Thank you once again to annkelliot@Flickr for sharing one of her photographs from Alberta (original via the UBCBG BPotD Flickr Pool). Much appreciated!

Oh, Hydnellum! After helping identify this Hydnellum peckii five years ago, I've always wanted to see that species in person. Now I'll have to add Hydnellum caeruleum to the list, thanks to Ann.

Commonly known as the blue and orange hydnellum, Hydnellum caeruleum can be found in higher elevation pine-dominated forests of Europe and North America. These photographs from the Fungi of Saskatchewan, Hydnellum caeruleum, support the common name of this species.

Tom Volk's excellent Fungus of the Month has an article about Hydnellum caeruleum, so I have little to add to that account. For those of you interested in economic botany, do read through to the area on the use of Hydnellum to dye silk and wool.

Art resource link: Along with trips to various natural areas in Alaska and Yukon, I also stepped into a few art galleries along the way. I couldn't help but smile a little whenever I encountered the colourful polymer-clay work of Lara Melnik. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend her Bloom show; you can see some of the works by clicking on "Bloom" in the upper left, then Gallery.

Red or western columbine has previously been featured on BPotD. Although it was late in the day, I had to take a photograph of this particular plant because its stems were the blackest I'd ever seen on a columbine. Had I had more time, and if this wasn't one of the windiest sites of the entire trip, I'd have taken photographs of the entire plant. As it was, this plant was dancing around quite a bit. This was taken in Tatsheshini-Alsek Provincial Park, or the extreme northwestern corner of British Columbia (which has the odd distinction of having Yukon to the north and Alaska to the south).

The range of Aquilegia formosa extends from Alaska south to Baja California in Mexico, where it is generally found in open woodlands at low- to mid-elevations. The Burke Museum has an extensive set of photographs.

I'm doing a fair bit for Botany 2008 this week (led a couple tours on Saturday already). If you're a BPotD reader and attending the conference, do note that I'll be giving sunset tours of the botanical garden @ 7pm both tonight and tomorrow night (Tuesday). I'm happy to share the garden with you!

A few bits of local news first before today's write-up. First of all, I've updated Peter Wharton's web page with the obituary the garden has been distributing, as well as posted details about the memorial fund. Secondly, a few people spoke with me at last night's membership tour about Hoshino's photography, so I've brought in my Hoshino's Alaska book if any of you want to drop by my office and have a look. I'll keep it here for at least a few weeks.

Back to BPotD: thanks again to UBC Horticulturist Jacqueline Chambers for today's photographs and write-up! Jackie writes:

Junellia tridens flowers in early to mid-July in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden here at UBC. The clusters of pinkish-white flowers give off a subtle sweet fragrance that drew me (and this little bee) in to take a closer look at this unusual shrub.

Junellia tridens is native to South America, where it is found in southern Argentina and southeastern Chile in the Patagonian steppe ecoregion. The climate in this part of the world is predominantly dry and cold, and the area is constantly battered by strong winds. As a result of these conditions, Patagonian plants are tough -- adapted to withstand cold temperatures, drying winds and little precipitation. In general, the vegetation is predominantly dwarf cushion shrubs and tuft grasses. For a more detailed description of this region, see Patagonian steppe factsheet from the World Wildlife Fund.

Commonly called mate negre (mata negra), Junellia tridens is one of these tough little shrubs. It grows low to the ground, reaching about 60cm, rarely over 1 m. The compact branches and tight clusters of small leaves reduce the amount of surface area exposed to the elements and thus reduce water loss.

The following sites offer photos of the landscape and other interesting plants from this area of the world: Patagonia: Flowers, Flora of Patagonia, and (the commercial) Flora in Patagonia Pictures.

Like yesterday's starflower, Alaska moss heath or Alaska bellheather is found in northwestern North America and northeastern Asia. In most books, you'll find this species listed as Cassiope stelleriana, but it does seem to more properly belong in the different genus. If you're able to, see Stevens, P. 1970. Calluna, Cassiope and Harrimanella: A Taxonomic and Evolutionary Problem. New Phytologist. 69(4):1131-1148. Properties differentiating the two include leaf arrangement (spirally arranged in Harrimanella vs. decussate (opposite pairs) in Cassiope) and petiole length (short in Harrimanella vs. absent in Cassiope). Eight other differences between the two genera are also noted in the paper.

A low cloud ceiling was ever-present during the Alaskan portion of my trip, so these images were taken in the clouds at @1050m (3450ft) along Hatcher Pass.

I'm back from vacation. Over 3 weeks traveling through Alaska, Yukon and northern BC yielded approx. 4500 clicks of the shutter and somewhere between two and three thousand different compositions of flowers, landscapes, animals and more.

The joy of experiencing the beauty and wildness of these places, however, was tempered by the grief of losing a friend and co-worker, Peter Wharton. I learned of Peter's passing early on during the trip, and there is no doubt it affected what I photographed; I've many images of placid and reflective waters.

While in Fairbanks, I learned of the photography of Michio Hoshino from a few photographs featured at the highly-recommended Museum of the North. Hoshino's images of Alaska are unsurpassed. You can view a few of them in the museum's online exhibit about Hoshino: Coming Home. Hoshino's photography is matched by his writing, but much of it can only be found in its original Japanese. Translations of only a few selections have been made, I believe.

One passage from Hoshino: "I remember one day, a long time ago, on my first visit to the coast of the Arctic Ocean, when I tried to take a picture of a single thrush, resting on the top of a beached log. I had found it odd that here, in the midst of the treeless arctic tundra, a drifting tree would have been lifted up onto the shore. This was a spruce tree that had drifted down a river, and after a long journey had arrived at the sea. Carried along by an ocean current, it one day reached these distant northern shores. Its branches fallen off, and its bark peeled free, the tree had become implanted in the sand pointing up toward the sky. It had become a landmark, and not only provided a place for the thrush to rest its wings, but also a scent station where the arctic fox marks its territory. As it slowly rotted, it imparted nutrients to the soil, which one-day might nourish flowers in their short summer bloom. As I thought about this, the boundary between life and death became blurred, and I realized that all things have embarked upon an unending journey."

Today's plant is commonly known as Arctic starflower. It is found in the woods and subalpine meadows of both northwest North America and northeast Asia.

As I noted previously, I'm presently on vacation. Unfortunately, I'm in areas with very sporadic web access, so I'm only posting when I can!

We spotted this sparrow's-egg lady's slipper on the trail to the mineral licks just north of Muncho Lake (in northern British Columbia). I'd been hoping to see this species on my trip, but wasn't really expecting to find it so soon (on the morning of the third day). We could only find a few individuals in the shady areas of some mixed forest.

Read more about this orchid via the USDA's "Meet the Ladies": Cypripedium passerinum. The Flora of North America also has its scientific account of this species.