Flowering Plants (19)
August 12, 2007
Brachycereus nesioticus
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thanks again to Krystyna Szulecka, for sharing today's photograph with us (original in this thread on the UBC BG Forums). See more of Krystyna's images by searching for “Krystyna” on the FLPA web site.
Lava cactus is endemic to the volcanically-formed Galápagos Islands, where it is a colonizer species of lava fields (hence the common name). Due to its narrow geographic distribution, it is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List.
More photographs can be seen via Thomas Schoepke or CalPhotos.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:30 AM| Comments (2)
August 11, 2007
Clematis 'Candida'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to shotaku@Flickr from Missouri, USA for contributing today's photograph (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
One will often find this cultivar under the (incorrect) names Clematis 'Lanuginosa Candida' or Clematis lanuginosa 'Candida'. The Royal Horticultural Society points out, however, that Clematis 'Candida' should be used. The genes of Clematis lanuginosa are indeed found within this cultivar, but that species is one of two parents of this hybrid (the other being Clematis patens).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:05 AM| Comments (4)
August 10, 2007
Lilium 'Orange Pixie'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
kai kane@Flickr, aka Peter F. from Gloucestershire, England is the photographer behind today's BPotD (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thanks, Peter!
As the cultivar name implies, these diminutive lilies grow to a height of only 30-45cm (12-18in). Paghat writes about her experiences with Lilium 'Orange Pixie' (and includes some history of the plant, as well).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:42 AM| Comments (1)
August 8, 2007
Psittacanthus sp.
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Another couple photographs from Mexico today, courtesy of David Tarrant – thanks again, David!
Parrot-flower mistletoe is a member of the plant family Loranthaceae, the largest of the “mistletoe families”. Psittacanthus relies on birds twice in its life-cycle: once for pollination and again for dispersal of seeds (the birds eat the fruit and defecate the seeds on branches).
Though this particular plant is not parasitizing a conifer, the best information online on “Psittacanthus in Mexico” that I can find is a chapter by the same name in Mistletoes of North American Conifers (PDF), a cooperative technical report by scientists in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:06 AM| Comments (5)
August 7, 2007
Triticum aestivum cultivar
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
In terms of global cereal crop production, wheat is second only to maize (corn) (though it sometimes yields the number two spot to rice, depending on the year). China, India and the USA are the world's top-three producers – not so coincidentally, these are also the three countries with the largest populations. Read “The Story of Wheat” from the December, 2005 edition of The Economist for details about the history and future of this exceedingly important crop.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:37 AM| Comments (6)
August 6, 2007
Eremophila sp.
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Georgie Sharp@Flickr is the photographer of today's image (original via Flickr BPotD Group Pool). Thank you, Georgie!
Collectively, eremophilas are also known as emu bushes, hinting at their distribution in the dry lands of Australia (note that this photograph was taken at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden). Australian Plants Online has an extensive article about the genus Eremophila, including photographs of flowers from a number of species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
August 5, 2007
Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. reichenbachii
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Another thank you to Eric in SF@Flickr for sharing a photograph with us (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Much appreciated!
Lace hedgehog cactus is a plant of the southern USA and northeastern Mexico. It forms part of a species group, listed by the Flora of North America as including <“E. reichenbachii, E. chisosensis, E. rigidissimus, E. pseudopectinatus, and an indefinite number of Mexican species”. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has a small factsheet with a series of images.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (8)
August 4, 2007
Datura inoxia
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
WLA@Flickr aka Wayne is responsible for today's photographs (original 1 | original 2 | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thanks, Wayne!
Wayne's written about this species on his weblog, Earth, Wind &Water, and I highly recommend reading the entry – not only will you learn about the plant, but you'll learn a little more about zombies, too: Some Kind of Voodoo. Datura inoxia has a number of common names, including angel's-trumpet, thorn-apple, Indian-apple, moonflower, sacred datura, prickly-burr and toloache (via Wikipedia and the USDA PLANTS database).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (15)
August 3, 2007
Xanthorrhoea australis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Ken Beath, aka kjbeath@Flickr for today's image (original via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool). As always, I also recommend visiting Ken's Australia photo galleries.
