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)
February 19, 2007
Eranthis hyemalis
I mentioned spring was on its way a few days ago, and here's some evidence in a photograph from yesterday. True, the common name for this plant is winter aconite and some sites deem it a late winter bloomer. However, the inevitable parade of early-blooming flowers marches on, steadfastly ignoring the sidewalk bystanders attempting to pin down the name of the season.
Today's photograph is dedicated to Kevin Kubeck (another one of UBC Botanical Garden's horticulturists), who participated in a name-game with me last Friday as we tried to remember the genus name of this plant (the label was absent). We fired back a whole series of “E” names before giving up, until Kevin later sent me an email with only two words: Eranthis hyemalis.
Native to southern Europe, Eranthis hyemalis has become naturalized in eastern North America and northern Europe, presumbably after being introduced as an early-season garden plant. Like some other members of the buttercup family (e.g., Aconitum), it is poisonous.
For a botanical illustration of the species, visit the Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
February 17, 2007
Ericameria nauseosa
Ericameria nauseosa, or common rabbitbrush, was previously featured on BPotD here and here. The warm, golden tone in this photograph is due to evening sun and smoke from forest fires.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:04 AM| Comments (5)
February 15, 2007
Sarcodes sanguinea
A thank you today to Mario Vaden of Oregon for sharing this photograph. Mario is a frequent contributor to the UBC Botanical Garden Forums (here's where he posted this photograph), but he's also a frequent traveller in southern Oregon and northern California; browse through his photographs to see images from one of my favourite parts of the world.
Mario took this image of an emerging Sarcodes sanguinea in the Red Buttes Wilderness. Breaking down the scientific name for the plant, Sarcodes means flesh-like, while sanguinea refers to the colour red (typically blood-red or bright red). While you might expect its common name to refer to its colour in some way, snowplant is used instead. Snowplant is so named because of this plant's emergence from the soil at the end of the snow melt season in the conifer-covered hills and mountains of Oregon, California and Baja California (Mario took this photo in mid-May).
Dr. James Reveal has written a comprehensive article about Sarcodes sanguinea, with particular attention to the efforts of 19th century botanists to learn more about the plant. Dr. Reveal also quotes John Muir's writing from “The Yosemite” (1912), which I'll reproduce here:
The snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) is more admired by tourists than any other in California. It is red, fleshy and watery and looks like a gigantic asparagus shoot. Soon after the snow is off the ground it rises through the dead needles and humus in the pine and fir woods like a bright glowing pillar of fire. In a week or so it grows to a height of eight or twelve inches with a diameter of an inch and a half or two inches; then its long fringed bracts curl aside, allowing the twenty- or thirty-five-lobed, bell-shaped flowers to open and look straight out from the axis. It is said to grow up through the snow; on the contrary, it always waits until the ground is warm, though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried or half-buried for a day or two by spring storms. The entire plant - flowers, bracts, stem, scales, and roots - is fiery red. Its color could appeal to one's blood. Nevertheless, it is a singularly cold and unsympathetic plant. Everybody admires it as a wonderful curiosity, but nobody loves it as lilies, violets, roses, daisies are loved. Without fragrance, it stands beneath the pines and firs lonely and silent, as if unacquainted with any other plant in the world; never moving in the wildest storms; rigid as if lifeless, though covered with beautiful rosy flowers.
In addition to the photographs on Dr. Reveal's site, Calphotos provides another 72(!) images of Sarcodes sanguinea.
