A short entry today, I'm afraid--I'll post a longer entry of this species sometime showing the entire plant with a mammal counterpart.

The range of Canada wild rye stretches from west to east in North America, and reaches its northern extent in the Northwest Territories. At its southern limit, it inhabits three northern Mexican states: Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. It is found in almost every state and province in between, with the exception of some states in the southeast USA and the easternmost provinces in Canada.

Katherine is responsible for today's entry:

A big thank you to sandy130@UBC Botanical Garden Forums for today's image of Hoya curtisii. The accompanying text is from the original 1908 publication of the species in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 74(2): 563. This text was contributed to the Biodiversity Heritage Library by the Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.

Hoya curtisii is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Among hoyas, this species has some of the smallest leaves. Hoya curtisii is a relatively slow growing hoya with yellowish-green flowers with red centers. Descriptions of its fragrance range from citrus-like to smelling initially of fresh grass then, with age, more melon-like. Often used as an ornamental plant, particularly in baskets as it does not "climb or twine", plants of Hoya curtisii are tolerable to some drought, but not complete dryness.

The genus Hoya was named in honour of Thomas Hoy and comprises 200-300 species, which are commonly referred to as waxplants, waxvines, waxflowers, or hoyas. Studies at the University of Georgia found Hoya to be very capable of removing some indoor pollutants. Hoyas also exhibit Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) whereby plants reduce evapotranspiration by closing stomata in their leaves during the day, and collecting CO₂ at night.

The book Medicinal Plants of Asia and the Pacific by Wiart (2006) provides insight to the traditional medicinal uses of some hoyas, including Hoya coriacea (used as treatment for asthma), Hoya coronaria (to induce vomiting, traditional use in Indonesia), and Hoya diversifolia (to ease the pain of rheumatism, used in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia). Methanolic extracts of Hoya diversifolia have also been shown to exhibit antinematodal activity.

Botany and mathematics resource link (added by Daniel): More on Fibonacci series today--a colleague had a question on branching patterns in saguaro cacti and conifers, which led him to find this neat project write-up he shared with me: The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees, a Young Naturalist Award winner from the American Museum of Natural History.

A couple more images from my slowly-developing photograph collection of endemic species for my local bioregion. Though, perhaps it is building more rapidly than I think, as once again I didn't know I was photographing something fairly localized at the time (I had suspicions).

According to the Flora of North America, Triteleia hendersonii has a restricted range in southwest Oregon and northwest California, though it can be common locally within this area. The FNA does not recognize any subtaxa ("further study of this variation is required to determine whether formal recognition of infraspecific taxa is warranted"), but the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center makes a distinction; Triteleia hendersonii var. leachiae is on the "Watch" list in the 2010 assessment (monitor) while Triteleia hendersonii var. hendersonii (the taxon in today's photographs) is not considered to be a sensitive taxon. Unfortunately, the Oregon Flora Atlas uses the FNA treatment (no subtaxa) but applies the sensitive designation for Triteleia hendersonii var. leachiae to the entire species, so one can't look up observation or specimen data.

Henderson's triteleia or Henderson's tripletlily flowers in late spring / early summer. Flowering scapes grow to 35cm (14in) tall. When in flower, the scapes stand out on the woodland slopes or rocky hillsides where the plants can be found. The first photograph was taken where plants were growing on an open-forested hilltop with serpentine soils, while the second image is from the base of the mountain, where the plants were growing in the sloped bank at roadside (among the poison oak).

Botany and mathematics resource link: Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant, a video from the exceptional Vi Hart.

The series on Botany and Spirits was intended to conclude on December 23, but a flaky web connection at work that day frustrated attempts to do much online. Back from holidays today, we'll end the series and then move on to the entries that Katherine has been producing. For today's photographs, we can thank reader Richard Jaffe of San Jose, California, who sent them along when I requested images for the series. The photograph of the fruit is from his garden designed by Thomas Church.

Crataegus × lavallei is commonly known as Lavallée's hawthorn. This hybrid has been known since about 1870, when it was discovered at Arboretum de Segrez, an institution established by the French botanist and horticulturist Pierre Lavallée. Most older references will state the hybrid is a cross between the female parent Crataegus stipulacea or Crataegus pubescens crossed with the male parent Crataegus crus-gallii. However, the name of the female parent has been corrected to Crataegus mexicana while the name of the purported male parent has shifted to Crataegus calpodendron. Hawthorn taxonomy is a relatively complicated matter, thanks in part to the fact that apomicts are present (plants reproduce asexually), leading to the possibility of hundreds of microspecies being recognized. Depending on one's approach, one could recognize anywhere from two hundred to one thousand species in the genus.

