Flowering Plants (11)
August 5, 2006
Guzmania sanguinea
Updated November 6, 2007 at 3:00pm local time: Thanks to the comment from Harry Luther below, I've updated this entry to the proper name. This entry was originally posted as Neoregelia 'Maya'. – Daniel
Kind thanks to Van in NYC@Flickr for sharing today's image (original image), photographed at the Montréal Botanic Garden.
It's a holiday long weekend here in British Columbia, so only a selection of links about this pineapple relative today! The genus Guzmania via Wikipedia gives a brief overview of this group of tropical plants. For more photographs, the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies has a photo database. Lastly, the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden has an excellent page showing some of the diversity within the Bromeliaceae.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:21 AM| Comments (4)
August 4, 2006
Syngonanthus nitens
The textile in this scan is courtesy of the garden's new education coordinator, Nadine Diner, who purchased the item during a recent trip to the Jalapão region of Brazil. The object is woven from the scapes of capim dourado – golden grass (Syngonanthus nitens) – and bound with fibres of buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa).
Despite its common name, it isn't a true grass – it belongs to the family Eriocaulaceae, not the grass-encompassing Poaceae.
Instead of rewriting what already exists online, I'll direct you to the best resources: a short summary of capim dourado with photographs; some of the textile products made with capim dourado; two galleries of photographs from the Jalapão region (gallery 1 accompanied by a written blurb and gallery 2); “O brilho do Capim Dourado” (in Portuguese, accompanied by photographs) and the dissertation of Isabel Schmidt (PDF), who studied the optimal time to harvest Syngonanthus nitens (again, mostly in Portuguese).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (0)
August 3, 2006
Origanum 'Barbara Tingey'
I hope it's okay to feature an ornamental herb from the same plant family two days in a row! Yesterday's sage is joined by this ornamental oregano, 'Barbara Tingey'. Today's photograph was taken in the UBC Alpine Garden two years ago.
Some of the alpine plant enthusiasts who read BPotD will doubtless know the origin of the cultivar's name. I noted that one of the alpine garden society's has an award named for Barbara Tingey, so I am supposing that's the connection.
A few good places to visit online to learn more about ornamental oreganos: Pacific Northwest Magazine has an article, “Beauty With Virtue”; Denver Botanic Gardens is currently featuring 'Barbara Tingey' oregano on its What's Blooming web page (this link won't last forever!); and sagellyn@Flickr, who often submits images to BPotD, has a photograph of Origanum 'Barbara Tingey' to share as well.
Photography resource link: A few months ago, I suggested visiting the photography web site of Mike Mander, Sublime Photography. It's worth visiting Mike's site again. In the time since it was last featured on here, Mike had a digital camera converted to take infrared photographs only. These new shots are absolutely otherworldly, including these photographs from UBC and UBC Botanical Garden. I should note that I met Mike on Tuesday and had the pleasure of seeing some of these photographs in print.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:07 AM| Comments (4)
August 2, 2006
Salvia patens 'Blue Angel'
The genus name Salvia is derived from the Latin salvere, meaning “to be saved” i.e., to heal. Unsurprisingly, some species of sage were historically used as healing herbs. Salvia patens, however, does not seem to have a history as one of the healing species. It is instead an ornamental sage, cultivated since 1838 in Western gardens.
Wayne Armstrong has a page on the genus Salvia that is well-worth reading if you've the time.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:10 AM| Comments (1)
August 1, 2006
Danaus plexippus and Asclepias tuberosa
Today's image is courtesy of Janet Davis, garden writer extraordinaire and author of the Beautiful Botany web site (previously featured as a resource link). Janet used this image of butterfly milkweed and a monarch butterfly to illustrate her article on butterfly plants. Please keep in mind that the usual copyright terms apply to this image since it is from someone not employed by UBC Botanical Garden. Thank you, Janet!
As mentioned in a previous entry, milkweeds are the exclusive food of monarch butterfly caterpillars. Toxins in the milkweed sap accumulate in the tissue of the caterpillar, rendering it (and the subsequent adult) poisonous and inedible to birds.
Asclepias tuberosa has two features that distinguish it from other milkweeds: 1) its sap is not milky, and 2) its leaves are alternately arranged, instead of opposite. The Shenandoah National Park in the US has an excellent factsheet on Asclepias tuberosa for more information.