Like the previously featured Monotropa uniflora and Allotropa virgata, Sarcodes sanguinea is also a mycoheterotroph (see the Monotropa link for an explanation to jog your memory, if necessary). It was observed that it only grows with a specific fungal symbiont in the Rhizopogon ellenae species complex in two sampled regions – it is possible that a similar pattern of specificity exists throughout its entire distribution.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:46 AM| Comments (8)
February 14, 2007
Citrus sinensis 'Cara Cara'
I've developed a reputation at work for being a blood orange fanatic (“the taste of this one has a hint of rose petal” or “mmm... blackberry”), so I'm sure it will surprise everyone at UBC BG that I opted to photograph a Cara Cara navel orange for today's BPotD. There is a reason, though; the blood oranges available in local markets are the cultivar 'Moro'. Moro blood oranges can vary in colour inside from orange to purplish-red, while Cara Cara navel oranges, I've found, are quite consistent in the pinkish-orange colour of their flesh. I chose consistency over the risk of slicing open a number of blood oranges to find the right one. Cara Cara navel oranges are my second favourite orange, so that's why I had both in the kitchen.
Citrus sinensis 'Cara Cara' was discovered in 1976 as a mutation of a Washington navel orange in Valencia, Venezuela. The Citrus Variety Collection at the University of California, Riverside, shares both photographs and an explanation of the pinkish colour on its web page for sweet oranges; note that this page is an excellent resource for comparing orange varieties! UC Riverside also provides the book “The Citrus Industry” online, so if you're interested in either the botany of Citrus or the horticultural varieties of Citrus, you should find what you're looking for in those pages.
A few recipes, if you're so inclined (though I doubt any will beat the blood orange sorbet I had last week): Cara Cara orange & vanilla sorbet (discovered via Lamb Martini weblog) and frozen soufléed oranges from Greg Atkinson for The Seattle Times.
Lastly, for those wondering about the Valentine's Day significance of oranges: somewhere along the way, I've read that ingesting food is one of the most intimate acts. Minutes after these photographs were taken, I ate the sliced orange in a torrid act of love.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:20 AM| Comments (24)
February 13, 2007
Arundo donax
Thank you to Bacopa2@Flickr of northern California for sharing today's photographs with us. The originals were posted here and here on Flickr, accompanied with some interesting commentary from Bacopa2. Some fine photographs!
The Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plants Working Group has a site featuring the Least Wanted: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas. The 6m to 9m (20ft to 30ft) tall giant reed is listed as one of the many present day undesirable plants. I note “present day” for two reasons: 1) many of these plants were originally (and naïvely) planted for economic reasons, so at one time were desirable; and 2) the changing climate will doubtless induce more scourges in the future.
The University of California, Davis provides one of the most comprehensive factsheets on Arundo donax available online, including this tidbit: “Giant reed is naturalized and invasive in many regions, including southern Africa, subtropical United States through Mexico, the Caribbean islands and South America, Pacific Islands, Australia, and Southeast Asia (Hafliger and Scholz 1981).” Native to the Indian subcontinent, its spread is due in large part to human introduction into the landscape. Why? The Plants for a Future database cites many economic uses for the species, including control of soil erosion, use in textiles and building materials, commercial paper production and even the production of rayon.
Like the worst of many invasives, giant reed can completely choke out and eradicate native plants (and hence native plant diversity); where once dozens of species might have existed in a particular space, only a monoculture stand of Arundo donax might now remain. The local extirpation of native plants negatively affects nearly every other type of organism in the wetland areas it prefers, from fish and reptiles to birds and insects. The UC Davis link above goes into saddening detail on the variety of problems it causes.
More photographs of this species are available from the USDA PLANTS database and invasive.org.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
February 12, 2007
Cyclamen coum
Persian violet (though it's not a violet) is native to the eastern Mediterranean region, where it grows as a plant of shady forests. It has some stellar qualities which make it well-adored as a cultivated ornamental plant: early-blooming, relatively hardy, a delicate but cheery appearance and low maintenance. No wonder, perhaps, that it is both an RHS Award of Garden Merit recipient and a Great Plant Pick.
The Cyclamen Society has a page dedicated to Cyclamen coum that goes into detail about its subspecies and forms; photographs of a few of these variations can be seen via the Pacific Bulb Society's wikipage on Cyclamen.
