Flowering Plants (17)
May 17, 2007
Ranunculus aquatilis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thank you to marcella2@Flickr for sharing today's image with us (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
White water-crowfoot is native to ponds, lake margins, marshes and slow-flowing rivers throughout much of the northern hemisphere. In Europe, Asia and Africa, it can be found from Norway south to northern Africa. In North America, it stretches from the Arctic to Mexico (note that some treatments suggest it is distributed only in western North America, while others list all of North America).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
May 16, 2007
Fruit Medley
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thank you to codiferous@Flickr for sharing today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
codiferous names the fruits from his autumn Washington hike in the comments accompanying the original photograph.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
May 15, 2007
Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum' (tentative)
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thank you to Jacki of Oregon, aka jacki-dee@Flickr for today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Read more about fennel via Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
May 14, 2007
Aloe plicatilis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thank you to badthings@Flickr for today's photograph (original image | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). badthings is also the writer behind the weblog Two Gardens, where you can see many more fine photographs and accompanying writing.
Read about the African fan aloe via the South African National Biodiversity Institute's PlantZAfrica.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
May 13, 2007
Rosa 'Ausmas'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Lorraine E. of Chicago, Illinois for submitting today's photograph – much appreciated!
The Kemper Center for Home Gardening has an excellent factsheet for Rosa 'Ausmas'.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:00 AM| Comments (4)
May 12, 2007
Corydalis scouleri
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Scouler's corydalis or western corydalis is native to British Columbia, Washington and Oregon (Corydalis scouleri in Flora of North America). More images are available to view via the Burke Museum.
Lastly, for local readers, here's one final mention of tomorrow's Perennial Plant Sale. Corydalis scouleri will be available.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
May 11, 2007
Ornithogalum nutans
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thanks to Vicki of Maryland, USA for sharing this photograph (check out Vicki's Pics@Flickr).
Drooping (or nodding) star-of-Bethlehem or silver bells is native to Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, though it has now naturalized in some parts of North America and elsewhere. Missouri Plants has a good writeup on Ornithogalum nutans. Also, check out an 1885 illustration of the species.
Note to local readers: the Canadian Geranium and Pelargonium Society is having its annual plant sale and art show this weekend. As always with these plants, look for vibrant colours and interesting scented foliage!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
May 10, 2007
Potentilla ×ananassa 'Frel'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
This cultivar will be available at the upcoming Perennial Plant Sale on Sunday, but you won't find it listed as Potentilla ×ananassa 'Frel'. Instead, look for Fragaria PINK PANDA (the all-capitalized words signify its tradename, in this case). As for whether it is a Fragaria or Potentilla, please see the text of this interpretative sign.
Paghat has written about this cultivar here.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
May 9, 2007
Gilia capitata
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Thank you to Cliff aka The Marmot@Flickr (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool) for today's image.
Globe gilia or bluehead gilia is native to western North America. The epithet capitata refers to tightly-clustered flowers forming at the apex of a stem.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
May 8, 2007
Dodecatheon pulchellum
Few-flowered shooting star (or darkthroat shootingstar or prairie shooting star or pretty shooting star) is native throughout western North America. I've so far found it on grass-covered hills with localized moist (but not saturated) soils owing to springtime melts.
Pollination of plants in the genus Dodecatheon is aided by buzz pollination (more), in which a strong pulse of rapid buzzing by a bee vibrates the anthers, causing the pollen to discharge.
The Primulaceae (or primrose family) are predominantly found in the northern hemisphere (map). Viewed together with the closely-related Myrsinaceae and Theophrastaceae, a representative of this trio of plant families can be found almost anywhere in the world, excluding central Africa, parts of Australia and polar regions.