On a final note, monarchs have been in the news and editorials recently regarding an international agreement to conserve monarch habitat. “Is the mighty monarch butterfly on its last wings?” is an editorial questioning the utility of the agreement in the face of other dangers to the monarch.
Photography resource link: The Making of a Fine Art Photograph, an article by Pete Myers for The Luminous Landscape web site. It examines the process and time spent in “digitally developing” an image for fine art after pressing the shutter.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 31, 2006
Mimulus guttatus
Common monkeyflower or seep monkeyflower (implying it grows where water seeps) is a native of western North America – if you accept a narrow definition of the species, i.e., sensu stricto. You would also then accept the existence of twenty or thirty closely related taxa. If, however, you view the species sensu lato (in the broad sense) like the USDA PLANTS database, the distribution changes to include northeastern North America and the 20-30 closely related taxa “disappear” by being lumped into the now monolithic Mimulus guttatus species complex.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 30, 2006
Lobelia excelsa
Written by Daniel: Eric in San Francisco (Eric in SF@Flickr) shared today's image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image). Eric is very fortunate in being able to frequently visit the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum where he takes these great photos. Thanks yet again, Eric.
Written by Douglas Justice: Lobelias nearly always provoke interesting conversations amongst botanists and horticulturists. Many of the larger lobelia flowers (such as in Lobelia excelsa) are red, tubular, and bird-pollinated. In all lobelias, the flowers are upside down (i.e., twisted through 180 degrees as they develop), although this is hardly apparent to the casual observer. Lobelias are protandrous (compare protogynous), which helps prevent self pollination. The anthers form a tube through which the piston-like style picks up pollen. The protruding style is not receptive at the time the pollen is ripe and thusly presented to pollinators at the tip of the closed styles (as seen in Eric's excellent photo). Eventually (presumably after the self pollen is removed or no longer viable), the style branches split open and expose their pollen-receptive surfaces.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 29, 2006
Meconopsis betonicifolia
Can one ever see enough of the Himalayan blue poppy? Thank you to “Weekend Gardener” on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums who offered today's photograph via the BPotD Submissions Forum. You can enjoy the other photographs in Weekend Gardener's series in this thread.
I'm out of town this weekend, so please check out last year's entries on Meconopsis betonicifolia for a bit of reading: May 28, 2005 and June 6, 2005
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
July 28, 2006
Monotropa uniflora
A big thank you to Lotus J. aka ngawangchodron@Flickr for today's image shared via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool (original image). Much appreciated!
I've previously featured Monotropa uniflora on BPotD. This photograph is a good complement to the previous one, since it shows a more typical habitat – the plant pushing through the duff of a coniferous forest floor. Lotus also asked in the Flickr posting why the plants have a pinkish tone. Reading through some of the local field guides, I noted that this isn't unusual; the colour of the plants is described as ranging from waxy-white to pinkish. However, I don't have an answer to the question of variation. I can think of four possible reasons: soil pH, the fungal species it is associated with, genetic variability or the soil's nutrient composition. It could be any or none of what I think it might be. Please feel free to suggest other ideas or, ideally, cite a scientific paper that has examined the question.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 27, 2006
Amelanchier alnifolia
Saskatoon, serviceberry or Juneberry: by no means my favourite fruit, but worth the time to sample when photographing. Since it's edible, much has already been written about it online, so I'll simply suggest some sites today. Amelanchier alnifolia from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon describes the plant and its ethnobotany. It also notes that a diet of over 35% saskatoon can be fatal to mule deer because of the levels of the cyanogenic glycoside, prunasin, in the plant. Livestock can be similarly affected, though it mentions that poisoning is rare. Interested in other images? The Burke Museum's page on Amelanchier alnifolia has an excellent set.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:15 AM| Comments (8)
July 26, 2006
Pinguicula vulgaris subsp. macroceras
The botanical highlight of a weekend trip to the Hurricane Ridge area of Olympic National Park was seeing these plants in the wild for the first time. The second carnivorous plant to be featured on Botany Photo of the Day (if memory serves me correctly), California butterwort or horned butterwort is amphiberingian in its distribution, i.e., it is found on both sides of the Bering Sea. Specifically, the taxon is native to Japan in Asia and northern California to Alaska in North America.