A few more sources of photographs, if you're interested: 1) I posted a close-up of the flowers to the forums a couple years ago; and 2) the North American Rock Garden Society featured Cyclamen coum as its Plant of the Month in March 1999.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:00 AM| Comments (3)
February 10, 2007
Populus tremuloides
I must be a fan of Maureen's poplar photographs, since this is the second time one has been featured on BPotD. Maureen, or MontanaRaven@Flickr, shared this image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool | original). Don't forget to visit Maureen's weblog, raven's nest. Appreciated as always, Maureen
Please (re)visit the previous entry on Populus tremuloides for reading and links. I also highly recommend (re)visiting the resource link in that entry – Marc Adamus has done some stunning work in the past year.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
February 9, 2007
Leptospermum rotundifolium
The last photograph in this series on Australian plants is again supplied by Eric in SF@Flickr (original pic | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). I emphasized this series because it's likely we'll revisit Australian plants in a shorter series later this month – for reasons to be revealed, I couldn't share a few of the photographs I've recently received (yet). Thanks once more, Eric.
Tea trees are not the source of conventional tea, but were used by early European settlers of Australia in a similar fashion to make a tea substitute. Use by the Aborigines ranged from wood in weapons and tools to medicines. Modern use of the round-leaved tea tree, today's photo, extends into ornamental horticulture where it is described by the Australian National Botanic Gardens as “one of Australia's best Leptospermum sp. and one with great potential for hybridisation” and “a fine screen or feature plant”.
The medicinal uses identified by the Aborigines are, at least in part, reflected by another economic byproduct of Leptospermum: tea-tree honey, which is highly anti-bacterial.
Technical descriptions of this species (and distribution) are available from the New South Wales Flora Online, Leptospermum rotundifolium, while a more general description of round-leaved tea tree is provided by the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Botany / history resource link: the UBC Library has digitized some of the Charles Darwin Letters and they are now available online for the first time (press release).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (9)
February 8, 2007
Hakea epiglottis
Hakea epiglottis, a relative of the Hakea laurina previously featured on BPotD, is endemic to Tasmania. These photographs are from early May of last year in UBC's Alpine Garden.
Though some references suggest that this species' common name is white hakea, most (if not all) Australian sites instead use beaked hakea – so my preference is the latter.
The Flora of Australia Online's record for Hakea epiglottis notes that most wild populations of the plant consists of plants with flowers that are either functionally male or functionally female. Exceptions do occur, though, where individuals have flowers that both produce viable pollen and form fruit. In other words, while a few plants are hermaphrodites, most are unisexual. The lead paragraph in the following paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being either hermaphroditic or unisexual: Fetscher, AE. 2001. “Resolution of male-female conflict in an hermaphroditic flower (PDF).” Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 268:525-529. It boils down to either conserving resources (hermaphroditism) or increasing the likelihood of outcrossing.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
February 6, 2007
Brachychiton acerifolius
There are two independent contributors for today's photographs. In an intriguing coincidence, both took photographs of this plant at Ganna Walska Lotusland in July of last year! Thank you to Mike Bush, the executive director of Lotusland, for photographs 2 and 3 and “yousatonmycactus”@UBC Botanical Garden Forums (aka Guy Webb) of Ventura, California for the first image. Guy is one of the kind docents at Lotusland and has also shared a more images of the plant in this thread. Thanks to both of you for helping to continue the series on Australian plants – more to come!
If you're visiting Lotusland (follow the instructions on their web site re: booking a tour), Mike notes that this plant “is growing in our Visitor Entry area, next to the Parking Lot. Planted in 1993 the tree is now about 25 feet tall and is covered with flowers in mid-July when it is nearly leafless.”
Illawara flame tree is native to the coastal forests of eastern Australia, ranging from the tropical rainforests of Queensland south to the (more) temperate forests of New South Wales. Like the Dombeya from over a week ago, it is a member of the mallow family (or Malvaceae), though much literature will instead state it belongs to the Sterculiaceae, as Michael F noted in the comments on that entry. The Malvaceae Info web site delves deep into the reclassification of the Malvaceae and (former) allied families, if you'd like to read more.
