Flowering Plants (10)
June 25, 2006
Raphanus sativus hybrid
Many thanks to Cliff aka The Marmot@Flickr for today's photograph (original image | via Flickr BPotD Group Pool). As a reminder, don't forget to see Cliff's photographs of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Thanks again!
Radishes are thought to have been in cultivation for nearly five thousand years. Like much of the rest of the plant, the flowers of radish are edible. Although not as hot as the root, my experience is that the flowers do have a similar “bite”. As the Plants for a Future database mentions, the only part which isn't generally edible is the fruit capsule as it matures and becomes tough.
For more information on this root vegetable, see Wikipedia's entry on Raphanus sativus.
Photography resource link: Luminous Lint, whose purpose is “...to create the world‘s leading collaborative knowledge-base for the history of photography showing significant vintage and contemporary photography.”
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
June 24, 2006
Maxillaria speciosa
Thank you to Andreas from Bogotá, Colombia (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) for today's photograph (BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image). Much appreciated!
Roughly five hundred and seventy species can be found in the genus Maxillaria (list). These rainforest-inhabiting orchids are plants of the neotropics, being found only in Central and South America.
Maxillaria speciosa is an epiphyte native to Ecuador and Colombia. Its flowers are fragrant (like many others in the genus), but I don't know what sort of fragrance it has – perhaps Andreas will comment and share that information.
Botany resource link: Fungi, from the Australian National Botanic Gardens, provides a wealth of information about mushrooms, mycelia and more!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
June 23, 2006
Cornus kousa
This is the fourth dogwood to be featured on BPotD. By revisiting the other three, you can get some idea of the diversity of floral structure within the genus: Cornus chinensis, Cornus macrophylla and Cornus 'Eddie's White Wonder'. The white petal-like structures seen here are actually modified leaves called bracts. A plant in a closely related family, the Nyssaceae, also has subtending bracts: Davidia involucrata 'Sonoma'.
The fruits of kousa dogwood are edible (see the Plants for a Future entry on Cornus kousa), but I wouldn't eat them in quantity. Apparently, members of both the Cornaceae and Nyssaceae share the characteristic of being aluminum accumulators (source: description of “Cornaceae + Nyssaceae” on the Cornales page of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group site).
Photography resource link: Nature Revealed, the photography of Jeff Jessing. Browse through the galleries for inspiration.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
June 22, 2006
Dierama pulcherrimum
The South African “angel's fishing rod” or “fairy wand” is a plant I photograph every year. I've yet to take a photograph I'm entirely happy with, because a two-dimensional representation of this plant in an image pales in comparison to witnessing it in person. To my mind, Dierama pulcherrimum is about movement – it dances in the slightest breeze. The effect of a hundred plants doing so at one time in UBC's alpine garden is enchanting. I can only imagine that a grassland with thousands of plants is magical (see “Dierama pulcherrimum massed on Gaikas Kop east face.jpg” on this page).
Botany resource link: If I was living in Florida, I know where I'd be visiting on July 8/9 this year: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (and its annual mango festival). The Fairchild BG web site is content rich, with quite a few articles to read if you are interested in tropical plants. To add to my small weblog interview from a few days ago, I see Fairchild is taking the first few steps into weblogging.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:58 AM| Comments (11)
June 21, 2006
Xerophyllum tenax
The first of today's two photographs was taken yesterday morning of a plant in UBC's Alpine Garden. I wish I could claim credit for the second photograph, since that would mean I observed these plants en masse, but I can't. It's a public domain work from the US National Park Service, found via the Wikipedia entry for Xerophyllum tenax.
A native to dry, open coniferous forests at medium- to high-elevation mountains in some parts of western North America (distributon map | FNA treatment), Xerophyllum tenax is one of two species in the genus. An eastern North American counterpart, Xerophyllum asphodeloides, grows in similar habitats: pine barrens and dry mountain forests.
The leaves of bear-grass were (and are) used by indigenous peoples as material for weaving baskets and apparel (see the Plants for a Future entry on Xerophyllum tenax).
Photography resource link: Mastering the Histogram, an article by Chris Gamel for PhotoMigrations. “Mastering” is a fairly strong word to use – I'd prefer understanding, myself. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important things to comprehend about digital images. I look at the image's histogram immediately after taking each photograph to reduce disappointment when I later examine the images on my computer.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:14 AM| Comments (5)
June 20, 2006
Geranium 'Gerwat'
Thank you to Johnson Farms, Inc@Flickr for today's image of a hardy geranium. The original image can be seen here, and it was shared via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool.