More photographs of this species can be found on the stellar Burke Museum site: Dodecatheon pulchellum.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:58 AM| Comments (2)
May 7, 2007
Saruma henryi
Today's photograph and accompanying text are courtesy of Douglas Justice, Curator of Collections at UBC Botanical Garden. — Daniel
Saruma henryi is just one of the many interesting offerings at the annual Mother’s Day Perennial Plant Sale held at UBC Botanical Garden. This beautiful herbaceous perennial is seldom commercially available, which is unfortunate, as it is an easy, adaptable plant for the shaded, woodland garden. A clumping perennial, it will grow to 1m in height. The name Saruma is an anagram of a related genus, Asarum, the wild (hardy) gingers, and the epithet henryi commemorates the great Irish plant explorer, Augustine Henry (1857–1930). The species is monotypic (the only species in its genus) and somewhat unusual in its family, as its closest relatives have simple, tubular, flesh- coloured, fly-pollinated flowers or convoluted weirdly shaped flowers adapted to specific pollinator behaviour (including providing specific brood sites for insects).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:35 AM| Comments (9)
May 6, 2007
Amorphophallus titanum
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thanks once again to van swearingen@Flickr for sharing a photograph with us (original photo | BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Excluding economically-vital plants, I suspect titan arum receives the most minutes of airtime and most inches / centimeters of newsprint than any other species of plant. Considering its impressiveness as the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world and the fact it can be cultivated (unlike the largest flower), it is perhaps no surprise that it is a media darling when it blooms.
View a set of photographs of Amorphophallus titanum taken at Kew in April 2007 by whatsthatpicture@Flickr to see how the inflorescence changes as the plant blooms. RBG Kew provides a detailed mini-site on titan arum, while Wikipedia provides links to current and historic blooming events along with an information summary.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
May 5, 2007
Trillium nivale
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
I suppose there's no denying I've an affection for trilliums. Ah well.
Dr. Michael Hickman, Professor and Associate Director at the University of Alberta Devonian Botanic Garden near Edmonton sent along this photograph taken last week with the words “We have spring!”. It looks like DBG is setting up a What's In Bloom feature on their web site, so that's something to keep an eye on.
Snow trillium is native to the northeastern USA (see the Flora of North America entry for a range map). John Hilty's Illinois Wildflowers provides an excellent summary: Trillium nivale.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
May 4, 2007
Anagallis arvensis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
Today's photograph is courtesy of our friends at Dias com árvores, especially Paulo Araújo and Maria Carvalho. Paulo shared the photograph on the BPotD Submissions forum here with mention that it would subsequently be blogged on Dias com árvores, which Maria did: The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Read more about scarlet pimpernel on Wikipedia, Missouri Plants and Plants for a Future database.
For local BPotD readers: the Alpine Garden Club of BC has its annual spring sale tomorrow – some of the best deals on plants you can find, all offered by great and friendly people.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
May 3, 2007
Potentilla cuneata
It's been a while since I've shared a plant featured in UBC Botanical Garden's 2005 book “The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia” (the series of 5 BPotD coinciding with the release of the book starts here). Since I discovered this plant is also going to be available at the UBC BG Perennial Plant Sale, I thought it worthwhile to coincide a mention of both the book and the event.
Cuneate cinquefoil, as written by Brent Hine in “The Jade Garden”:
“Among the indomitable dwellers of the higher reaches, the genus Potentilla truly stands out. It is a vast group, and Potentilla cuneata is a fine example. Technically a subshrub, this groundcover behaves in cultivation like a herbaceous perennial. The specific epithet refers to its leaf bases, which taper down (wedge-like) to the petioles. In its native habitat, it grows on exposed hills and meadows, slowly creeping during the short growing season. What makes this perennial so eminently suitable in cultivation is its ability to adapt and thrive under markedly different conditions. A prime example derives from a seed collection taken in Nepal at 3870m. Coming from what can be an unforgiving climate for most of the year, our plant has been thriving in cultivation at UBCBG for 30 years. Locally, it experiences a mostly snowless climate at close to sea level. So this little fellow has proven itself a marvel of adaptability. Its value is further evident in its multiseason good looks, including an extensive bloom of golden yellow flowers.”
“The short rhizomes of Potentilla cuneata slowly form a close-knit carpet in gritty soil, and after many years the plant has reached a diameter of about 2m. Meanwhile, from midsummer the extended flower show begins. The bright blossoms are short-stemmed and produced in such profusion as to turn the plant into a reflection of the sun. Although the main flowering season of these 2.5cm single “roses” is about 6 weeks, intermittent bloom lasts until the cooler nights of the fall. The perennial has charming trifoliage, silky, incised leaves that exhibit a warm-toned colourful display before they drop.”
The account in the book continues on to include hardiness, cultivation and propagation information.
