005
Abutilon 'Nabob'
Darrell (aka “dweeb” on Flickr) of the University of California, Davis, supplied this photograph of a deep-red abutilon via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Group Pool (original Flickr post). Thanks, Darrell – much appreciated!
A search of Google images reveals a diversity of floral morphology and colour within Abutilon that reflects its popularity in horticulture, particularly indoors.
Abutilon is a “traditional” member of the mallow family, Malvaceae, along with other plants such as cotton, okra and hollyhocks. Recent studies, however, support a notion of a much larger Malvaceae that includes the previously separated families Tiliaceae (the lindens), Sterculiaceae (the cocoa family) and Bombacaceae (the silk-cotton tree family, which includes baobabs). For an excellent resource on the changes, check out Malvaceae Info.
Photography / conservation resource link: Images for Conservation Fund – “Conservation of wildlife through sustainable development using the power of photography while integrating art, education and natural history.” via Nature Photographer Online Magazine's Nature Photography Supports Conservation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
November 1, 2005
Lilium sp.
After spending most of the past twenty-four hours wrestling with the garden's web server (with more to go since it's still not working properly), I know I'd appreciate a flower picture today for a bit of stress relief. In case the problems caused you to miss yesterday's photograph, here's the link: Solanum laciniatum.
Today's photograph features an as-yet unidentified lily from UBC's David C. Lam Asian Garden, photographed in July of this year. If you were to look at the label for this plant, you would observe that it's been designated Lilium sp. SICH.2255. “SICH.2255” is the plant's wild-collected number, and signifies that this plant was collected during the Sichuan Expedition to western China. When the plant is finally identified, it will retain the wild collected number, since the number is the only identifier attached to the propagated plants distributed post-expedition and the associated herbarium specimens. It can then be used to synchronize the identification with the distributed material.
Speaking of expeditions, Peter Wharton, curator of the Asian garden, is the garden's resident “plant-hunter”. He is soon to travel to Burma Vietnam to scout the region for what hopefully will become a long-term project on plant conservation in the area. I'm hoping that when he returns, he'll share some of his photographs with all of us on BPotD.
In BPotD news, the main page of the AOL web site on October 28 mentioned BPotD in their LiveWeb Blog section. Not sure how I feel about the site being listed under “more online distractions”, but it's still a welcome plug.
Lastly, Circus of the Spineless Number 2 is live. I didn't contribute any BPotD entries this time, but I'm still compelled to recognize the effort behind putting together an assemblage of writings about organisms and biodiversity. I particularly like this item from it: the creosote bush katydid.
Botany resource link: From the University of Pennsylvania, the Ethiopian Famine Food Field Guide delves into the wild plants consumed in Ethiopia. Be sure to click on Field Guide, then use the Category links across the top to dive into the information on the one hundred or so species of plants detailed (with photographs).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:44 AM| Comments (2)
October 31, 2005
Solanum laciniatum
Apologies that today's entry is so late – I was updating the garden's web server last night, and ran into some difficulties that eventually spiralled into the site being entirely unavailable for twelve hours. Anyway, it's obviously up and running again, and everything is mostly working fine, though there are still a few troubles, so a short entry today.
The common name for this tomato relative is “kangaroo apple”, which hints at its native distribution: Australia and New Zealand. This plant is grown as an annual in the alpine garden, though it often survives a mild winter and persists as a perennial. The “Plants for a Future” database has a good account of the plant: Solanum laciniatum.
Nature / photography resource link: The Photography of Josef and Lubomir Hlasek contains hundreds, if not thousands, of nature images. Discovered via Scott's Botanical Links.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:17 PM| Comments (8)
October 30, 2005
Tropaeolum majus (tentative)
Kind thanks to Ken McCown for this image of a nasturtium shared via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Group Pool (Flickr posting). This photograph was taken in the Huntington Botanical Gardens Herb Garden in California. As Ken mentions in his comments on Flickr, best seen at original size (warning, it's big!).
Unfortunately, I need to attach “tentative” alongside the name as it may be a cultivar that I'm not familiar with – there are nineteen cultivars listed in the RHS Plant Finder for Tropaeolum majus, after all. For a gardening perspective, read this article on nasturtium by Dr. William Welch of Texas A&M University.
The family Tropaeolaceae is monotypic, which, if you'll recall from an earlier entry, means that it contains only the one genus, Tropaeolum. It is distributed natively in the New World, from Mexico south to the southern tip of South America.
Botany resource link: Why the Banana Needs Protection via Jeremy Cherfas on the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute Public Awareness weblog. You may have seen media reports a few months ago about the impending extinction of bananas. As is most often the case, things are a little more nuanced than that.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:43 AM| Comments (2)
October 29, 2005
Mahonia ×media 'Charity'
I'm rushed for time today, so I can't write as much as I'd like. Fortunately, I can direct you to some writings describing Mahonia from the garden's interpretative sign and this thread on the garden's forums (with other photographs, including some that are just a touch more true-to-life).
This was an overexposed photograph which I decided to save by performing the calculations command in Photoshop. I selected both blue channels, inverted each, then used the “linear burn” calculation.
Photography resource link: Shooting Wildflowers via the excellent Human Flower Project weblog.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
October 27, 2005
Populus trichocarpa
There is much to write about black cottonwood, including: how it's a “hot plant in biology” because its genome has been sequenced; its ethnobotanical uses; whether it should instead be correctly known as Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa; and who its closest relatives are (see Hamzeh, M and Dayanandan, S. 2004. Phylogeny of Populus (Salicaceae) based on nucleotide sequences of chloroplast TRNT-TRNF region and nuclear rDNA. Am. J. Bot. 91:1398-1408. – institution or subscription access required to read).