The grass tree of southeast Australia is featured in a number of places online: the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants has a factsheet; the New South Wales Flora Online has a more scientific perspective on the plant; and the Australian Plants Society Tasmania delves into conservation issues and economic uses.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (6)
August 2, 2007
Epilobium montanum
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
I'm enjoying Stephen Buchan's botanical panels (via stephenbuchan@Flickr | original), so I thought I'd point them out if you don't follow the BPotD Flickr Group Pool. Thank you for sharing, Stephen!
Broad-leaved willowherb is native to much of temperate Eurasia. Its occurrence in northern Europe, however, seems to be the result of human introduction, where it has established itself as a garden weed. It has recently been noted as a weed in Seattle and, less recently (1976), New Zealand.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:39 AM| Comments (5)
August 1, 2007
Passiflora lutea
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you again to David Smith for sharing a photograph of a Delaware native wildflower (original plus more photos via the BPotD Submissions forum).
Of the roughly five hundred species of passionflower, yellow passionflower is the northernmost-growing species. It is native to the eastern and south-central United States. Passiflora Online has a short, anecdotal factsheet.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:06 AM| Comments (7)
July 31, 2007
Mentzelia hispida
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
David Tarrant continues to send photographs of Mexican plants that are poorly documented online, so here's another. Thank you again, David.
The common name in Mexico for this species is pega ropa or “sticks to clothing”. Blazingstar is the name often associated with the genus Mentzelia, so another common name would be hispid blazingstar (hispida: covered in short, bristly hairs).
This late-summer flowering perennial or subshrub is native to much of Mexico as well as Guatemala. Line-drawings of the flower and fruit can be seen on page 21 of Flora Del Bajío Y De Regiones Adyacentes: Loasaceae (PDF). The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity in Mexico also has more photographs online: Mentzelia hispida.
A different blazingstar was previously featured on BPotD: Mentzelia lindleyi.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:51 AM| Comments (2)
July 30, 2007
Cleistocactus strausii
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Monika F (aka monika & manfred@Flickr) is the contributor of today's photograph (original via the BPotD Flickr Pool). Thank you!
Native to high altitudes of Bolivia and Argentina, silver torch cactus will grow as tall as yesterday's BPotD, big bluestem (to 3m). An image of the tall, columnar appearance (and more information) is available via Wikipedia.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (12)
July 29, 2007
Andropogon gerardii
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Big bluestem, or turkey foot, once covered thousands upon thousands of hectares in North America as a key component of tallgrass prairie ecosystems (the species can grow to 3m / 10ft tall, hence the tallgrass part of the name). Less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie remains.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:50 AM| Comments (1)
July 28, 2007
Alpinia zerumbet
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to lorax @ UBC Botanical Garden Forums of Ecuador for submitting today's photograph (original. Much appreciated!
Cal's Plant of the Week featured shell ginger several years ago. Native to eastern Asia, it is one of the species in which the leaves are used in the wrapping of zongzi (Chinese rice dumplings).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:44 AM| Comments (3)
July 27, 2007
Mimosa monancistra
Thank you yet again to David Tarrant for sharing a photograph from Mexico. Like the Matelea pilosa, it was also taken in El Charco del Ingenio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
From what I've been able to discern, this is one of the few photographs online of Mimosa monancistra (I was also able to locate an image of a dried specimen). I'm always pleased to have uncommon or rarely-encountered plants on BPotD. In Mexico, the common name for this plant is una de gato, or cat's claw (or catclaw).
The genus Mimosa, as currently recognized, has 712 accepted and provisionally accepted taxa, according to the International Legume Database and Information Service. Of those 712 taxa, just over 250 are marked as provisional, suggesting that the taxonomy surrounding the genus is confusing. Dr. Rupert Barneby, writing on the number of species of Mimosa in Brazil, noted that “it is unlikely that an end to discovery is in sight” (source). Dr. Barneby was referring to the number of narrow endemic species occurring on high-altitude islands of campo cerrado (savannah woodland) and campo rupestre (open rocky landscapes). The barriers to interbreeding between populations of these environments, combined with time and selection pressures, has led to many mountains having their own distinct species of Mimosa.
