Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 30, 2015
The sacred lotus is one of only two species in the Nelumbonaceae, and can be found growing wild from southern Russia to northern Australia. The other species in this small family is Nelumbo lutea, which grows in eastern and southern North America. Up until fairly recently, the Nelumbonaceae was placed in the Nymphaeaceae, or water […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 29, 2015
We’ve had a mild winter in the Vancouver area so far, with only one week of daytime freezing temperatures early in the winter. It is now one of those years where we are seeing noticeable early bloom times on some of the plants in the Garden. As of the final week of January, there are […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 27, 2015
Living in Vancouver, I rarely come into contact with Eucalyptus, as so few of these species are hardy enough to withstand the occasional extreme cold the area receives. So it was with surprise that I came across this photo of the lush flowers of square-fruited mallee and learned that they come from a species of […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 21, 2015
Canarina eminii is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern tropical Africa, from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to Ethiopia and south to Malawi. It can grow either as an epiphyte or on rocky ground, and occurs in upland and riverine forests. It is one of three species in the genus, the others being Canarina abyssinica […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 9, 2015
Pararchidendron pruinosum is a small tree native to the rainforests of Australia, Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea. In Australia, the species ranges from north Queensland to New South Wales. It is loved by many Australian native plant enthusiasts, and has quite a few common names that illustrate its different characteristics. The name “monkey’s earrings”, for example, […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 8, 2015
This lichen never fails to remind me of summer, though it is a snowy-looking subject. Parmelia sulcata, or hammered shield lichen, is a silvery foliose species in the Parmeliaceae with a dark, nearly black, underside possessing dense rhizines (hair-like growths from the body that anchor the lichen to the substrate). The photobiont of this symbiont […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 7, 2015
Commonly known as Dongola snapdragon, Lindernia monroi is a rare but widespread annual herb found only in Zimbabwe. It grows to about 13cm in height, and has somewhat fleshy, crowded basal leaves. The pale pink to white snapdragon-like flowers are borne on long, slender pedicels. Lindernia monroi has a yellow palate, which is a projection […]
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