The floss silk tree is native to South America. It is sometimes called kapok, but that name more correctly refers to Ceiba pentandra. Like kapok, the fibre from the fruit of Ceiba speciosa is also sometimes used for packing materials, but the fibres are short and not suitable for weaving.

The Buenos Aires street tree in the second image shows the strange spikes on the trunk. These are poorly understood, but according to the Wikipedia article they hold water for dry periods. Young trees have chlorophyll in the bark, giving the tree the ability to photosynthesize when leaves are absent. The trunk has a bottle shape and often leans. I have not found the reference, but would guess that this is the origin of the Spanish common name, palo borracho (drunken tree).

Ceiba speciosa puts forth quite a show when it blooms and is used as an ornamental tree in warm climates. The University of Florida Extension has a good fact sheet about the tree (and shows the flowers, which were not present during my visit in Argentina.) Be sure to check out the flower and fruit pictures at the bottom of the page.

Douglas Justice, Curator of Collections, at UBC Botanical Garden contributed today's BPotD entry.

On a recent trip to China with a group of westerners, we came upon these fruits, and initially assumed they were from Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree). Indeed, a number of us had seen tinned versions of these fruits labeled “arbustes,” a name that looks a lot like Arbutus, but is, of course, "shrub" in French. Complicating matters—or perhaps the origin of this confusion—is the common name Chinese strawberry tree. Why tinned fruit from China would be labeled with a French name is another matter. It's uncanny (pardon the pun) that these two fruits should look so similar.

Morella rubra (more commonly known as Myrica rubra) is native to much of temperate and tropical Southeast Asia, where (according to the Wikipedia entry) the species has been cultivated for a couple of millennia. I can certainly see why. They are tart and delicious. There's no mistaking the two. The large pit in red bayberry fruits takes up about two-thirds of the overall volume, while the gritty seeds in Arbutus are small and numerous. As for taste, the mushy, insipid (some people I know refer to it as "delicate") tasting cornels produced by Arbutus unedo are no match for the meaty zing of the bayberry.

Not exactly the usual beautiful photo from BPotD today, but a very interesting plant. The first image is in the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden, the second image showing the flower buds was taken in a Buenos Aires park.

Posts often appear on the UBC Botanical Garden forums from people seeking identification for plants that have appeared in people's gardens—like this or this (remember the song?). One of the most common ID requests is for Phytolacca americana, poke weed—the plant in the two cited posts. Its striking purple berries and rapid growth get it noticed. Gardeners, unfamiliar with the plant are often quite surprised and a little wary of this invader that seems to grow to a metre or more in a very short time.

The South American relative, Phytolacca dioica is also quick growing, but grows to the size of trees, to almost 20 metres. The wood is very soft and the plant often forms a large swollen base with multiple trunks. The evergreen foliage forms a large canopy, which provides shade for the gauchos on the pampas. Toxins in the plant protect it from grazers and pests.

There are some great webpages describing this huge "poke weed". Wayne's Word offers good info on both Phytolacca dioica and P. americana. Blue Planet Biomes has a nice, descriptive article, Ombu.

Today's photos were contributed by J.G. in S.F. via the UBCBG Botany Photo of the Day Group Pool. Thanks J.G., all the photos are great—the single flower close up is exquisite.

Leptospermum is a genus of around 80 species. Most are endemic to Australia, but one species is found in New Zealand and two are found in Malaysia. Early Australian settlers made tea from several species of Leptospermum, which led to the common name, tea tree. (Although Leptospermum species have antibacterial and antifungal properties, they are not to be confused with the currently popular tee tree oil, which comes from Melaleuca alternifolia.)

Leptospermums are evergreen shrubs or trees and make good landscape plants in warm areas. Leptospermum rotundifolium was previoulsy featured on BPotD. The round-leaved tea tree is noted among the genus for its exceptionally large showy flowers. The cultivar in today's photo, ‘Manning’s Choice’ certainly illustrates this. ‘Manning’s Choice’ reaches a height of around 1.8 metres and blooms much of the year, peaking in the Spring.

Today's entry features another wonderful alpine plant with description by Brent Hine, Curator, E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden. Photo taken by Randy Mindell.

Alliums make for fascinating botanical study. There are many hundreds of species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They can be happy on frigid mountaintops or in blazing deserts. There is even a swamp onion, Allium validum. With most of our countrysides seemingly overflowing with onions, it shouldn't be hard to find one and get better acquainted.