The cultivar name of this hardy geranium is 'Gerwat', but it is sold under the trade designation Geranium Rozanne. Trade designations add yet another layer of complexity (and some might say confusion) to answering the question, “What is the name of that plant?” The Royal Horticultural Society has a tidy summary on trade designations and trade marks; it is worthwhile reading it to understand why a plant can have two or three different names on the same label (e.g., common name of Rozanne hardy geranium, cultivar name of Geranium 'Gerwat' and trade name of Geranium Rozanne).
For gardening information on this meritorious hardy geranium, visit the Kemper Center for Home Gardening's page on Geranium 'Gerwat' Rozanne or see this page from Blooms of Bressingham in New Zealand. Interested in geraniums? Visit the web site of The Geraniaceae Group
In UBC garden web site news, you might be interested to read this blog interview with me about Blogging at UBC Botanical Garden on The Little Garden.
Small tidbit from the resource link from two days ago regarding Lomo-style images: I forgot to mention I discovered it via Darren Barefoot's weblog.
Botany resource link: Desmids in the Netherlands is a site dedicated to the unicellular green alga in the Desmidiaceae and Mesotaeniaceae. Includes a Desmid of the Month – I'm a fan of Euastrum humerosum, myself. Little green beauties.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:30 AM| Comments (9)
June 19, 2006
Strelitzia reginae
Thanks to two people on Flickr for today's images: Van in NYC@Flickr for the first image and springgal@Flickr for the abstract second image. Original images can be seen here and here. Many thanks to both of you!
Bird of paradise or crane flower is a short shrub native to South Africa, though its flowers are commonly seen in fairly expensive cut flower arrangements around the world. At first glance, its flowers may confuse as to how they are structured, but it isn't too difficult to decipher. The orange-yellow parts are sepals, not petals. It does have petals, though, and they have two forms. One is the thumb-shaped nub at the base of the long dark-coloured structure in the centre of the flower – this is the “free petal”. The other petals are united into the structure that resembles a toothed bird's beak. If you were to peel these united petals back along the toothed groove, you'd find the pollen-producing anthers. The stigma, or pollen-receiving surface, extends outwards beyond the united petals.
Botany / photography resource link: Kurt Stüber's Index of Four Thousand Botanical Images, indexed by numerical order, plant name and family.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (0)
June 15, 2006
Sisyrinchium montanum
My recent trip to Manitoba didn't have much time available for photography, though I did manage to sneak in a few hours on one day before a thunderstorm and downpour ended that day's venture.
Blue-eyed grass, or, as the USDA PLANTS database suggests, strict blue-eyed grass, is native to much of central and northern North America. Of course, it is not a true grass, as evidenced by the flowers with tepals (grass flower morphology is a topic for another day!).
As I've previously mentioned on BPotD, the distribution maps in the Flora of North America are superior to the maps supplied by the USDA PLANTS site if you want to know more about the plant than merely presence or absence in a jurisdiction; see the Flora of North America account for the species and its distribution map in particular.
A gardening perspective on this plant is available from Nature North, while Wikipedia's account for the genus, Sisyrinchium reveals the meaning of its name and shows some of the diversity of flower colour and form within the genus.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, visit West Light Images, the photography of Utah's David C. Schultz.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:24 AM| Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
Lilium sp.
Today's photograph was taken in mid-June of 2005. Many thanks to Brent Hine, UBC's curator of the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden, for sharing it.
This is the second unidentified species of Lilium from a collection expedition to Sichuan to be featured on BPotD. The previous entry was on November 1, 2005. Ignoring the fact that there are paired flowers on today's plant, you can see a superficial resemblance between the flowers of the two different lilies in tepal colouration and markings. Both have white tepals peppered with black spots (what is a tepal and how is it different from a petal? In the broad sense, both the petals and sepals (see photograph in this link) of a flower are tepals, but tepal is typically used as a term when the petals and sepals can not be easily differentiated from one another, such as the three petals and three sepals in these lilies).
If you feel like wearing your plant taxonomist hat today, feel free to add a comment on how the two flowers differ (again ignoring the obvious paired flowers in today's plant, which I'm not certain as to whether it is a chance or common occurrence).