The Malvaceae Info web site also provides an illustration of why this plant has the epithet acerifolius, or “leaves of Acer (maple)” in its photo gallery of the genus Brachychiton.
For more reading about the Illawara flame tree, please visit the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants' page on Brachychiton acerifolius or Wikipedia. Dias com árvores also has an entry on Brachychiton acerifolius – if you don't understand Portuguese, you can still appreciate the photography.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
February 5, 2007
Banksia baueri
Numbers five and (tomorrow's) six in the series of photographs of Australian plants take us to Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, California to visit a couple plants in cultivation.
When last I posted a banksia on BPotD, Banksia baxteri, I used a common name for that species which should have instead been applied to today's species: woolly banksia or woollybear banksia. A third common name is also used, possum banksia.
While the common name is perhaps obvious, the scientific name deserves a bit of explanation. Banksia baueri was named in honour of Ferdinand Bauer (more) by Robert Brown. I haven't been able to track down the source of the quote, but Ferdinand Bauer has been described as “the supreme botanical draughtsman, the Leonardo of natural history painting”. Professor David Mabberley, well-admired by us here at UBC for his botanical work, wrote a book about Bauer, Ferdinand Bauer – The Nature of Discovery (link to Amazon), featuring 62 colour plates of Bauer's famed illustrations.
Banksia baueri is native to Western Australia, where it grows in sandy soils. Two other links of note about this species: 1) “Banjorah” aka Cathy, an Australian terrestrial orchid enthusiast and photographer, has a web site full of interesting photographs, including this series on the development of a Banksia baueri inflorescence; and 2) the technical description of Banksia baueri from the Flora of Australia Online.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:27 AM| Comments (5)
February 4, 2007
Stylidium productum
Continuing the BPotD series on Australian plants, number four is shared with us by Margaret Morgan of Sydney, Australia. Margaret's previously contributed some photographs of Australian plants to BPotD. Don't forget to visit her weblog, Growing Passion, though I imagine updates will remain infrequent over the next month while she completes a Plant Science Internship at the National Herbarium in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney (I'm hoping to read her account of the internship, one day).
Margaret has written about the trigger plant on her weblog, so I'll simply quote her regarding the reason for the common name: “The column extending from the centre of the flower to the right is a fusion of two stamens with the style. When an insect lands on the flower, the column is triggered and flicks across the insect. It can be reset a number of times.” This mechanism both bathes the insect with pollen and potentially transfers pollen (from a different individual) to the stigmatic surface of the insect-slapping flower. Wikipedia has an extensive article on the pollination mechanism of triggerplants. A few more factoids: the touch response by the flower can occur in as little as 15 milliseconds, and the action takes place via turgor pressure.
An unrelated tidbit of information gleaned from the Wikipedia article is that the genus Stylidium is considered protocarnivorous.
Read a bit more about the southeast Australian Stylidium productum via the New South Wales Flora Online.
Photography / biology resource link: After viewing some of the images from yesterday's resource link, I noticed there was a local (to me) microphotographer in the batch. Ron Neumeyer of Delta, BC is that person – visit his gallery of microphotography images!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
February 3, 2007
Acacia flexifolia
Again, a thank you to Katy S for sharing her photographs with us. This is the third in a series of six (or more!) featuring plants of Australia. Much appreciated!
I first have to mention I find this photograph reminiscent of last week's Isomeris arborea, particularly in terms of colour. Interesting, perhaps, that both the bladderpod spiderflower and this, the bent-leaf wattle, are species of dry, sunny habitats. Other similarities exist: leaf shape, habit (both are shrubs) and glaucous leaves (covered with a waxy coating, in this case causing a whitish colour). All in all, this is a textbook, if unspectacular, instance of convergent evolution: the accumulation of similar traits occurring in independent species as a result of adapting to similar ecological niches.