Allium woronowii is loosely classified as a "domed" allium, fairly obvious from its appearance. This group includes some of the most beautiful plants of the entire onion nation*. This species is at home in the meager mountain soils of eastern Turkey and Armenia, where climate is decidedly continental and wild onion species proliferate. The species has adapted well to the very seasonal environment—dormant bulbs respond to sudden Spring heat, forcing growth and flowering within short weeks after snowmelt. In the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden, the benign Spring extends their bloom, which begins in late April. If bulbs are planted in comparatively warm, stony (eg. alpine garden) soils, growth will begin even earlier. Plants will also last longer if soil is allowed to dry out after they enter dormancy. Knowledgeable gardeners know that most ornamental bulbs like a good baking. Warm dry conditions allow them to fully ripen carbohydrate energy for next year's effort. Oh, and it's so worth it to get on your knees and sniff the flower umbel—an exquisite carnation scent is your reward.

My planned early summer hiking includes searching for rare BC native Allium crenulatum. If you live on the northern half of the planet, see if there isn't an interesting species native to your area. And if you think I'm an allium convert, check out Mark McDonough's Plant Buzz website,with it's images of species and selections related to Allium woronowii in the Big "melanocrommyum" Allium gallery.

Reference:

*Alliums: The Ornamental Onions. Dilys Davies. B.T. Batsford, London, 1992. Alliums in History, pp. 12-19.

New subgenera, sections and species of Allium, P. Wendelbo, Bot. Notiser 122 (1969), pp. 25-37.

Commonly known as the desert spoon, Dasylirion wheeleri is one of the iconic plants of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, its long, thin, strap-like leaves emerging from a central base like a gigantic spiky ball. The first photo shows the flower buds beginning to open along the base of the inflorescence. Most of the flowers will emerge at the tip of the flower stalk, which can become massive—as long as 5 metres—looking similar to the Dasylirion acrotrichum previously featured on Botany Photo of the Day. The second photo shows the habit of a different specimen with a flower spike emerging.

The plant has long been used by local peoples. Its strong fibre was used to make sandals, rope and other articles. Archeological sites have turned up woven artifacts 9,000 years old. Dasylirion was also an important food source. The base of the stem was cooked and pounded into cakes for food as well as made into a potent liquor called sotol. The beverage has remained popular in the area that is now the Mexican state of Chihuahua and now appears to be ready for the world market. Tequila and the Rise of Sotol.

Another set of wonderful photos taken by Randal Mindell and description written by Brent Hine, Curator, E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden.

How's this for flower power? Here's a group of three plants inside the Intermountain Habitat at the UBC Botanical Garden. The habitat was constructed to provide a suitable environment for a representative display of western North American dryland plants.

Penstemon davidsonii is a shrubby evergreen perennial native to southern BC. Taxonomists place it in subgenus Dasanthera, a group that generally puts up with the high rainfall of the Pacific Northwest. I have placed its three varieties (davidsonii, menziesii and this one) in this garden for that reason too, but more because all are easy to grow and present a good flower show. Variety praeteritus (from Latin praeterire, to overlook, pass by) however, takes flowering to a higher level. No fertilizer was used on these plants! Each flower is about twice the size of those of the species. Their blooms overwhelm the tiny leaves beneath – a classic alpine plant trait that ensures lots of attention from pollinators. Perhaps this taxon was overlooked because it is endemic only to remote southeastern Oregon. Simply called "The Steens" by those who know the area, Steens Mountain contains diverse populations of penstemons protected by the relative distance of the area from large population centres.

For a good introduction to what makes Steens Mountain such a special place for penstemons, read the introduction to the Flora of Steens Mountain by Donald H. Mansfield, from the Oregon State Universty Press Website.

Reference: Penstemons. Robert Nold, 1992, Timber Press, Portland OR.

Todays photos were taken by Randal Mindell, a botanist working on a special collections project at UBCBG. The text was written by Brent Hine, Curator, E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden.

Patagonia is a large place, covering southernmost Chile and Argentina. To me it conjures images of big skies, steppe lands and dry air. As it really is, Patagonia is much more, including Andes mountains and temperate rainforest similar to our own. Petunias belong in the Solanaceae, which is well represented in South America. This diverse family includes useful, delicious (tomato, potato) and occasionally toxic plants.

Nothing at all like the overused, abused annual Petunia × hybrida of North American hanging baskets, this evergreen shrub has evolved to handle bright light and incessant wind, developing its mound form and tiny leaves. Petunia patagonica looks so right in its natural, spartan surroundings, seen in this photo from the Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret's photostream on Flickr.

And just as easy as it is (and necessary) to constantly fertilize annual petunias, this one needs no coddling. Feeding it would be killing with kindess. It is encouraged here in the rainy northwest climate by growing it in a trough of gravelly soil, where excess water drains away readily. Flowering prolifically when well grown, our outdoor specimen now sports a dozen or so flowers, more curious than beautiful to behold. This display is quite an achievement in seven years of cultivation, though honestly it is much more a testament to the plant's powers of persistence than this gardener's skills!

