Flowering Plants (15)
March 1, 2007
Aechmea distichantha var. schlumbergeri
When visiting the Huntington Botanical Gardens, I didn't stray too far from the Desert Garden for most of my all-too-brief visit. However, today's plant interrupted an otherwise quick walk through the Jungle Garden; it leapt out from the mass of dark shadows and green foliage. This exact plant is also in this photograph, part of Huntington's What's In Bloom series of images.
I'm not able to find much relevant information on variety schlumbergeri, other than a few herbarium specimens of cultivated material which mention a Portuguese common name of caraguatá. Brazilian vase-plant is suggested as an English common name for the species by Wikipedia, though other sites simply use “bromeliad”.
Also noted by Wikipedia is the wide distribution range of the species: Uruguay, Paraguay, northern Argentina and Brazil (where it makes specific mention of the Cerrado, a tropical savanna). For most people in the northern hemisphere, its growing requirements restrict it to being an indoor plant; the University of Florida extension service provides a factsheet with some suggestions for care in that regard.
Do watch out for the jumping spiders, though. See: Romero, GQ. 2006. Geographic Range, Habitats, and Host Plants of Bromeliad-Living Jumping Spiders (Salticidae) (PDF). Biotropica. 38(4): 522-530.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:12 AM| Comments (9)
February 28, 2007
Gentiana clusii
Today marks the end of an era at UBC Botanical Garden. David Tarrant, host of the former television series The Canadian Gardener and employee of UBC BG for thirty-seven years, retires today. In addition to being on television for over twenty-five years, David's written a number of books and regular columns in newspapers and magazines. Over the course of his career at UBC, he worked as a horticulturist, the education coordinator and the public relations & programs coordinator. He was an integral part of the strong relationship between the garden staff and the FOGs. I know I'm only echoing the thoughts and well-wishes of many others, David, but I'll miss you too.
When I asked David what he would like for today's BPotD, he predictably remarked, “Something blue.” I don't have many blue flower photographs that I haven't already used, but I did manage to dig up this one from a May 2004 trip to the Devonian Botanic Garden in Edmonton, Alberta. Fitting, in a way, that today's photograph is not from UBC. During his time as host of The Canadian Gardener, David touched many lives across the nation – I've seen the boxes and boxes of letters!
Gentiana clusii, or Clusius' gentian, is a plant of calcareous soils in the alpine areas of southern Europe. It is named in honour of Carolus Clusius, a 16th century botanist and doctor. A closely related species to Gentiana clusii, Gentiana acaulis, differs by preferring silicaceous soils and having slight differences in the appearance of the flowers. In areas of mixed geology where the two species occur near each other, hybridization occurs. This is illustrated in Guilhem Mansion's Comical Gentians, a page on the comprehensive Gentian Research Network.
A photograph of the plant showing it with some gravel to scale can be seen here.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:00 AM| Comments (4)
February 27, 2007
Purshia mexicana
A thank you to Jon of SMA@Flickr for today's photograph (original image | Flickr BPotD Group Pool). The SMA in Jon's Flickr ID stands for San Miguel de Allende, a historic town in Guanajuato, Mexico – a place which has been very much on my mind lately. I've bookmarked Jon's weblog, San Miguel Photos.
In his notes accompanying the photograph, Jon wrote that the common name for this plant in Mexico is romero cedro. After much searching, I did track down a reference for the name, the Flora Del Bajío Y De Regiones Adyacentes - Rosaceae, or the Flora of Bajío and Adjacent Regions - Rosaceae (Bajío is a region of plains in northern central Mexico). The common name of romero cedro actually applies to two species: Purshia plicata and Purshia mexicana (and presumably the hybrid between the two). Despite my limited ability to translate Spanish, it is quite evident this is Purshia mexicana, as it has white to yellowish flowers (instead of pink) and deeply-lobed leaves. There is a beautiful pencilled rendition of the flowers on a branch on page 115 of the flora, if you are patient enough for the file to load.
The English common name for this plant is Mexican cliffrose (or antelope bush). Following current taxonomy, it is native from Arizona to northern central Mexico, occupying the southern portion of this genus' distribution. A closely related species, Purshia stansburiana is sometimes classified as a subspecies of Purshia mexicana. If that treatment is followed, the range of Purshia mexicana extends as far north as Idaho. A different species, Purshia tridentata, reaches the northern limits for Purshia in the southern interior of British Columbia – expect a photograph of this species in late May after I attend Botany BC 2007 in Osoyoos. I find Purshia to be very photographically appealing due to its architecture.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
February 26, 2007
Pulmonaria rubra 'Redstart'
Red lungwort is native to southeastern Europe. A popular garden plant for many centuries, it can now be found as an introduced exotic in places such as Finland and Poland. Unlike the other dozen or so species of Pulmonaria, red lungwort does not have blue flowers (hence the Latin and common name).