Instead, though, I'm going to write a bit about stream ecology, since that is what I had in mind when I took this photograph. I look at this image and I “see” grizzlies and orcas. Why? Organic input into streams from the surrounding watershed (such as these leaves) supply nutrients and energy to either detritus-eating invertebrates or aquatic fungi and bacteria (which are in turn ingested by invertebrates). Small predatory fish and large predatory invertebrates eat the detritivores, and are in turn eaten by salmon and other fish. From salmon, it's only one more step to grizzly bears and orca whales. I'm simplifying a little, because there are other foundations in stream food webs, (e.g., photosynthetic algae which then feed invertebrate herbivores which then feed...). Still, one study has estimated that imported detritus supplies over 99% of the energy input in some streams where the headwaters are heavily shaded (see: Fisher, SG and GE Likens. 1977. Energy flow in Bear Brook, New Hampshire: An integrative approach to stream ecosystem metabolism. Ecol. Monogr. 43:421-439.).
In addition to supplying energy and nutrients, plants play other roles in stream ecology. As examples, they are important in regulating stream temperature (overhanging branches provide shade and accompanying temperature gradients), mitigating heavy rainfall by moderating the inflow of water (i.e., ensuring that inflow from rain occurs over a longer period of time instead of heavy bursts that can cause mud slides or flooding), and, of course, providing habitat for forest denizens that rely on the watercourse for food and drink.
Photography resource link: Counting Triangles, an article by Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape. I picked this article today because I only noticed after processing this photograph that the dry area of the rock in the upper left repeats the shape of the leaves in the spiral pattern (as does the rock itself).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:05 AM| Comments (5)
October 26, 2005
Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet Franc'
Updated Oct. 30, 2005 at 10:30pm: I contacted the winery, and these are not 'Cabernet Sauvignon', but rather 'Cabernet Franc'. I'm usually pretty good at taking notes while I photograph, but not this time. Weblog entry changed to talk about 'Cabernet Franc'.
I visited the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia on the weekend to wine-taste and snap a few photographs of the vineyards. Typical of my inopportune timing, I went several weeks after the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival so wine inventory was spotty at a few places, but there was still much to taste and photograph. These 'Cabernet Franc' grapes were inside a giant plastic bin, recently harvested and soon-to-be processed.
In the late 1990s, it was determined by Dr. Carole Meredith of University of California, Davis, that 'Cabernet Franc' was one of the parents of 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (the other was 'Sauvignon Blanc') – this was popularly covered in the media, including this article from the Discovery Channel: “DNA analysis reveals mysterious past of cabernet sauvignon”. You can also read more of the history and qualities of 'Cabernet Franc' via Wikipedia.
If you have questions or would like to read some discussions about grapes, check out our Grapes and Grape Vines discussion forum.
Botany / image resource link: The Magic of Australian Native Plants photo gallery from the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants contains hundreds of Australian plant photographs (though a bit on the small side). One of my favourites is the photograph of the growth habit of Eucalyptus camaldulensis at Greenough, Western Australia on this page.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:15 AM| Comments (5)
October 24, 2005
Gladiolus flanaganii
The common name for Gladiolus flanaganii, suicide lily, refers to the death-defying stunts photographers and observers need to perform to see this plant in the wild. Growing on cliff faces in the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa, finding a plant is an adventure not for the timid. Fortunately, this treasure is becoming easier to find in cultivation.
South Africa is the centre of diversity for the genus Gladiolus, with over half of the roughly two hundred and sixty known species growing natively only in that country (i.e., endemic to South Africa). Astoundingly, the interbreeding of only eight of those species have produced the over thirty thousand cultivars of gladiolus known to currently or previously exist (Gladiolus flanaganii is not one of those eight species).
The flowers of Gladiolus flanaganii last little more than a day, then quickly decay. As can be seen from this photograph, the progression from unfurling to senescence occurs first in the bottom-most flowers.
Photography resource link: Digital Cameras – A Beginner's Guide by Bob Atkins via photo.net. This should be required reading before you purchase a digital camera, including such tips as why you shouldn't be impressed by high “digital zoom” magnifications.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
October 23, 2005
Gaultheria mucronata
The (dare I say it) edible, tasteless fruit of Gaultheria mucronata provide a mass of lilac-coloured blueberry-sized globes lasting throughout the winter in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Various texts claim that fruit of all members of the genus Gaultheria can be toxic, but it is known that the indigenous peoples of Chile relied upon Gaultheria mucronata as a food source. I’ve eaten it without ill effect, though not for the taste. Rather, I find the sensation of popping the thick-skinned fruit a bit of a novelty.
Often known as pernettya, and less commonly as prickly heath, for many years this plant was placed in the genus Pernettya. This lasted until it was recognized that all members of the genus Pernettya were genetically indistinguishable from Gaultheria. As I mentioned in a previous entry, modern taxonomy suggests that nomenclature should reflect evolutionary relationships, so the names of all Pernettya species were changed in accordance with the evidence, and transferred to Gaultheria.
Botany resource link: Identification Of Major Fruit Types, via Wayne Armstrong's botany site. Pumpkins are pepoes.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (10)
October 22, 2005
Disanthus cercidifolius
The specific epithet for redbud hazel, cercidifolius, implies that the “leaves are of Cercis”; the resemblance is such that a quick glance at the shrub can lead to misidentification during certain times of the year. However, when the chlorophyll in the leaves of Disanthus cercidifolius begins to break down, a panoply of colours are revealed dissimilar to the autumn colours of Cercis.