Botany / conservation resource link: Learn about Centres of Plant Diversity in The Americas. Each centre is described in detail including geography, flora and vegetation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
June 13, 2006
Zantedeschia aethiopica
Colour@Flickr has submitted today's photograph (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). I highly recommend you spend some time visiting Colour's Flickr stream of images – much to admire! Thanks, Colour!
In South Africa, it is reportedly possible to see fields of this species blooming en masse. That must be quite a sight.
The story of Zantedeschia aethiopica is aptly told by Alice Aubrey of Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden in this account; the story includes tidbits such as the origin of its name, its history in cultivation and its ethnobotany. Plant of the Week goes into details of its cultural requirements. I'd love to share the story of its floral biology, but I'm still on vacation and don't have my reference material handy. Perhaps when I return!
Photography resource link: Nancy Camel is a nature photographer from Louisiana. Plenty to admire in her portfolio of photographs (don't neglect to check out her bird photos – top-notch!).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
June 11, 2006
Tragopogon pratensis
Today's photograph is courtesy of marcella2@Flickr (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). If you click on the marcella2@Flickr link, you'll be greeted by over three dozen other images of plants. Thank you, marcella2!
The European meadow salsify (or showy goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon) can now be found as an introduced species throughout most of North America. I think (read on).
The USDA PLANTS database suggests that Tragopogon pratensis is not valid, and that the plant should actually be known as Tragopogon lamottei. What's curious is that some recent scientific papers mention both Tragopogon pratensis and Tragopogon lamottei as separate species in their experiments (see: Mavrodiev et. al. 2005. Phylogeny of Tragopogon L. (Asteraceae) Based on Internal and External Transcribed Spacer Sequence Data. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 166:117–133). Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to the primary scientific literature to resolve why there is some apparent confusion surrounding the name – it will have to wait until later in the week when I return from Manitoba.
Photography resource link: “How to Find the Best Light for a Specific Photograph”, an article from The Luminous Landscape by Alain Briot.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
June 10, 2006
Jacaranda mimosifolia
Thank you again to contemplar@Flickr for today's photograph (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Don't forget to visit her weblog, Blog de cheiros (in Portuguese). Many thanks, contemplar!
The first time I encountered jacaranda was in Syndey, Australia a few years ago, where it was being used as a street tree. It is actually a native of subtropical South America, but its beauty contributes to it being widely cultivated around the world. Unfortunately, in some areas (Queensland in Australia, South Africa), it does too well – it is considered an invasive plant in those regions.
The Wikipedia entry for Jacaranda mimosifolia is jammed with information on subjects such as nomenclature, distribution and plant care.
Science learning / botany resource link: “Growing Vocabularies for Plant Identification and Scientific Learning” from the June / July 2006 Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. The article highlights an effort to bridge the gap between the plant identification vocabularies used by students and those used by professional scientists. Thanks to karol on the UBC forums for pointing this out.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (15)
June 8, 2006
Geum triflorum
Commonly known as prairie smoke or old man's whiskers, you need a photograph of the plumose achenes to see why: visit the Burke Museum of Natural History's page for Geum triflorum for an extensive set of images of this species. Distributed across southern Canada, the northern USA and the southwestern USA, it has also been introduced into cultivation.
In BPotD news, you might like to revisit this BPotD entry on the Agave border in Lotusland. Mike Bush, Lotusland's Executive Director, has sent along some images of what the garden looks like in bloom.
Local readers might be interested in visiting the Pendulum Gallery before June 24 to see Alex Waterhouse-Hayward's latest exhibition, “Secret Gardens: Vancouver's Hidden Rooftops” (PDF). If you're not local, anyone can enjoy Alex's weblog, one of the best photography weblogs around.
Nature / photography resource link: The Micropolitan Museum is proudly presented by “the Institute for the Promotion of the Less than One Millimeter”. Photomicrographs at their finest, the virtual museum includes a Botanical Garden!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:00 AM| Comments (0)
June 6, 2006
Lonicera crassifolia
From time to time, I get to share a photograph of a plant that isn't already on the web – a Botany Photo of the Day Exclusive, I suppose. Today's images is one of those, though the plant is starting to become commercially available in North America (a search for its name turns up only a few North American nursery catalogues and some botanical work on the species in China).
This little-known honeysuckle, Lonicera crassifolia, forms a prostrate mat of evergreen foliage. The epithet crassifolia translates to “thick-leaved”, a suitable descriptor for this species.