On the topic of confusion and preferred nomenclature, Richard noted that the beverage in the second photograph was produced from a recipe for "hawthorn schnapps"--but Richard also recognized it was actually a vodka infusion. In Europe, schnapps is a distilled spirit made from fermented fruit, such as apples, pears, or cherries (of note, all of these are in the rose family, like hawthorn). However, schnapps is a term sometimes used for infused vodka products, such as the hawthorn-flavoured vodka in the second photograph. Vodka itself is a distilled spirit, made from different plant sources ranging from grains to potatoes to soybeans. The word schnapps is used yet again to describe a spirit mixed with flavouring and sugar (technically, a liqueur) that can have a lower alcoholic content; this is the popular use of the term in America.

Today's photographs, from a couple different sites in Mexico, are courtesy of retired UBC Botanical Garden staff member, David Tarrant. I sent a request to David for images of Agave tequilana for the "Botany and Spirits" series, and he was glad to share. Thanks again, mi amigo--I wish I could have made a longer entry today from your photographs, but have run out of time today.

Unsurprisingly (given the scientific name), these blue agave (or agave azul) plants are being grown for the production of tequila. This gives us a presumptive clue as to the location of the photographs, as only plants harvested from the Mexican states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas can be used to generate the spirit marketed under that moniker. Tequila is a specific type of mezcal, and if I have misidentified these plants or identified them correctly but the plants are being grown elsewhere, then they are being used for the production of a different mezcal instead.

Today's photographs are courtesy of two contributors. Eric Hunt, aka Eric in SF@Flickr shared the first image, and he has a number of additional images here: Saccharum officinarum). 3Point141@Flickr contributed the second image. Thanks to both of you for helping with the Botany and Spirits series!

Saccharum officinarum is a cultigen, a taxon of cultivated origin. Other examples of cultigens previously featured on BPotD include rice and cassava. One of the commercial sugar canes, Saccharum officinarum was hybridized over millenia, with origins in (likely) New Guinea. Many cultivars exist and continue to be bred, in order to improve properties such as disease resistance and sugar production.

Additional reading on the history and use of sugar cane (or noble cane) is available via the Ethnobotanical Leaflets of Southern Illinois University: "Sugar Cane: Past and Present" or James A. Duke's Handbook of Energy Crops: Saccharum officinarum.

In addition to being the largest source for sugar production, sugar cane is used in the production of the distilled alcoholic beverages rum and cachaça. Unlike yesterday's Juniperus communis, where the contribution to gin was flavouring, rum and cachaça are derived from fermented and distilled sugar cane liquids. Cachaça, the most popular spirit in Brazil (1.5 billion litres annual consumption), is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled. Rum is a bit more complex, in that it can either be derived in a similar manner to cachaça or, more typically, produced from molasses (a byproduct of sugar production from the canes).

Given that sugar cane has been cultivated for millenia, it is likely no surprise that fermented drinks from sugar cane also date back to antiquity. However, distillation of the fermented liquids to produce the true rums only occurred in the 17th century, on sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean. Wikipedia again has an excellent entry (it seems like Wikipedia writers like alcohol) on rum, including suggestions on the origin of the name as well as a history of rum (did you know that Rhode Island rum was considered an accepted currency in Europe for a short period of time?).

Today's image is courtesy of Priscilla Burcher (aka PriscillaBurcher@Flickr), and I believe this is the first time we've featured one of Priscilla's photographs on BPotD, so, thanks and welcome! The image was submitted via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool (original image).

As noted in Wikipedia, Agave attenuata is one of the few unarmed Agave species. While technically correct, it may be better to use the term "spineless" instead of unarmed, as the former provides additional information; most Agave have spines on the leaf margins (unarmed means lacking spines, prickles, or thorns).

Native to three Mexican states, Jalisco, México and Michoacán, Agave attenuata is associated with rocky outcrops in pine forests at elevations from 1900m to 2500m (6200 to 8200ft.). It is thought to be relatively rare in the wild. In cultivation, however, it is a popular ornamental in warmer climates, and I've seen it in several California public gardens. Many additional images of the species are available via the Plants of Hawaii web site: Agave attenuata, including one that makes me think unpleasant thoughts about others.

