Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 9, 2015
Researching this species was difficult, since I was not sure which name to use. Until fairly recently, the flowering herb shown today was known as Ornithogalum tenuifolium. This is the label given on an early 19th century botanical illustration by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, and the name seems to have been valid until the current century. In […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 8, 2015
Stapelia leendertziae has sapromyiophilous flowers–that is, its flowers are pollinated by flies. Sapromyiophilous flowers have evolved convergently in many families of flowering plants. They usually have large scent-emitting flowers that are coloured red or purple. These characteristics mimic the food and brood sites of carrion and dung flies. Johnson and Jürgens (2010) examined the scent […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 4, 2015
This late-May set of photographs is from the Leslie Gulch area of eastern Oregon, USA. I had long been interested in visiting the region, as it is both botanically and geologically fascinating. The area is known for its rock formations and volcanic history, but to botanists and plant enthusiasts it is also a special place. […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 3, 2015
There’s something romantic about this photo of Saponaria officinalis growing in front of a weathered picket fence. I can almost imagine walking from my little cottage to the back garden to pick some common soapwort for laundry day. This would be once I had pulled the fresh-baked pies from the oven, of course. Saponaria officinalis […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 2, 2015
Species of Medicago are commonly known as medicks. The genus is well-known for containing the agriculturally-important alfalfa (Medicago sativa). It contains over eighty other species, of which some are used for forage, medicine, or agricultural cover crops. Most species of Medicago are low creeping herbaceous plants, but Medicago arborea, or tree medick, is an exception. […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 1, 2015
I think about plants a lot. I notice them as I walk outside and of course I spent half of my week during the summer photographing and writing about plants for Botany Photo of the Day. Despite this, there is only one species that I think about each and every day: Coffea arabica. I have […]
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