The second photograph was snapped a few weeks ago, when the flower buds were beginning to develop. The first photograph, taken last Friday, shows some of the first flowers to blossom this year, but also hints at the profusion of flowers to come. Today, I observed plants with a mass of yellowish flowers tinted by hints of orange and pink, all offset against the dark-green foliage. Quite pleasing to the eye. If I have an opportunity to photograph it this week, I'll post an image as a follow-up comment.
Science / art resource link: Sci-Philately, “A Selective History of Science on Stamps”. My favourite is the set of six stamps from the British Antarctic Territory in the Geology and Mapping collection.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (10)
June 5, 2006
Kniphofia northiae
Another species of red-hot poker, Kniphofia nelsonii, was featured on BPotD last year. Kniphofia northiae is a brute in comparison; the inflorescences are roughly twice as large, and the leaves more closely resemble those of Agave instead of the grass-like foliage of Kniphofia nelsonii (image search). It is with good reason that the common name for this plant is giant poker or giant red-hot poker (though I've seen one reference call it octopus red-hot poker).
Kniphofia northiae is found in South Africa, the centre of diversity for the genus. However, the genus is more broadly distributed throughout continental Africa. Species can also be found in Madagascar and Yemen.
Photography resource link: Transient Light, the photography of Ian Cameron of Scotland. The gallery section is the highlight, but also visit the new images section for a few more photographs.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
June 4, 2006
Wisteria floribunda 'Rosea'
Thank you to Weekend Gardener of Coquitlam, British Columbia for today's image (submitted via the BPotD Submissions Forum on the UBC boards) | original thread / image). Much appreciated!
Beautiful to see the plants, delightful to smell the flowers, but don't eat the seeds of Japanese wisteria or any of its relatives; they're poisonous. Wikipedia has an excellent article on Wisteria, including mention of the origin of the generic name; it is named after Dr. Caspar Wistar by the eminent botanist, Thomas Nuttall.
Botany / conservation resource link: Background information on the potential Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve in the southern interior of British Columbia via Botanical Electronic News. I might be writing more about this possible park in the near future.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
June 3, 2006
Trillium undulatum
Special thanks to lyda_pearl of Berlin, New Hampshire who submitted this image via the BPotD Submissions Forum on the garden's online discussion boards. The original thread and image is here. Many thanks – it's great to receive some images from eastern North America!
Native to eastern North America, painted trillium is found in forests with moist, nutrient-rich, acidic soils. Its epithet, undulatum, means “wavy”; the photograph aptly illustrates that the petal margins are the reason for that name.
A phenomenon mentioned in the entry on Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) also applies to trilliums – many, if not all, trilliums (including Trillium undulatum) have their seeds dispersed by ants. In other words, they are myrmecochores.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photography of Paul Butzi. Paul has also written a number of articles worth investigating.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
June 1, 2006
Eucalyptus coccifera
Considering how much I like taking photographs of this hallmark tree in the Alpine Garden, it's a wonder it hasn't been featured on BPotD previously. Known commonly as either Tasmanian snowgum or Mt. Wellington peppermint, this is one of over seven hundred species of Eucalyptus found in or near Australia.
The striking white part of the flower is not the corolla (i.e., not the flower petals). Instead, as is typical of Eucalyptus species, this is a ring of showy stamens. Where are the petals? In Eucalyptus, the petals are modified into a woody cap that protects the flower bud. This cap, called an operculum, is shed as the bud matures and the staminal ring erupts.
Lastly, here's the small announcement: 40 Small Thank-yous, a proclamation of my intent to make 40 small improvements to the UBC BG site over the next two months as a thank you to you for visiting and helping support the site.
Photography resource link: “Beauty, Cliche, and Other Empiric Tidbits”, an article by Mark Hobson for Nature Photographers Online. “Do beautiful (nature) photos require beautiful subjects?”
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:17 AM| Comments (13)
May 30, 2006
Silybum marianum
Thank you to -Merce-@Flickr for today's photographs (original image 1 and original image 2 via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you -Merce-!
Michael Charters from Calflora.net explains that the pronunciation of the generic name for this plant has an emphasis on the first syllable, so it is said “SIL-i-bum”. However, that doesn't prevent certain coworkers of mine from repeating the humorous version of the name when they encounter the plant or images of such (I expect today's “word of the day” at work will be “sillybum”).
Humour aside for the moment, blessed milkthistle is a plant native to the Mediterranean area. Where agriculture has gone, though, it has followed, and it is now found in mild temperate areas around the globe. If you can't take the time to read this report on Silybum marianum from the Global Invasive Species Initiative, I'll share two facts that leapt out at me.