Mexico also has its share of endemic Mimosa species (including today's plant), though the endemism found in Mexico is partly due to the selection pressures of different local soil conditions.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:45 AM| Comments (15)
July 26, 2007
Foeniculum vulgare and Rhagonycha fulva
Ask most people about the various kinds of flower pollinators and the first responses you are likely to get are bees and butterflies. Beetles, however, are also important pollinating organisms. One site uses the figure of beetles contributing to the population of up to 88% of the world's flowering plants (source: Beetle Pollinators via the USDA's Pollinators site), though I haven't been able to find a scientific reference to back up that number (and considering the number of exclusively bee-, butterfly-, moth-, bat-, wind- and water-pollinated plants, I find it a bit hard to believe). Beetle pollination is scientifically known as cantharophily, coincidentally named after the soldier beetle family, Cantharidae, to which the beetle in today's photo belongs.
My observations, later verified upon researching, were that this beetle is an incidental pollinator. In its quest for seeking out small edible insects, the common red soldier beetle (photo in flight | Wikipedia) inserts its head into the diminutive flowers and brushes up against the anthers. Pollen sticks to the head of the beetle and is subsequently transferred to other flowers as it continues its grazing behaviour. In the span of ten minutes, I observed this beetle visiting approximately twenty flowers — quite a pace!
Rhagonycha fulva is often found on members of the Apiaceae, or umbel family, like the plant in today's photograph: Foeniculum vulgare, or fennel (previously featured on BPotD here with a link to Gernot Katzer's spice page on fennel). Interestingly, Gernot Katzer notes that it is not only the fruits of fennel that are used in cuisine; the pollen of fennel (aka “Spice of the Angels”) is a small-scale exotic (and expensive) herb crop in Italy and California. If only the beetles could be trained...
Lastly, thank you to both BugGuide and What's That Bug? for enabling me to identify the beetle.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:03 AM| Comments (8)
July 25, 2007
Rubus Tayberry Group
![Rubus [Tayberry Group]](http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/rubus_tayberry-thumb.jpg)
Following the convention of the Royal Horticultural Society, I've used the name Rubus Tayberry Group for this hybrid. The original tayberry, a cross between the early-ripening Rubus 'Aurora' (a blackberry) and a large-fruited tetraploid raspberry (tetraploids have 4 sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two and tend to be more robust), was hybridized at the Scottish Crops Research Institute in Invergowrie, Scotland (sources: Plants for a Future and Wikipedia). In efforts to improve it (e.g., a longer fruiting season or improving hardiness or thornlessness), other plant breeders would attempt similar crosses but with slight variations (e.g., a different blackberry cultivar as one parent) — the end results would be something closely resembling the original tayberry, but genetically different. Since a cultivar name should, in theory, represent only one distinct genotype, a different naming convention is required when an aggregate of (often) closely-related genotypes are known to exist, though it may be exceedingly difficult to tell them apart. Hence, Tayberry Group. Similar examples include Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens Glauca Group), purple New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax Purpureum Group) and pendulous ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba Pendula Group).
The Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission describes the flavour of tayberry as clean, tangy and tart. I find them to have a slight overtone of soap which isn't altogether pleasant, but perhaps that's just me.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:09 AM| Comments (18)
July 24, 2007
Dierama galpinii
I think this is the first plant on BPotD named after a banker; Ernest Galpin (also see Wikipedia) was a South African born banker who had a life-long interest in plants due to his mother's influence. Dierama galpinii is actually one of several species named in honour of this meticulous collector of South African flora. In fact, two genera are named in relation to him: Galpinia and Mosdenia (named after his farm!).
Dierama galpinii is one of the later-flowering African harebells or fairywands (Dierama pulcherrimum is long-finished). The appearance of the flowers seems to coincide with the African section of the alpine garden starting to decline from the peak colour display of only a week ago.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:23 AM| Comments (2)
July 23, 2007
Proboscidea louisianica subsp. fragrans
Today's image is again courtesy of our “BPotD correspondent in Mexico”, David Tarrant.