Where the two species diverge, e.g., in the flower shape and structure, it is generally safe to assume that dissimilar ecological conditions exist. Acacia flexifolia, like many wattles, is insect-pollinated by beetles, wasps and bees. Isomeris arborea, on the other hand, is visited by hummingbirds and bumblebees. Of course, it isn't as simple as that (if it was, there'd be fewer variations in flower shape and structure) – genetic barriers and restraints, along with additional ecological factors, contribute to the difference.
To read more about bent-leaf wattle, visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens page on Acacia flexifolia. World Wide Wattle has a more technical description of the species, as well.
Photography / biology resource link: 16 Mind-Blowing Microphotographs of Living Things, suggested by Stannous F. Thank you!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
February 2, 2007
Eucalyptus rhodantha
Today's photograph is again courtesy of Katy S – thanks again! Katy photographed this plant last January in the Kings Park Botanic Gardens in Perth, Australia. This is the second in a series of (now) five featuring Australian plants.
Rose mallee is a Declared Rare species of eucalyptus native to the northern part of Western Australia and within the bounds of the Southwest Australia Biodiversity Hotspot. Fewer than four hundred plants are known to exist in the wild (source: Australian Dept. of the Environment and Water Resources).
The Australian Dept. of E&W also notes the major threats for this species: “Threats to the Rose Mallee include land clearing and the drift from herbicides and pesticides sprays. The Rose Mallee is also threatened by the Root-rot Fungus (Phytophthora cinnimonii), a fungal disease that causes its roots to rot. Other threats include weed infestation, commercial seed collection, and predation by feral rabbits.” The conclusion? Any sort of plan to manage the remaining wild plants is necessarily complex, due to the number and scope of threats. It also suggests that because of the human mistakes of the past, the future of this plant species is dependent on the actions of the humans of the present, i.e., an interventionist approach is required, as opposed to a preservationist one.
Photography resource links: two different interpretations on the photographic adage, “If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough”: Michael Reichmann of the Luminous Landscape on Understanding the Art of Cropping and Paul Butzi on Getting Closer.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
February 1, 2007
Acacia baileyana
For the next four days, perhaps more, BPotD will feature plants from Australia. Today's photograph is courtesy of Katy S, taken somewhere in Australia.
Where in Australia isn't too important. As noted in the comments on last year's BPotD entry on Cootamundra wattle, this species has invasive potential. Though the comments discuss its spread in California, it is similarly invasive in parts of its native Australia, making it one of those infrequent “invasive natives”. It is a fine illustration of the ambiguity of the word native. It is accurate to say it is native to Australia, but far more precise to say it is only native to a narrow ecoregion – a small corridor perhaps 50km (30 miles) wide – in southern New South Wales. Elsewhere in Australia where it has been introduced, it has proven to be invasive (information sourced from World Wide Wattle's page on Cootamundra wattle).
Strictly speaking, some might disagree with my use of the terminology invasive native, as a definition (see native weed) of the term suggests a different interpretation. In that glossary, invasive native is defined as a species that historically occurs in a certain area, but for some reason has exploded in terms of its population. One example cited is white-tailed deer in parts of North America, with present populations far exceeding historic numbers due to human-created landscape changes. Personally, I think the two terms should not be equated, with invasive native being reserved for those imprecise (but often necessary) instances when nativity is not defined by ecoregional areas, but rather by political boundaries.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
January 31, 2007
Lilium columbianum and Campanula rotundifolia
Lilium columbianum, or Columbia lily, was previously featured on BPotD here and here.
Though I learned the common name for Campanula rotundifolia as bluebell, harebell is far more often used. This helps distinguish it from species of Hyacinthoides, in the Hyacinthaceae. On the other hand, the USDA PLANTS database uses bluebell bellflower, again demonstrating the variable nature of common names.