The genus Disanthus is monotypic, meaning it contains only one species (compare with a monotypic family – it would only contain one genus, like the Nepenthaceae). Similarly, it is recognized that Disanthus has no close relatives within the witch-hazel family, relatively speaking. For more on its phylogenetic relationships, see: Li et al. 1999. Phylogenetic relationships of the Hamamelidaceae inferred from sequences of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Am. J. Bot. 86:1027-1037.
Photography resource link: The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service Photo Gallery contains a suite of categorized photographs which are made available for use free of charge.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
October 21, 2005
Decaisnea insignis
Another milestone today – this is entry number two hundred.
Decaisnea insignis is commonly known as “dead man's fingers”, a name inspired by its fleshy blue fruit, which ripen near Halloween and dangle menacingly from its branches. The follicles (pod-like fruit) contain black watermelon-like seeds surrounded by an edible, clear pulp. I would describe the taste as not unpleasant, but bland. The texture is more interesting – akin to jelly.
The akebia family, or Lardizabalaceae, contains eight genera. Decaisnea is an oddity as the only shrubby genus among a clan of woody climbers. Like most other members of the family, Decaisnea is native to southeast Asia, and in the case of Decaisnea insignis, western China. Two members of the family are an interesting botanical exception: Lardizabala and Boquila are native to Chile, forming what can only be called an odd biogeographical distribution for the family, as Chile and Asia were never in historic continental proximity.
The emerging foliage was previously featured on BPotD: Decaisnea insignis.
Botany resource link: UBC's Biology 321 – Bryophytes course site. Many images of mosses and liverworts, along with some introductory information about moss and liverwort morphology.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:20 AM| Comments (11)
October 20, 2005
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens
Even though the flowering season for the greater yellow lady's slipper is long gone, I'm going to sneak in this out-of-season photograph. I imagine that I'll be sharing a few non-seasonal images from time to time during the winter, just in case your favourite BPotD entries are showy flowers.
This photograph was taken July 20, 2004 in southern Manitoba, several weeks after the normal flowering season should have concluded, thanks to a cool, wet spring and early summer.
If you are familiar with this plant, you may have learned it as Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens (e.g. University of Wisconsin-Madison species page). The Connecticut Botanical Society succinctly describes why the name has changed, and refers to the account of the Flora of North America project: Cypripedium parviflorum and this particular variety, Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens.
Here's a challenge regarding the genus Cypripedium: name the only two states in the lower 48 (excluding the District of Columbia) where you cannot find a member of the genus Cypripedium growing natively. One of the states is very surprising. I think all provinces and territories in Canada have at least one member of the genus (as does Alaska), but I need to check some of the Arctic floras to be certain about Nunavut.
A few recent items of interest regarding Botany Photo of the Day:
- Tangled Bank Number 39 is up and running on The Questionable Authority weblog. I submitted the recent entry on Acer circinatum to join the collection of roughly two dozen other links to recent science-based writings and images. Well worth the visit to see what other science writers have to offer!
- There were a couple new comments yesterday on the BPotD entry for the lichen Letharia vulpina. Susanne Alterman, a grad student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is seeking help collecting specimens from across North America – if you can pitch in, I think your contribution would be greatly appreciated. She has instructions and forms on her site.
- Back in early May, I was humbled to be able to entertain Dr. Daniel Pauly, his wife and guests from Germany on a tour of UBC Botanical Garden, which I noted in the entry on Philadelphus delavayi. UBC announced two days ago that Dr. Pauly will be the first Canadian to receive the International Cosmos Prize (biography of Dr. Pauly via the Cosmos site). The biodiversity tragedy unfolding in the world's oceans is only being brought to light due to the work of scientists such as Dr. Pauly.
Nature / science resource link: Since we're on the topic of oceans, check out Bone Eating Snot Flower via Deep-Sea News. As you might guess, not a flower, but rather a literal interpretation of the name Osedax mucofloris, a species of zombie worm.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:50 AM| Comments (6)
October 19, 2005
Epilobium sp.
This is one of my all-time favourite photographs.
The capsules of this unidentified species of Epilobium (or willow-herb) have split open, revealing a mass of seeds tufted by silky white hairs. As you might guess, the hairs aid in wind dispersal. Since wind-dispersed seeds can travel long distances, this species is likely fairly generic in the conditions it requires for germination and growth; seeds which only travel a short distance are more likely to find conditions similar to the parent and can therefore be expected to have more specific growth requirements. There are disadvantages to the short-distance dispersal strategy, though, particularly for perennial plants; these include potential for inbreeding and competition for resources.
Photography resource link: Petteri Sulonen's Why Most Landscapes Suck. I should qualify this link by saying that even though I add a link to a photography resource, I may not actually agree with some or all of the opinions therein. I do, however, subscribe to the notion that thought-provoking articles are worthwhile, particularly if they force (re)examination of ideas and beliefs.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:41 AM| Comments (2)
October 17, 2005
Acer circinatum
Updated Oct. 20, 2005 at 1:30am: Welcome to readers of Tangled Bank No. 39! If you don't know what Tangled Bank is, it's a biweekly collection of recent science-based writings and images from weblogs around the world, hosted by a different weblog for each edition – it's a great way to find out about other science weblogs!