“The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia” is available locally in the Shop in the Garden and other fine bookstores. You can also purchase the book online from Amazon.com
Photography resource link: In this thread on the forums, Liz from Victoria, Australia pointed out the work of the late Peter Dombrovskis, an environmentally-influential German-born Australian photographer. I vaguely recall hearing of Dombrovskis from a documentary some years ago. The National Library of Australia has made of some of his images available online; from the Pictures Catalogue, type Dombrovskis into the search field. This photo is among my favourites.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:55 AM| Comments (4)
May 2, 2007
Arisaema sikokianum
Almost every year I photograph the reliable and intriguing woodland plant Arisaema sikokianum — a few older photographs can be seen here. Its common names are generally a reflection of its Japanese origin: Japanese Jack-in-the-pulpit and, more romantically, snow rice-cake plant (link to Paghat's site with gardening information). It is also known as gaudy jack.
View more photographs of Arisaema sikokianum via the International Aroid Society.
Botany resource link: Stannous F sent me a note letting me know that the folks at Earth Science Picture of the Day have had a few plant-related photographs recently. Here are two: Xanthorrhoea australis (grass trees) in Brisbane Ranges National Park, Australia and a Boreal Forest Ring from the Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada area.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:24 AM| Comments (8)
April 30, 2007
Balsamorhiza deltoidea
Of the three species of balsamroots found in the Columbia River Gorge, I believe this to be Balsamorhiza deltoidea, or northwest balsamroot, but I could very well be incorrect in my identification. The backlit spikes of flowers are lupine, likely Lupinus onustus – these are a week or two behind the ones in the other photograph, the difference between a flatland exposure with other herbaceous perennials forming a shaded cover and a southern hilly exposure with little competition.
This was photographed at the Tom McCall Preserve at Rowena.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:54 AM| Comments (1)
April 29, 2007
Rhododendron periclymenoides
BPotD is in brief entry mode on weekends and holidays from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Earl B. of the eastern USA for sharing today's photograph with us. This photograph was taken on April 6, 2007.
Pink azalea or Pinxterbloom azalea is a native of the eastern United States. Flower colour and form can be highly variable (see previous link and the Kemper Center for Home Gardening to view examples). This species will be present in UBC Botanical Garden's new Carolinian Forest.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
April 27, 2007
Lewisia rediviva
I neglected to mention in yesterday's entry that if you plan to visit the Painted Hills (and particularly if you'd like to photograph them), I recommend picking a day where the area experiences rainfall in the morning followed by broken cloudy skies with patches of blue sky in the afternoon. The net effect is a combination of saturated colours from the precipitation and changing strength of light and shadows as the clouds move across the sky, offering a mix of dramatic and subtle scenes. Those sorts of days also happen to be good for photographing wildflowers, assuming the rainfall is intermittent or light.
This photograph was taken on such a day, with the saturation evident in the reddish stones and black basalt-rich soil (those with keen eyes will note that the orange patches, sometimes covering entire stones, are due to a crustose lichen – the stone along the bottom edge provides an in-focus example). Water droplets on the partially-opened flowers of the bitter-root affirm the earlier rain.
Lewisia rediviva has previously been featured on BPotD in two entries (here and here), though neither show a close-up of the flower. On a sunny day, the blossom will fully expand and become more noticeable from a distance, much like what is seen in the previous BPotD entries.
To read more about bitter-root, I advise starting with this summary from the North American Rock Garden Society and following that quick read with the excellent article on the Discovering Lewis & Clark site: Lewisia rediviva.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:31 AM| Comments (4)
April 25, 2007
Lupinus onustus (tentative)
A weekend trip to central northern Oregon and southern Washington yielded more than a few photographic opportunities. The wildflowers were out in abundance on both sides of the Columbia River. I found Paul Slichter's Wildflower Viewing Areas in the Columbia River Gorge and Currently Blooming Wildflowers in Oregon & Washington to be invaluable guides in planning the trip.
Paul prefers the name Lupinus latifolius var. thompsonianus for this taxon; if treated as such, it is a Columbia River Gorge endemic, found only on low- to mid-elevation hillsides bordering on a 70km (40mi) stretch of the river. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System, however, synonymizes this variety with Lupinus onustus, a species with a broader range as it is also found in California. The USDA PLANTS database, which nearly always complies with ITIS, suggests a different name. It lists this entity as Lupinus sericeus subsp. sericeus var. thompsonianus. To add to the confusion, the range maps for both Lupinus sericeus subsp. sericeus var. thompsonianus and Lupinus onustus in the PLANTS database exclude Washington state, where this photograph was taken.