Today's photograph was taken last weekend near Merritt, British Columbia. It was an unexpected find, as much of the hillsides were covered in dead vegetation from last year. In most places, small carpets of a tiny Ranunculus were in bloom -- this is the earliest flowering plant in the area, and typically a sign that not much else would be found anywhere. However, additional backroads exploration eventually revealed a few Fritillaria pudica and Claytonia -- and I would have been satisfied with just finding those, given the conditions. My friend Chris and I had almost decided to turn back when he suggested continuing along the road to see the next open vista. There, we found not only a good view, but south-facing slopes with Fritillaria pudica blooming en masse, the first few Balsamorhiza sagittata in bloom, and Delphinium nuttallianum a few days from blooming -- a small micro-climate easily two to three weeks in advance of other similar areas.

Arrowleaf balsamroot is native to much of western North America (east of the Coast-Cascades-Sierras), reaching its eastern extent in South Dakota. The Flora of North America provides a scientific treatment of Balsamorhiza sagittata, and notes that it is versatile in its habitats: "Openings, banks, flats, meadows, ridges, sagebrush scrub, [and] conifer forests". Thayne Tuason's Flora of the Inland Pacific Northwest has a more approachable summary of this species: Balsamorhiza sagittata. I'd be remiss to not point you in the direction of the Burke Museum's entry on Balsamorhiza sagittata as well, particularly for its excellent compilation of images: arrowleaf balsamroot.

Lastly, I'm sad to inform you that I'm going to be on leave for the next three months. Due to the short notice regarding my leave, the decisions and mechanics of how to keep BPotD running in the interim are presently being considered.

...and another new contributor to Botany Photo of the Day today: Andy_1968@Flickr shares photographs from Western Australia. Thank you for sharing these two images of Lechenaultia tubiflora via the UBC BG Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool (original 1 | original 2). Much appreciated to see other species in the genus Lechenaultia, which Ron Long introduced us to in this entry: Lechenaultia macrantha.

Andy_1968 also shared the following description: "Heath lechenaultia is a low (0.05 - 0.3 m tall) [rarely to 70cm] shrub. The shrub is relatively non-descript until it flowers and then is a mass of red (or white to green) tubular flowers. This particular specimen was found in the Dongolocking area [of Western Australia] growing by the side of a road." The Flora of Western Australia's entry for Lechenaultia tubiflora notes that this is a species of sandplains and sand dunes, where the sandy soil may cover a base of granite or limestone.

William Archer's Esperance Blog (about the flora and fauna near Esperance) has an excellent entry on four species of Lechenaultia. Scroll down the page a little to see William's photographs of the flower colour variations in Lechenaultia tubiflora mentioned by Andy_1968, including a bi-coloured red and cream example.

The genus Lechenaultia was named in honour of the French botanist and ornithologist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour, who accompanied Baudin on a French expedition to map the coast of Australia between 1800 and 1803.

A new contributor to Botany Photo of the Day: Marrakech99@Flickr, from Jena, Germany. Thanks to you for submitting these photographs via the UBC BG Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool | original 1 | original 2). Cheers!

I grew up on a farm in Manitoba. The memory is vague, but I do recall that many local farmers who once grew rapeseed (the plants in today's photographs) had switched to canola ("Canadian oil, low acid"). I doubt that there is any way to tell these two closely-related crops apart through these photographs, so I'll assume this is the higher-acid content rapeseed. In any case, fields of Brassica napus [Napus Group] are welcome sights to me because of the intense yellow (the downwind smell, however, I find mildly offensive).

Despite the use in food production, the unprocessed seeds of rapeseed have some measure of toxicity, due in part to the high erucic acid content This is, of course, not the case with canola (see previous link). Purdue University's Center for New Crops & Plants Products 1983 Handbook on Energy Crops has extensive detail about the use, chemistry, description and cultivation of Brassica napus.

Any entry on rapeseed or canola would not be complete without mention of the controversies surrounding genetic engineering. There are no end to discussions about this on the web, but I'll point you to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's GMO Safety page on GM oilseed rape (yet another common name) as a starting point.

Thank you to Beth aka lorax@UBC Botanical Garden forums for sharing today's photographs via the BPotD submissions forum. Beth's weblog is I Speak for the Trees, and I see that she's also involved with the International Banana Society (very cool!).

Beth also wrote a fine accompaniment to these photographs, so I'm going to step aside for this entry. Beth writes:

This is a lone Polylepis tree growing by the highway at about 4,800 meters of elevation in the Kiss the Sky portion of Ecuador's Papallacta pass (the highest road pass in the world). Polylepis are members of the rose family, and are only found at extremely high altitudes in the Andean mountains, typically above the line where other trees stop growing; stands of these trees cover portions of the paramo past 5,000 meters of elevation in the pass where this specimen was photographed. There are about 28 species of Polylepis, distributed from Colombia south to Argentina, with the highest rate of endemism found in Ecuador and Bolivia. The trees are easily recognized by their papery, peeling red bark and minute pinnate leaves, and when they bloom the forest canopy turns gold. The trees in these photos are likely Polylepis australis, but the high rate of endemism and the similarities between species makes identification difficult without flowers.

