Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 31, 2005
At first glance, you might be thinking that the purpose of this photograph is to highlight the minotaur sculpture. If so, you’d be wrong–he’s actually incidental to the image (and yes, he’s definitely a male) In fact, there are at least three botanical (garden) stories to tell with this image. To start off, though, it […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 30, 2005
Like all monkshoods, this Aconitum contains aconitine, a lethal neurotoxin. Recognized for over two millenia as one of the strongest poisons, it is not surprising that accounts of aconite surface often in mythology.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 29, 2005
Goblet flower is an iris-relative native to eastern South America. Each blossom lasts only one day, but an established plant can produce hundreds of flowers in a single summer. As it is also easy to grow, it is no wonder that this plant is a favourite of bulb enthusiasts.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 28, 2005
I’ve mentioned before on this weblog that my interest in plants began with my parents and family. One memory that I recall in particular is my mother taking me to see a patch a roadside gentians near our home. It was something special, made moreso because I’ve never noted gentians to be particularly abundant anywhere […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 27, 2005
Chinese Douglas-fir is a relative of the Pacific Northwest’s coast and Rocky Mountain Douglas-firs, Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. menziesii and Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca. Unlike these North American Douglas-firs, though, its status is listed as “vulnerable”, like many of the plants that can be seen in the Asian Garden at UBC.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 26, 2005
My home is near a decommissioned “yard and garden waste dump”. This has one small advantage for me; whenever I want to photograph a local weed or invasive plant, I’m pretty much guaranteed to find it nearby–and in quantity. In the wider-angle shot, you can see three of southwestern British Columbia’s worst invasives on the […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on August 25, 2005
This is the Taiwanese variety of Oriental chain fern, collected in the mountainous forests of Taiwan by Dan Hinkley in 1999 (collection number DJHT.99015). The common name is derived from the chain-like arrangment of sori (spore-producing organs) on the underside of the leaves (not seen here).
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