This plant was growing along the roadside in the freshly disturbed earth near a building site, a typical locale for this plant of weedy areas, cattle pens and other degraded sites in Texas and Mexico. In Mexico, the common name is toritos or “little bulls”, while in Texas it is variously known as unicorn plant, common devil's claw, ram's horn, cow-catcher or mule-grab. Some common names refer to the paired upright bractlets that subtend the flower, while others refer to the fruit (a series of images including dried fruit and flowers can be seen here, but the site is only working intermittently this morning).
The Plants For a Future database provides references on the human uses of the fruits, including food (when immature), ornamentation, and sewing withes (for the latter, also see the section on “Coiled Baskets for Household Use” in By the Prophet of the Earth: Ethnobotany of the Pima).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:00 AM| Comments (2)
July 22, 2007
Matelea pilosa
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to David Tarrant for today's photograph. It was taken in El Charco del Ingenio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Thanks again, David!
The genus Matelea contains approximately one hundred and eighty species distributed in subtropical and tropical areas of the Americas. Collectively, these twining vines are known as the milkvines, a common name similar to their cousins the milkweeds (the genus Asclepias). Matelea pilosa is a relatively unknown species (few search engine results, no common name), but the Neotropical Herbarium Specimen database at the Field Museum does have a scanned specimen online.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:00 AM| Comments (8)
July 21, 2007
Argemone munita subsp. rotundata
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Argemone munita, or prickly poppy, is divided into four subspecies. Assuming I'm correct in my identification to species (which I may not be), it was trivial to identify this to subspecies rotundata – it is the only subspecies which occurs in Nevada, where this photograph was taken.
Read more about prickly poppy via Calflora.net.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 19, 2007
Cirsium peckii
This is the second thistle from western North America to be featured on BPotD recently that is endemic to only one mountain or small mountainous area. Cirsium peckii, or Steens Mountain thistle, can only be found on Steens Mountain or the nearby Pueblo Mountains of Oregon. Cirsium clokeyi, on BPotD nearly two months ago, is endemic to the Spring Mountains of Nevada. When a pattern like this becomes noticeable, it is certain to catch the attention of botanists – and it has. Dr. Dean Kelch of the Baldwin Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, has investigated these narrowly-distributed endemics within Cirsium. Despite having low genetic diversity (by measure of rDNA), the Cirsium display an unusual amount of ecological diversity. The conclusions? Cirsium in North America have either undergone a rapid ecological radiation (meaning new species have evolved quickly to fill ecological niches) or the rDNA of thistles is highly conserved across species (meaning that as species of thistles evolve, this particular type of DNA does not change as much as it would typically be expected to do given the patterns in other plant groups). See: Kelch, DG and Baldwin, B. 2003. Phylogeny and ecological radiation of New World thistles (Cirsium, Cardueae - Compositae) based on ITS and ETS rDNA sequence data. Molecular Ecology. 12: 141-151.
Photographs of Cirsium peckii in flower can be seen here and here.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:45 AM| Comments (2)
July 18, 2007
Calochortus lyallii
Lyall's mariposa lily only occurs in British Columbia and Washington state. On the Canadian side of the border, it is considered a threatened plant (COSEWIC report on Calochortus lyallii in PDF format), as it can be found in only a few locations within 5km (3 miles) of the Canada-US border. In Washington state, it is relatively more common in the northern and central interior regions, where it occasionally occurs in large, dense populations (distribution map).
A short (to 20cm or 8in) plant of dry, open Douglas-fir and pine forests, it is threatened by cattle grazing and inappropriate reforestation practices post-burn or post-logging (too dense of a canopy will reduce its population numbers significantly). Competition from weedy invaders can also be a problem. The story of cattle grazing and weeds being problematic for native plants is repeated ad infinitum throughout the intermountain area, we observed.