One is that seed production of this plant in infested areas can reach and exceed 500kg/ha (or 446 lbs/acre) – a massive amount, and an indication of why this plant can become a problem.
I'll quote the second fact from the site: “...One reason control methods have been sought after is due to the toxic potential of the thistle. Silybum marianum has caused some of the worst cases of stock poisoning in northwest Tasmania. The poisonous principle is nitrate (Macadam 1966). Cattle and sheep eat the plant material which contains potassium nitrate and break it down by means of ruminal bacteria into the poisonous form (Knott 1971). ‘The nitrite ion...combines with haemoglobin to form methaeglobin ...[which is] incapable of combining with oxygen. If large amounts of methaeglobin are present in the blood stream, affected animals will begin to show respiratory distress for lack of oxygen.’ (Knott 1971) Poisoning threats are increased when the plants are wilting after being cut or partly turned under during plowing and in wet weather (or) when soil moisture is high. In dry conditions they are not considered dangerous (Parsons 1973).” (references to further reading on the bottom of the essay on Silybum marianum).
Photography resource link: When Pretty Isn't Enough, the latest essay from Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape, reminds that photographs are a synthesis of the observer and the observed.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:30 AM| Comments (12)
May 29, 2006
Dendromecon rigida
The ever-changing nature of gardens is most strongly evident in the Alpine Garden at UBC; what one sees as particularly showy in one year may not be repeated in the next. I don't recall this Californian tree poppy catching my attention previously, but I was quite enamoured of it when encountering it on Friday.
Native to the Sierra Nevada and coastal ranges of California and Baja California, Dendromecon rigida is a woody shrub that typically grows in post-burn chapparal. Germination of its seeds requires a smoke treatment, but unlike many of the annuals that also establish on sites after a fire, tree poppy also requires its seeds to have been stored in the soil for an extended period (see: Keeley, JE and CJ Fotheringham. 1998. Smoke-induced seed germination in California chapparal. Ecology. 79(7): 2320-2336).
Three more days until a small announcement!
Botany / conservation resource link: Discover the efforts of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in understanding and conserving the Flora of Madagascar. One of the world's biodiversity hotspots, the flora (and fauna) of Madagascar is under heavy threat of extinction from deforestation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:22 AM| Comments (0)
May 28, 2006
Maianthemum purpureum
Yet another plant featured recently that lacks an English common name, Maianthemum purpureum is native to the Himalayas (see Flora of China account). The genus is widespread throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but also has some subtropical montane representatives in both southeast Asia and Central America (from the description of the genus in this paper).
Photography resource link: The Gorgeous Inside Stories of Metal by Ivan Amato displays the art of metallography while interpreting the geometric shapes through small stories.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:13 AM| Comments (1)
May 27, 2006
Armeria pseudarmeria
Many thanks to contemplar@Flickr for today's photograph (original image). Along with visiting contemplar's Flickr photographs of Portuguese plants, be sure to also stop by her weblog, Blog de cheiros. Written in Portuguese but including the Latin names of plants, her blog amply illustrates why scientific names are preferable to common names in communicating about plants across languages. Thank you, contemplar!
This plant was photographed on the westernmost point of continental Europe at Cabo de Roca, Portugal. Paghat has written an article about the Formosa series of cultivated pinkball thrift which also includes a good deal of information about the wild species. I recommend trekking over there to learn more. There are also a few closeup photographs of this plant in cultivation on the Wikimedia Commons (about): Armeria pseudarmeria.
In other news, five days until I make a small announcement...
Entomology resource link: If anyone ever wanted my opinion on “The Best Sites on the Web”, I'd suggest BugGuide. The home page of the site gives an excellent introduction to what the site is about, so I encourage you to dive right in.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:52 AM| Comments (1)
May 26, 2006
Persicaria bistorta 'Superba'
Only a short entry today – late-night database upgrades and inventory week mean little time for anything else.
While in the garden yesterday photographing plants for the inventory, I overheard a visitor point to this plant (in a different bed without the yellow irises behind it) and say, “Now this I don't care for.” Fair enough, I didn't admire it when I first started at the garden six years ago either. It's interesting, though, to see what familiarity breeds, and in this instance it is the opposite of contempt. 'Superba' bistort has been a reliable, durable plant that requires little maintenance and flowers for a long time – qualities that one can't “see” with a first impression.