Updated Oct. 17, 2005 at 8:05am: Welcome Boing Boing readers! If you're new to the site, you might like to check out a few other photos such as chocolate vine, 'Bright Lights' Swiss chard or the first BPotD, Melliodendron xylocarpum. Also, have a gander at the BPotD widget! – Daniel.
The idea and concept for this photograph of variability in autumn leaf colour of vine maple is thanks to Dan Otis, who assembled the collection for his own photo during the recent Maple Society Symposium field trip. Dan kindly allowed me to also take a picture, so I'm sharing it with you. Bear in mind, though, that if you like the image, please be sure to thank Dan in the comments, and not me – after all, all I had to do was show up and press a button after he did the work. This is the third in the series of three shots on Acer circinatum, previously featured here and here.
From a previous entry, Anthony asked “Why would being in the woods affect the color of the maple leaves?”, since I'd mentioned that the vine maples in the woods were yellow in autumn colour, while those in exposed sites were a brilliant orange-red. For an outstanding article on the topic, check out “Autumn Colours – Nature’s Canvas is a Silk Parasol” (PDF - 750K). Written by Dr. Rob Guy and Jodie Krakowski of UBC's Faculty of Forestry for UBC Botanical Garden's journal Davidsonia (I'm working on its new web site with open access to all recent articles), I'll quote the abstract to answer the question in brief:
“The variety and widespread nature of leaf colour change in autumn has led to investigation of the biochemical pathways and compounds responsible. The synthesis of bright red colouration initiated by longer nights prior to leaf abscission in deciduous species points to some adaptive value for this expensive ephemeral trait. It is hypothesized that during the breakdown of the unstable chlorophyll and the dismantling of the nutrient-rich photosynthetic apparatus, red anthocyanins provide a more biochemically parsimonious alternative to the elaborate xanthophyll system. This alternative enables leaves to screen out excess light energy and circumvent photooxidative damage to leaf cells, while allowing photosynthesis to persist at low rates in support of metabolic processes and phloem loading required for nutrient resorption from leaves.”
In other words, the formation of red pigments in the autumn provides protection, preventing the too-rapid breakdown of chlorophyll which could occur in exposed (read: excess light) areas. As you can clearly see in the leaf in the upper right, the bottom-right corner has the pattern of the leaf above. Where the leaf above shaded this leaf, no red pigments were produced. Where the leaf was exposed, bright red anthocyanins were formed. To take this to a broader perspective, vine maple trees in shaded forests and under low light conditions have little need to produce red pigments, as the breakdown of chlorophyll can occur at a modest pace. However, vine maples in exposed sites turn flame orange and red, so that the pigments produced will slow the rate of chlorophyll breakdown. The leaves in this photograph are from trees that are partially exposed, hence the attractive blend of colours.
No botany resource link today, since I'm answering one of Victoria's questions regarding plant taxonomy and names: Why is it that so many plants are in limbo as to their correct/finalized/accepted names?
I recently gave a lecture on the topic, and I had stated there were two broad reasons. I'm going to split one of those reasons into two, so I'll give three reasons here. Please know, though, that any one of these reasons can be combined with another one or all three can occur in a particular scenario.
The first reason is analogous to bookkeeping. Imagine a scenario where a name is published for a plant and it is later discovered that another taxonomist had already published the name describing a different plant (or, as has happened occasionally, the same taxonomist!). The most recent name would have to change since the older name (assuming everything is scientifically valid) would have priority. Or, imagine that someone names a plant that had already been named. The latter name is dropped as a synonym of the original version. Essentially, these rules try to enforce the notions that each species of plant has only one validly published name and that each name can only apply to one species of plant. As you might suspect, the modern days of rapid communication and information warehouses mean that names needing to change due to bookkeeping are now not a big proportion of the whole.
Disagreement about whether a subset of a species is distinct enough to be a subspecies or variety, and if so, which one of the two it should be is the second reason. I'll direct you to this page from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on “How Plants Are Named” for a discussion on the differences between subspecies and varieties. Frankly, this is a reason that makes me roll my eyes, because it causes much consternation over a relatively trivial matter. Should it be Pallaea glabella subsp. simplex or Pallaea glabella var. simplex? From the BBG link, you'll note that some scientists have tried to define when each should be used. Other scientists argue that only one or the other is needed, and they then refuse to recognize the other when publishing floristic works or databases, so in the fern species above, some scientists would use subspecies and others would use variety. This reason for instability of plant names makes little sense in the face of the overwhelming loss of biodiversity.
The final reason is the biggie. You first of all need to know that the modern system for scientifically naming plants predates Darwin's and Wallace's Theory of Evolution. Plant nomenclature did not therefore have mechanisms to reflect evolutionary relationships, though plants were recognized as being part of identifiable natural groups (e.g., composites or legumes) and very similar plants shared the same genus. As the conceptual lynchpin of modern biology took hold, however, the same general system of plant nomenclature was mapped onto evolution, such that this general principle emerged: plant names and classification should reflect evolutionary relationships.
The utility of this principle is immense, simply because closely related plants share similar characteristics. Given a scientific name for an unknown plant, a taxonomist can make several predictions about its morphology. A biochemist can predict the compounds she might be able to extract or use the knowledge of plant relationships to target groups of plants in search of a particular chemical. A horticulturist can use methods from propagating related species to increase the chance of successful propagation, perhaps helping conserve an endangered species. I'll expand on this area when I answer Victoria's question about the importance of taxonomy, but it will suffice for now to say that the predictive value when nomenclature and classification are tied to evolution is supremely important.