Have I mentioned yet that the taxonomy of Lupinus is confusing? “In the New World, Lupinus is notorious for being a very complex and difficult genus. Taxonomic confusion exists in the literature, where numerous taxa or groups are distinguished based on only a few minor and inconsistent morphological characters. Over 1700 names have been proposed for Lupinus. Approximately 200 species clustered in 18 groups were suggested by Smith (1944) for North America. Taking into account new evidence from various approaches, it became clear to modern authors that the complexity of this genus resulted from its high morphological, breeding system, and ecogeographical diversity and the lack of clear diagnostic features to separate species” (quoted from the opening paragraphs of Ainouche, A-K and R. Bayer. 1999. Phylogenetic relationships in Lupinus (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae) based on internal transcribed spacer sequences (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Am. J. Bot. 86:590-607.).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:26 AM| Comments (8)
April 24, 2007
Acer palmatum 'Fairy Hair'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
A few words of thanks are in order to Jacki of Oregon, aka jacki-dee@Flickr for today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
The question as to whether 'Fairy Hair' (or 'Fairyhair', if you prefer) is the original name for this cultivar is a matter of huge debate among maple collectors. Unfortunately, clarity is not easy to find when the history of a particular Japanese maple cultivar may span three continents and decades, if not centuries, of time. Discussions about the possibility of this cultivar being Japanese in origin (with an accompanying Japanese name) can be found in this thread on the UBC Botanical Garden forums and this thread on The Maple Forum.
One final reminder to local enthusiasts: the Collectors' Plant Auction and Gala takes place on Thursday evening. If you're interested in this maple cultivar (whatever its true name), one will be available at the auction. This event is a major fundraiser for the garden, with the net proceeds from the evening supporting the garden's new Carolinian Forest and the Garry Oak Meadow and Woodland Project.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
April 23, 2007
Rubus spectabilis 'Olympic Double'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel
'Olympic Double' salmonberry is also known as Rubus spectabilis 'Flore Pleno' (the cultivar name 'Flore Pleno' is often used to denote double-flowering forms of plants).
If you're a local resident, you might like to know that this plant is available as part of a Rubus collection auction item in the upcoming Collectors' Plant Auction and Gala on Thursday evening. I think individual smaller plants will be available at either the Shop in the Garden or the Perennial Plant Sale (or possibly both!).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (10)
April 22, 2007
Tulipa 'Zurel'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Tulipa 'Zurel' is coloured purple and white, photographed here en masse with an errant unknown red tulip. One of the charms of the Roozengaarde tulip fields was the presence of uniformity-breaking individuals in different colours scattered throughout the plots – that little dash of “imperfection” spurred dozens of conversations easily overheard by photographers waiting for the breeze to vanish. Those exclamatory conversations were absent in other fields where a strict uniformity of colour was maintained.
In local news, one of the city papers has covered the upcoming Collectors' Plant Auction: Rare-plant auction boosts UBC garden.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
April 21, 2007
Taraxacum officinale
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Steve S. of Venice Beach, California has kindly shared today's photograph with us. Thank you!
The common dandelion is ubiquitous in Eurasia (where it is native except for the recent introduction to Svalbard) and North America (where it is not). A brief glimpse at the taxonomy and genetics of dandelion reveals an interesting story (including the fact that there is no type specimen), but more than I can share in a weekend entry – I'll have to follow-up with a different photograph at a future date.
An off-topic reminder to local residents: the garden is hosting a community Earth Day Celebration tomorrow (April 22) from 11am to 3pm.
Botany resource link: I missed announcing this prior to the program being aired, but I suspect it will be shown again: the Nova program First Flower on PBS. I don't have a television, so I haven't seen it, but Stannous F of San Francisco suggested that the link be shared. He's not steered me wrong yet! Though the online site doesn't share the program, it stands on its own as a learning and resource site with videos, links, photos and quizzes.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (9)
April 20, 2007
Trillium ovatum 'Tillicum'
In horticultural parlance, this is considered a “double-flowered form” of western trillium. As noted by Ron B in response to silver_creek's photograph of this same plant at UBC Botanical Garden in this discussion thread, double-flowered trilliums are indeed uncommon, to the point where no named cultivars were known to exist by the authors of a book on the genus. This cultivar predates that book by at least twenty years, but seems to have slipped into obscurity. With the exception of the photographs and discussion on the UBC BG web site, there are no other mentions of it online. Perhaps it has only ever been in the collections of two institutions: UBC BG and the Washington Park Arboretum, the source of the material here at UBC.