You can read a bit more about Persicaria bistorta 'Superba' on the BBC Gardening web site.
Gardening / conservation resource link: The Canadian Museum of Nature's Native Plant Crossroads contains information on gardening with native plants and how it can help plant conservation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:56 AM| Comments (4)
May 25, 2006
Holboellia angustifolia subsp. angustifolia
For this week's garden inventory, we're trying to verify the information and labels for plants by taxonomic groupings instead of by planted beds. Our priorities for this inventory round are plants in the Styracaceae family (e.g., Melliodendron xylocarpum), Poaceae (e.g., Harpochloa falx, Berberidaceae (minus Epimedium, e.g., Mahonia ×media 'Charity'), Ericaceae (minus Rhododendron, e.g., Enkianthus campanulatus), conifers (e.g., Pinus thunbergii) and the family Lardizabalaceae, such as the plant in today's image, Holboellia angustifolia.
A monoecious plant, both female and male flowers are present on the same individual plant (Vanderbilt University has a small resource that explains sexual systems in flowering plants). Shown in today's photograph are the fragrant female flowers. Plants for a Future describes the plant as having a “startling blue-metallic colour”, but I've yet to see a fruit (or taste its edible pulp!).
Photography resource link: for inspiration, an iris study and tour by frequent BPotD contributor, bbum@flickr (Bill). Bill put together this set of photographs from a recent walk in his San Jose, California neighbourhood. I've a personal attachment to irises so his set of photos resonated for me on more than an aesthetic level.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:10 AM| Comments (3)
May 24, 2006
Echinopsis oxygona
A kind thank you to sagellyn@Flickr for providing today's photograph (via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image). The photograph was taken at a Vancouver nursery, Southlands. Thank you, sagellyn – always happy to feature something South American in origin.
Native to south central South America (Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina), Echinopsis oxygona is a member of a genus of cacti collectively known by the common names of Easter lily cacti or sea-urchin cacti. I prefer the latter name myself, especially after viewing the third photograph in this series on Echinopsis oxygona.
I often write about plant names, it being a particular interest of mine. There are few groups of plants more confusing to those who would attempt to name and classify them than the cacti. Exhibit A: a listing of accepted names and synonyms in the genus Echinopsis – roughly one hundred and thirty species are recognized, but the page contains over five hundred and thirty names, more than four published names (on average) for each species!
Botany / horticulture resource link: Take the time to learn about the diversity of form and colour in both species and cultivated maples through these two extraordinary photo galleries: the maple photo gallery and the Acer palmatum cultivars photo gallery. The garden hosts these on its discussion forums, but the resource was built by people from around the world (and a big thank you to all of you!).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:00 AM| Comments (5)
May 23, 2006
Erysimum 'Emm's Variety'
If you visit UBC Botanical Garden and examine the plant labels while enjoying the garden, you'll eventually notice that we use two different colours of plant labels – black and red. Black labels are used when we're reasonably certain about all of the information on the label, including the name, identity of the plant, distribution of the taxon, and accession number (read: unique identifier – it's the number you often see in the keywords with UBC Garden-based BPotD entries). Sometimes, however, there is uncertainty, and the plant receives a red label. This occurs most often for three reasons:
- we haven't been able to verify the name of the plant and therefore can't confirm its identity. This often occurs with obscure cultivars or plants from regions of the world that are poorly documented
- the name of the plant is verifiable, but we don't trust that the name accompanying the plant is correct (a misidentiication)
- we aren't able to fully identify the plant. This generally occurs with wild collected material that has been identified only to genus level. It may take years before the plants display characteristics that will allow the plant to be fully identified (e.g., it may not flower for a decade).
Erysimum 'Emm's Variety' is an example of the first reason. While cultivated plants require little in the way of process before assigning a name (compared to the peer-reviewed publication model of scientific names), a minimal bit of documentation would be publication in a nursery's catalogue or plant exchange list. Given the number of nurseries, it is an impossible task to track down every cultivar to its origin, so we often rely on a combination of the various cultivar registration authorities and search engines to help discover if a cultivar name is in use. Well, if you try to search for Erysimum 'Emm's Variety', I guarantee you'll come up as short as we have. The only documentation we've been able to locate is in the Royal Horticultural Society's Database, where it is listed as “tentatively accepted”. It therefore gets a red label until we can find a way to track down more information.