The downside, however, of tying the two together is that our understanding of evolutionary relationships both continues to develop and will doubtfully ever be completed. As new techniques are developed (e.g., rapid analysis of nucleic acid sequences) or new evidence is found (e.g., fossils, new species), different hypotheses may be formed about evolutionary relationships. Given that plant names and classification should reflect evolutionary relationships, the name of a species, genus or family may change to reflect the new hypothesis. It so happens that the rapid accrual of information through modern molecular techniques is causing a significant clarification of plant relationships, therein also requiring significant changes to plant names recently. Will it ever settle down? Perhaps, but it is hard to predict what future techniques might be developed to determine relationships. I suspect, though, that the massive loss of biodiversity will sadly make things simpler for our descendants due to smaller datasets.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:02 AM| Comments (13)
October 16, 2005
Euonymus alatus 'Compactus'
Most members of the spike-thorn family are tropical, but a few genera, including Euonymus, are well-represented in temperate climates – in some areas, too well-represented. Though the striking foliage of compact burning bush has high ornamental appeal, it's been observed to be an invasive plant in eastern North America. This behaviour has not been noted in the maritime climates of western North America, where it is a Great Plant Pick (PDF) | GPP web site.
Photography resource link: Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape refutes the notion that everything worth doing in photography has already been done in “Been There, Done That”.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:05 AM| Comments (1)
October 15, 2005
Malus 'Jonagold'
The Apple Festival is on today and tomorrow. If numbers of people visiting the garden is the measure, it's the biggest event of the year (and certainly one of the biggest within the entire university) – I do have to say that 13,000kg (28,000lbs) of apples is quite a sight. Anyway, you'll have to excuse me if I've been a bit brief recently and for possibly being abbreviated the next couple days.
The 'Jonagold' apple is a half-sibling to 'Elstar', as it also has 'Golden Delicious' as one parent, with 'Jonathan' as the other. 'Jonagold' was introduced by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, and later received an “Outstanding Fruit Culitvar Award” from the American Society for Horticulture Science.
Botany resource link: Plant Hormones goes into great detail into the chemistry and physiological effects of plant growth regulators.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:35 AM| Comments (4)
October 14, 2005
Nerine bowdenii
Commonly known as either nerine or Cape flower, Nerine bowdenii is a native of South Africa. The name of the genus refers to the Nereids, or sea-nymphs, of Greek mythology.
Planted for an autumn display of pink colour, this mass of flowers is from the UBC Alpine Garden.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the floral abstract photographs of Duncan Smith and Adam Clutterbuck.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:38 AM| Comments (2)
October 13, 2005
Zinnia haageana 'Old Mexico' and Autographa californica
Zinnia haageana 'Old Mexico' is an All-America Selections Winner from forty-three years ago –, a cultivar that has stood the test of time. Considering its performance in trials done by The Gardens at the University of Georgia, that decades-long popularity is no wonder. It has performed similarly well this year at UBC.
Autographa californica is the moth, commonly known as the alfalfa looper. The sickle-shaped white spot on the wing is an easy diagnostic feature.
The adult moth does no damage, while the caterpillar is rarely present in numbers large enough to have an economic impact on crops. In fact, the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program for cotton and loopers states: “Moderate populations of loopers may be more beneficial than harmful, as they support populations of natural enemies that also attack the more destructive bollworms, budworms, and beet armyworms.”. Similar statements are made on the site regarding loopers and other Californian crops such as lettuce, artichoke and tomatoes. Along with a suite of predators, alfalfa looper is also susceptible to a baculovirus.
Botany / conservation resource link: Botanic Gardens Conservation International “brings together the world’s botanic gardens to work for plant conservation through science, education and horticulture.”
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:18 AM| Comments (0)
October 11, 2005
Gleditsia japonica var. koraiensis
How did I take this photograph? Very carefully. This Japanese honey locust is located near a rubbish bin, an attractant to the local population of yellow-jacket wasps. Since the bin is sealed, the wasps instead congregate on this tree – one landed on these pods a few seconds after taking this shot. Oddly, most of these 20cm (8in) long pods had been (or were being) chewed down by the wasps, particularly those pods in less exposed areas.
This is yet another one of those plants in which the scientific name has not been settled on. As you might suspect from the name koraiensis, this is the Korean morphological variety of the plant identified as distinct from the rest of the species by Nakai (it also grows in China and Japan). Authoritative taxonomic databases do not reflect Nakai's interpretation, instead placing it strictly as the species Gleditsia japonica (and here).
In Phylogenetic relationships in Gleditsia (Leguminosae) based on ITS sequences (Am. J. Bot. 2003;90:310-320), Schnabel et al. are not able to provide a definitive answer as to whether the variety koraiensis should be recognized taxonomically, to wit:
“In addition, our two molecular data sets show different relationships among the G. japonica accessions. The cpDNA data suggest that the South Korean and Japanese accessions cluster separately from the Chinese accessions. In contrast, all the analyses of ITS data alone and the ML analysis of combined data place the South Korean accessions in one clade and the Japanese and Chinese accessions in a second clade. More extensive sampling of G. japonica, especially in China, will be necessary to determine whether any of the subspecific designations of G. japonica are phylogenetically justified and to clarify the taxonomic complexity of this group.”
It needs to be noted that clarifying the taxonomic complexity at this resolution was not the main goal of their work, as they were looking at Gleditsia more broadly.