The distinctive bell shape of the flower in the genus Campanula (illustrated in these photographs from the Burke Museum: Campanula rotundifolia) earns its own morphological term: campanulate, or bell-shaped. Do note that the use of this term isn't restricted to members of this family.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:54 AM| Comments (5)
January 30, 2007
Pistacia atlantica
A nod of appreciation to Amir A. from Israel for once again sharing a photograph! Thank you!
With a name like Pistacia, you might make a mental association with pistachio. You wouldn't be far off, botanically speaking. The pistachio of commerce is Pistacia vera, a close relative of this species. As mentioned in the Plants for a Future database, however, the fruit of Pistacia atlantica is not eaten directly – it has the flavour of turpentine.
This property is reflected in one of its many common names, the turpentine tree. Other English common names include terebinth, Mount Atlas pistache, Atlas pistachio and Mount Atlas mastic tree.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has a database of economically important grassland species from around the world. It includes an interesting entry on Pistacia atlantica, with some of the information derived from a traditional Bedouin doctor.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 AM| Comments (3)
January 28, 2007
Isomeris arborea
Today's photograph from Descanso Gardens is thanks to van swearingen@Flickr (original photo | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
The families Cleomaceae (cleome family), Capparaceae (caper family) and Brassicaceae (mustard family) are all closely related. Depending on what reference you read, you may find today's plant, bladderpod spiderflower, in any one of those three families. Traditionally, it is most often placed within the Capparaceae sensu lato (in the broad sense), but I've opted for the Cleomaceae as it forms a well-defined group (scroll up on that page to read the taxonomy of these three families).
Not only is its family under disagreement, but so is its scientific name. I've chosen to use Isomeris arborea as it was used in the Jepson Manual, but the USDA PLANTS database uses Cleome isomeris.
The USDA PLANTS link contains more photographs of the plant, including images of the bladderpods the common name refers to. I might share my photographs of the bladderpods taken in Joshua Tree National Park (this is a plant of the southwest USA and Mexico) in a future BPotD entry.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
January 27, 2007
Dombeya ×cayeuxii
A thank you to Rosa, aka contemplar@Flickr for contributing today's photograph from Jardim da Estrela (original image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). If you haven't visited recently, be sure to visit Rosa's weblog, Blog De Cheiros. Thank you, Rosa!
It is little surprise that this plant is growing in Lisbon, Portugal; it is named after Henri Cayeaux, who was the director of the Botanic Garden of Lisbon during the late 19th / early 20th century. Considering Cayeux's work with hybridization of other plants, it is very likely he was also the plant breeder responsible for this cross, thought to be between Dombeya burgessiae and Dombeya wallichii.
The common name for this plant is pink ball dombeya or pink snowball. One of its parents, Dombeya wallichii, has the common name of tropical hydrangea (though it is not a hydrangea).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:00 AM| Comments (10)
January 25, 2007
Liquidambar styraciflua 'Lane Roberts'
This photograph taken in mid-September of last year is of the same tree that produced this leaf (abstract).
With a quick glance, you might mistake sweet gum for a maple due to a similar leaf shape. However, if you can't recall while taking a closer look that maples have opposite leaves and sweet gums have alternate leaves, you can always look for fruit – you won't mistake that for a maple!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:12 AM| Comments (12)
January 24, 2007
Agave deserti
In my mind, I referred to this plant as “the plant so big, it requires two photographs to capture all of it”. Not really, of course – at a height of up to 6m (20ft), it is quite possible to take a photograph with the entire desert agave in the frame. However, one has to do it from so far away that it doesn't look like much (or at least my attempts failed), considering that 5/6 of that height is the slender flower stalk. So, I'm only able to share a photograph of the inflorescence, in this case from an individual that was only 3m or so high.
Fortunately, other sites have photographs for you to examine. The Living Desert in Palm Desert / Indian Wells, California shares not only a few photographs of the rest of the plant, but also has an excellent factsheet on desert agave. The superb CalPhotos has thirty photographs of Agave deserti for you to peruse. I also love the illustrations of Agave deserti via the Flora of North America entry for the species.