A few English common names are used for the species, including swan's neck agave, lion's tail agave and foxtail agave.

Another thank you to Pete (aka UnclePedro@Flickr) for sharing an image with us. Today's photograph of Thelymitra crinita was submitted via the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool. Much appreciated!

Native to southwestern corner of Australia, in one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, Thelymitra crinita is one of about 100 members of the genus. In its native range, blue lady orchid (or queen orchid) flowers from September to November.

Begonia molleri is endemic to the 854 km² (330 sq mi) São Tomé Island, part of Africa's second least-populous nation (São Tomé and Príncipe). It is one of four species of Begonia endemic to São Tomé Island. An additional species is native to both islands, while three other species which occur on São Tomé Island can also be found on mainland Africa.

Evidence points to this species being a paleoendemic--it is believed to have once had a much broader range, prior to the Pleistocene (see: Plana, V. et al. 2004. Pleistocene and pre-Pleistocene Begonia speciation in Africa.. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 31(2):449-61).

Just the photograph today -- exams for Katherine combined with a number of deadlines and meetings for me equals few entries, unfortunately.

Native to southern Africa, Gaziana krebsiana is an iconic perennial of Namaqualand, where it is an important constituent of the region's exemplary wildflower displays. Commonly named in English as terracotta gazania, it is also known as botterblom (butter flower) in Afrikaans. It "owes [this latter] name to the fact that the ray florets are supposed to taste like butter when chewed", according to the comprehensive species account by the South African National Biodiversity Institute's Plantzafrica: Gazania krebsiana.

After a species-level taxonomic revision by Roessler in 1959, 16 species and ten subspecies were recognized in Gazania. However, a 2009 study, "Globally grown, but poorly known: species limits and biogeography of Gazania Gaertn. (Asteraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data" by Howis et al. (Taxon 58(3): 871-882) concluded with an assertion that reduced the number of taxa to seven well-defined species and one species complex. This complex is termed the K-R clade, and it includes Gaziana krebsiana (the R being Gazania ringens). A couple hypotheses are put forward regarding the species complex: "The K-R clade may thus comprise incipient or very young species, or perhaps these taxa might be considered merely as locally adapted and occasionally interbreeding ecotypes". Whatever the resolution to this question, this species complex is an example of how biological reality resists the "tidy boxes" of names and other concepts; though these are useful, it is always worthwhile to remember they are flawed tools.

Today's entry was written by Katherine.

Thank you James Gaither (J.G. in S.F.@Flickr) for today's photographs of Colutea arborescens (image 2).

Although the leguminous shrub Colutea arborescens is a native to Europe and North Africa, the species is now naturalized in some parts of the United States, Ontario (Canada), and China.

Colutea arborescens grows to be 1-2m in stem height, with bronze coloured bark and yellow flowers. The species blooms in the late spring and early summer, while the fruits develop in the summer. Fruits are brown or purplish, 2 to 3cm long, and dry into papery pods with 3 to 10 olive, brown or black seeds. According to Plants For A Future, the seeds are also poisonous, though the USDA lists the species as not toxic.

The genus name for Colutea arborescens comes from the Greek word kolutea which was used in antiquity for this group of plants, and the Latin word arboresco meaning "woody or tree-like" (literally to become a tree).

Colutea arborescens is commonly known as bladder senna, however they are not the real "senna" which refers to a genus in the same family; Fabaceae (Senna). Even bladder senna is used multiple times as a common name; native to Australia, the purple-flowered Swainsona colutoides, is also known by this moniker.

Colutea arborescens is used for ornamental purposes. The pods are used in dried arrangements, while the trees are cultivated for landscaping. Plants are also used for erosion control and as a revegetator in land reclamation, which is why in California, for instance, naturalized plants may be found in disturbed areas. Colutea arborescens has been known on occasion to become weedy in areas of cultivation.

Spreading phlox is common within its range, though typically reliable resources suggest different ranges. USDA GRIN has a more restricted western range for Phlox diffusa than USDA PLANTS database; the latter suggests Phlox diffusa ranges across much of western North America, going as far east as South Dakota and into New Mexico. This suggests some taxonomic confusion, and this is borne out by some floras recognizing multiple subspecies and varieties within Phlox diffusa, and others using the term "highly variable".