Photography resource link: Fodor's has a section on its web site dedicated to travel photography, “Focus on Photography – How to Take Travel Pictures Like a Pro”. It reads like the article was written before the advent of digital cameras (!), as I couldn't find a single mention of the word “digital”, but it still has plenty of timeless suggestions and tips.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
May 22, 2006
Helianthemum 'Henfield Brilliant'
A literal translation of Helianthemum yields sun-flower (Helios = sun and Anthemon = flower), but I've never heard sunflower refer to anything but the genus Helianthus. Instead of sunflower, this plant is commonly known as sunrose or simply helianthemum. It is in the same family as Cistus ladanifer from a few days ago.
Stewart Hinsley has a page on Helianthemum cultivars that displays the diversity of colour in garden plants, while Ketzel Levine from NPR and Paghat talk about the plant in the garden.
Botany / evolution resource link: I've had a few people recommend this news story to me: Colorado University Study Shows Novel Structure In South Pacific Plant May Be 'Missing Link' In Evolution Of Flowering Plants explains that research into Amborella (long considered a “living fossil” angiosperm or flowering plant) continues to reveal hints about the early evolution and development of the angiosperms.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:22 AM| Comments (3)
May 21, 2006
Mentzelia lindleyi
Thanks to Dale Hameister (Dale Hameister@Flickr) from Monterey, California for today's image. See the original image here (submitted via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated, Dale!
Lindley's blazingstar is native to California and possibly Arizona – the distribution in the USDA PLANTS database for Mentzelia lindleyi includes Arizona, while Jepson's Manual for California Mentzelia account suggests not. I've not been able to find any other reputable sources or references agreeing with the USDA PLANTS database, so this is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it has naturalized in a few locations of Arizona after escaping from gardens? Its family, the Loasaceae, also has a mysterious distribution. The family is broadly distributed throughout the Americas, but also occurs in South Africa, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia!
Who was Lindley? The epithet, lindleyi, commemorates John Lindley, first Professor of Botany at the University of London.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photography of David Bostock. David's Artist Statement: “Nature sometimes presents her beauty to us in profound and dramatic ways. More often, we must search the apparent disorder to discover her splendor. I find myself drawn to intimate imagery where nature's beauty presents itself through contemplation of the details. I believe my photographs are most successful when they reveal nature's subtle elegance.”
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
May 19, 2006
Paeonia delavayi and Iris sibirica 'Tropic Night'
Only a short entry today – at the garden, we're in the process of preparing for next week's annual inventory of the collections, so time is short.
Père Delavay's tree peony was previously featured on BPotD, but here it is joined with the Siberian iris cultivar, 'Tropic Night'. I find the colours in the image harmonious, so it seems an opportune time to link to colour characteristics and colour harmony (via Pantone), “The Theory of Colour in Science and Art”, and the Virtual Colour Museum.
Photography resource link: Tips galore for new to semi-experienced photographers at Digital Photography School. The tips are currently categorized under “Composition”, “Travel” and “General”, but I suspect more categories will emerge as the site grows.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
May 18, 2006
Cistus ladanifer
Another round of thanks to Eric in San Francisco (Eric in SF@Flickr) for today's image. Please see the original, uncropped image here: Cistus ladanifer (I had to crop it for BPotD format). Of course, it's been submitted via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool. Thanks again, Eric!
Crimson-spot rockrose is a Mediterranean species, native to southwest Europe and north Africa. The Mediterranean Garden Society has an excellent account for Cistus ladanifer, so I do recommend you visit the site – it includes details on how the gum or resin from this species, labdanum, has been used in the perfume industry since ancient times. Wikipedia's entry for labdanum states, “In ancient times, the resin was scraped from the fur of goats and sheep that had grazed on the cistus shrubs. It was collected by the shepherds and sold to coastal traders. The false beards worn by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt were actually the labdanum soaked hair of these goats.” The Wikipedia entry also continues with details about the modern methods of extracting and processing labdanum.
Horticulture / botany resource link: the Hebe Society “promotes the cultivation and conservation of hebes and other New Zealand native plants”. The Plants pages in particular are worth a visit, with over 350 plant descriptions and accompanying photographs.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:59 AM| Comments (6)
May 16, 2006
Anemone patens var. multifida
A big thanks to silvercreek_garden@Flickr for today's image (original image | submitted via the Flickr BPotD Group Pool). This photograph is a great companion to a previous flower image of Anemone patens var. multifida on BPotD.
