Flowering Plants (18)
July 3, 2007
Jasione montana
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to marcella2@Flickr from The Netherlands for today's contribution to BPotD (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
A gardener's factsheet on sheep's bit is available from the BBC Gardening site. You can also enjoy more photographs of Jasione montana from the Vascular Plants of Poland Photoflora, an illustration from the Thomé collections and a photograph of Jasione montana in ultraviolet.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 2, 2007
Aloe ferox
John A. aka gbaku@Flickr from Oregon, USA is the photographer behind today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!
Bitter aloe is native to South Africa. Like many impressive South African plants, Plantzafrica from the South African National Biodiversity Institute has an excellent factsheet: Aloe ferox.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 1, 2007
Hieracium aurantiacum
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you once again to Anne from Alberta (aka annkelliott@Flickr) for sharing one of her photographs with us (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
A native of Europe, orange hawkweed is a problem plant in other parts of the world despite its beauty (the list of Idaho's Noxious Weeds makes an assertion that “distribution of this weed has likely been assisted by flower enthusiasts due to its beauty”).
Wikipedia has more links, though it uses a different scientific name for the species, Pilosella aurantiaca (I've opted to use what is currently accepted by GRIN taxonomy).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
June 30, 2007
Erythronium montanum
Although I'm away in the field and most entries will be brief during the next couple weeks, summer student Raakel Toppila has stepped in to help write a few entries, including today's accompaniment to the photo. – Daniel
Thank you to Brent aka foliosus@Flickr from Portland, Oregon for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Erythronium montanum, or avalanche lily, can be found in subalpine meadows and coniferous forests of Washington, Oregon and southern British Columbia (distribution map). It is among twenty-nine trout lilies native to North America, (list of North American species). The plants take advantage of high soil moisture, blooming just after snow melt.
Erythronium comes for the Greek word meaning red, “erythros”. I have read that this refers to a pink-flowered species used to make dye; however, I cannot find a reliable source supporting this fact. More usefully, knowing this prefix can help when encountering other botanical names, such as erythrocalyx (red calyx), erythrocarpus (red fruit) or erythropodus (red-footed or red-stalked).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
June 29, 2007
Erigeron linearis
Tomorrow, permits in hand, Brent Hine and I will be on our way to Nevada, Oregon and Washington on a seed-collecting expedition for two weeks. A trip made possible by the generous support of the Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia, the purpose of the trip is to gather wild collected seed for the Intermountain Dry Habitat House. I chose today's photograph as it is a representation of the areas we'll be collecting in – open landscapes with the occasional herb or shrub amidst the grasses. Between Brent and myself, we're going to do our best to post daily entries about the expedition on the UBC Botanical Garden Blog, though it won't always be possible – some places simply won't have web access. You're invited to follow along on our trip!
The small daisy-like flower in the lower middle of the photograph is Erigeron linearis, or desert yellow fleabane (or linear-leaf fleabane or desert yellow daisy). This plant of western North America will be a constant companion on our trip, as it is found throughout the range of where we will be collecting east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. Paul Slichter has compiled a factsheet on Erigeron linearis and a few more photographs can be found as part of the Oregon Flora Image Project.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
June 28, 2007
Passiflora miniata
Thanks again to Earl B. of the eastern USA for contributing an image to BPotD, this time from a recent vacation to Costa Rica (I'm envious!).
For decades, if not centuries, this species in the photograph has been known in cultivation as Passiflora coccinea. However, what is pictured here is not the same species as was described by Aublet in 1775. The true Passiflora coccinea (or scarlet passionflower) is quite different from the plant in the photograph; for example, it has two series of corona filaments with the outer series being white or pale pink, large floral bracts and upright pear-shaped fruits that are golden-brown in colour. The Passiflora coccinea of cultivation has three series of corona filaments, the outer series being purple in colour and the two inner series being white (as shown in today's image), small floral bracts (also illustrated today) and large, subspherical, pendulous (and variegated!) fruits.
After learning that this isn't Passiflora coccinea, the logical question that follows is: “What is it?” Hard to believe, perhaps, for a plant that has been cultivated in tropical areas around the world, but it didn't have a published scientific name until 2006, when John Vanderplank set the record straight about Passiflora coccinea and Passiflora miniata in an article in the (subscription-only, sorry) Curtis's Botanical Magazine (Vanderplank, J. 2006. 562. Passiflora miniata. Passifloraceae. Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 23 (3):223–230).
Since the name Passiflora coccinea has been used for so long for this species in cultivation, it is important to establish a link between Passiflora miniata and the wrongly applied name. Botanists will do this by writing Passiflora miniata Vanderpl. (syn. Passiflora coccinea hort.), with the “hort.” meaning “of horticulture”.
The Germplasm Resources Information Network contains the correct information (and species distribution) for Passiflora miniata. On most other sites (and search engines), you'll have to mentally substitute Passiflora miniata when you see Passiflora coccinea, e.g., on the Kemper Center for Home Gardening entry on red granadilla.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:01 AM| Comments (8)
June 26, 2007
Hypericum perforatum
Common St. John's wort is easily recognized, with the plant's distinguishing characteristics including five yellow petals (often ringed with black dots), opposite leaf arrangement and — the reason for the epithet perforatum — leaves that are pellucid. Held up to the light, the leaves appear perforated, though the “holes” are actually transluscent oil glands.
Some of what was written yesterday about foxglove could be applied to common St. John's wort: a species native to Eurasia that has been widely introduced elsewhere, including North America, South America, Australia and South Africa; a species fatal to livestock; and a medicinal use for humans.
Hypericum perforatum has been so successful upon introduction into new areas that it is considered a high-risk invasive plant in some jurisdictions. In typical invasive fashion, it can form dense stands (scroll down to see related photos) and crowd out native plants. This quality combined with the fact that it is poisonous to livestock (it can induce mania and depression, act as an abortifacient, cause dermatitis and lead to death) helped it to develop a reputation as a hated weed.
That reputation has been somewhat softened in recent years with the confirmation of its efficacy as an antidepressant in humans. Wikipedia and the Plants for a Future database provide good summaries of current and historical medicinal use in humans.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:28 AM| Comments (1)
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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.