According to some references, today's plants could also be recognized as Phlox diffusa subsp. longistylis, differing from Phlox diffusa subsp. diffusa in having larger corolla lobes (8-10mm long instead of under 8mm in one reference, 5-9mm in another) that are nearly as wide as long (instead of twice as long as wide) and styles 5-6mm long (instead of 2-4mm). However, one reference also notes that some plants do not cleanly fit into either subspecies (i.e., through a mixture of characters such as short styles but large corolla lobes), explaining that this is why some botanists choose to recognize only a single variable species. This would be my inclination in this case.

Flower colour is another variable characteristic. In my experience, pink to lavender is far more common, but Phlox diffusa is one of the easiest species to find white-flowered individuals. While the relative proportion of white to pink individuals is certainly a factor, the task is also made easier by the showiness of these mat-growing plants and the general lack of "colour competition" where they grow. Simply, few other flowering plants inhabit the same niche (mesic to dry rocky slopes and rock outcrops), so the spreading phlox tends to stand out. White-flowered variants is another BPotD series I could do, I suppose, as I suspect I have about 20 species photographed with the typical coloured flower and the white variant. Or, perhaps another half-decade of flower photography will yield a presentation on the topic.

Additional photographs of this species, including the range of flower colour variation, are available from the Burke Museum: Phlox diffusa.

Another couple photographs I had considered for a "plants and mammals" series, these are from mid-July of 2008 in southern Yukon. On the topic of BPotD series, I need a couple more entries for a "distilled spirits" series, so if you have photographs you might be willing to share via email or Flickr, please send me a note to let me know.

Taraxacum officinale (the common dandelion) and Ursus americanus (the American black bear) are commonly associated. About half of my black bear observations in the past decade are instances where the bear was enjoying a dandelion salad; not a coincidence, perhaps, as dandelions are a common roadside weed and most of my observations have been from a vehicle. Others have noted the same: a search via Google for black bears and dandelions. The combination can result in bear jams and habituation.

Like yesterday's Morchella esculenta, the taxonomy of Taraxacum officinale is complicated. In this instance, the difficulty arises with polyploid and apomictic lineages, such that some floras recognize over 70 microspecies. To quote Wikipedia, "As apomictic plants are genetically identical from one generation to the next, each has the characters of a true species, maintaining distinctions from other congeneric apomicts, while having much smaller differences than is normal between species of most genera. They are therefore often called microspecies". More on this phenomenon will be discussed in a future entry, possibly during the next UBC Research Week series, as the University of British Columbia has a number of botanists who investigate apomixis.

Taraxacum officinale is native to Eurasia, but is naturalized widely in temperate parts of the world. The Plants for a Future database references many economic uses for the species, both traditional and modern.

Today's photographs and write-up are courtesy of Ian Gillam, one of UBC Botanical Garden's many exceptional Friends of the Garden. Thank you! Ian writes:

Erodium trifolium is a member of the Geraniaceae native to North Africa. Like many plants of the region it grows in winter, flowers in early spring and is largely dormant in summer drought.

In Vancouver, Erodium trifolium is reasonably hardy outdoors in a well-drained and sheltered area, such as close to the south side of a house. In exceptionally cold winters plants may be damaged or killed.

In common with the related genera Geranium and Pelargonium, successfully pollinated flowers of Erodium produce a lengthening style from the centre of their flowers, growing to about 2.5 cm in this species. As this rostrum develops, the flower heads take on a fanciful resemblance to the heads of long-beaked birds. Botanical names of Geranium, Pelargonium and Erodium derive from Greek names of crane, stork and heron, respectively. Their common names also refer to these birds' long bills. As the seeds mature, the fruiting body turns brown and dries. The ovary splits into five segments, termed mericarps, each containing a single seed. Each mericarp is attached to a tail, an awn, that curls up to pull away from the rostrum.

As Erodium trifolium awns dry, the lower parts coil into tight helices of about five turns, leaving a terminal section curved but uncoiled. A single mericarp is shown above.

The pointed tip has a slight hook and many short, backward-pointing bristles. These features may help mericarps attach and penetrate into fur or feathers, possibly aiding distribution of seeds. Mericarps fall to the ground with the heavier end first. With luck the tip may lodge in some slight crack in the soil. The awn is sensitive to moisture and a slight wetting, even by dew, causes it to unwind within minutes. If the protruding tail catches on a piece of gravel or a plant's stem the power of the unwinding is transferred to the mericarp, thrusting it forward and screwing it into the ground (with a left-hand thread). Should the attempt fail, the sun's warmth will soon cause the awn to coil again and wind may move the whole to a better location for another try at planting.