Flowering Plants (08)
March 25, 2006
Staphylea holocarpa var. rosea
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. – Daniel
Pink Chinese bladdernut is poorly known in cultivation – in fact, one of the few places in the world you can see it outside of China is at UBC Botanical Garden. I don't yet have an image of its fruit (the reason for its common name), but the Kemper Center for Home Gardening has a number of images of the fruit of an eastern North America relative, Staphylea trifolia – have a look to see why these plants are called the bladdernuts.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
March 24, 2006
Magnolia campbellii subsp. mollicomata 'Borde Hill'
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. Yesterday's long entry was due to my giving a presentation about BPotD at the Museums and the Web conference in Albuquerque. – Daniel
At UBC Botanical Garden, this magnolia cultivar has the deepest colour of all of the large-flowered magnolias. An impressive specimen, it is named for the gardens of Borde Hill in the United Kingdom.
As a photographic aside, it also shows the difficulties of photographing complete trees in the forested Asian garden without a wide angle lens. Fortunately, I now have one, so expect improved photographs using this tool after I return to work in a few week's time.
Botany resource link: Dias com árvores – mostly in Portuguese, but that shouldn't prevent you from exploring this wonderful weblog about plants. Daily postings with an emphasis on trees, nearly always accompanied by photographs.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
March 23, 2006
Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii
Douglas's widow-grass is distributed from southern British Columbia to northern California. The species Olsynium douglasii (there are two varieties, var. douglasii and var. inflatum) is the only representative of the genus Olsynium in North America. Eleven other species are distributed in South America.
The common name widow-grass or “grass widow” was apparently coined by the botanist Rafinesque (previously highlighted in a botany resource link from this entry). The Flora of North America account for Olsynium cites Rafinesque's explanation for the common name: “[meaning] hardly united, alluding to the stamens”.
For more photographs, see the entry for Olsynium douglasii on the web site of The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
Photography resource link: Environmental Photography: Blending Art & Activism by Randy Beacham for Nature Photographers Online. The article features ten “tips” on environmental photography.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
March 22, 2006
Acer macrophyllum
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. – Daniel
Eric La Fountaine wrote today's entry (and he scanned the seed). – Daniel.
The dry winged seeds of Acer macrophyllum, or bigleaf maple, are referred to as samaras or keys. The one in this image was collected in 1946 and is now part of the John Davidson Seed collection at the UBC Botanical Garden.
The tree is native from Alaska to southern California and can reach a height of 30 metres. Macrophyllum means “big leaf” – the maple is therefore appropriately named, as it is the species with the largest leaves. The leaves can measure up to 20 cm across.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
March 21, 2006
Prunus incisa
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. – Daniel
Fuji cherry is a slow-growing shrub in the rose family cultivated for its ornamental value. For a horticultural perspective, see Prunus incisa on the web site of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
March 20, 2006
Ananas comosus
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. – Daniel
A big thank you to Ken McCown of California (aka ken mccown@flickr) for today's image (original) submitted via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool.
With hundreds of cultivars, it is impossible to identify which variety of pineapple this might be. Pineapples themselves can make identification difficult in other realms: “Workers who cut up pineapples have their fingerprints almost completely obliterated by pressure and the keratolytic effect of bromelain (calcium oxalate crystals and citric acid were excluded as the cause).” via Purdue University's Center for New Crops and Plants Products entry on Ananas comosus. To see a photograph of a pineapple in flower, visit Cal's Plant of the Week page on Ananas comosus from the University of Oklahoma.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
March 19, 2006
Illicium anisatum
I'm on vacation, so only a short written accompaniment today. – Daniel
It is not always safe to presume that members of the same genus have similar chemical compositions. Illicium verum of China, commonly known as star anise, is used as a spice in cooking and liquor (and the shikimic acid extracted from it is used in the production of Tamiflu). The Japanese star anise, Illicium anisatum, is however severely toxic – its chemicals can cause severe inflammation of the kidneys, urinary tract and digestive organs, as well as affecting the nervous system. To read more, see Wikipedia's entries on Illicium anisatum and Illicium verum.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
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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.