Of the 56 species of Calochortus that occur in North America north of Mexico, we encountered 5 species during our expedition. That number may not seem like a lot, but most of those 56 species are California endemics (where we didn't visit). For those species that do occur outside of California, I think we encountered nearly half of them.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:03 AM| Comments (3)
July 17, 2007
Clarkia pulchella
Paging through the wildflower guides, I often find particular wildflowers I'd like to see one day. While I'm not so keen as to actively seek them out (though Lewisia rediviva was one of the exceptions), when I do find them, I'm fairly delighted. Encountering Clarkia pulchella for the first time was a pleasant surprise. Searching among the (omnipresent) cheatgrass for plants that may be in seed, I spotted a patch of purple flowers. The general habit of the plant flagged it in my thoughts as “That's different from what I've seen before”, so an immediate investigation was necessary. Having seen it in books and knowing its unique appearance, an immediate identification was made as soon as I was close enough to see the petals.
Clarkia pulchella has several common names, including clarkia, pinkfairy, deerhorn clarkia and ragged robin. The Discovering Lewis and Clark site provides Lewis's description of the plant as well as Pursh's painting for more information about this western North American native.
Curiously, the pollen of Clarkia pulchella helped make an important contribution to science. The phenomenon called Brownian motion, whereby particles suspended in a fluid move randomly, was first observed by botanist Robert Brown in the vacuoles of Clarkia pulchella pollen grains. Brownian motion was eventually used as evidence of the atomic nature of matter (i.e., that matter was composed of atoms and molecules) by Albert Einstein, Jean Perrin and other physicists. Brian J. Ford discusses the discovery in a 1992 paper published in The Microscope (40 (4): 235-241): Brownian Movement in Clarkia Pollen: A Reprise of the First Observations
Photography resource link: if you enjoy photomicrography, Small World from Nikon is likely already on your list of bookmarks. If not, it should be – it showcases some of the best photomicrographs through an annual competition. Even though this year's winners have been chosen (and will be announced in the autumn), a “rate-this-photo” system is in place to reveal if there is any difference between what the judges have chosen and what the public would choose. Thanks to David Brownstein for the suggestion.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:51 AM| Comments (4)
July 15, 2007
Loropetalum chinense
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Eric in SF@Flickr for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Fringe flower is a relative of witchhazel (in fact, it is sometime given the same common name). The Plants for a Future database reports on the medicinal uses and cultivation of this east Asian species.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 14, 2007
Cardamine pratensis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Stephen, aka stephenbuchan@Flickr from Edinburgh, Scotland for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Known commonly as cuckoo flower or lady's smock, Cardamine pratensis is a plant of northern temperate meadows and wet open woods (the epithet pratensis means “of meadows”).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (1)
July 13, 2007
Senna hebecarpa
Once again, Raakel Toppila supplies the written portion of today's entry. – Daniel
Thank you to shotaku@Flickr from Missouri, USA for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Senna hebecarpa, commonly known as wild senna, is a North American native plant growing on damp soils in Ontario, the east coast of the United States, south to Georgia and as far west as Wisconsin. Despite its vigour and mass production of seeds (of which only 10-30% are viable) in cultivated situations, this plant is considered endangered. Wild senna grows along roadways, disturbed areas, fields and the edge of streams. However, changes in hydrology, development of land and succession of secondary species are thought to be reducing its numbers.