An understanding of double-flowering manifestations is continuing to build. It has long been recognized that double-flowered forms are the result of mutated floral organs, e.g., stamens developing as petals. However, the genetics of these transformations, such as which genes are at least partly responsible, has not been well understood until recent years. I'll have to track down the paper this media release is based on, but for now, please read Genes for Unusual 'Flower Within a Flower' are Identified by UCSD Scientists.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:11 AM| Comments (6)
April 19, 2007
Epimedium ×versicolor 'Sulphureum'
A thank you to shotaku@Flickr for today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Do visit shotaku's Flickr pages for more photographs of plants and landscapes. Thank you!
Paghat goes straight to the matter of common names for epimediums, and I'll agree with her – occasionally, I hear or use the common name barrenwort, but I don't think I've ever heard fairy wings or bishop's hat, so perhaps those common names are in use in other regions.
The × symbol signifies that this is a hybridized entity. In this instance, the parents are known: the east Asian Epimedium grandiflorum and, native to the Black Sea region, Epimedium pinnatum subsp. colchicum. The two taxa were crossed prior to 1850 at the Ghent University Botanical Garden.
This is a stellar garden plant, having received a Plant of Merit award from the Kemper Center for Home Gardening, an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society and a Great Plant Pick designation for the Pacific Northwest. The GPP factsheet provides an explanation surrounding the confusion between the cultivars 'Sulphureum' and 'Neosulphureum' (with the former often being sold under the name of the latter), but also recognizes that both are worthy of the Great Plant Pick designation. To the gardeners, note that this cultivar can grow admirably in one of those most vexing places in the garden, dry shade.
When writing about epimediums, it is always necessary to provide a link to Darrell Probst's The Epimedium Page.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:55 AM| Comments (2)
April 18, 2007
Erythronium americanum
Another thank you to David Smith of Delaware for sharing a photograph with us of one of Delaware's native wildflowers (posted in this thread on the BPotD Submissions forum). Appreciated once again, David.
Common names for this eastern North American species include trout lily, American adder's tongue (a reference to the leaves) and dogtooth violet (a reference to the bulbs); an expanded explanation of the common names can be found on the Kemper Center for Home Gardening page for the plant.
Like many woodland understorey plants in eastern North America, Erythronium americanum produces leaves and flowers early in the spring, prior to the canopy trees flushing with leaves. This temporal adaptation is a method to maximize growth when light is most available to the plant, despite the cool temperatures associated with early spring. As it turns out, though, plant growth is optimal at cooler temperature regimes: see Lapointe, L and Lerat S. 2006. Annual growth of the spring ephemeral Erythronium americanum as a function of temperature and mycorrhizal status. Canadian Journal of Botany. 84:39-48. The researchers found that bulb biomass was increased for the set of plants exposed to a lower temperature regime (and that net nutrient uptake was not reduced for this set).
A scientific description of the genus Erythronium and Erythronium americanum can be found in the Flora of North America, while Missouri Plants has more photographs of the species and a shorter description.
Botany / horticulture resource link: I've linked to this site in a few previous entries, but not as a resource link – California Rare Fruit Growers “is the largest amateur fruit-growing organization in the world”. That 2007 Festival of the Fruit in San Diego is looking very appealing...! The site provides a number of excellent resources, including fruit factsheets.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:00 AM| Comments (7)
April 17, 2007
Tulipa 'Ile de France'
A change of plans on the weekend yielded an opportunity to attend the 24th Annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival near the Mount Vernon / Burlington area of Washington. Fortune favoured me for once, and I toured while the flowers were at their peak. Tulipa 'Ile de France' was one of about four dozen cultivars of tulips that could be seen in the fields, bordered by hundreds of people. Though I didn't photograph during my preferred times of the day (i.e., early morning and late evening), the weather was in my favour – cloudy with sunny breaks provided light that was suitable for midday photography as it gave a changing environment of soft diffuse light and harsh direct light. The latter is usually not so desirable, but with tulips, it is an opportunity to take photographs with backlighting. Today's photograph is one of 381 that survived my first round of discarding lower-quality shots.
'Ile de France' is a multi-use tulip; it is suitable for cut flowers, bedding plantings or container plantings. It was my favourite of the day; since the bulbs can be planted close together, the effect of the mass planting was a solid ribbon of red which I found very appealing (other cultivars require more space between individuals, so the en masse colouration was not as dense).