Each of the long “hairs” is part of an individual seed; in botanical terms, each one is a long-villose, plumose beak of an achene (ref: FNA account for Anemone patens var. multifida). Translating that into descriptive terms, you'd come up with “a simple dry fruit with a single seed (achene) with an appendage (beak) that is feathery (plumose) and covered in long, soft hairs (long-villose)”.
As you might imagine, the seeds are typically dispersed by the wind. I've also read that the seeds can attach themselves to animal fur and be dispersed that way.
Botany / horticulture resource link: Plants and Japan by Masashi Yamaguchi is jam-packed with interesting writing and photographs. In my opinion, the highlight of the site is the section on “Plants and the Japanese”; this area provides insight into the cultural and economic importance of plants to the Japanese. If you're exploring the site, don't stop there, though – much to see and admire! This site was suggested by Brent Hine. Thanks Brent!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:03 AM| Comments (1)
May 15, 2006
Magnolia ashei
Quentin Cronk, director of UBC Botanical Garden, contributed today's photograph, recently taken in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, aka the Duke University Botanic Garden (in North Carolina).
Quentin supplied this text from the Flora of North America account for Ashe's magnolia:
“Magnolia ashei, the rarest species of Magnolia in the flora, is limited to six counties in the Florida panhandle; it is in danger of extirpation because of habitat disturbance. Magnolia ashei differs from M. macrophylla in being a smaller, often multitrunked tree with smaller leaves, fewer stamens and pistils, smaller seeds, smaller stipules, filiform trichomes, and smaller, nearly glabrous, cylindric follicetums. The flowers are often borne in pairs. Magnolia ashei flowers at an early age (three to four years from seed); it is a desirable small tree in cultivation.”
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photography of Danny Burk. If you only have the time to browse through one gallery of his photographs, see Danny's favorites.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:45 AM| Comments (2)
May 14, 2006
Brunnera macrophylla
A representative from one of my favourite families of plants, the Boraginaceae (or borage family), concludes the Perennial Plant Sale series. Plants in the borage family can be found on nearly every land mass on Earth, with the exception of some parts of Arctic Canada, most of Greenland, the Saharan Desert, Antarctica and New Zealand's North Island (and I'm sure some smaller islands). This particular species, Siberian bugloss, has a native distribution ranging from western Siberia to the Caucasus Mountains.
Plantings of Siberian bugloss on a border edge can attract the eye from distances of 25m or more. Closer to the planting, however, I've noticed some deception – my eyes see the plants as being a dense mass of blue, yet the photographs I've taken so far all mirror today's BPotD image – more foliage and fewer flowers than in my mind's eye.
The Kemper Center from Missouri Botanical Garden provides gardening information for Brunnera macrophylla.
Photography resource link: Being an Artist in Business (Part 1) by Alain Briot, part of the Aesthetics and Photography essay series on The Luminous Landscape.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
May 13, 2006
Lobelia tupa
This Chilean native is the fourth entry in this week's Perennial Plant Sale series (plant lists). The whole plant is reportedly poisonous, yet also smoked as a narcotic. This likely lends credence to its common name, devil's tobacco.
The Royal Horticultural Society has a small article about the genus Lobelia, with a particular emphasis on Lobelia tupa in cultivation.
I'm not particularly happy about the strong background lighting with these photographs. I have my eye on the plants growing in the South American section of the Alpine Garden so that I can attempt another image when they are in flower (late summer locally).
Horticulture / history resource link: From the University of Arizona's Arid Lands newsletter, Paradise on Earth: Historical Gardens of the Arid Middle East, an article by Safei El-Deen Hamed.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
May 12, 2006
Quercus garryana
Not all of the plants at the Perennial Plant Sale are herbaceous perennials. One of the trees available is this oak. In Canada, it is commonly known as Garry oak; in the United States, Oregon white oak is preferred used by the USDA PLANTS database, but it seems Garry oak is used far more often (see comments).
Garry oak meadow and woodland ecosystems are among the most endangered in Canada. Quercus garryana is only found in a few locations, primarily southern Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. Read “Why are Garry oak ecosystems at risk?”, to learn more.
In order to help educate about the Garry oak ecosystem and its constituent organisms, UBC Botanical Garden has identified an area which will one day be developed into a reconstructed Garry oak woodland and meadow. The first elements of the area already exist with seven twenty-year old Garry oaks in the ground (including the one in today's photograph).
Photography resource link: Today's images to inspire come from the camera of Icelandic photographer Daniel Bergmann (galleries).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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.