Medicinal uses of Senna hebecarpa are extensive, ranging from curing cramps to administering for fainting spells. The extensive collecting of this plant for medicinal purposes (PDF) is also thought to contribute to the decline of this species in the wild.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (3)
July 12, 2007
Limodorum abortivum
Thank you again to UBC BG summer student Raakel Toppila for writing today's entry while I'm away. – Daniel
Thank you to yildizkonca@Flickr for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Limodorum arbortivum is a common orchid of the Mediterranean region. Its leaves are reduced in size and therefore the species is thought to be partially mycoheterotrophic, relying on a fungal intermediate to draw nutrients from a photosynthesizing plant with no direct contact between plants. A different form of heterotrophy is parasitism, in which the plant (such as Rhinanthus minor has direct contact to the vascular tissue of a photosynthesizing plant. Heterotrophy is not uncommon among orchids, as they make up about a third of heterotrophic flowering plants. Of these heterotrophic orchid species, twenty completely lack chlorophyll.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (2)
July 11, 2007
Couroupita guianensis
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Dinesh from India (aka dinesh_valke@Flickr) for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool)
Couroupita guianensis is commonly known as the cannonball tree – a photo of the fruit reveals why. For in-depth information about cannonball tree, visit Couroupita guianensis via the Lecythidaceae Pages.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (13)
July 10, 2007
Rhinanthus minor
I'm still out in the field, but summer student Raakel Toppila has helped out by writing today's entry. – Daniel
Thank you to Stephen, aka stephenbuchan@Flickr from Edinburgh, Scotland for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Rhinanthus minor, also known as yellow-rattle, occurs throughout the northern hemisphere, from Europe to Asia to North America. It is a hemiparasitic plant (much like mistletoe), obtaining some nutrients from a host plant or host plants, while still photosynthesizing. This contrasts with holoparasitic plants which lack chlorophyll entirely and therefore have no photosynthesizing apparatus. One study found haustorial connections (morphologically modified tissue which physically penetrates the host plant’s vascular tissue) in the roots of an individual Rhinanthus plant connecting to seven different host species. A rather greedy plant!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (4)
July 8, 2007
Tacca chantrieri
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Thank you to Meg aka meggle@Flickr from the Silicon Valley in the USA for sharing today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Like yesterday's white bat flower, black bat flower (or tiger's whiskers) is also native to southeast Asia. There are twelve species in the genus Tacca. In addition to southeast Asia, Tacca can also be found in tropical Africa, Madagascar and northeast South America.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (11)
July 7, 2007
Tacca integrifolia
Today's entry was written by UBC Botanical Garden summer student Raakel Toppila. – Daniel
Vicki of the eastern USA aka Vicki's Pics@Flickr is the photographer of today's image (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Thank you!
Tacca integrifolia, also known as bat plant or white bat flower, is distributed throughout southeast Asia but can be observed elsewhere in the world where it is popular among conservatories and hobby horticulturists. Its peculiar “whiskers” are actually filiform bracteoles, or small bracts (modified leaves) which arise in the same axil as the flowers.
The unusual flowers of Tacca make one question why such an elaborate floral structure might have evolved. Often guesses can be made, much like Darwin predicted that the orchid Angraecum sesquipedale would have a pollinator with a proboscis long enough to reach its nectary. The later discovery of its pollinator in 1903, the hawk moth Xanthopan morgani praedicta, proved Darwin right.
As for Tacca, some have suggested the “deceit syndrome” as a reason for the evolution of the elaborate flowers. The resemblance of Tacca to decaying organic matter is cited as evidence that it is attempting to attract flies (sapromyiophily) to facilitate cross-pollination. Some traits associated with sapromyiophily include dark flowers and bracts, filiform appendages, trapping mechanisms and the absence of nectar – all traits that are possessed by Tacca species (Tacca integrifolia is also reported to have a musty smell). However, one study has found that Tacca species are primarily self-fertilizing and have no great need for pollinators. The as-yet unanswered question surrounding the elaborate flowers is discussed at the end of the linked article.
A scientific description of Tacca integrifolia is available via the Flora of China, while cultivation information is available from the University of Florida IFAS Extension.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (9)
July 6, 2007
Stachys 'Hidalgo'
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Another thank you to Jacki of Oregon, aka jacki-dee@Flickr for sharing one of her photographs with us (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
There's plenty of confusion surrounding the name of this plant; a glance at search engine results reveals Stachys 'Hidalgo', Stachys coccinea 'Hidalgo', Stachys albotomentosa, Stachys albotomentosa 'Hidalgo', and, for good measure, even Stachys hidalgo (which has never been scientifically published). I've opted to use the name tentatively accepted by the Royal Horticultural Society. The common name is scarlet hedgenettle or seven-up plant.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (5)
July 4, 2007
Hesperoyucca whipplei
Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
Words of thanks to xpeditions@Flickr for today's photograph contribution (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool).
Most online references suggest the scientific name of chapparal yucca is Yucca whipplei, but recent DNA studies have reinforced the 1893 recognition by Trelease of Hesperoyucca as a separate genus. The Flora of North America's description of Hesperoyucca provides more information; the FNA entry on Hesperoyucca whipplei describes the species and includes a map of its distribution north of Mexico.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM| Comments (7)
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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.