Pinus ponderosa with falling snow
Snow falling on pines might not be the name of a novel, but it is an accurate description of what was happening in early May of 2015 in Arizona’s Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
In the generally arid and cool conditions of the higher elevations of Arizona, evergreen conifers are by far more abundant than deciduous trees. Conifer needles have similar properties to other leaves, though packed into a smaller space: conducting tissue for water and nutrients, stomatal chambers for gas exchange, chlorophyll molecules for photosynthesizing, and so on. Other than the reduced size, conifer needles often differ by having a thick and waxy cuticle or outer layer. In most cases, they also persist for more than a year or season, leading to the plants being defined as evergreen. In arid climates, the reduced surface area of the leaves and waxy cuticles are advantageous in reducing water loss. Cool to cold climates can also be desiccating, so the needles are similarly helpful in such conditions. While investing in “evergreen-ness” in temperate or colder climates comes at the physiological cost of producing tougher leaves, it has the benefits of permitting photosynthesis at times of the year when deciduous trees lack leaves and/or increased rates of photosynthesis at cooler temperatures compared to deciduous trees. The integrative science that examines the internal chemical and physical processes of plants in the context of how plants interact with other organisms, including forming broad-scale communities or vegetation types, is called plant physiological ecology.
Nature / language resource link: The word-hoard: Robert Macfarlane on rewilding our language of landscape via The Guardian. “For decades the leading nature writer has been collecting unusual words for landscapes and natural phenomena – from aquabob to zawn. It’s a lexicon we need to cherish in an age when a junior dictionary finds room for ‘broadband’ but has no place for ‘bluebell'”. After reading the article, maybe some of you might like to propose a word (or share one you use!) for the phenomenon in the photograph of “a brief, heavy snowfall where the flakes are large but do not persist because they melt instantly on the warm surfaces”.
What a superb shot.
And how good it is to have Botany Photo of the Day back up and running.
Great work Daniel. Thei site is such an important part of UBC Botanical Gardens mission .
parece que el servidor es muy lento porque no bajan las fotos. me parece muy bueno que haya vuelto daniel a mandar sus maravillosas fotos . gracias mil
Do these trees produce phytoncides? And if so, to what effect on insects and or humans. And in what seasons?
There is a definite smell to ponderosa pine forests, mentioned in a much earlier entry: Pinus ponderosa. Volatile release is increased with heat and sunshine. Not sure of the effect, though, other than as a human I find the scent very pleasant!
I think ponderosas (the great pumpkins) smell divine.
Is there a greater or lesser sequestration of carbon by this type of conifer than a deciduous tree such as an oak or maple? Does the sequestration process in this tree continue all year round or is it dormant in one or more seasons?
The amount of carbon sequestration in any given year will be some sum less than the total amount of carbon fixated by photosynthesis, due to bark shedding, leaf loss, herbivory, and so on. It would likely be correlated with growth rate, though, so as a rule of thumb: faster growth == more carbon sequestration, in any given year. Locally, I would expect a bigleaf maple to generally grow more (add more biomass) in a year than a ponderosa pine, but over the lifespan of both plants, I’d expect the sequestration to be about equal (maybe tilting more to the pine).
If a plant is actively growing, it is likely sequestering carbon faster than losing it, so yes, as long as an evergreen conifer can photosynthesize year-round (like the ones in Vancouver do in most years), it is never dormant.
The snow in the photo almost makes it seem like a painting! Great to have photo of the day back up and kicking – I always learn something!
Many thanks for the inspiration your site brings!
I had been thinking lately how much I missed this infusion of beauty and knowledge and wished these offerings popped up in my Inbox!
And, voila, suddenly you’re there!
Thank you again.
Lovely, but it did take 10 minutes to load. Any possibility of linking rather than attaching the big files?
I am so happy to have you back.
Judith, it’s an issue with the server configuration. I think I may have a fix for it, but I need to carve out an entire day’s worth of time to address it.
I solved the loading problem both yesterday and today by immediately closing the browser, going back to the email and clicking on the link again. The second time, both times, the image loaded immediately. ??
The photo came up instantly this morning when I opened the email. Wonderful to have Botany Photo of the Day back in action. Comments and questions are really spot on.
Wonderful photo! Glad to have BPOD back. Thank you. (I read Robert Macfarlane’s book–a very good read and I shared his dismay at the dropping of nature words from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. I’ll try to think of a word to fit the phenomenon you describe.)
That’s great, Mary. It’s on my to-read list.