Fortunately, acquiring more data for this species is achievable, as it is not threatened. Perhaps the name will be “finalized” one day. For now, I've used the varietal koraiensis, as it adds a tiny bit of information about this particular plant at UBC.
Nature resource link: I linked to it five months ago, but it's worth mentioning again since there are so many new readers of BPotD – “Beauty and the Botanist”, an essay by the late Dr. Stan Rowe (full disclosure: his biography was written by my uncle). If you've ever wondered about BPotD's tagline, “In science, beauty. In beauty, science. Daily”, this is the essay that serves as the inspiration.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:28 AM| Comments (4)
October 10, 2005
Malus 'Elstar'
The apple cultivar 'Elstar' is the result of a cross between 'Golden Delicious' and 'Ingrid Marie' made in 1972 in Wageningen, The Netherlands. It is now one of the many varieties of apples grown in British Columbia, primarily in the Okanagan and Creston Valleys. Despite being responsible for only 25% to 30% of Canada's apple production during the last decade, British Columbia accounts for 65% to 70% of all Canadian exports (Canadian apple production).
Although most apples grown are from only a dozen or so different varieties, many British Columbian orchardists also have a few trees of heritage or uncommon cultivars. Those few plants help supply the over sixty varieties of apples that are available for purchase and tasting at the annual Apple Festival at UBC, coming up next weekend. If you're a local, you absolutely need to attend.
Botany resource link: Apples, from Mark Rieger's Fruit Crops site.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:15 AM| Comments (2)
October 8, 2005
Acer circinatum
Acer circinatum, second of a three-part series on this plant. The first can be seen here. The last of the series will include a written piece about the whys and hows of autumn leaf colours.
Botany / conservation resource link: H. Bruce Rinker's article entitled, “The Weight of a Petal: The Value of Botanical Gardens”. An excellent (but brief) article summarizing the benefits of research and conservation gardens, such as UBC.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:11 AM| Comments (5)
October 7, 2005
Petasites japonicus var. giganteus
Credit to “Weekend Gardener” of Coquitlam, British Columbia for this image of a “man-eating plant” (submitted via the BPotD Submissions Forum). Kind thanks!
As promised in this BPotD entry for the Asian Garden, here is another photograph of Petasites japonicus var. giganteus, or Japanese butterbur. As alluded to by Weekend Gardener in the written accompaniment to his submission, this plant can be an aggressive grower given the right conditions. I'm hesitant to attach the moniker “invasive” to it (like so many others have on the web), primarily because its ability to disperse is limited. That being said, it may indeed be biologically invasive in some areas, so caution should be exercised if you are considering growing it.
The size and structure of the leaves hint at the habitat ecology of the plant – moist soils in a shady forest. Large leaf surface area typically equates with a high rate of water loss, hence the need for moist soils. The large leaf surface area is also a mechanism for capturing as much available light as possible, a strategy typical of growing in shady conditions. The leaf itself is relatively thin compared with the sturdy similarly-sized leaves of some Gunnera. When considered in tandem with the surface area of the leaf, thin large leaves imply the plant cannot be exposed to high winds. Accordingly, forests offer protection from any potential mechanical damage or dessication caused by air movement.
Small note on the taxonomy – some excellent references suggest variety giganteus, while others use subspecies giganteus. I've used variety, but if anyone wants to convince me otherwise, I'd definitely listen to any argument.
Photography resource link: The work of Ladislav Kamarád, in particular the photographs from South America: Patagonia and Bolivia.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:58 AM| Comments (14)
October 6, 2005
Acer circinatum
I promised some autumn colour, so here is Acer circinatum, or vine maple, growing in an exposed site within E.C. Manning Provincial Park. You can compare these trees with the ones in a shaded location featured on BPotD a few days ago. Just a slight difference.
An image planned for a future entry will be accompanied by a written explanation of why individuals of the same species colour differently. For today, though, just enjoy.
BPotD news item one: Tangled Bank Number 38 is up, this time hosted by Living the Scientific Life. Tangled Bank, if you've not heard of it before, is a collection of recent online scientific writing contributed by a number of authors. This time there are forty-one contributions, including the submission from Botany Photo of the Day, Biarum tenuifolium. You could spend an entire day reading all of the contributions – wish I had the time!
BPotD news item two: Dr. Scott Russell, who runs Scott's Botanical Links, has highlighted Botany Photo of the Day as his selection for October 5, 2005 (and he mentions the six month anniversary). Thanks, Scott – BPotD still has a long way to catch up to your nearly ten years of daily links and reviews!
BPotD news item three: I'm communicating with The Science Creative Quarterly, an online science daily, about collaboration between BpotD and SCQ (they're here at UBC as well). I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them in the near future, but for now, be sure to check out their bold site for its style and content.
Botany resource link: The Miracle of Fall from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Horticultural Extension is a comprehensive resource site about autumn colours that includes suggestions for foliage plants and foliage webcams(!). Discovered via the Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:48 AM| Comments (2)
October 3, 2005
Rostrinucula dependens
Rostrinucula dependens is a member of one of the most successful plant families, the Lamiaceae (see that distribution map for the family!) or Labiatae. However, Rostrinucula itself is uncommon – it is a genus with only two species, both endemic to China. Only available in cultivation during recent years, the plant has no commonly used name, though UBC proposes a couple in its interpretative sign for its plant.
Photography resource link: Colour Theory as Applied to Landscape Photography via The Luminous Landscape.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (0)
October 2, 2005
Biarum tenuifolium
Updated October 6, 2005 at 12:05 pm: This entry was Botany Photo of the Day's contribution to the 38th edition of Tangled Bank, a periodic collection of online science writing.