On a different subject, this photograph was taken in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I note with concern that there is a movement afoot to erect a major powerline through the park.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photograph of Nancy Rotenberg and Michael Lustbader at Natural Tapestries. Much to admire in the photo galleries! Not only did I find the nature galleries wonderful, but I also enjoyed this series of photographs of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
January 23, 2007
Darlingtonia californica
If you visit the Oregon Coast near Florence, it is worth the brief amount of time away from the dunes and ocean to step into the Darlingtonia State Natural Site (map). A short boardwalk trail affords the opportunity to observe this species en masse. This photograph was taken in March of last year, a couple months prior to the flowering season.
Like the related Sarracenia purpurea, cobra lily or California pitcher plant is an insectivorous plant. As aptly explained in the Wikipedia entry on Darlingtonia californica, it does have a few qualities that distinguish it from Sarracenia (and the third genus in the family, Heliamphora). First, instead of capturing rainwater, it regulates the water level in its trap through its roots. Second, the species does not produce digestive enzymes to break down the captured insects, but instead relies on symbiotic bacteria to act in a similar way. A third difference is the structure of the modified leaf; its curved, nearly-enclosed trap is seemingly the most effective in preventing the insect from leaving, with a number of “false exits” (transluscent leaf tissue) befuddling and tiring the insect as it tries to escape.
If you're seeking more photographs of this plant, I highly recommend Makoto Honda's Insectivorous Plants in the Wilderness photo gallery page for Darlingtonia californica.
As a botanical aside, the genus was named after the botanist Darlington by the botanist Torrey, who himself had a genus named after him: Torreya, which is prominently mentioned in the linked-to article in this weblog entry from yesterday.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:57 AM| Comments (2)
January 22, 2007
Erinacea anthyllis
A different sort of thank you to lead off today's BPotD: thank you to those BPotD readers who attended yesterday's lecture. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sharing.
Erinacea anthyllis, or hedgehog broom, was previously featured on Botany Photo of the Day in Nov. 2005: Erinacea anthyllis. Its distribution in the western Mediterranean region includes populations in Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada (Sierra Nevada National Park) near Granada, Spain.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:25 AM| Comments (8)
January 21, 2007
Espeletiopsis corymbosa
Another thank you to Andreas of Bogotá (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) for sharing images of plants from Colombia (original). This photograph is part of a set that Andreas has assembled on Cerro de Usaquén. Much appreciated!
I had a difficult time discovering any information about this genus of plants until I broadened my search a little bit and learned that the genus Espeletiopsis (and 7 other related genera) were all once lumped under the genus name Espeletia. That led to discovering this site by Dr. Jason Rauscher, The Espeletia Page. Dr. Rauscher has written a brilliant introduction to this fascinating group of plants. Some tidbits: most of these plants grow in tropical montane regions with the growth form of a giant rosette. The height of plants in these genera range from small rosettes measuring only 5 cm high to the tallest plants in the local landscape at over 5 m. Photographs of some of these giant relatives of today's Espeletiopsis corymbosa can also be found on Dr. Rauscher's site in this gallery of images.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
January 20, 2007
Aesculus californica
Eric in SF@Flickr has kindly shared today's photograph with us (original image posted ~ a year ago on the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you once again, Eric.
California buckeye is endemic to the state. Its poisonous properties were recognized and utilized by the First Nations of the region, who ground the seeds into flour and then used the flour as a fish poison (ref: Jepson Manual and expanded in the Wikipedia entry on Aesculus californica).
Henry W. Coe State Park shares a series of photographs of California buckeye on its web site, if you're keen to see the plant from other perspectives and in detail.
On a different note, if you live in the Seattle area, you might like to attend my lecture on “Beauty and the Botanist” at 1pm tomorrow at the Centre for Urban Horticulture (3501 NE 41st St.), hosted by the Northwest Perennial Alliance. Cost is $5 if you're not an NPA member.