Carnivory is a relatively rare phenomenon in flowering plants, occurring in roughly 0.2% of all taxa. In the case of butterworts, the trap used to capture insects is a “flypaper trap” – a sticky, mucilaginous leaf surface. Imagine trying to walk through glue and you'll have an idea of what the insects encounter. The little black spots on the leaves clearly seen in the first photograph (and artistically out of focus on the second) are insects in various states of being digested. Like most carnivorous plants, Pinguicula vulgaris subsp. macroceras grows in an environment where it is either nutrient-poor or difficult to uptake nutrients, so the evolution of carnivory has given it the ability to source nutrients (especially nitrogen) from elsewhere.
Wikipedia has an excellent entry on carnivorous plants if you'd like to learn more, including a close-up photograph of a Pinguicula leaf surface.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:00 AM| Comments (5)
July 25, 2006
Rubus lasiococcus
There are a few common names for this raspberry relative: dwarf bramble, creeping raspberry and roughfruit berry. The latter name is a near-translation of the epithet lasiococcus, meaning “woolly-fruited” (via Calflora.net). Despite the fact that this taxon is named for its fruit, I haven't been able to find any photographs of its fruit online to demonstrate – perhaps a follow-up BPotD, if I can find a population of plants a little more accessible.
The genus Rubus is global in its distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. How many species? Difficult to say. Here's an excerpt from a scientific paper on Rubus: “In eastern North America, the number of taxa in treatments of subg. Rubus section Rubus ranges from 240 species (Bailey, 1941–1945), to 198 species (Davis, 1990), to 12 species complexes (Gleason and Cronquist, 1991).” Source: Alice, LA and CS Campbell. 1999. Phylogeny of Rubus (Rosaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region sequences. Am. J. Bot. 86:81-97. With such a wide range in numbers, it is safe to say Rubus illustrates that a single species concept has yet to be agreed upon.
Botany / photography resource link: Botany Photos, the impressive collection of plant photographs from a doctoral student in Finland, Maarten Christenhusz.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 23, 2006
Hosta 'Sum and Substance'
A nod of appreciation to Lisa from Quebec, aka Lilyofthevalley@UBC Garden Forums for today's photograph. Like yesterday's image, it was submitted via the BPotD Submissions Forum. Thanks, Lisa!
Over three thousand cultivars of hostas have been named. The huge cultivar, Hosta 'Sum and Substance', is highly regarded; it has won multiple awards from the American Hosta Society as well as an RHS Award of Garden Merit. To read more about Hosta 'Sum and Substance', head over to the Kemper Center for Home Gardening. For a more general (and humourous) essay on Hosta, nurseryman Tony Avent has an essay: “Hosta, Hosta, Hosta”.
Another common name for hosta is “slug food”.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 22, 2006
Lotus argophyllus var. niveus
Many thanks to Hollis from Wyoming for today's image, taken on a trip to Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park south of Santa Barbara, California. Hollis submitted the image via the BPotD Submissions Forum on this web site. Much appreciated, Hollis!
Santa Cruz Island silverhosackia or Santa Cruz Island bird's-foot trefoil is endemic to low elevations (<300 m) on Santa Cruz Island – it is found nowhere else in the world.
Considering its limited range, it is perhaps no surprise that it is endangered. According to the United Nations Environment Programme's site on US Islands, in an area of 255.7 square kilometres, Santa Cruz Island contains 420 species of plants. Of these, 40 are endemic to the archipelago of the Channel Islands, and eight of these can (could) only be found on Santa Cruz Island, including Lotus argophyllus var. niveus. Three of these endemics on Santa Cruz Island, however, are presumed extinct. Lotus argophyllus var. niveus shares its endangered status with seventeen other plant taxa.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 21, 2006
Carica pubescens
Andreas from Bogotá (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) shared this image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool (original image). Apologies to other BPotD contributors , but I use a high percentage of Andreas's photographs because they are from the tropics, and plants from that area are sorely underrepresented on BPotD relative to all of plant diversity. Thanks yet again, Andreas!