Thanks Daniel… Happy New Year , …it’s nice to receive such inspiring images again, … & Ditto to the above comments,
Good work!!
If you’re looking for for furtrher sources of images from the Southern Hemisphere, in particular New Zealand, I’d be happy to share what I have, or to make an effort to collect specific examples within the top of the South Island …
Yes, identified images are always welcome!
Lovely to have BPOD return. Missed the daily dose of beautiful photos and informative notes.
Thank you and welcome back.
Judy Dunstan
Photo does not appear in the email. It also took a long time to load. I hope I can figure out what’s wrong. I sure have missed BPOTD. Thanks for your efforts!
It’s not on your end, Jo. It’s a server issue, I’ll try to resolve it within the week.
I am so pleased you are back!! Thank you.
Very glad that BPOD is back.
Once again we can enjoy the spectacular photography and insightful plant descriptions – welcome back Daniel!
The picture loaded almost instantly for me. However, I think it may have been saved at unnecessarily high quality. I saved a copy in Photoshop at the same size but at slightly better than half the quality of the original. The new file is less than half the size of the other (1.2 megabytes vs. 2.7). Differences between the images are virtually imperceptible until you view them at 200% or better, unless you have better eyes than mine.
Yes, I am not certain why if the image is taller than wide it doesn’t do a pop-out to a higher-res version like it will if it is wider than tall. I may end up reducing the size of the portrait images if I can’t resolve this. Still, the display issue is a server one–it happens frequently enough on the garden’s forums as well.
Absolutely delighted that BPOD is again alive and well. Missed you — a stable, informative site in this chaotic world!
Wonderful to have this gem of a site back. Thanks Daniel. Here’s a possible word for the phenomenon which you describe: prosorinifas. It’s a combo of the Greek for temporary (prosorinos) and snowflake (nifas). Sounds kinda like a disease, and undoubtedly I’ve butchered the Greek language, but it is original (and yes, I’ll stick to my day job).
A lovely word, though I agree about the medicinal nature of it. I think maybe because many pharmaceuticals start with “pro”?
I don’t have a word for the weather event itself, but as a descriptor of this beautiful photo’s painterly style I suggest “pointinivism” (a mash-up of pointillism and niv-, the Latin root word for snow).
Really happy to have BPOD back!
I like that!
Glad to have you back coming into my home once again. Today’s Ponderosa Pines is especially beautiful considering we have had so little snow in Southern Maryland this winter. Keep sending your wonderful photographs and the very useful information with them.
Delighted to see you back with Botany Photo of the Day! Like several others, I found this one took a very long time to load -b but so worth it when done!
“Snow falling on pines” might not be a book title, as you say, but it would be an excellent start to a haiku, especially with such a great photo to inspire.
So very glad to be getting BPOTD again!!
A most handsome photo, evoking place, temperature, and soundlessness. The write up and link to Robert MacFarlane’s article were a welcome indepth experience!
I am so grateful to have Botany Photo of the Day back. Is it possible to “Like” with commenting?
It might be possible re: likes. I think the old system had that. I’ll look into it, though I prefer comments over likes.
Nice to be reminded of that Robert Macfarlane article again – there was a link to it on the UBCBG forums two years ago. It didn’t get many comments, but I was amazed that “dandelion” would have been deleted from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.
See the latest issue of American Journal of Botany for insight into the complexity of this pine – apparently at least four or five species masquerading as one!
Thanks, Dick. It doesn’t surprise me that this might happen. Here’s the article for anyone interested in reading it: Pinus ponderosa: A checkered past obscured four species. If we accept the conclusions of that paper, today’s species is most likely Pinus brachyptera.
What a lovely photo! And with very coincidental timing for me. A developer recently bought the house next door and the first thing he did was remove the beautiful mature fir trees near our shared property line! (This was just last week). Of course I am going to replace them with large conifers on our side of the fence and we’ve been trying to decide on the type. We’ve decided on some pines, because they seem underrepresented here on the lower mainland and we’ve been strongly leaning toward Ponderosa Pines. Your beautiful photo may have finalized our decision. Thanks! Though I wonder… are these pines seriously susceptible to the notorious pine beetle?
Shouldn’t be too many concerns with growing Pinus ponderosa locally. There is a large, problem-free one on campus that has survived for a century now. Do visit it to get a sense of how big these can get (it is near Ponderosa Commons). We also don’t have the density of pines in our urban areas locally for pine beetle to be a concern.
Welcome back great to see you have your email.
A great photo as well as a lovely piece of art!