Although some of the tulips in the fields are sold as cut flowers, much of the field production of tulips in this instance are sold as bulbs.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:35 AM| Comments (8)
April 16, 2007
Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia
This is the last in the series on tropical and subtropical fruit. These two photographs are shared by Friedrich K of Heidelburg, Germany, aka fuchsiafred@Flickr (original image 1 | original image 2 | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Friedrich has put together a small series on these bergamot oranges to illustrate the making of a traditional liqueur flavoured by the rind of these citrus fruits. Thank you, Friedrich!
The origins of Bergamot orange are unknown, according to an industry web site, Consorzio del Bergamotto: Reggio Calabria (warning: Flash site). The industry site lists experts having traced its origins to places such as China, Greece, Spain (near Berga) and Turkey — and then fancifully suggests it is of mythical origin as a spontaneous mutation discovered in the city of Fata Morgana, a mirage city purportedly observed in the Strait of Messina (between Sicily and Calabria in Italy). Whatever its origin, somewhere around 90% of the world's production of Bergamot oranges occurs in Calabria.
The economic uses of Bergamot orange are not restricted to flavouring traditional liqueurs, though. Prominent among its modern applications is its use as the major flavouring ingredient for Earl Grey tea. Historically, oils were also extracted from its rind in the production of the original Eau de Cologne (the oil from the petals of Citrus aurantium, the sour (or bitter or Seville) orange are also used). Unfortunately, there have been some consumer difficulties with the oil from the Bergamot orange rind – turns out it can discolour skin and cause burning when exposed to light (i.e., it is phototoxic). The industry is fighting against the trend toward using synthetic Bergamot oil replacements by finding alternative uses for the fruits, such as oils for aromatherapy, juices and marmalade.
A word of caution I should add from Mabberley's “The Plant Book”: he notes that the rind oil is allegedly carcinogenic. The PAN Pesticides Database lists its carcinogenic properties as unknown (it is also used as a dog, cat and insect repellent).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
April 15, 2007
Psidium guajava hybrid
BPotD is in brief entry mode on weekends and holidays from April through September. – Daniel
The second last in the series on tropical (and subtropical) fruits is again courtesy of Eric in SF@Flickr (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Another thank you for you, Eric!
Guava is cultivated in tropical regions worldwide, so it is difficult to discern its origin. It is thought to be native to Central America and Mexico. Again, dozens if not hundreds of cultivated varieties exist, hence the addition of the word hybrid to the name. Read more via Fruits of Warm Climates: Psidium guajava.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
April 14, 2007
Eriobotrya japonica hybrid
BPotD is in brief entry mode on weekends and holidays from April through September. – Daniel
A contribution from fancymefoxy@Flickr gives us today's photograph to add to the series on tropical (and subtropical) fruits (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!
Loquat is a member of the rose family, and native to southeastern China and (possibly) Japan. Read more via Fruits of Warm Climates: Eriobotrya japonica.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:00 PM| Comments (6)
April 13, 2007
Annona muricata
Thank you to sabagal of Kansas City, Missouri for today's photographs from her time on the Caribbean island of Saba (in the Netherland Antilles). sabagal has posted the original photographs of these and other tropical fruits in this thread in the BPotD submissions forum. Do keep the thought in mind while reading sabagal's commentary on the images that Saba is only 13 km2 (5 square miles)! Thank you for sharing, sabagal.
I particularly liked what sabagal shared about her experiences with this fruit: “Soursop is so popular that people will pick it too green and even steal it. If you knew of a bush in a corner you never told anyone about it. We made smoothies, ice cream and cheesecake with it.” Sounds precious!
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but yet again, Morton's Fruits of Warm Climates provides the most detailed information about this species online: Annona muricata. As noted in that article, soursop isn't the most marketable of names for this fruit. Neither is the Dutch common name, zuurzak, which translates to “acid bag” (source: Wikipedia). Chinese gooseberry became popular once it began to be sold as kiwifruit – perhaps a similar effort will one day be made on the behalf of soursop.
A few bits of BPotD news, all to do with maintenance. First of all, there were a few hours yesterday when the site was down as we were upgrading the operating system on the web server. Usually, this means about five minutes of downtime so it's not worth mentioning, but we ran into some difficulties – this is discussed in a bit more detail in this discussion thread (since there were a few concerns about wonky behaviour).