Carica pubescens is closely related to papaya (Carica papaya). It grows in the wild at high altitudes (>1000 m) in the Andes from Panama to Bolivia, but is also cultivated as an ornamental and food plant in gardens. Commonly known as mountain papaw, its similar biochemistry to papaya means it can also be used as a meat tenderizer. Purdue University hosts excerpts from two books on tropical fruits, both with sections on Carica pubescens: “South American Fruits Deserving Further Attention” and “Neglected Crops: 1492 from a Different Perspective”.
Its family, the Caricaceae, is distributed in the tropical and subtropical Americas, as well as Africa.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
July 18, 2006
Penstemon confertus
Yellow penstemon is a native of the dry interior of northwestern North America. Most references cite the genus Penstemon as being in the figwort family (or Scrophulariaceae), but the molecular evidence suggests otherwise; the Wikipedia entry on the current “best-fit” family, Plantaginaceae, provides a readable explanation on why the taxonomic landscape for this genus (and many of its relatives) has changed.
Conservation resource link: “Endangered by Research” in The Chronicle of Higher Education relates the sad stories of some newly discovered species of animals and plants being poached and collected to death after a description of the taxon appeared in a scientific journal. Read one of those stories about the devastation wrought on a small species of cactus in heartbreaking detail: Ariocarpus bravoanus – On the Edge.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:38 AM| Comments (2)
July 17, 2006
Agropyron cristatum
After seeing a photograph of Spotted Lake by Becky Wolfe on the Earth, Sea and Sky Photo Critique Forum (the photo will scroll off in a few weeks, but for now see the post on 07/12/06 at 9:23 pm EST), I had to see the lake in person, so I made the trip on Saturday. A small roadside stop is the best vantage point without trespassing on lands belonging to the Okanagan First Nations, so photographic opportunities and perspectives were limited. Along with a number of photographs of the lake, I thought it might be interesting to also use it as a background for a few plant images, as you see in today's photo.
Crested wheatgrass was introduced into North America from the steppes of Russia. Although useful as a forage crop and a stabilizer in battling erosion, it does the latter job so well that it both displaces and prevents re-establishment of native grasses. If the Proposed South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve ever becomes established, I imagine it is going to be very laborious to control the introduced grasses in the area.
By the way, you can help establish the National Park Reserve by signing the petition – I have, and I'm number 1056. I don't often ask for much from you (other than patience!), but if you could spend a small bit of time informing yourself about the proposed park and signing the petition if you agree, I'd appreciate it.
A few more links about Spotted Lake to end today's blurb: Spotted Lake from the Air and Paintings of Spotted Lake (via Vanishing British Columbia, a site by writer and artist Michael Kluckner).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:37 AM| Comments (4)
July 16, 2006
Centaurea solstitialis
Thanks again to Bill of San Jose, California (bbum@Flickr) for today's photograph (BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image 1 | original image 2). I've pointed out Bill's eclectic weblog before, too: bbum's weblog-o-mat.
Native to Mediterranean Eurasia, yellow starthistle was introduced into California sometime in the mid-1800s via a batch of Chilean-grown alfalfa seed. (the species had already been established in South America for decades, if not centuries, prior). It is estimated that it is now spread over 15 million acres (6 million ha) in the state of California alone. Yes, it is highly invasive.
A site dedicated to yellow starthistle from the University of California in Davis provides the biology and ecology of the species. It also includes suggestions on pest control for this weedy species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
July 15, 2006
Astragalus racemosus
Today's image is courtesy of Quentin Cronk, director of UBC Botanical Garden. Quentin visited Badlands National Park six weeks ago, and this is one of the images he's chosen to share with us.
With respect to number of species, the genus Astragalus is huge. In fact, it is the largest genus of vascular plants, with over two thousand five hundred species. Even though North America contains over five hundred species, it is not the centre of diversity for the genus – that title belongs to southern Asia. This cream milkvetch is representative of many of the plants in the genus: adapted to live in an arid or semi-arid climate.
Why so many species? The diversity of Astragalus is a result of adaptive radiation, i.e., the rapid speciation of a single or few species into dozens or hundreds of species in a very short time. Other examples of adaptive radiation include stickleback fishes (studied by UBC's honoured evolutionary biologist Dolph Schluter) and the vascular plants known as the Hawaiian silverswords.