I know this isn't the most impressive plant visually. In fact, it's not much taller than 15cm (six inches). However, by placing it in context, I hope you'll develop an appreciation for it.
Brent Hine, curator of UBC's Alpine Garden stepped into my office a week or so ago to let me know that this little beauty was in full flower, and that he noticed it from 10m (thirty feet) away. Considering the size of the plant, you've probably concluded that he wasn't seeing the plant. And he wasn't – he was smelling it. If you were standing downwind with Brent that day, wafting into your nose would be a scent reminiscent of cow manure.
Needless to say, the pollinators for this plant are not hummingbirds or butterflies. Instead, the scent is an attractant to flies. The long, upright spike is part of the spadix. The visible portion is the producer of the foul scent, whereas further down the spadix, near ground level, are the actual, tightly-compressed fertile flowers (see here for a cross-section of one of the subspecies). Dr. Danny Beath, in an article on the International Aroid Society web site, goes into great detail on the pollination ecology of the Araceae.
Native to the rocky environments in the eastern Mediterranean, Biarum tenuifolium employs geocarpy, or the production of fruit at or below the ground surface. It is thought that this is a strategy to ensure seeds will not be dispersed far from the parent plant, as the favourable conditions for growth of new plants is highly localized – dispersing seed far beyond the parent may encounter unfavourable conditions and would be energetically wasteful. This phenomenon of limiting dispersal is termed atelechory, and it often occurs in plants of the desert or dry rocky areas.
Botany resource link: Botanical Society of America's Online Image Collection provides “educational images for instructional use”. If you need visual examples to help you learn botanical terminology, this site is an excellent reference.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (0)
October 1, 2005
Atropa belladonna
Well, it's the weekend, so I hope you don't mind if I reiterate my request for your contributions to the Flower Mandalas Project from a few days ago, now that you might have some contemplative time. I notice Tim Bray has made mention of it and that's helped generate a number of comments for David's project, but there is certainly room for many more!
On to today's photographs. The two images were shot within seconds of each other. All in-camera settings were the same for the photographs, and both were processed digitally with the exact same settings. So what accounts for the difference? Last week, in the photography resource link for this entry, I highlighted an article about the importance of polarizing filters. These photographs of deadly nightshade are my little contribution to illustrating why. The polarizer is at maximum effect in the first photo, then twisted a quarter turn (so essentially removed altogether) in the second photo. Note both the boost in the warmth of the photo and the reduction in glare or reflections on the glossy fruit.
Atropa belladonna is a member of the Solanaceae, the tomato or nightshade family. Like most members of the family, its various parts are poisonous, though perhaps more violently so in deadly nightshade than other members. Despite a reputation for causing death, somehow, inexplicably, someone managed to discover that the application of juice from the fruit to the pupils of the eyes will dilate them. Apparently, large pupils are seemingly attractive, as this was a technique employed both by Cleopatra and women of the Renaiisance era. You can read more on Wikipedia about atropine, the responsible alkaloid.
On a different topic, I'd like to draw your attention to the first-ever Circus of the Spineless! Circus of the Spineless is a monthly gathering of recent online essays and photographs about invertebrates, from insects to squids to spiders. I submitted the BPotD entry on Antheraea polymorpha, but that's only one of fifty or so contributions to the compilation. There is a lot of top-notch writing and photography, and if you are at all interested in the little (and not-so-little) spineless critters that share this small world with us, it's well-worth the visit.
Photography resource link: Something I'd like to try one day is Kite Aerial Photography. Charles Benton's site has many galleries of his work -- some of them even have a botanical bent.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
September 30, 2005
Acer pectinatum subsp. laxiflorum
Today is the start of the Second International Maple Society Symposium. UBC Botanical Garden is hosting the event, so it seemed fitting to feature one of the maples from the garden to mark the occasion.
Acer pectinatum subsp. laxiflorum is a snakebark maple found only in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China. Depending on the taxonomist, it is one of at least five subspecies of Acer pectinatum. Other taxonomists do not agree that this is a subspecies of Acer pectinatum, and instead suggest that it is its own separate species, Acer laxiflorum.
What is the origin of these disagreements? In the case of these five entities, the origin is “evolution in action”. One difficulty with plant names is that they are subject to the notion that the names must somehow represent evolutionary relationships, and when they don't, the names must change. This system is a great aid to understanding plants because of its organizational structure. Unfortunately, the system can break down a little bit when attempting to impose it on biological reality.
Unlike a structured hierarchy of names, biological reality is fuzzy. Here's an analogy that pertains to the situation with Acer pectinatum. Imagine that a species is represented by a piece of soft gum. Pulling the gum apart into two separate pieces represents the formation of a new species from a parent species. But what would happen if it took tens or hundreds or thousands of thousands of years to pull apart that soft gum into the two separate pieces. At what point, as an observer, would you recognize that a new piece is being separated from the parent? At what point do you say that the thin stretch of gum between the two pieces is small enough to be insignificant, and that for all practical purposes, you have two pieces of gum? What happens if somewhere around midway between the gum being pulled apart, you were asked to decide whether you currently have two pieces of gum, or simply one piece of gum that is being pulled apart into two?
That's the challenge of Acer pectinatum and its subspecies. Some taxonomists say they see two pieces of gum, even if the break is not yet a clean one. Others say they see one piece of gum that is splitting, but it's still one piece of gum. There's a good reason why these very-closely-related-for-now-in-evolutionary-time taxa are called “species complexes”!