Polylepis is also one of the most threatened trees in the Andean highlands, as it is often harvested for firewood by the peoples living in these passes (and has been since before Incan times). Scientists believe that the almost the entire paramo biome above the normal treeline was once covered in dense Polylepis forest, and human intervention is what has reduced it to smaller pockets. In Ecuador, this has led to the tree becoming a protected species, and it is now a federal crime to cut Polylepis unless it threatens a dwelling. The largest stand of Polylepis in Ecuador is contained within the highland portion of the Cayambe-Coca Biological Reserve; these trees are estimated to be several thousand years old.

Given the delayed spring we've had locally, Orobanche uniflora ought to be in bloom this weekend at the Tom McCall Preserve near Rowena, Oregon (where this photograph was taken two years and a few days ago). I've scanned the ground for these low growers (to 15cm tall) the past two weekends in local areas, but no luck for me this year.

Orobanche uniflora, or naked broomrape (or one-flowered broomrape or one-flowered cancer-root), is distributed throughout much of North America north of Mexico with the exception of Manitoba, Labrador, and Canada's central northern territories (the species is also found in Baja California). There seems to be much morphological variation within the species -- for example, both Missouriplants.com and the Connecticut Botanical Society display images of white-flowered versions of this species.

A number of references note that this parasitic species saps nutrients from plants in the Saxifragaceae, Asteraceae and the genus Sedum. I don't recall seeing Sedum or any saxifrages at this location, so I suspect in this case it was parasitizing Balsamorhiza. In the few occasions I've chanced upon this species, I've noted it to grow in areas of springtime wet followed by summertime dry, to the point where it could be considered a spring ephemeral. When Brent Hine and I returned to this location in mid-summer of the same year, there was no evidence of Orobanche uniflora to be found and the vegetation nearby was "crispy" from the summer heat. Given its broad distribution, however, I suspect that these particular conditions are not always the case.

Vascular Plants of Henry Coe State Park in California has a few more photographs: Orobanche uniflora.

Photography resource link: Not plant-related, but I suspect you'll enjoy the dendritic forms: Tom O. Scott's Sand Vision in Color (discovered via Richard Wong's Field Report weblog).

Another thank you is in order to J.G. in S.F.@Flickr for sending along these photographs from the San Francisco Botanical Garden (via the UBC BG Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool | original 1 | original 2).

Petrophile, as you might guess, translates into "rock-loving". This is indeed the case for this relatively short shrubby plants, as they are found in coastal sandy areas, rocky outcrops and inland gravelly areas (though never too far from the coast, perhaps 150km). Common name for plants in the genus used by people in eastern Australia include conesticks, coneflower and conebush. However, in western Australia (the centre of diversity for the genus), these common names aren't used and it seems they are simply referred to as petrophile.

Petrophile biloba, or granite petrophile, is native to a small area of southwestern Western Australia, near Perth. As noted by FloraBase, this species of hillsides and granite outcrops grows to 2m high. The Australian Native Plant Society provides cultivation and propagation information on it: Petrophile biloba.

Thank you to Douglas Justice for today's write-up.

Another wonderful photograph by Alan Tracey from his recent peregrinations in the southern Andes. Nassauvia Comm. ex Juss. is a southern south American endemic genus of about 50 shrubs and herbs, allied to the genus Mutisia (the climbing daisies). Local peoples refer to plants of the genus as repollito, meaning little cabbage sprout. The individual species of Nassauvia are differentiated in part by, and notable for, the degree of reduction displayed by flowers, inflorescences, leaves and stems. In the genus, the higher the elevation and more extreme the conditions, the more reduced (compact) are the plants. This is a general rule in alpines; however, as you can see from the image here, these are not typical looking "compact" alpine plants. The vocabulary describing this reduction series is somewhat arcane, but for the adventurous, this link opens to the abstract of "A typological analysis of the inflorescences of the genus Nassauvia (Asteraceae)" (the full article is unfortunately unavailable to most viewers).

The genus name honours Charles Orthon, Prince de Nassau-Siegen (1745-1809), who accompanied Louis Antoine Bougainville on the first official French circumnavigation of the globe (1766 to 1769). Bougainville had been charged with officially handing over the Falkland Islands to the Spanish. This is probably the connection with the plants we know as Nassauvia, as at least one species is found in the Falklands. The epithet commemorates the Spanish botanist Marianio La Gasca y Segura (1776 to 1839).