'Redstart' red lungwort was evaluated by the Chicago Botanic Garden in its Appraisal of Pulmonaria for the Garden (PDF) and ranked as “fair” or three stars out of four. If you're considering this early bloomer (or any other Pulmonaria) for your garden, it would be worthwhile to read the evaluation – it grades over fifty species and cultivars. The BBC Gardening site also has a small amount of information specific to 'Redstart'.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:43 AM| Comments (2)
February 25, 2007
Lasthenia fremontii and Downingia insignis
A grateful thank you to Dr. Raphael Mazor, aka raphaelmazor@Flickr for sharing today's images (upon the suggestion of marymactavish@Flickr, another BPotD contributor). If you browse through Raphael's photographs, you'll learn that he was involved with teaching high school students about field biology while a graduate student – an activity profiled in “Close Encounters - Passing Earth Science to the Next Generation”. Original photographs from today are here and here. Thank you, Raphael!
I've attempted to identify both of these to species level, so if there is a misidentification, it's my fault. Both Lasthenia fremontii (Fremont's goldfields) and Downingia insignis (harlequin calicoflower or cupped downingia) are species associated with vernal pools. Vernal pools are temporary wetlands – essentially, shallow springtime ponds that disappear in the summer and autumn.
Vernalpools.org is a stellar resource for learning more about vernal pools and associated organisms in California. The site leads with an 1868 quote from John Muir: “Sauntering in any direction, my feet would brush about a hundred flowers with every step... as if I were wading in liquid gold”. Somewhere between 85% to 90% of California's vernal pools have been lost – statistics like that make the UC Merced campus plan absolutely baffling to me.
More photographs of plants associated with Californian vernal pools can be seen in Plants of Mather Field or the California Native Plant Society's photographs of vernal pools.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:00 AM| Comments (2)
February 21, 2007
Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis
A thank you to “Weekend Gardener” on the UBC BG Forums for sharing today's photograph via the BPotD Submissions Forum. More photographs in the series (and an accompanying discussion) can be seen here: Sarcococca. Thank you, WG!
As noted in the thread discussion, one of the most striking features of dwarf sweet box or Himalayan sweet box is its fragrance, described by Weekend Gardener as being “heavenly – but then, that might be a matter of opinion. The point is – you can't help but notice the smell”. Hard to miss, indeed; the fragrance carries some distance from the flowers. Personally, I find it very pleasant to encounter, but not the kind of scent where I would linger in the area to drink more in.
Since it is a late winter, highly fragrant groundcover, it is no surprise that a number of excellent articles have been written about this Great Plant Pick. chuckrkc on the UBC BG Forums suggested this factsheet on Sarcococca hookeriana from the St. Andrews Botanic Garden's Plant of the Month series (which appears to be on hiatus). A factsheet from North Carolina State University recommends Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis as a groundcover (with relevant photographs). Paghat has also written about her experiences with the plant.
Nature / photography resource link: Prompted by the photo of the lichen on BPotD a few days ago, Scot Mcphee sent me an email noting his similar admiration for natural patterns. He shares his photographs of such here: Natural Forms, with images from Australia and England.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:49 AM| Comments (2)
February 20, 2007
Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. munozii-garmendiae
At the risk of being repetitive, here's another yellow-flowered springtime bulb currently in bloom in the garden. This particular subspecies of the wild daffodil doesn't have a common name, though I suppose Muñoz Garmendia's daffodil would be acceptable. It is named after Muñoz Garmendia, who seems to have been / is a Spanish botanist or horticulturist, and a participating author in the 1980 “Plantas silvestres de la península Ibérica” and the “Flora Iberica”.
The American Daffodil Society is an excellent resource for learning more about Narcissus; the site includes a tidy list of frequently asked questions.
Interested in bulbs and similar plants? The Scottish Rock Garden Club has a Bulb Log that is now in its fifth year – plenty to keep bulb-plant enthusiasts entertained!
Botany / horticulture resource link: Both Barrie (aka LPN on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums) and Barb (kia796 of same) sent the following link to me. Adventures in Mexico Part III is part of a travelogue series by Paul Spracklin featuring – you guessed it – the plants, landscapes and botanical gardens of Mexico. I very much enjoyed reading the journal and viewing Paul's photos, but if you only have time to visit one page, I recommend the Edward James Garden in Las Pozas. Who was Edward James? In Paul's words, an “eccentric (mad?) English surrealist artist”. Chalk up another place I'd like to visit...
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:28 AM| Comments (4)
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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.