For more information on Astragalus, an excellent resource is the The Astragalus Website (the section on biogeography is particularly good).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 14, 2006
Triteleia ixioides
A nod of appreciation to Dale Hameister (Dale Hameister@Flickr) for sharing today's photograph (original image | via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you, Dale!
This California and Oregon native has an interesting common name: prettyface. I have a hard time believing this name was used commonly until the modern era – an alternative common name, golden brodiaea, seems more likely to me to be the “traditional” common name for this taxon.
The Flora of North America page for Triteleia ixioides suggests there are five subspecies, but notes “although readily recognizable as a rule, [the five subspecies] often cannot be separated by constant characters”. I interpret this to mean that any one single feature of the plant cannot reliably be used to distinguish the subspecies. Instead, a combination of morphological features must be taken into account.
Triteleia ixioides is a geophyte, a term used to describe plants which store food underground (in organs such as bulbs, corms, tubers). In the case of Triteleia, the storage organ is a corm, or a thickened underground piece of stem tissue.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
July 12, 2006
Lilium columbianum
Lilium columbianum was previously featured on BPotD, but I thought it might be nice to show a photograph of Columbia Lily in its wild habitat. As I mentioned in the previous entry on Cornwall Hill Provincial Park, we observed hundreds of lilies in the moist open forests of the area.
In BPotD un-news, Nature recently published a list of the top 50 science weblogs. Absent from this top fifty list is this very weblog, which would have ranked number 35 using the Technorati ranking scheme they based the ratings on. Ah well. I still recommend visiting the science weblogs on the list – many gems in there.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:25 AM| Comments (9)
July 11, 2006
Ceroxylon quindiuense
Another thank you to Andreas from Bogotá (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) for sharing photographs from Colombia (BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image 1 | original image 2). I think it's a real benefit for BPotD to be able to share photographs from around the world.
Wax palm, Andean wax palm or palma de cera has the dubious honour of being on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. Like so many other species, the major threat is habitat loss. In this case, the montane forest it grows in is being cleared for agriculture. I've looked closely at the hillside photograph – despite the adult plants being “protected” in this pasture, there is no seedling establishment to speak of, no young plants to replace the old. Not hopeful.
The Plants for a Future database has an entry for Ceroxylon quindiuense, if you are interested in the economic botany and growth requirements of the plant.
For more reading on threatened species, recent headlines feature birds, amphibians and deep-sea fish.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:33 AM| Comments (8)
July 10, 2006
Lavandula ×intermedia 'Provence'
The web is replete with information about lavender (more), so I'll only add that the cultivar 'Provence' is purported to be moisture-tolerant, making it better suited for maritime climates. I've not noticed it performing any better or worse than other lavenders in the garden, though.
There are a number of lavender festivals around the world, including some in Washington state this upcoming weekend (for example, Sequim, WA). I'm fairly certain, though, that France is the best place in the world to see lavender fields.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:07 AM| Comments (4)
July 9, 2006
Chamerion angustifolium
In a (former) forest three years post-burn, Chamerion angustifolium displays why it has the most fitting of common names: fireweed. Older texts and some modern taxonomists use the scientific name Epilobium angustifolium for this species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 8, 2006
Arisaema ciliatum
A tip-of-the-hat to Colour@Flickr for today's photograph submitted via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool (original image). Thanks, Colour.
Like the Zantedeschia rehmannii posted a couple days ago, Arisaema ciliatum is an aroid – a member of the family Araceae. The resemblance of the two species should be readily apparent. However, Zantedeschia is restricted to Africa, while the genus Arisaema can be found in Africa, North America (including Mexico) and temperate Asia. By far, the genus is most diverse in temperate Asia; Arisaema ciliatum itself is native to southern China.