Secondly, the building that contains the garden's web sites server will be undergoing electrical upgrades this weekend. Due to this, BPotD and other parts of the web site will not be available from 5:30pm on Friday, April 13 to noon on Saturday, April 14 (local time). The BPotD entry will be published later than usual, @ 2pm (local time) on Saturday.
For good measure, though, if you're an email subscriber, you won't receive email notification until the evening. The UBC email system is also undergoing a major upgrade on Saturday, from 7am to 7pm local time, so no emails will be sent out until that is complete, sometime after 7pm.
Fortunately for locals, the Alpine Garden Club of BC Spring Show is on this weekend. If you attend the show (and visit VanDusen Gardens while you're there), you'll barely notice that this web site is offline for a bit.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:16 AM| Comments (5)
April 12, 2007
Nephelium lappaceum cultivar
Continuing with the small series on tropical fruits, today's image is thanks to aegisd@Flickr (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). It was very clever to place the rambutan on a platter with a clover illustration for a mirroring effect. Thank you!
Julia Morton's Fruits of Warm Climates once again provides one of the best online references: rambutan. Rambutan is native to Indonesia, though it has been subsequently introduced into cultivation throughout much of the tropics. Its family, the Sapindaceae, also includes the southern China natives lychee and longan.
Morton refers to a number of cultivars of rambutan; noting that this appears to have been cultivated in Thailand, I'm going to assume this fruit is from one of the cultivated varieties, but I'll have to leave it to others with more expertise to determine the name of the one in this photograph (if that's possible on fruit and origin alone).
For more photographs, I'll again suggest the USDA's Pacific Basin Tropical Plant Genetic Resources unit's images of its accessions: Nephelium. Wikipedia draws some of its information from Morton's work, though there are some particularly interesting additional tidbits regarding the reproduction of rambutan plants if you read the entire article: Nephelium lappaceum.
Updated on April 12 at 9:30am local time: I forgot to mention this bit of news re: the garden's web site. The building that contains the server that hosts the garden's web sites will be undergoing electrical upgrades this weekend. Due to this, the web site will not be available from 5:30pm on Friday, April 13 to noon on Saturday, April 14 (local time). The Photo of the Day entry will be published later than usual, sometime after noon (local time) on Saturday.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:35 AM| Comments (8)
April 11, 2007
Artocarpus odoratissimus
Eric in SF@Flickr is not only responsible for today's photograph (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool), but also for suggesting a series on tropical fruits. Sounds like a good idea to me, though I have few (if any) photographs to add to the mix since my trip to a tropical area was postponed by a year. If you have any tropical fruit images, it'd be an ideal time to add them to the Flickr pool or BPotD submissions forum. Thanks again, Eric!
The genus Artocarpus is a member of the Moraceae, or mulberry family (sometimes called the fig family). In addition to the marang shown in today's image, the genus includes the better-known breadfruit and jackfruit. Unlike the jackfruit, however, the fruits of marang are relatively light and small, weighing only 1kg (2.2 lbs). Not many fruits can compare to the 50 kg jackfruit in size, though.
Marang is a local delight in the regions where it is grown. As noted in the Under-Utilized Tropical Fruits of Thailand (where it is cultivated; the species is native to Borneo and the Philippines), Artocarpus odoratissimus “has low yield and short shelf-life as compared to jackfruit”, making broader distribution of the fruit as an economic crop difficult. Too bad in some ways, as it seems to be the highest-prized fruit among the genus.
The USDA's Pacific Basin Tropical Plant Genetic Resources unit has a series of photographs of fruits in the breadfruit genus, including marang.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:02 AM| Comments (12)
April 10, 2007
Solanum quitoense
Andreas of Bogotá, Colombia, aka Quimbaya@Flickr, is the photographer of today's images (original 1 | original 2 | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you once again, Andreas!
Andreas shares his observations along with his photographs: “Very aromatic fruit; the pulp is used to prepare a delicious juice. In Colombia it is known as ‘lulo’, in Ecuador as ‘naranjilla’.”.
Learning or knowing that the species is named after Quito, Ecuador (the second-highest capital city in the world) gives you an idea of its native distribution range: higher elevations in subtropical South America and Central America.
Julia Morton's Fruits of Warm Climates provides a detailed account of the horticulture and botany of Solanum quitoense, including accounts of a few (sadly) abandoned attempts to expand the commercial production of this fruit.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:23 AM| Comments (12)
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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.