Botany / art resource link: Discovered via Pruned weblog, Wood Anatomy of Central European Species shows the beauty of wood at the cellular level. Take a look at Larix decidua as a fine example of what's available in the list of species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
January 19, 2007
Lachenalia liliflora
Another African plant today, this time courtesy of sky_view@Flickr from California (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Do have a look at sky_view's other stellar images of flowers! Thank you for sharing.
“Lachenalia liliflora is one of the most beautiful and most endangered bulbs on the planet.” states Adam Harrower of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in this thorough article on the species. Along with biological details about the plant, Harrower relates a sad story of the destruction of one of the three known remaining wild populations; it involves a bulldozer and a new housing development. Though his story mentions that half of the plants had survived, more recent accounts I've read suggest that all of the plants have since been wiped out. The Wine Estate De Grendel and the Tygerberg Nature Reserve near Capetown now host the two remaining populations.
This species has also been the subject of artist illustrations. I'm fairly certain one of the first appeared in Icones Plantarum Rarorium (published between 1781 and 1793), available online thanks to the Missouri Botanical Garden's Rare Books initiative here. Jean Emmons, a member of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Florilegium Society, likely has one of the most recent illustrations: Lachenalia liliflora (2006).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
January 18, 2007
Zantedeschia aethiopica
Thank you to Brent aka foliosus@Flickr from Portland, Oregon for sharing today's photograph with us (original) via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool. Check out Brent's web site for an appealing mixture of plants and web design.
A close-up shot of Zantedeschia aethiopica, or arum lily, was previously featured on BPotD. It's accompanied by a good set of links about the plant, so I won't pursue that again today.
However, a little bit of botanical history might be intriguing. Zantedeschia is named after the physician Giovanni Zantedeschi, by the physician and botanist Kurt Sprengel. This pattern of medicine and botany intertwined is longstanding, which makes sense considering the original medicines were directly derived from plants (and, of course, animals).
As another example, the University of Uppsala in 1692 had a professorial chair in “medicine and botany”. This chair was eventually occupied by Linnaeus, after a swap with Rosén for the chair in “practical medicine” (this meant Linnaeus was now in charge of the botanical garden, chemistry and botany while Rosén headed the university academic hospital, human anatomy, human physiology, etc.).
Finally, here's a search on Google for both “physician and botanist” and “botanist and physician”.
Gardening resource link: Kingsbrae Garden in New Brunswick has started up the Kingsbrae Garden Weblog, so you can follow along on how their garden progresses. Discovered via bloomingwriter (jodi DeLong), who posted a comment to yesterday's photos (her take on Kingsbrae is here).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:43 AM| Comments (2)
January 17, 2007
Phoradendron leucarpum
Today's photographs are courtesy of David Smith of Delaware, who shared them via the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. It would have been more appropriate to show these a few weeks ago when David submitted them, but BPotD was running the abstract series at the time. Despite the seasonal relevance of this plant fading for another year, they're also interesting botanically, so here they are. Thanks, David!
Mistletoes, such as this oak mistletoe, are obligate hemiparasites – obligate, because they are obliged to do something, in this case meaning they are dependent on a host plant to complete their life cycle. If they could sometimes live and reproduce independently of a host plant, while at other times live the intriguing life of a parasite, they'd be described as facultative.
David's photographs show quite clearly why these are also termed hemiparasites. Strict parasitism, or holoparasitism, occurs when a parasite is entirely dependent on its host for all of its nutrients, minerals and water. Hemiparasites, on the other hand, do not entirely depend on the host. In this case, Phoradendron leucarpum is capable of its own photosynthesis (sugar production) through chlorophyllous leaves, while still parasitizing the host plant for minerals and water. Compare this strategy with Monotropa uniflora, if you're interested in an assignment.
Will Cook of Duke University shares a different interesting tidbit about Phoradendron leucarpum – a dispersal strategy that involves sticky pulp inside the fruit and birds.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
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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.