The “Asian Flora” web site has extensive images of Arisaema ciliatum, or you can spend much time learning about the diversity of aroids on the site of the International Aroid Society.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:45 AM| Comments (0)
July 6, 2006
Zantedeschia rehmannii
It is difficult for me to see a calla lily without thinking of Imogen Cunningham and her photographs: “Calla” and “Two Callas”. Brent Hine has planted both this species and the yellow Zantedeschia jucunda together in the African section of the Alpine Garden. To see a comprehensive set of technical images for this species, visit this page on Zantedeschia rehmannii.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:10 AM| Comments (7)
July 5, 2006
Populus tremuloides
The summer dry season has arrived in British Columbia, and with it, forest fires. The Venables Fire of late summer 2003 burned 7636 ha (nearly 19000 acres). These trembling (quaking) aspen were a few of the victims. Three years later, the blistered, burnt sienna bark still clings to the dead trees in places.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (0)
July 3, 2006
Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense
One of the hallmark plants of UBC Botanical Garden, giant Himalayan lily can grow up to 4m tall (see the interpretative sign). I haven't seen a plant reach that height yet in six years, but the plants in the garden frequently exceed 2.5m. However, a dried stalk just shy of 4m leans against the wall in a stairwell of the garden's research / admin building. I imagine a place will be found to exhibit it one day.
For more photographs of Cardiocrinum, see this thread on the garden's discussion forums.
And yes, the flowers are sweetly-scented (one doesn't even have to bend over to inhale!). My opinion is that they have a hint of a rootbeer fragrance.
Ecology / photography resource link: From the Griffith University Library in Australia, the Len Webb Ecological Images Collection. Collections such as these are quite valuable – ecological phenomena (I think) are underrepresented in photography, possibly because of the requirement to understand what is occurring ecologically before being able to represent it with an image.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 2, 2006
Tulipa linifolia
Today's image is courtesy of James, aka whatsthatpicture@Flickr (original image | via Flickr BPotD Group Pool). James resides in London, UK, so the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (where this photo was taken) is at his doorstep – I'm envious! Thanks for the image submission, James.
Another species tulip, Tulipa linifolia is native to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. This photograph is a bit timely. On Thursday last week, David Tarrant and I were talking about how interesting it would be to travel to the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains to see the flora. Instability in the region, however, is a powerful disincentive.
As James notes on Flickr, this photograph was taken in Kew's new Davies Alpine House – a somewhat safer place to see this tulip.
Photography resource link: for inspiration, the photography of Robert Turner.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 1, 2006
Clematis 'Niobe'
Many thanks to Durgan, a prolific photographer and member of the UBC Botanical Garden Forums for today's image. The original image can be seen along with a few others of this plant on Durgan's site here. Durgan also writes about the plant on the forums. Please note that the typical use and attribution rules apply to this image! Many thanks, Durgan!
Only short entries this long weekend, as I'm taking a little break.
Clematis 'Niobe' was originally developed over thirty-five years ago by the Polish clematis hybridizer Vladyslaw Noll. For gardening information on this clematis cultivar, again turn to Missouri Botanical Garden's Kemper Center for Home Gardening web site for its entry on Clematis 'Niobe'. If you've a particular interest in Clematis, visit the International Clematis Society web site – along with a host of information, it also features a clematis of the month.
Entomology / botany resource link: HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants “brings together an enormous body of information on what the world's butterfly and moth (Lepidoptera) caterpillars eat.” Searches can be done by either insect name or hostplant name.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (9)
June 30, 2006
Celtica gigantea
Taking a page out of a famous musician's book, Celtica gigantea is “the Grass Formerly Known as Stipa gigantea”. The scientific name for golden oats changed with the publication of this paper: Vázquez, FM and M Barkworth. 2004. Resurrection and emendation of Macrochloa (Gramineae: Stipeae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 144:483–495. The name change has yet to cascade through many of the online garden publications and databases, so an Internet search is more successful if you use the synonym, Stipa gigantea. The genus Celtica is monotypic, so this taxon is the only species within the newly-formed genus.
For an illustration of the plant (instead of only the seeds as in this photograph), see Celtica gigantea in the Icones plantarum rariorum from Missouri Botanical Garden's Rare Books Collection. Native to southwestern Europe and northwest Africa, Celtica gigantea is yet another RHS Award of Garden Merit plant. The RHS also has gardening information for golden oats.
Photography resource link: The photography of Edward Weston, an early 20th century master photographer (I've just picked up a book with a collection of his photographs). In particular, see his Natural Studies, Point Lobos & Death Valley and Clouds, Trees & Water series.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
June 29, 2006
Alstroemeria psittacina
Thanks again to Eric in San Francisco (Eric in SF@Flickr) for today's image (via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original image with comments). This photograph was taken in the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. Much appreciated, Eric!