Nature resource link: Hummingbirds and Torpor (via Living the Scientific Life) shares a fascinating account of the energy conservation adaptations of these crucial pollinators.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:43 AM| Comments (6)
September 29, 2005
Colchicum speciosum 'Album'
Whenever you see the words alba or album as part of a plant name, you can expect to see something white, most often flower colour. This plant is no exception. The species Colchicum speciosum has a bright pink flower with a white throat. The cultivar 'Album', however, has lost the pink pigmentation. It is likely that the reason for the loss of pigmentation is a small mutation that prevents production of pigment, but that's speculation on my part (and I'm quite open to seeing any evidence on the matter).
In Botany Photo of the Day news, I've added an “email to friend” form at the bottom of each entry page, after a commenter requested it.
If you're a gardener, you might like to visit Horticultural, an organic gardening weblog by Jane Perrone of London, England. Jane's been visiting Vancouver recently, and I had the pleasure of giving her a bit of a tour of UBC Botanical Garden yesterday. We paid particular attention to the Food Garden, as Jane is keenly interested in allotment gardening (read more about that on her weblog). Jane also told the tale that whenever she brings Swiss chard 'Bright Lights' into the office to share, her coworkers don't believe the colours are real. It's certainly a conversation-starter!
Photography resource link: Darwin Wiggett's The Art of Communicating with Light (via Nature Photographers Online) delves into the importance of understanding light in photography.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:22 AM| Comments (4)
September 27, 2005
Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens 'Bright Lights'
'Bright Lights' swiss chard was chosen as an All-America Selection Winner in 1998 and is also the recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Grown as an “edible ornamental”, you can see why it is an attractive plant for food gardens. The colours are due to plant pigments called betalains. Betalains are found only in plants belonging to the order Caryophyllales (an order is a taxonomic unit that contains a number of related families), and curiously, the fungal genus Amanita, according to Stephen Nottingham's “Beetroot”.
Botany resource link: Chenopodium quinoa via Purdue University's Center for New Crops and Plant Products. In the same family as Swiss chard, quinoa deserves to be better known. With a cultivated history extending at least five millenia, quinoa was long a staple food in South America, second only in importance to maize. Displaced in recent modern times by less labour-intensive grain crops, such as wheat or barley, quinoa is experiencing a small resurgence due to its high nutritional value and oils.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:17 AM| Comments (12)
September 26, 2005
Musa velutina
Many thanks to Ken McCown of California, who shared this photograph via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Group Pool. Ken took this image at El Nispero Zoo and Plant Nursery, in El Valle, Panama. Despite the location of this photograph, this species of banana is native to Assam, in northeast India.
Commonly named “hairy banana” in the USDA Plants Database, nearly every other site I found discussing this plant used a common name involving “pink banana”. The specific epithet velutina means “velvety”, so I find myself in agreement with the common name used by the University of Connecticut EEB Conservatory: velvet pink banana.
Speaking of names, it is unclear whether Musa velutina will retain its current name, or whether evidence will be gathered to support that this plant was first published as Musa dasycarpa Kurz. If the latter occurs, the notion of “priority” in botanical nomenclature kicks in, and the name may change. Simply put, the first validly published name is the name that is to be used in scientific discourse, despite Musa velutina being the name in use for over a century.
For an extensive account of bananas, see Morton, J. 1987. Banana. p. 29–46. In: Fruits of warm climates. Miami, FL.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, images of Missouri Botanical Garden taken by Shelley Powers, aka Burningbird.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:10 AM| Comments (3)
September 25, 2005
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides has a number of common names: blue leadwood, dwarf plumbago, leadwort and plumbago, to name four. Whatever the vernacular name you choose to use, at this time of year this plant deserves much appreciation for its bronzy-red foliage and blue flowers (I should note that this photograph was taken in evening sunlight, hence the warm tones). For a horticultural perspective of the plant, see the Kemper Center for Home Gardening account.
On occasion, I like to make a photograph available as a desktop wallpaper, so here's the full-size version of the image for your use (warning: roughly 4 MB in size). Please remember that your use is subject to the Creative Commons License.
If you're a local, don't forget to peruse the Alpine Garden Club of BC's fall plant sale at VanDusen Garden this afternoon.
Botany resource link: Economic Botany Links, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Surrey, UK. A top-notch compilation of links to sites illustrating how humans use plants along with the attendant issues.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:33 AM| Comments (2)
September 23, 2005
Epilobium canum subsp. latifolium
Previously named scientifically as Zauschneria californica subsp. latifolia, this “hummingbird trumpet” and all of its relatives are now placed in the genus Epilobium, the willowherbs. As you can tell from the epithet of its old name, californica, this plant grows natively in California, as well as north to Oregon and east to New Mexico.
The brown-black fruits are capsules, which will split open to reveal a mass of silky-white hairs. The hairs are attached to diminutive seeds, and aid in wind dispersal.
Botany resource link: A few commenters have expressed a desire to learn more about botany. To get a broad overview of the discipline, a good place to start on the web is the Wikipedia entry on botany. In the physical world, I recommend checking used bookstores that sell technical books as an inexpensive way to find a botany textbook; it may not have the most up-to-date science, but (theoretically) it should be a more structured way to learn than what is generally delivered over the web (though Wayne Armstrong's botany courses stands out as one exception). Also, don't forget to check your public library!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:20 AM| Comments (3)
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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.