Last week, I attended Botany BC in British Columbia’s Cathedral Provincial Park. One of the many botanical highlights was locating the naturally-occurring hybrid of two species of Phyllodoce.
Unfortunately, I was using a new lens, so I need to go through the learning curve of what works technique-wise–you may notice that the last two photos have unintentional soft-focus issues. I wouldn’t normally share these images (and I have better ones of these species), but I’m including them to show the local parents of the hybrid in the first image.
Phyllodoce × intermedia (first image) is a first-generation cross (often) of the whitish- to greenish-yellow flowered Phyllodoce glanduliflora and the pink- to purple-flowered Phyllodoce empetriformis. As noted in the Flora of North America entry for purple mountain-heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis),
Phyllodoce × intermedia…[has] a decidedly intermediate floral morphology, combining glandular, mostly nonciliate sepals more than 3 mm long and pinkish, cylindric to ovoid corollas.
I hope the intermediateness is evident in these photographs. Compare: presence/absence and length of hairs on the flower-supporting pedicels among the three; corolla (flower) colour; presence/absence of glands on the sepals; presence/absence and length of hairs on the corolla; and corolla shape (urceolate or urn-shaped in Phyllodoce glanduliflora, campanulate or bell-shaped in Phyllodoce empetriformis, and something in-between for the hybrid).
As the name implies, mountain-heathers are plants of montane to alpine habitats (though I most frequently associate them with the upper montane–just below the altitudinal zone where one starts to find subalpine meadows). These particular plants were growing along the shore of Quiniscoe Lake, within a coniferous forest.
Sevon or eight species of Phyllodoce are recognized worldwide, five of which occur in the western and northern parts of North America. Parts of Europe and Asia also have species of Phyllodoce.
PS Next year’s Botany BC is in Haida Gwaii, it should be particularly special!
I love these plants, they are everywhere in our mountains in July-August
Beautiful and most interesting. No complaints about your photography!
Lovely shots with great detail. Very interesting. What was the new lens?
I retired my Canon 100mm macro after 13 years and replaced it with the Canon IS 100mm macro. You’d think there wouldn’t be too much difference, but there is some aspect of the larger lens diameter that I need to figure out with relation to how it affects depth of field.
Yes, I’m curious about the lens too. Nice color rendering. Have you gone full frame? In which case, it might be the Sony 90mm/2.8 macro.
Best regards
I’ve been using Canon full-frame for many years, now. 😉
Here is Phyllodoce brewerii seen last week at Rock Creek in the Eastern Sierra Nevada in California.
This P. brewerii photo was a surprise. I just assumed the P. empetriformis had as open a shape as that genus comes.
A wonderful treat for eyes in Connecticut.
Chris Czajkowski, who has contributed and commented on BPotD before, sent along these photos of the three:
Phyllodoce empetriformis
Phyllodoce glanduliflora
And Phyllodoce × intermedia