The family Alstroemeriaceae is native to Central and South America (map). This species, commonly known as hardy alstroemeria or parrot flower is native to northern Brazil. However, it has naturalized in Europe, the United States and Australia (PDF). Of particular concern is naturalization in Western Australia, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. The Floridata entry on Alstroemeria psittacina warns about its invasive potential, though it also provides commentary on the plant's good qualities: drought-resistant, hummingbird-attracting, container-friendly and a long-lasting cut flower.
Photography resource link: On the topic of image critique, here is a place where it's done right: The Radiant Vista. “The Radiant Vista is a creative community of inspiration, passion, and grace. Together we pursue our dreams and explore our endless potential.” The highlight of the site is a daily critique video; you have to watch one to understand what a great job they do. If you submit your photograph to them and it gets critiqued, let me know (if I don't catch it myself) and I'll link to it in a future entry. I also really enjoyed the article “The Myth of Talent”.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:35 AM| Comments (2)
June 28, 2006
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is the deserving recipient of an RHS Award of Garden Merit – both the BBC Gardening site and the Kemper Center share horticultural details about this cultivar.
Some references suggest that this cultivar is a hybrid between two genera, Crocosmia and Curtonus. However, a UBC forum member (David in LA) points out that the two genera were lumped together in a 1971 paper by Peter Goldblatt: “Cytological & morphological studies in southern African Iridaceae” in the South African Journal of Botany. If one agrees with Goldblatt, then this hybrid becomes merely a cross between two species within the same genus, a fairly common occurrence (even in nature for some taxa). A cross between two genera occurs rarely, and often adds weight to proposals that the two genera should be either re-examined or taxonomically lumped together under one generic name.
Photography resource link: A satirical look at image critique from Mike Johnston's The Online Photographer weblog: Great Photographers on the Internet and the follow-up Wicked. Discovered via a thread on Nature Photographers Online.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (21)
June 27, 2006
Schizophragma hydrangeoides
One of the highlights of the Asian Garden at UBC is the climbing woody vines. Although I'm still struggling to get a worthwhile photograph of one from a distance (not an easy feat in the woodlands of the Asian Garden), I can at least share this close-up of a soon-to-bloom Japanese hydrangea vine, a woody climber native to both Japan and Korea.
To learn a little more about Schizophragma hydrangeoides, see the garden's interpretative sign. For a gardening perspective (and an image of the plant “climbing” a wall), visit the Kemper Center for Home Gardening via Missouri Botanical Garden.
Gardening questions about this and other climbers & vines can be posted to the UBC Vines & Climbers discussion forum.
Photography resource link: Expose to the Right, an article from Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape. I've been attempting this practice more often than not lately, but I'm finding it a fairly risky technique as it is very easy to overexpose a particular channel – it's easier on very expensive cameras that display the histogram for every channel.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:35 AM| Comments (6)
June 26, 2006
Thermopsis macrophylla var. agnina
Thermopsis macrophylla is commonly known as false lupine, golden-pea or (rarely) Santa Ynez goldenbanner. It is native to western California, occurring in grasslands, chapparal and open forests. The online Jepson Manual also mentions it being present in Oregon, but the USDA PLANTS database disagrees.
More disagreement surrounds whether the variety agnina should be recognized as its own distinct taxon. Thermopsis macrophylla var. agnina, Santa Ynez false-lupine, is a robust-growing version of what is typically seen in the rest of the species. It only occurs in the Santa Ynez mountains of Santa Barbara County in California. The Jepson Manual mentions this variety without discounting it (but does not “officially” add it as a taxon with its own entry). The USDA PLANTS database does not recognize it as being separate, and instead lumps it in with the rest of the species. Despite attempts to slot taxa into tidy boxes, biological reality resists. This is in part due to the ongoing process of evolution – I tend to think about these muddy instances of “is it different enough to be its own variety?” as “evolution in action”.
In local news, this month's Café Scientifique at the Railway Club in Vancouver features Dr. Tara Ivanochko discussing “The Big picture of Climate Change: Natural Systems and Human Agency”. The details for this free event on Tuesday night are available on Café Scientifique Vancouver's web site (What is Café Scientifique?).
Biology / art resource link: From the American Museum of Natural History, Dioramas goes far beyond images of the museum's dioramas – it offers virtual tours and behind-the-scenes glimpses into these educational treasures.
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.